ESPN News is reporting the Chicago White Sox have managed to land San Diego Padre ace Jake Peavy at the MLB trade deadline. We're tracking this story for details. Peavy has been on the DL since early June. MLB Network reports the Sox shipped the Padres four players in return for Peavy: left-handers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard and right-handers Dexter Carter and Adam Russell
Fed up with owners of dangerous dogs who aren't properly abiding by set rules, Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th) is looking to put down stricter penalties at those who flaunt the current rules. Inspired by an incident in his own ward, Schulter has introduced an ordinance that would ban an offender from owning a dog for five years while multiple offenders could face a lifetime ban within city limits as well as up to six months in jail. [Sun-Times]
Part of the argument in favor of bringing a second Wal-Mart into Chicago, at 83rd and Stewart in Chatham, is that the neighborhood is a "food desert". This argument has been bandied about a lot lately, most recently by a certain Sun-Times columnist. But if you've spent any time around Chatham, you'll know that it isn't the desperately poor black neighborhood that much of the South side is characterized as. In fact, as Rich Miller over at Capitol Fax and this Google map show, there are quite a few food stores near the proposed location.
Twitter no-no's have been all the rage this week. First, there was the local woman who was sued for defamation by her property company and now it appears as if U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, who recently announced his campaign for U.S. Senate, may have violated some military rules via his Twitter account. Kirk, a Naval Reservist, is under scrutiny from The Capitol Fax for a pair of tweets that went up on his campaign twitter account while he was on active duty and may have violated rules. He revealed his location, which violates military rules, and because the twitter account is part of his U.S. Senate campaign, he may be in trouble because military rules prohibit certain political activities while on active duty. A Kirk spokesman told Rich Miller at Capitol Fax that it wasn't Kirk but rather a staffer who posted those tweets on Kirk's account. The Navy told Miller they are, "going to be looking into the matter.” [via ChicagoNow]
Chicago's Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold is predicting that the city's budget hole will be worse next year. This is after the city burns through a new $320 million "rainy day fund" created from the parking meter lease. Saffold predicted a deficit of upwards of half a billion dollars next year, citing declining tax revenue and increased wages, compared against a projected budget of $6 billion. (Is this the first time the city has engaged in long-range financial planning? Publicly, at least?) While raising taxes is a last resort, according to Saffold, "nothing is ruled out at this point," Saffold told the Tribune. "The mayor has instructed us not to look at property taxes as we move forward in 2010."
In a sit-down described as "cordial and productive," President Obama sat down with Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Sgt. James Crowley, the Cambridge Police officer who arrested Gates a few weeks ago as Gates tried to enter his own locked house. The furor over the incident intensified last week when President Obama said that the police had "acted stupidly" in the manner in which they arrested Gates. A Pew Research Center poll found 41 percent of those polled disapproved of Obama's handling of the situation, 29 percent approved, and 30 percent fell into the "don't know" category. Afterward, Crowley indicated he and Gates planned to meet again. Whether the sit-down will cool tensions over this incident - which has seen things as wild as FOX News host Glenn Beck saying Obama, "has a deep-seeded hatred for white people," - remains to be seen and the President now moves on to other issues such as the economy (is it really rebounding?) and health care (still facing much opposition). In the meantime, Slate also breaks out a great list of cinematic sit-downs over beer. Hard to beat #1.
The White Sox relied on late-innings heroics Thursday night to defeat the New York Yankees 3-2 and snap a three-game skid. In the top of the ninth, it appeared former Sox player Nick Swisher was going to play the heel, driving a fastball from Matt Thorton into the left field stands to tie the game at two. Thankfully for the Sox, Dewayne Wise had other ideas. With runners on first and second and two away, Wise ripped a comebacker up the middle to score Scott Podsednik and notch a walk-off win for Chicago. The rally salvaged an excellent 7.2 innings by starter Gavin Floyd, who allowed only one run on four hits and a walk while striking out 10. Paul Konerko and Gordon Beckham both finished 2-for-4, with Beckham doubling home the Sox's other earned run in the third. The Sox and Yanks do it again tonight at 7:11.
That's the persistent question as the date for selecting the city that will host the 2016 Summer Games draws near. Bid backers in Chicago contend that the Games will bring jobs, an economic boost and international prestige to the city, all at little or no cost to taxpayers. Chicago 2016 has also claimed that support from the private sector coupled with world class management will ensure that Chicago will benefit from hosting the games. Within that debate, however, supporters haven't pointed to a city that has benefited from hosting the games. Montreal didn't finish paying off the billions of dollars of debt it had incurred in 1976 until 2006. More recently Greece teetered on the edge of failing to host the Olympics in 2004 when the government failed to complete construction on time. London is already billions of dollars over budget.
Even with both baseball teams still in the playoff hunt, we're still excited by the first Bears practice, because that means that football season returns soon. Kicking off Training Camp in Bourbonnais today, the players will take the field at Olivet Nazarene University for the first time at 3pm.
With the state feeling the financial crunch and reeling from that recent budget dust-up, we knew lots of folks we're going to suffer repercussions. One of the latest groups to feel the sting is a group of the state's college students who were denied financial aid. Why? Because they applied after the state's May 15 deadline, a deadline which, in the past, had been set much later. Then there's this, according to the Sun-Times:
What's more, under the state budget compromise reached earlier this month, which slashed funding for the state's Monetary Award Program in half, no student at any Illinois school will receive aid for the second half of the 2009-2010 school year.
Other forms of aid are available, such as Pell Grants, loans, and scholarships handed out by specific schools, but it doesn't look good for a lot of state students.
The Tribune's James Janega was embedded with the Illinois National Guard in Afghanistan and just recently returned home to Chicago. Today's he's filed this outstanding story and you can catch up on more of James' stuff (accompanied Tribune photographer Jason Wambsgans) here at the Afghan War Blog.
Wal-Mart certainly raised the stakes this week in its bid to open a second store in the city. But the results of the push-poll notwithstanding, setting up shop in Chatham may not be the slam dunk the Arkansas-based mega-retailer thinks it will be. That's because, as the city council was passing the buck on the Wal-Mart vote by sending it from the Rules Committee to the Finance Committee, committee chair Alderman Ed Burke (of the 14th Ward) told the Sun-Times that Wal-Mart would have to step up to the plate to play ball in Chicago.
Later Tunney acknowledged that there isn’t a consensus in the LGBT community whether to pursue a special category as a qualified minority. He told the Sun-Times:
The White Sox found themselves on the losing end on another one-run ballgame, this time falling to the Minnesota Twins by the score of 3-2. With runners on second and third and two out in the ninth, the newly acquired Mark Kotsay hit a hard liner right into the glove of Michael Cuddyer to end Chicago's threat. The Sox flashed some power offensively, scoring on home runs by Jayson Nix and Carlos Quentin, yet managed only six hits off the Twins' pitching staff in total. The pair of solo shots was good enough to erase a 2-0 deficit, but the Twins added the third run when Alexi Casilla plated Joe Crede in the sixth. Jose Contreras took the loss for Chicago, surrendering Minnesota's three runs over 5.2 innings on the mound. The Sox head into a tough seven-game stretch on a down note, as they host the Yankees tonight at 7:11.
It seems Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis got a bit ahead of himself with the new rule that would allow officers to shoot at the drivers and passengers of cars as they flee police. Yesterday, Michael Sneed reported a police department spokesman as saying the new rule would go into effect Monday. One problem: no one cleared this past the City Council which is, as the Sun-Times' Fran Spielman put it, "a no-no for any Chicago police superintendent." Instead, at yesterday's Council meeting Ald. Isaac Carothers, introduced an ordinance that would require the police department to get City Council approval before enacting any new policy related to deadly force, citing two cases that occurred in 1999 in which innocent civilians were shot by police: "Let's not forget what happened in the LaTanya Haggerty case, which cost the city a lot of money [$18 million], and the [Robert] Russ case, which cost an awful lot of money [$9.6 million] with police officers firing their weapons." The move was also announced without the approval of the police union, according to union president Mark Donahue. Mayor Daley himself later said nothing had changed yet and, They're just looking at it. If you have general orders that conflict with one another, you should look at it." [NBC 5, Sun-Times]
The Chicago City Council approved a 25 year land lease to Exelon Corp. and SunPower Corp. yesterday, to build a 40 acre solar power plant on the polluted and vacant International Harvester plant, in Chicago's South side West Pullman neighborhood. The ordinance calls for a lease term of 25 years with an option to continue the lease for 25 more years after the initial lease term ends. The agreement stipulates that Exelon will pay the city $110,000 a year for the lease, and the city will assume $1.3 million of the environmental clean up costs. That includes asbestos-contaminated soil and removal of underground tanks. If other tanks are found, the city will split the costs with Exelon, although other environmental clean up costs will be assumed by the joint venture.
U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel announced today he wouldn't be giving a public release to the FBI's tapes of former governor Rod Blagojevich's conversations amassed via wiretaps. Several media outlets had requested the release of documents such as the tapes and transcripts. Zagel is still weighing how much information he'll release in regards to the government's case against William F. Cellini, a request made by the Tribune. [Sun-Times]
Here's how to spin some bad news into good news: We're certainly not wasting any stimulus funds to construct a decent website about the spending of our stimulus funds. How do we know this? The organization Good Jobs First has rated the websites of all 50 states [pdf] to see how well they report their spending of stimulus money, how detailed the information is, and so on - and Illinois sucked bad.
An outbreak of offense and a stellar outing from Randy Wells powered the Cubs waaaaay past the Houston Astros today by a score of 12-0. The Cubs put up six runs in the first inning alone, half of that off a three-run homer from Alfonso Soriano. Aramis Ramirez homered in the second, and the Cubs put up two more in the fourth. A few more late-inning runs from the Cubs, including a solo shot from Andres Blanco in the eighth, wrapped up the blow-out. All told, the Cubs used every available position player and knocked 14 hits off the Houston pitching staff. As for Wells, he was nothing short of fantastic on the mound, throwing eight shut-out innings, scattering six hits and striking out two for his seventh win of the season. Mitch Atkins made his major league debut by pitching a scoreless ninth. But the story today was the offense which, for the third time since the All-Star Break, hit double-digits in the runs scored category, a feat they accomplished only twice before the break. And since the break, the Cubs are now 10-3 and they're 5-1 on this homestand which wraps up tomorrow. The team, now back in a temporary first place tie with the Cardinals who play later tonight, hits the road after tomorrow's matinee finale.
Rich Miller, who runs Illinois must-read politics blog CapitalFax is having a little fun with the much touted release of former governor Rod Blagojevich's new book, The Governor. In a post on his site yesterday, he explains that he "created a tag called 'Moron'. Clicking the Moron tag shows that Rod Blagojevich's new book is already the second most prevalent product with that tag at Amazon's entire site. It does have a way to go to overtake the first place contestant, however, but Blagojevich is, in my opinion, far more deserving." And he's encouraging his readers to click the tag if they agree with the sentiment. That's a great one, Rich, but there's still a ways to go if you want to hang with 4chan.
Local radio station Radio Arte WRTE 90.5 FM - "a Latino-owned, bilingual, youth-driven public radio station" - is reporting this morning that a youth mural supporting immigration on their Pilsen building, shared with youth arts outreach group Yollocalli, was defaced overnight. The mural, based on last year's "A Declaration of Immigration" exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art, was defaced with the spray-painted words "LIES" and the phrase "Mexicans Are Racists."
Jack Shaw, a Jersey City political consultant who was arrested last week in connection with the massive New Jersey corruption probe, was found dead yesterday at his home. Authorities reported finding several bottles of pills near his body, but the cause of death has not been determined as Shaw did suffer from an unspecified illness. According to the New York Times, Shaw got his start as, "a longtime Democratic operative who cut his teeth working for Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago."
The Sun-Times resident City Gossip Queen is reporting this morning that Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis is enacting a new policy this weekend that allows police to shoot at the drivers and passengers of cars as they flee police. A police source told Sneed, "Officers were allowed to use deadly force to prevent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another person, but it didn't allow them to use force to apprehend a fleeing forcible felon. If confronted by an oncoming vehicle, officers were simply told to get out of the way, unless they were put in great danger."
As the city looks hard to close a budget hole of more than $300 million, Mayor Daley is announcing plans to furlough more than 2,000 non-union employees in the park district, the public schools, the city colleges, the Chicago Housing Authority, the Public Buildings Commission and the CTA. The unpaid days are expected to save the city $18 million. "We must continue to demand more from every employee and do more with less," Daley said at a press conference Tuesday. The bulk of the cuts will happen at the management level, affecting those earning around $90,000 a year or more. "Those savings demonstrate that we, starting at the top levels of governments in Chicago, understand the need to be part of the solution during these very, very difficult times," he said. Last month city hall laid off more than 400 city workers, after they refused to take overtime reductions and 15 unpiad furlough days.
In another outbreak of violence, at least 15 people were injured in a spate of shootings overnight. The most violent of those happened in East Garfield Park where seven were injured in one shooting. According to a Chicago Breaking News report:
It seems like the controversy over Wal-Mart's attempts to open a second store in Chicago won't go away. And it seems like the massive retailer is helping to fan the flames of contention. From the Chicagoist tipline: "I just got what I think was a 'push-poll' about building a Wal-Mart at 83rd & Stewart. Basically, it only asked one question (a true sign of a political push-poll) and was heavily weighted in language towards Wal-Mart and Mayor Daley. It was something similar to the following: 'Mayor Daley says that a Wal-Mart at 83rd & Stewart would bring 400+ jobs to the city and make fresh food available to the neighborhood; others believe jobs are not enough. Press 1 if you believe a Wal-Mart should be allowed to be built or Press 2 if you believe it should not." A quick check of the phone number the calls are originating from - and a check of that tipline inbox - indicated that quite a few Chicagoans got the same call, as well.
Mark Buerhle's bid at back-to-back perfection fell a few innings short on Tuesday night as the White Sox were defeated by the Twins 5-3. Buehrle set that Major League record for the most consecutive batters retired with 45, but, unfortunately for the Sox, his transition back to normalcy was not a graceful one, as the Twins tagged Buehrle for five runs by the end of the seventh inning. Chicago, who had scored one earlier on a homer by Jermaine Dye, added two more in a ninth, but could not close the four-run gap. The loss drops the Sox into a second-place tie with the Twins, still two back of the slumping Tigers. The two teams will close out their three-game series tonight at 7:10.
This morning, the Chicago City Council will vote on whether to grant a 25-year land lease to Excelon Corp., ComEd's parent company. The $60 million project, a joint venture of Exelon and San Jose-based SunPower Corp is expected to create 200 jobs directly from the construction of the plant, and the nearly 33,000 solar panels are expected to save over 14,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Excelon will own and operate the plant, and plans to market the Solar Renewable Energy Certificates it generates.
Hopefully this is the last time we have to say this, but once again Hawaii has checked and triplechecked the Obama birth certificate and guess what - it shows that the POTUS is a natural-born citizen. (Whether you like it or not.) From the Swamp: "I ... have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen," Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said in a brief statement.
A railing collapsed at a Calumet Park apartment building last night, injuring four. When responders arrived on the scene, two of the four were unconscious. Calumet Park Fire Chief Tom Battistella said there were possibly up to 10 people on the stairwell when the railing collapsed:
"When we arrived there were about 10 people on the stairwell. It looks like they fell anywhere from 10 to 15 feet," Battistella said. " Four were transported to Metro South in Blue Island and Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn. Seven people refused treatment. I don't know their conditions."The remaining residents of the building were evacuated while the building was inspected. [Chicago Breaking News]
State Rep. Julie Hamos will announce today that she is running for congress in Illinois's 10th District. She'll be running for Mark Kirk's open seat, who is challenging Alexi Giannoulias for U.S. Senate. Democrat Dan Seals, who lost to Kirk twice, has been the subject of speculation, but hasn't made his intentions public yet.
An uptown woman is being sued by the real estate company that owns her apartment for a defamatory tweet the woman put up on her public Twitter account. Amanda Bonnen allegedly tweeted on May 12, "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay." Now Horizon Group Management says that statement has caused harm to their reputation and they're suing for more than $50,000 in damages. [CBS 2]
Fresh out of bankruptcy and still getting used to the new ring Uncle Sam bought for the shotgun wedding to Italian automaker Fiat, Chrysler began production Monday at its norther Illinois Belvedere plant. The plant, which manufactures the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriots and Jeep Compasses is expected to bring 1,700 local autoworkers back on the clock, compared to the 2,700 it employed prior to shutting down on May 1, when Chrysler LLC entered bankruptcy.
Conventional wisdom around Cook County is that Todd Stroger is toast in the next election. But voter sentiment might not be the only thing at play in the primaries. That's because, according to an investigation by the Daily Herald and the Better Government Association, county contractors have not only benefited from contracts that weren't the best price, they've also been making contributions to Todd Stroger's campaign. Of 11 contracts for professional services, only three went to the low-bidder, and all 11 went to politically connected businesses. Two contracts in particular stand out, according to the Herald, because they will be paid substantially more than the original price quoted:
Alfonso Soriano's walk-off grand slam in the 13th inning of Monday's ballgame gave the Cubs a 5-1 victory over the Houston Astros. Soriano, who was in jeopardy of ending a nine-game hitting streak, rocketed a 1-0 changeup from Chris Sampson deep to center field for a dramatic finish to the extra-inning affair. The Cubs' only other run came way back in the fourth, when Derrek Lee hit a leadoff homer to tie the game at one apiece. Credit starter Carlos Zambrano with seven three-hit innings on the hill and the Cubs' bullpen for five scoreless innings of relief. Monday's win went to Jeff Samardzija after two effective frames, his first W of 2009. The Cubs will look to extend their hot streak in game two, tonight at 7:05.
After garnering national attention for his recent perfect game, the White Sox's Mark Buehrle was invited to participate in David Letterman's famous "Top Ten" list on Monday's show. Taped from the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Sox ace was assisted by teammates Josh Fields and Dewayne Wise -- just like during Thursday's gem. For those who missed his appearance on late night TV, check out the video below and the full list after the jump.
Los Angeles-based Wilton Partners may have to default on a $83.2 million loan it took out five years ago to finance the overhaul of seven Illinois tollroad oases. Wilton Partners owes iStar FM Loans LLC nearly $95 million in principal and interest payments, according to a foreclosure suit filed in April. Wilton also owes the state over $1 million in back rent and other payments. The slow economy has left the developer holding the bag on space that it can't lease out in the tollway oases. The kicker? The firm made huge campaign contributions to former governor Rod Blagojevich. Wilton Partners and its owner, Jay Wilton, gave Blagojevich $85,000 to his campaign in 2003 and '04. That included hosting a fundraiser at the Beverly Hills Hilton in 2004. Wilton has also been connected to Tony Rezko. The firm cut rents in half for Subway and Panda Express restaurants that were owned by the convicted businessman.
For a while, former 26th Ward alderman Billy Ocasio wanted Mayor Daley to appoint Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus. Then, he supported his wife for the position. Now? Mayor Daley has appointed neither and instead gone with Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado. After the jump, Maldonado's acceptance speech, via press release. [Trib]
Sheesh, the race for county board president certainly seems crowded, at least among the Democrats. Toni Preckwinkle, Dorothy Brown and Todd Stroger are running for sure, but the list of people that smell blood in the water is long. Danny Davis has formed an exploratory committee, and Larry Suffredin, and Tom Dart. You can add Terrence J. O'Brien, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board president to the list of candidates. "I want to do for Cook County Government, what I have done for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. So, I am officially announcing my candidacy for President of Cook County Board," O'Brien said in a prepared statement issued to the press on Friday.
Come on, feel the Illinoize indeed. Nevermind those 44 arrests in New Jersey last week. It seems that although that would seem to give The Garden State an advantage in corruption over Illinois, the FBI's statistics say otherwise. According to a report in the Sun-Times, Illinois still ranks pretty high in corruption if you're going by the number of FBI agents tracking political corruption cases. Chicago ranks 2nd in terms of U.S. cities, only behind Washington, D.C., putting Illinois near the top. Not only that, but former Springfield bureau chief Weysan Dun is now in charge in Newark so it's pretty easy to see where he cut his chops in preparation for last week's big bust.
When he isn't warning Chinese government officials of the duplicitous ways of the current White House administration, Mark Kirk has been fairly vocal about how we should handle the current economic downturn. Kirk, who is running for the U.S. Senate Seat that is up for grabs next year, has been a critic of how the money in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is being spent. One of those key criticisms is that there is too much "social spending" and not enough focus on infrastructure spending. Few would disagree that capital spending on transit and buildings has a direct impact on putting people to work. And the debate over social spending - such as student loans, extended unemployment benefits and education spending - is as valid as the divide between fiscal conservatives and their counterparts in the progressive camps.
With all the hubbub over Wal-Mart going on in these parts recently, we're not surprises there's more news to add and this time it'll raise even more eyebrows. According to WBEZ, Dr. John Agwunobi, a senior vice-president of the company whose unit includes the company’s health clinics, spoke in Chicago at this weekend's National Council of La Raza and said the company supports a part of President Obama's healthcare proposal that includes coverage for all workers. But Agwunobi also said the company wants healthcare for illegal immigrants. When asked if they support healthcare for illegal immigrants, Agwunobi answered, "We believe strongly that everyone should have access to affordable health insurance. Everyone." [WBEZ]
Surrounded by supporters and wrapped in the mantle of Illinois's favorite son, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias made official his intention to run for the state's open Senate seat next year. "A few years ago, Barack Obama inspired me to run for public office with the simple belief that it was possible for good people to build a state and a nation where everyone, not just the privileged few, had a real chance to succeed," Giannoulias said Sunday. "In this very building, Barack Obama endorsed my candidacy for state treasurer." And while the White House tried to recruit Attorney General Lisa Madigan to run for the seat, Giannoulias struck a tone of camaraderie and partnership in reference to his relationship with the president. "I think the President and I will be just fine. We're excited about this and, again, there's a lot of work. People have very real problems every single day and its important that we do everything we can to turn them around," he said.
The Cubs defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2, on Sunday afternoon, giving them a series sweep and sole possession of first place in the N.L. Central. Starter Rich Harden held the Reds to just one hit (albeit a home run) through six innings of work, while at the plate, Kosuke Fukudome drew a bases-loaded walk and Alfonso Soriano hit an RBI double to give Chicago an early 2-1 lead. The Cubs then extended their advantage to four in the late goings, thanks to run-scoring at-bats by Jake Fox, Koyie Hill and Fukudome once again. The Cubs' offense, one of the least raucous in the league during the first half of the season, is averaging better than 12 hits per game over their last four contests. They'll stay put to host the Houston Astros, with a first pitch at 7:05.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has a thought on the ordinance the Cook County Board passed last week, decriminalizing marijuana: not so fast. Dart expressed some concerns with the new ordinance, saying, "I think any time you're talking about legalization or downgrading there needs to be a very thorough discussion. It needs to be based on facts and analysis. I don't know if that was done." Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has not officially approved the bill but has indicated he doesn't plan to veto it. [WBBM]
Cook County Board President Todd Stroger made good on his promise to veto a second attempt by the county board to rollback the 1.75 percent sales tax by half a percentage point. Back in May the county board voted to cut the sales tax by the same amount, which Stroger also vetoed. Then, county commissioners couldn't muster the 14 votes needed to override the veto, leaving the sales tax hike, enacted amid much controversy and hand wringing last fall, intact. The sales tax increase has been so unpopular, county-wide, that a group of suburbs in the northwest have even voted to secede from the county.
A fire on the west side of Joliet destroyed a four-unit condo and left two couples homeless Saturday morning, according to the Herald.
The Ted Lilly-less Cubs got the best of the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday afternoon, winning 5-3. With Lilly sent to the 15-day D.L. due to shoulder inflammation, substitute starter Kevin Hart gave Chicago six innings of five-hit, one-run baseball. The Cubs’ big bats made that one run inconsequential, as Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley each went deep for the North Siders. Bradley’s homer—a pinch-hit solo job in the eighth—seemed superfluous at the time, but provided the Cubs some breathing room when Jonny Gomes launched a two-run homer off Aaron Heilman in the ninth. Kevin Gregg stepped in to record the final out, and the Cubs extended their winning streak to three games. The Cubs will attempt to sweep the series at 1:20 this afternoon.
Beggars in Hyde Park are getting a run for their money as police encourage "panhandlng victims" to file complaints, according to Chi-Town Daily News. An increase in solicitations in the South Side neighborhood (and home to President Barack Obama and the University of Chicago) has residents worried. Police have upped their patrolling in the area and tell "merchants and customers not to give panhandlers money or food."
The Cubs defeated the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 8-5 on Friday afternoon. Chicago tallied a run in each of the first three innings to offset a three-run home run by Reds’ starter Aaron Harang in the second. The Cubs then reclaimed the lead when Aramis Ramirez homered to start the bottom half of the sixth and made sure it stuck with a four-run eighth that included dingers from Jeff Baker and Derrek Lee. Randy Wells earned the win with six effective innings on the mound, only faltering on Harang’s home run, and the Cubs weathered a rocky ninth by Kevin Gregg in which two came across for Cincinnati. Game two takes place today at 12:05 on the North Side.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were busy in Chicagoland this past week, rounding up people with known gang ties in the city and various suburbs. 19 arrests were made in Chicago, Addison, Bensenville, Blue Island, Carpentersville, and Hanover Park. The majority arrested reportedly are in the U.S. illegally from Mexico, with one person from Guatemala, another from El Salvador. All 19 are facing deportation. ICE also tagged for deportation 6 known gang members already sitting in various county jails, who will be turned over to the federal agency after they serve their time.
Preservation Chicago placed the Richard Nickel House at 1810 W. Cortland on its "Chicago 7" list of architecturally significant buildings slated for demolition. Nickel, a photographer and architecture preservationist, dedicated his life to preserving Louis Sullivan's classic architecture as Sullivan's buildings were being torn down rapidly during the 60's and 70s. Nickel's home often store rescued artifacts from buildings before being sold to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where they remain on display.
Faced with mounting opposition from both Republicans and so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats on the health care debate, President Obama made a swing through the Midwest, including a pit stop in Chicago, yesterday to drum up support for health care reform.
We guess new Blackhawks don't have to wait long for their company health insurance to kick in, because just weeks after signing the richest contract in team history, Marian Hossa will require surgery on his injured shoulder. The one he hurt while still a member of the Detroit Red Wings.
In a surprise move, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has reversed course and now says he won't veto the new measure the Cook County Board passed yesterday, decriminalizing marijuana in unincorporated parts of Cook County. According to Chicago Breaking News:
The Sun-Times is reporting today that the city and the FOP have reached a deal to let veteran officers retire at 55 instead of 60, in an effort to save as much cash as humanly possible. Cops retiring at the new lower-age cutoff would take a "staggered payout" of their comp time, whereas previously, older police retiring at 60 would otherwise be charged co-pays until Medicare kicked in at 65.
What an afternoon at The Cell where White Sox ace Mark Buehrle has just hurled a perfect game as the Sox beat the Rays 5-0. Buehrle struck out six in the game. The play of the game came from Dewayne Wise who not only saved the perfect game, but made an amazing home run robbing catch over the wall in left-center field in the top of the ninth. A Josh Fields grand slam is what put the Sox up for good early on in the second inning. Buehrle threw 116 pitches, 76 for strikes, and got 11 ground outs, 10 fly outs, and the six K's.
Authorities have caught Mark Booher, the last of a trio of prisoners who escaped Indiana State Prison last week. He was caught at a hotel just northwest of Indianapolis this afternoon. [Chicago Breaking News]
Although it seemed that Da Mare wasn’t about to step into the fray of (yet another) Wal-Mart in Chicago a few months ago, he’s come out behind Howard Brookins and his efforts to bring the massive retailer into the South side’s Chatham neighborhood. Claiming that Wal-Mart jobs are aren’t meant to provide long-term stable employment in a community, he took a shot at the United Food and Commercial Workers union, who’s members work at Jewel and Dominick’s stores across the region. “When they hire, you know, a couple of thousand people - you know, these are beginning jobs,” the mayor told WBEZ. “People want to just start some place,” he said, adding that he doesn’t understand why unions get upset when Wal-Mart wants to open in Chicago, but not in the suburbs. Mayor Daley’s staff may be updating his YouTube page, but they don’t seem to be checking the rest of the internet much.
Late last year it looked like the Big Three were circling the drain of automaker history. But while GM is trying to sprint through bankruptcy while bringing new models and cars to market, and Chrysler is hoping the Italians can finally make a high-quality mass-produced car, Ford has been quickly rolling out it's updated line of competitive, updated fuel efficient cars. Among the lineup of cars designed to compete with the auto transplants are the Euro Focus, the Transit Connect, the Fiesta, the Fusion and the Taurus. And unlike the other two American car companies, Ford went through many of the same economic and design challenges several years back. The result? A solvent, nimble company that's well positioned to launch competitive and appealing cars at a time when the auto industry is struggling to get buyers into showrooms, without having to depend on federal bailouts to keep the lights on.
Aside from the usual fender-benders, the Bishop Ford Expressway has had a rough week that's made travel on the highway treacherous. First was yesterday's chemical spill which closed the outbound lanes for a good chunk of yesterday. And today a crash between a car and truck shut down two southbound lanes near where the chemical leak happened yesterday. Six people were injured in the wreck - three children - but reports say none of the injuries were serious.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) filed a lawsuit against the CTA yesterday alleging the transit agency was infringing upon their first amendment rights by refusing to display ads for "mature audience" video games. Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, said in a statement:
It was another hotly contested affair between the Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night, with Chicago prevailing 4-3. Carlos Torres’ first big-league start was a quality one, as he allowed three runs over six pitched innings. The Sox’s offensive efforts were unproductive until Scott Podsednik broke the ice with a solo home run off Tampa starter James Shields in the sixth. Shields, sitting at a season-high 111 pitches, was lifted with one on and two away in the seventh, allowing the Sox to do some damage against the Rays’ bullpen. Consecutive hits by Podsednik, Alexei Ramirez and Jermaine Dye gave Chicago a one-run lead, and Matt Thorton successfully navigated the eighth and ninth to earn the save. The Sox will attempt to claim the four-game series when they take the field at 1:05 this afternoon.
Fox 32's "Good Day, Chicago" co-host Mike Barz is out at the station following allegations of misconduct at an off-site party a few weeks ago, according to reports. The Sun-Times reports it's the second misconduct allegation against Barz, the other coming two years ago. [Sun-Times, Tribune]
Remember Jim Parque? While not exactly a household name, we Sox fans do remember the pitcher who won 13 games for the 2000 team that won the AL Central crown, before his career derailed due to injury. After his 13-6 campaign, he pitched just 13 more games for the Sox over the next two season and just five more with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before his career ended for good in 2003.
Former University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein was tapped back in January of this year by past U of C colleague President Obama to join the growing rank of czars and head up the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, but now the Senate confirmation process has been put on hold by Republican Senator John Cornyn.
The citizens of Gary, Indiana aren't happy today, but at least their garbage is getting picked up again. By a vote of 5-4, the Gary City Council voted to approve a contract that would continue to allow a private company to pick up the city's garbage at the cost of $12 per month fee for the citizens. Gary Mayor Rudy Clay reasoned that privatizing garbage collection was cheaper for the city - the decision eliminated almost 50 city jobs. [WBEZ]
President Obama will be in town this weekend for a fundraiser at the home of friend Penny Prtizker, but as Crain's Shia Kapos reports, not all the neighbors are thrilled, especially with the limited access and blocked off streets and alleys in the area of Pritzker's Orchard Ave. home.
Neighbors won't talk openly about the inconvenience, but off the record say they’re peeved.“It’s annoying,” huffed one resident who, not surprisingly, isn’t invited to the big-money affair.
Yesterday, WBEZ covered a Secret Service exercise in connection with the visit that caught many off-guard when several helicopters landed on a baseball field in Lincoln Park, sending a huge cloud of dust up.
Well, that didn't take long. It seems the newly acquired Blackhawk Marian Hossa has a shoulder injury he sustained in this year's playoffs that he's rehabbing. Hossa, who signed a 12-year, $62.8 million deal three weeks ago, had informed the 'Hawks of the injury before the signing according to reports. According to the Tribune, "The extent of the injury and whether Hossa will have to undergo surgery to repair it are not yet known."
Walmart will be hosting a “Fresh Farmer’s Market” Saturday at the site of their proposed store in Chatham, at 83rd and Stewart. Press releases were sent to local news outlets, and the Tribune’s story on the market remained on their site’s front page all day yesterday. Could it be true? Could Walmart actually be getting involved with the community and promoting products grown here, rather than in China or Mexico? Or is this just another shot in the ongoing battle between Walmart and the City Council? (Ed. Note: A Sun-Times op-ed today weighs in favor of a Walmart in Chatham. — CS)
Besides the controversial marijuana decriminalization, the Cook County Board also tackled another tax rollback but unlike last time they might succeed in getting it past President Storger thanks to a veto-proof majority. The measure rolls back the tax by half a percentage point, from 10.25 percent to 9.75 percent. The measure passed by a vote of 12-2 with one present vote and Commissioners Peraica and Claypool absent, but both of those commissioners have said they will vote to override Stroger's expected veto at the Board's September meeting. UPDATE: Per Peraica's twitter, the vote was 13-3 with 1 absent. The Sun-Times has more information including a full break down of the vote.
It's been almost a year since the epic bench-clearing brawl between the Peoria Chiefs (the Cubs A-level affiliate) and the Dayton Dragons and yesterday the trial of Chief pitcher Julio Castillo who injured a person when he threw a ball into the stands during the brawl; Castillo's defense was that he was aiming at the Dayton dugout. Seriously, though, Castillo is charged with felonious assault with a deadly weapon and felonious assault causing serious physical harm stemming from the incident. Fan Chris McCarthy suffered a concussion as a result of the injury. The Tribune has more, including excerpts from the opening statements. Blair Witch-esque video of the brawl is below. Thanks to commenter tc3 who points us to this video which very clearly shows Castillo's throw triggering the entire brawl.
The Cubs did their best to prevent Philly's tenth straight win Tuesday evening, but eventually fell victim 4-1 in 13 innings. The Phillies posted one in the third on a Jimmy Rollins solo shot, and the Cubs answered in the top of the fourth when Kosuke Fukudome's extra-bagger plated Ryan Theriot. That was all the damage either starter would allow as both Rich Harden and Joe Blanton turned in seven stellar frames. The Cubs' bullpen held steady through the next five innings of relief, but the offense couldn't mount a charge, recording only two hits in the final nine innings. The Phillies' offense did not fare much better, but with two away in the 13th, Jeff Samardzija issued two walks and then a walk-off home run to Jayson Werth. The loss puts Chicago in a three-way tie for second with the Brewers and Astros, two back of St. Louis. Chicago will trot out Carlos Zambrano for today's nooner, hoping to avoid the series sweep.
In a move that's caught almost everyone by surprise, the Cook County Board yesterday voted to decriminalize marijuana in very small amounts in unincorporated parts of Cook County. Under the legislation passed, sheriffs can arrest someone possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana on misdemeanor charges or simply issue a $200 ticket. The measure was introduced by Commissioner Earlean Collins who admitted personal motivations: her grandson was arrested for having a small amount of marijuana. Collins, though, made a salient point: arresting marijuana offenders is crowding jails. According to the Sun-Times, she said:
Is it only a matter of time before American pro athletes begin to look like NASCAR drivers, enveloped in countless sponsor logos? As the crap economy takes a bite out of team revenues, more and more are looking into alternate revenue streams. For the Chicago Bears, that means a new deal that will add sponsorship patches to the players' practice jerseys for Training Camp and the regular season.
It appears as if Cook County will sue the owners of Burr Oak cemetery in an effort to overtime costs in connection with the ongoing investigation at the graveyard. The county is seeking $326,000. The Sun-Times has more.
A day after the leading Republican candidate, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, officially announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, the leading Democratic candidate is preparing to follow suit. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias will formally announce his bid on Sunday. The move is hardly a surprise as Giannoulias had formally formed an exploratory committee to look into running and he became his party's front-runner when Attorney General Lisa Madigan chose not to run for the office. His exploratory committee has already raised $1.8 million for the run. [Trib's Clout Street]
With the Health Care issue the hot topic on Capitol Hill right now, President Obama took to NBC's Today Show to talk about his proposal for Health Care reform and how he's prepared to do what it takes to ensure it gets passed.
The idea of Mayor Daley seeking reelection in 2011 and the effect the 2016 Olympic race will have on it has been a topic of conversation around the Chicagoist office keg water cooler for a few months now. If Chicago wins the Games, would he retire and focus solely on that? Or would he be so drained by losing the Games that he'd choose to step back? Of course, this is a Daley we're talking about here so the Mayoral Monarchy would be threatened. But it's been a topic of conversation that's also picked up a little buzz city-wide and now WBEZ takes a look at Daley's campaign cash to see if there are any clues. Their conclusion? There aren't any, really, especially given his usual election routine - "Keep in mind, the big Daley money rolls in closer to the election." - but it's still an interesting peek into the Mayors coffers and worth a look.
You may or may not have heard them zoom over the city early this morning (we didn't; thank you, Xanax!) but they were up there. "They" being F16 fighter jets. But what were they doing up there? Testing out the city's new flight path restrictions, of course. Per Chicago Breaking News:
Remember the fanfare surrounding ESPNChicago's launch a few months back? Well, there's more ruckus now with as the New York Times reports that in June, ESPNChicago became the number one local sports website according to internet tracker comScore with 590,000 unique visitors in the month over the second-place Tribune who had 455,000 unique visitors to its sports section. All of this has ESPN looking at expanding its city-centric collection of sites to include New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
UPDATE: Our pal, Windy Citizen's Brad Flora, takes umbrage with ESPN's bragging and breaks them down, Dr. Jack style.
It's been nearly six months since fire damaged the historic Holy Name Cathedral and while worshipers have found other locations to hold mass, they'll soon be back in their church. Repairs have been ongoing - at a rate of 10 hours a day for six days a week - and the $6 million repair is almost done, mostly covered by insurance. It appears the church will reopen officially on Saturday, August 1. CBS 2 has more on the repair efforts and the expected reopening.
The White Sox won in dramatic fashion Monday night, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3. Chicago quickly jumped on top 4-1 behind starter Gavin Floyd, but an inside-the-park homer by Carl Crawford and a garden-variety solo shot by Evan Longoria brought Tampa back into contention. Clinging to a one-run lead in the ninth, Bobby Jenks retired the first two batters he faced before surrendering a hit and two walks to load the bases for Jason Bartlett. With the count full and nowhere to go, Bartlett swung and missed at a ball-four slider, giving Jenks another nail-biting save. The win went to Floyd, who allowed only three hits--all solo homers--over seven strong innings. Paul Konerko picked up the bulk of Chicago's runs with a three-run dinger in the third, and Scott Podsednik reached safely in all four plate appearances. The White Sox, only a game back of first-place Detroit, will look to continue their winning ways tonight at 7:11.
Now that this year's (excellent) Pitchfork Fest is behind us, it's time to turn our attention to that fest's bigger brother, Lollapalooza. A week or so back, when the schedules and map of the festival grounds were released, something caught our eye: gone from the South end was the AT&T stage and in its place is the Chicago 2016 stage. That gave us a big "hmmmmmm" moment, but then we rolled our eyes and moved along. After all, the bid had a large set-up at last year's fest, too. Other media outlets have jumped on the sponsorship, including Jim DeRogatis at the Sun-Times and NBC 5. Of course, Chicago 2016 is not a corporate sponsor of the event so it seems like a "goodwill gesture" on promoter C3's part as Chicago 2016 spokesman Patrick Sandusky told DeRo. Ah! But wait, there's more. Sandusky himself also said:
The second member of a trio of inmates who escaped from Indiana State Prison last week has been caught. Lance Battreal was captured at his parents' house in Rockport, Indiana early this morning thanks to a tip from the general public. No word on if his parents will be charged with harboring a fugitive. Last week, shortly after the trio's escape, Charles Smith was the first of the three to be caught by a security guard working details for Mayor Daley who was at his vacation house near Grand Beach, Michigan. Mark Booher (center picture) still remains at large. [CBN]
Scott Hirschey was sentenced to three years probation today in connection with the January 2008 death of of WBBM-Ch. 2 anchor Randy Salerno. Hirschey was driving the snowmobile Salerno was riding when it crashed, injuring Hirschey and killing Salerno. Hirschey had originally pleaded not guilty to driving the snowmobile under the influence of alcohol before the plea deal; authorities reported Hirschey's BAC was twice the 0.08 legal limit of Wisconsin where the accident took place. [Chicago Breaking News]
Carlos Quentin is back in the lineup for the White Sox. In fact, fans of the Pale Hose should be happy to hear he'll start in left field tonight against Tampa Bay, batting sixth in the lineup. Of course, someone has to be moved out to make room for Quentin, and that someone is Brian Anderson, who's been optioned to AAA Charlotte. Quentin's had a great rehab run in the minors, hitting .375 with four doubles, 1 HR and 10 RBIs in 14 games for the Charlotte and Kannapolis (A-level ball). [ESPN Chicago]
Michael "Mario" Pace, 18, the teen found guilty of shooting and killing teen Blair Holt on board a CTA bus in May 2007, has been sentenced to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery. Kevin Jones, who gave Pace the gun used in the shooting, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role. [Sun-Times]
If there's something of a stench coming from the direction of Gary, Indiana, it's not another factory or plant. Rather, it's the trash, which hasn't been collected in a week. WBEZ has more as does the Tribune. At issue is Gary Mayor Rudy Clay's insistence on hiring a private firm to do the work in spite of protests from residents to the contrary. Hmmm, where have we heard that before?
An infected McDonald's employee who didn't practice proper hygiene has caused a stir in Northwest Illinois. It seems the worker had hepatitis A and may have spread the disease. According to Fox, the worker was at the Milan, IL McDonald's and worked July 6 - 10 and 13 - 14. People who ate at the restaurant during those days are eligible for free treatment courtesy of the Rock Island Dept. of Health at Rock Island High School today and tomorrow. Though officials haven't confirmed if they're related, 20 cases of hepatitis A were recently confirmed throughout Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, Warren and Woodford counties. [FOX 32]
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk ended all the speculation today and formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois that's up for grabs next year. He's wasting no time, either, with his campaign website now live and featuring a campaign video of sorts that takes Blago and Burris to task. Speaking to WLS this morning, Kirk said, "I think this is the chance to put forward a strong candidacy, to renew the two-party system in Illinois, but maybe most importantly restore ethics and integrity to Illinois government. We're just a laughingstock in Washington." Kirk is not expected to have any stiff competition from within his own party in the primary.
Governor Quinn paid a visit to Illinois troops overseas in Iraq and is still over there on a tour of goodwill, showing support for the soldiers far from home. Quinn spoke with CBS 2 and told them, "This is an arduous, difficult, hard assignment, and they've carried it out with great distinction...(We have) 3,200 men and women from our Illinois National Guard are over in Afghanistan. It's the largest deployment since World War II. But here in Iraq, we have hundreds of Guard members." Quinn took the surprise trip with a group of other state governors, departing Friday; the plans for the rest of his trip and his return have not been released.
It's well-known around town that the CTA needs money something fierce and is looking everywhere to find some money. It won't come from a second fare hike this year, as last week the CTA said they wouldn't be doing that. $1.4 billion is due from the federal government later this year but the CTA itself says it needs $7 billion to get itself fully up to speed (which we're sure all that Olympic cash would totally fix, right?). CTA President Richard Rodriguez has even said he's going to put an end to the free company cars that nearly 70 CTA employees take advantage of, including himself, as a means to cut spending. But where does all this money go? How much does it cost to run the CTA? The Sun-Times offers up this pretty nifty interactive graphic which shows you how costs break down for the agency. [h/t Windy Citizen]
The Cubs completed a four-game sweep of the Washington Nationals with an 11-3 win on Sunday afternoon. Chicago did the bulk of its damage in the fourth, as Alfonso Soriano jump started a seven-run inning with a one-on, one-out homer to left field. Jake Fox also went deep for the Cubs, hitting a gratuitous three-run blast in the sixth to give him four runs batted in on the day. Newly anointed starter Kevin Hart added to the offensive frenzy with his first big-league RBI and supplemented his work at the plate with five innings of two-run baseball on the mound. After an ideal beginning to the second half, the Cubs will draw a much tougher test when they square off against the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies tonight at 6:05.
A pair of shootings within an hour in the Austin neighborhood last night left seven people, including a 9-year-old girl, injured. The first shooting occurred at 7:45 p.m., a drive-by shooting near West Monroe Street and South Lotus Avenue that injured five men between the ages of 17 and 29. One was reported in serious-to-critical, one in good condition and the other three ranged from fair-to-serious condition to good condition. About half an hour later, another drive-by shooting happened in the 1000 block of North Leclaire Ave., injuring the 9-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy. Both were in fair-to-serious condition. Police have not said whether or not they suspect the shootings were related. Two more shootings happened last night in the neighborhood as well, bringing the evening's total to nine injured in about a 3.5 hour period. [Chicago Breaking News]
The first case of West Nile Virus has been reported in Kendall County. A batch of mosquitoes collected on July 13 have tested positive for the virus.
We know Oscar Mayer’s first and last name, but do we know his insurance policy number?
It's true, there's a lawsuit that's been filed in Kendall County against the former President of the Philippines and his wife. It's a strange, complicated story and the plaintiffs are seeking $1,964,005,859 in total damages. We'll let WBBM explain the rest to you.
An Irish student died Saturday evening, days after suffering injuries from jumping off the North Avenue pier, according to Chicago Breaking News. While walking on the pier with his girlfriend and friends, Keith O’Reilly, 22, dove off the pier and into the shallow water below early Thursday morning. O’Reilly struck his head on the rocks at the lake bottom. According to Chicago Breaking News, there are “unconfirmed reports” that O’Reilly had been drinking. [Chicago Breaking News]
The White Sox held on for a game-two victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, winning by the score of 4-3. Effective starting pitching from Mark Buehrle and a four-run offensive outburst in the fifth put Chicago on top 4-1 headed into the late innings. That outburst began with a two-run dinger from Jermaine Dye, and after six consecutive Sox’s hits, ended on back-to-back plays at the plate. Chicago’s three-run advantage was safe until the top of the ninth, when closer Bobby Jenks allowed two runs before getting Nick Markakis to ground out, ending the game and preserving the save. It was the tenth win of the season for Mark Buehrle, who appeared to be back in top form after a rocky previous start. The Sox will go for the series sweep when they take the field at 1:05 this afternoon.
The state was warned in 2001 of “irregularities in the cemetery maintenance trust fund” of a Calumet Park cemetery owned by the same firm that owns Burr Oak, according to a former employee.
Authorities arrested a recently paroled ex-con with connections to the three inmates who escaped from a Michigan City, Ind. prison, according to the Tribune.
Children’s Memorial Hospital will be making the case next week in public meetings for their controversial heliport proposed for their new $1 billion facility in Streeterville. Hospital officials are insisting every precaution has been taken to guarantee safe operation, and Children’s CEO Patrick Magoon declared it, “one of the most sophisticated and safest pediatric heliports in the country.”
Service on the Blue Line has been suspended until Monday between the Western/Milwaukee station and downtown’s Washington stop. Shuttles are running to move passengers until Monday at 4 a.m. when the route will open again.
The Sox flexed their offensive muscle in a 12-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Jim Thome was the hero for Chicago, hitting a three-run homer in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie and then adding a grand slam in the sixth to put the Sox comfortably ahead. Thome’s career-high seven RBI helped earn John Danks the win, who exited after allowing three runs, seven hits and three walks in five frames. Among the Sox’s other offensive contributors were Scott Podsednik, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two walks, and Paul Konerko, who gave the South Siders their first run of the game with a solo shot in the second inning. The Sox again play host to the Orioles at 3:05 this afternoon.
Former 26th Ward alderman Billy Ocasio, who left the City Council earlier this year to work for Gov. Quinn, has changed course and now wants his wife to succeed him. After Ocasio resigned, Hector Villagrana was appointed as a temporary replacement and Ocasio himself suggested Rev. Wilfredo De Jesús of the New Life Covenant Church as his permanent replacement. However, in the wake of the endorsement, members of the gay community expressed concern over De Jesús. According to the Trib, Ocasio said that at issue was De Jesús's residence: "The reverend owns property and has a house he built in the ward but he doesn't actually live there, so he can't be appointed." Ocasio's wife, Veronica, currently works for U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez. The Trib's Clout Street has more on the story.
We've all heard about the Clout List in the admissions office at University of Illinois. But it's never been clear where the students came from. The Trib's database project, the first that we've seen from Olde Chicago Journalism lately, lets you check out your metro-area high school's clout statistics - while encouraging tutt-tutting and tsk-tsking from, well, everyone else.
As Mayor Daley announced layoffs after playing hardball with a pair of unions, the Sun-Times takes on a batch of 911 workers who have each earned over $10,000 of overtime pay this year. The city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, however, insists these workers are putting in extra hours thanks to more calls and several position vacancies, making the overtime necessary. Spokeswoman Jennifer Martinez said, "Every ring could mean the difference between life and death."
An explosion at a commercial vegetable oil plant in Humboldt Park has seriously injured two, according to published reports. The building is in the 800 block of N. Albany, an address that the Trib reports belongs to Columbus Foods Co. The chemical explosion resulted in five ambulances and a hazardous materials unit responding to the call.
For over a century, hearty sailors have made the 333-mile trek across Lake Michigan from Chicago to Mackinac Island, in the world’s longest annual freshwater distance race. This Saturday, for the 101st time an armada of 350 sailboats will embark on the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. For those who want to learn more about the Mac, The Trib answers a number of common questions about who races, how long it takes and which are the boats to watch.
If you haven't gotten your fill of Rod Blagojevich over the last nine months, than you're crazy. Also, you'll have the chance to listen to The Hair blabber on and on courtesy of WLS-AM 890, who have signed the former governor to host a talk show the next two Sundays. Airing from noon until 2 p.m. this Sunday and next Sunday, we assume Blagojevich will talk mostly about himself and how he's innocent and how he was railroaded. In other Blago news, it looks like his campaign office on the North Side has officially been shuttered, according to WBEZ, and the space will soon be up for rent. Well, once the landlord makes sure all the FBI's bugs are gone. 
AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
The Cubs started the second half of the season on a high note with a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals Thursday evening. Rich Harden was dominant on the mound, permitting only one unearned run while holding the Nats to three hits over six innings. At the dish, Derrek Lee had a big night, going 3-for-4 with two extra-base hits, including a solo home run in the sixth. Ryan Theriot added a pair of RBI for the Cubs, driving home Chicago's first run of the contest and then capping off the three-run ninth with a sacrifice fly. The bullpen also played a key role in the victory, as Angel Guzman and Carlos Marmol kept the Nat's bats quiet until the Cubs' offense poured it on in the ninth. From a personnel perspective, the front office addressed the lack of lefty relievers by signing former Blue Jay closer B.J. Ryan to a Minor League deal, with the hope he will contribute later in the season. The Cubs and Nationals play game two tonight at 6:05.
Not one to miss an opportunity to pander to publicity, Mayor Daley had some choice words for the media at the naming ceremony for the newly-minted Willis Tower. Asked if he would be calling the iconic skyscraper 'Big Willie', Daley told the press "'Big Willie', Willis Tower, yeah. You know why? Because they stepped up to the plate." The mayor used the comments as a chance to trumpet his glorius transformations in how Chicago works. "There has to be change in government and business," the mayor said. "And you have to realize that change is good."
Ah, it's that time of year again! Time for us to strap on our backpacks, get our over-sized sunglasses, slap on a fannypack, and head to Union Park for this year's Pitchfork Music Festival to mingle and and rock and sway with fellow music lovers, hippies, hipsters, and even a few regular folks. But this year, there's a twist. No, it's not tonight's Write The Night set-up. It's...the weather. That's right, for the first time perhaps, well, ever in its history, Pitchfork Fest won't live up to it's "Sweatfork" nickname. For tonight's opening set, you may even need...wait for it...a jacket. While we have sunny skies now, overcast skies and a few possible sprinkles are in order for later today as well as highs that will just crack 70. Brisk northwest winds of up to 20-25 mph will only make things cooler, especially tonight as lows drop to the mid 50s. We are not kidding. And tomorrow? More overcast and more showers with a high in the lower 70s. Maybe those hipster scarves will actually come in handy.
The Saga of the Teen Cop Impersonator has finally come to a conclusion. We think. The 15-year-old teen that impersonated a police officer earlier this year has been sentenced to three years probation. The teen, who was 14 when he was arrested for the impersonation, appeared in juvenile court today where Juvenile Court Judge Andrew Berman handed down the sentence and offered this stern warning: "One of the things that you have done, and have been very candid about, is you like to manipulate other people and situations. That's going to stop right now. You are not going to manipulate me. If you mess up with this probation ... to say nothing of if you get arrested, that's it. Next stop is the Department of Corrections."
The new United We Work site - which just went public this week - seems to be catching on. Free for job seekers and employers alike through the end of the year, the site is expected to have 500,000 job openings posted by the end of this week. The incentive for employers to use the site, is a reduction in the cost of hiring because the responsibility for finding qualified candidates is shared across participating employers. “We believe that if we can break those [cost barriers] down, it may stimulate an employer to hire now instead of waiting six months,” Jason Kerr, founder of QuietAgent told the Tribune.
Former Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Al Sanchez, who was convicted earlier this year on federal corruption charges, is asking for a new trial in light of new developments in the case. Sanchez, who was convicted in March of rigging hiring through his position as a city commissioner and his role in the Hispanic Democratic Organization, has asked the judge for a new trial, citing prosecutors failure to disclose that a key government witness was a high-ranking gang member and drug-trafficker. According to Sanchez's lawyer Thomas Breen, Brian Gabriel, who testified against Sanchez in the corruption trial, was a member of the Spanish Vice Lords. "It is hard to imagine information that is more impeaching of a witness than self-admitted gang membership, even if such membership is in the past," Breen said. "The evidence of gang membership was also no doubt suppressed by the government. The prosecution learned of Gabriel's gang affiliation prior to trial and prior to Gabriel's testimony yet did not disclose it to the defense."
As the deadline passed for two holdout unions to agree to concessions with the City of Chicago, the Mayor announced over 400 layoffs of city workers Wednesday. "I don't want to lay anyone off. It could have been avoided," Daley said Wednesday. "I feel for the members and of course their families." Referring to the truck drivers, library and public health and safety employees that were laid off, he said that Teamsters Local 726 and AFSCME Council 31 "have failed to reach an agreement with the city to take unpaid furlough days for the rest of the year to help us address our budget deficit and of course save our taxpayers money."
American Landmark Properties of Skokie is finally taking steps to recognize an iconic, if lesser-known Chicago personality. That's because today American Landmark Properties has made official the name change of the Sears Tower to the Willis Tower. And Chicagoist couldn't agree more - nearly six years since the death of Chicago busker, musician and artist Wesley Wiliis, he's finally getting his due in the form of a landmark office tower bearing his name.
When we previewed the season back in April, we didn't foresee the White Sox running away with the division crown. We also didn't see them bringing up the rear either -- even if Nate Silver did. In fact, through the first half of the season, the Sox have pretty much defined average by MLB's standards. With a 45-43 record, the Sox hover just above the .500 mark on account of a hot streak that saw them win 10 of their last 15 heading into the All-Star Break. Two games above .500 puts them in second place in the weak AL Central, 3 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers --so they're still alive for the postseason. But with a couple weeks before the non-waivers trading deadline, it's still too early to know whether the Sox will be buyers or sellers come July 31.
The Chicago Fire dispatched the New England Revolution 2-1 last night in Foxboro, earning themselves a trip to the 2009 SuperLiga final. Cuauhtemoc Blanco led the way for Chicago with an assist to Brian McBride in the 34th minute to give the Fire a 1-0 lead. Then Blanco netted an unassisted goal in the 63rd minute to break a 1-1 tie and put the Fire ahead for good. Keeper Jon Busch played outstanding for the Fire, stopping 8 of 9 shots on goal fired by New England. The Revolution - the defending SuperLiga champs - were also a bit short-handed as suspensions, injuries, and other duties kept seven players off their roster for this match. Still, there's nothing to take away from the Fire, who earned the right to host the August 5th SuperLiga final against Tigres UANL. Fire coach Coach Dennis Hamlett said after the game, "You need big plays to win and our big players stepped up and made great plays."
After a lot of hootin' and hollerin', it's finally done: we have a state budget. And one without an income tax hike. But with the state facing somewhere in the neighborhood of a $9 billion budget gap, how will the state actually manage to make ends meet? In a word: borrowing. The $26 billion spending plan depends on borrowing $3.5 billion to pay state worker pensions and around $3.2 billion in bills is pushed off to next year's budget, but the move means that most of the state services that were on the brink of getting cut will now remain. For now, anyway, as Gov. Quinn has the option to cut any additional money as he sees fit. Still, Quinn said the budget still puts the state between $4 billion and $5 billion down.
While Laborers Union Local 1001 was one of the city unions that agreed to concessions as part of Mayor Daley's master plan to save the budget, the city did give one concession to Streets and Sanitation workers, without even being asked by the union. With Newly appointed Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Tom Byrne has implemented a disciplinary amnesty. In a department where nearly one third of the workforce is absent. Every day.
Fox 32 is reporting that House Minority Leader Tom Cross has said a tentative agreement has been reached on the state budget, which has been in limbo for weeks after the last legislative session ended without a new budget in place. There's no income tax increase in the budget, though State Senate President John Cullerton said that an increase of some kind was inevitable in the future. Gov. Quinn backed off his push for an income tax hike last week in a bid to increase the chances of a speedy resolution.
While it's been in effect for three years, but the state of Illinois is just now getting around to enforcing a law that requires tattoo parlors (as well as piercing places) to pass an annual inspection by the state Department of Public Health. Parlors will have to register with the state and meet a set of regulations to earn a passing grade. So far, 212 parlors have registered. [Tribune, NBC 5]
The state is due to explore it's once-every-10-years redistricting plan in 2011 once the census is delivered. Exactly how does the state go about redrawing those boundaries? It's a pretty crazy process, which doesn't surprise us at all. According to WBEZ:
Well, this perks us up on a Humpday. In spite of threats to the contrary throughout the first half of the year, the CTA announced today there will be no service cuts or fare hikes through the end of the year to help the agency close its budget gap. Good news for riders, indeed. Of course, there's still the issue of how exactly do they close that gap, the $190 million in funding cuts the CTA has undergone already this year, and what exactly will happen next year. But it is a bit of small relief to, for once, not have the Budget Doomsday card played. Um, right? [WBBM]
An alderman who says one thing in private and something else in public? Considered us floored. Ald. Tom Tunney is the latest political figure to come under a bit of scrutiny over perception versus reality. To hear him talk about his proposal of shutting down vendors within a certain radius of Wrigley Field, it's all about safety. Last month, Tunney told the Trib, "It's a public safety issue. You can't walk to the park." Behind closed doors is another matter though.
Lynn Sweet reports that U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's office is saying he's running for a state-wide office...but tsk tsk, they won't tell us which state office until his formal announcement on Monday. Of course, we can look past this little tease and know almost for certain that it's going to be for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Roland Burris. With state GOP head Andy McKenna yielding the right of way to Kirk on this office, it seems a pretty sure thing we'll be reading about "Kirk For Senate" come Monday afternoon.
The day many have dreaded - and even more have dismissed - will finally arrive tomorrow. The Sears Tower will cease to be and instead, in a ceremony, the building - the tallest in the U.S. of A. - will become The Willis Tower officially. Last week, while Prescott and I were teetering over The Ledge, reader Melody - who works in the Tower - sent us an email saying:
Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has issued a statement in regards to the impending city job cuts coming from the Daley administration as a result of that union's refusal to make concessions with City Hall.
An Army reservist has found a unique way to get out of going into battle. U.S. Army Major Stefan Frederick Cook is balking at being deployed to Afghanistan, saying that the Commander-in-Chief has no right sending him there because Barack Obama can't legally be the President.
It was a mercifully quick-paced Major League Baseball All-Star Game last night, lasting barely 2 and a half hours, which made it shorter than the previous night's Home Run Derby. In the end, the American League came away with another victory, winning 4-3 and keeping the NL winless streak intact (the NL last won 6-0 in 1996). That's what happens when you allow the DH, folks. It's not real baseball. Anyway. It was the second straight year the final score was 4-3 and the fourth straight year the AL won by a single run. And what of our local boys? North Sider Ted Lilly didn't see any action, but South Sider Mark Buehrle pitched a quick, easy 1-2-3 third inning for the junior circuit.
In a possible compromise over the level of transparency of Chicago's 2016 Summer Olympics bid, an independent auditor will review the city's bid, analyzing the numbers behind the bid. L.E.K. Consulting, a London-based strategic consulting firm, will be doing the counting. The organization has experience in sports and marketing, including a 2007 analysis of the Rugby Football Union. The firm was criticized for its excessive fee structure and its uncollaborative approach. The report called for radical reforms in the sport.
Midnight has struck for a pair of unions that have been holding out on making a deal with the City on concessions to save job cuts. Now what? Well, we're not really sure. Mayor Daley will hold a press conference this morning at 10:30 a.m. to discuss what's next, though yesterday he did threaten that 431 jobs from the two unions - 141 from Local 726 of the Teamsters union and 290 from Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - would be cut if the concessions weren't made. But the unions are prepared for the cuts, as Tom Clair, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 726, told the Trib, "I know it's going to happen. I was told by a city official last night that layoff notices would be handed out this morning when workers show up to their shifts. I don't know who, and haven't been notified yet, but I expect the layoffs to be this morning."
It looks like Drew Peterson won't be going on trial next month after all. Due to stand trial for the murder of Kathleen Savio, his third wife, on August 24, Peterson's lawyers informed presiding Judge Stephen White that Peterson has waived his right to a speedy trial. The move to indefinitely delay the start of the trial is so the defense can review over 40,000 pages of evidence. The next big day in court for Peterson is August 14 when his lawyers will try to have the case moved out of Will County and when they will challenge the constitutionality of the recently passed controversial hearsay law, which plays a big role in the prosecution's case against Peterson. [Chicago Breaking News]
As if the Burr Oak Cemetery case wasn't under enough scrutiny, the heat on the investigation is sure to amp up with the revelation that Fraser Robinson III, the father of First Lady Michelle Obama, is buried at the historic African-American cemetery. Michelle's spokeswoman, Camille Johnston, confirmed that Robinson was buried at the Alsip cemetery but refused to comment any further on the matter and there's no word if his grave or headstone was among the hundreds of burial sites that had been disturbed. [Chicago Breaking News]
UPDATE: Nevermind, reports Lynn Sweet. Apparently there was "confusion" at the White House as Robinson is actually buried in a cemetery located near Burr Oak, but it's not Burr Oak.
The unions aren't the only folks facing a deadline; Chicagoans in need of a city sticker have through midnight tomorrow to get in on the act and grab their new city sticker to avoid late fees ($40) and tickets ($120). Our pal The Parking Ticket Geek has a suggestion or two for those of you who have waited til the final few hours. Of course, this year's sticker not only features the design (seen above) by Denise Ferguson, recent graduate of Corliss High School, but it also combines the need for a vehicle sticker and a residential sticker in one, easy-to-display multi-purpose sticker.
The Sun-Times is reporting that the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has revived an old law requiring teenage girls to notify their parents before having an abortion.
The lower court found that a provision of the law giving teens the option of getting court approval instead of parental consent was not workable. But the appellate court disagreed.Before now, ongoing legal battles have meant the law has never really been enforced.The legislation was passed in 1984, then updated in 1995. It says minors can’t get abortions without telling their parents or getting a court’s OK to bypass the requirement.
Why the city is technically not breaking any rules or laws by excluding them, their failure to list some of what was found in the waters of Lake Michigan seems disingenuous. The annual report was recently sent to residents across the cities and while the City did follow the rules, the Tribune took a look at the full report and came across a few discoveries:
Chicago-based ShoreBank, known for making credit available in underserved communities, has been hit with a cease and desist order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the federal agency charged with insuring deposits and regulating the liquidity of member banks. The order, which requires ShoreBank to to buttress its capital holdings and improve its asset quality and earnings and develop a plan to improve its liquidity, hasn't yet been made public. Nevertheless, it appears that ShoreBank is suffering from the same stagnant economic climate that has hobbled the rest of the banking industry. "We all got hit with a more severe recession than anyone - either here or in Washington or on Wall Street recognized," ShoreBank Chairman and co-founder Ronald Grzywinski told Crain's. While the bank asserts that it is "well-capitalized" by industry standards, it does have a plan in place to raise $30 million in capital. The bank already has a $4 million commitment.
Citing Chicago's "long history of being unable to contain special project costs" and the violation of the "initial promise that 'not a dime' of taxpayer money would be used", Independent Voters of Illinois - Independent Precinct Organizations (IVI-IPO) board members have voted not to support the city's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. In a statement released to the press late yesterday, IVI-IPO urged city council members to vote against authorizing Mayor Daley to sign the host city contract with the IOC on October 1.
If you missed it last night - and we can't really blame you - the Home Run Derby was held and in between the insufferable "BACKBACKBACK" calls of Chris Berman, Milwaukee Brewer Prince Fielder walloped 23 total homers and edged Nelso Cruz in the finals by a 6-5 tally. Fielder also had the longest home run of the night, blasting a shot estimated at 503 feet.
While one of three unions that have been holding out on a labor deal with Mayor Daley has agreed to terms with the Mayor, two others are still not budging as Daley's self-imposed midnight deadline approaches tonight. Laborers Local 1001 recently reached an agreement with the Mayor, leaving just the Teamsters and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) as the lone hold-outs, according to the Tribune's Clout Street. Daley has been threatening to lay off as many as 1,500 workers if the city's unions didn't reach a deal with him that included concessions and unpaid holidays. The city claims deals reached with other unions have saved 800 jobs and that if the two hold-out unions don't come to an agreement, around 700 jobs from those two groups will be cut.
No harm, no foul... right? Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon took some heat recently for not sending the team's restricted free agents their offer sheets by the league-designated deadline. The team eventually signed all eight players to contracts anyway and the players' union withdrew its complaint. But the issues isn't over, as reports suggest that the team is expected to announce that Tallon has been fired on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Stan Bowman, who had been assistant general manager under Tallon.
As expected, Gov. Quinn signed a $31 billion construction plan today. Hopes are that the plan will fund a rebuilding of the state's infrastructure - prompting repairs and creations of things like bike trails and state highways - while also creating thousands of new jobs. Meanwhile, Quinn has also backed off his push for an income tax hike as state lawmakers return to Springfield tomorrow to see if they can finally hash out a new state budget. [AP via CBS 2]
On July 9, an unidentified person called the victim and directed her to a building in the 200 block of South Michigan Avenue, according to a police press release. The victim notified police, who accompanied her to that location and recovered the violin. The case and bows were also recovered.
Crain's Greg Hinz - who's all over the place today - reported today that plans to move the Children's Museum to Grant Park hit a financial obstacle.
After a flurry of "He's Out" and "He's In" releases, scoops, and stories, it seems we're heading for a final "He's In!" for U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk and the upcoming U.S. Senate race. Crain's Greg Hinz is reporting that state GOP chief Andy McKenna, the man most saw as Kirk's primary obstacle in securing the Republican nomination for next year's senate contest, will defer to Kirk's wishes. It's been a bit of a confusing affair, especially with two big names - State Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the seat's current holder, Roland Burris - dropping out of next year's race. Luckily, Hinz breaks it down pretty succinctly.
With the crime scene expanding and new horrific discoveries almost every day in the Burr Oak Cemetery case, the FBI has joined the investigation. Chicago Breaking News reports that an FBI forensics team is now on the scene, helping to map the cemetery grounds and determine what the scope of the actual crime scene is.
WBEZ's Rob Wildeboer brings us an interesting and all-too-familiar story of funding for court services - like drug court, mental health court and youth services court - being stuck in limbo. For three years, the county has allegedly been collecting $5 from court fees, which cost $135, to distribute to these court services. But a legislative hang-up is preventing that money from actually going anywhere, particularly to these court services, such as a mediation service provided by juvenile court Judge Michael Stuttley which allows a victim to meet face-to-face with an offender to settle differences. Stuttley tells Wildeboor, "If we had $80, 85,000, we could run the program and we have mediators who have been trained at no cost, no cost to us whatsoever, it's just the clerical expense of setting everything up that we're looking for." After doing a little math, Wildeboer discovers there should be roughly half a million dollars going to programs like Stuttley's. but the money's not getting there thanks to a legislative oversight. Check out the full story here.
The Tribune Company may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in regards to the Chicago Cubs. But it's not as bad as it seems; rather, it's a move that may help the pending sale of the team go a little smoother. According to Bloomberg:
United We Work, a job matching website fronted by Jason Kerr, founder and CEO of Chicago-based QuietAgent, is publicly available today. United We Work, "a new nationwide service designed to stimulate hiring by connecting job seekers and employers without any recruiting, job posting or advertising fees," puts employers together with job-seekers at no charge. Backed by Starbucks Coffee Co., AT&T Inc., Hyatt Hotels & Resorts and 7-Eleven Inc, as well as Sears Holdings and Allstate, Kerr's goal is to stimulate hiring by cutting out the costs associated with recruitment. According to Kerr, recruitment, job postings and advertising cost U.S. companies about $60 billion. United We Work won't cost employers anything for the rest of this year, but in 2010, firms employing more than 100 people will be charged $35 annually for the service; job seekers will continue to access the site for free.
A trio of prisoners from Indiana State Prison in Michigan City pulled an Andy Dufrene by tunneling their way to freedom this weekend, but one has already been caught - by Mayor Daley's security guard. But first, who are these three men? Chicago Breaking News identifies the three dangerous escapees.
Phillyist nominated the administrators of the suburban pool club that allegedly kicked out a number of urban youth on basis of their race as its assholes of the week.
A soldier was killed Thursday evening after getting food at a restaurant with his cousin, the Sun-Times reports. Simeon Sanders, 21, was shot while crossing the street to avoid men arguing on the sidewalk in the south suburb of Harvey. Sanders was visiting his family during his furlough. Harvey police are currently investigating the incident, according to the Sun-Times. Funeral arrangements are to be determined.
Bear, the Chicago Police K-9 dog who went missing a few months back, has gone missing again. When Bear got loose in May, he had been scared by a thunderstorm. This time around, it may have been caused by Friday night storms or it might just be an old-fashioned break-out. He went missing from his home sometime after midnight early Saturday morning. [Chicago Breaking News]
Police reopened Ohio Street to traffic after an inactive grenade was found in the River North area this morning, according to Chicago Breaking News. A man found the grenade inside a sock on the sidewalk near Clark and Lake and notified police. The device was real but "inert" and "did not pose a threat," the report said.
All-Star Ted Lilly notched his 100th career win as the Cubs defeated the Cardinals 5-2 on Saturday afternoon. Lilly permitted only four hits and one run over eight innings, alleviating the pressure on Chicago’s bats. The Cardinals’ Brad Thompson did not have the same success, plunking Milton Bradley with the bases loaded in the first inning and then surrendering a two-RBI base knock to Jeff Baker as the Cubs jumped in front 3-0. St. Louis would get one back in the fourth, but Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano each picked up a run in the fifth to extend The Cubs’ lead to four. Things got interesting in the ninth as Carlos Marmol struggled with his command and a blown call at first base kept the Cardinals’ hopes alive, but Kevin Gregg stepped in to record the final out and preserve the victory. The Cubs and Cards play two today before heading into the break.
Daley Blames - Who Else? - The Media For Oprah-geddon
Chicago Gets Googled
Friday Flashback - Old School Oprah
Today's Transgender Day of Remembrance Honors the Dead
Review: Paramount Room
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