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Pardon Our Dust

Who said construction season doesn't last year-round? For the rest of today and into tomorrow morning, things might be a little slow on the site as our exemplary tech crew works on a variety of updates, upgrades, and all kinds of technical maintenance items that are beyond the comprehension of us writers. We're hoping to be all finished up by tomorrow but until then, commenting on the site will be disabled and things might be a bit wonky. But we promise it'll be worth it. We'll be back at full strength Monday, fixin' to get a big jump on 2009. Until then, bare with us as we make some tweaks, clean out the cobwebs, and put a fresh polish on things around these parts.

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Martian Guv? Well, That Explains a Lot

Gov. Rod Blagojevich gave a hint into the cause of his brazen and bizarre behavior when he spoke with a reporter yesterday outside his lawyer's office. After a "no duh" moment when Blago said that "if [he would] have known people were listening, [he] probably wouldn't have said some of the things you say in private conversations," he continued on and said that perhaps he might not be of this world:

"Even in this process, without saying too much, that was all about trying to end up with the right decision that could do the most things for the people of Illinois, and when the full truth is told, you will see precisely that," Blagojevich said.

"If somehow that's impeachable, then I'm on the wrong planet and I'm living in the wrong place," he said.

He then peeled back the skin from his face to reveal the lizard-like features underneath. Who had "teleported back to his home galaxy" in the Blago death pool?

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Saturday Morning Diversion: Jordan For Christmas

Sure, we had some good NBA games to watch on Christmas Day - Lakers v Celtics kept us entertained - but we dug into the vault for one of his Royal Airness' finest holiday performances: 42 points in this 1992 Christmas Day game against the rival New York Knicks.

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Cool clip. The NBA always seems to schedule great match-ups on Christmas. I'd love for the NFL to do the same on Thanksgiving.

Posted by PumaConcolor December 27, 2008 12:41 PM

Flights Resuming From City Airports

After an icy day and foggy night that saw hundreds of flights canceled, the transportation mess is slowly beginning to untangle itself this morning. Both O'Hare and Midway have seen some cancellations this morning, mainly stemming from "out of position" aircraft due to yesterday's extensive cancellations. Still, both airports were reporting few delays. Be sure to call ahead to your airline to check the status of your flight before heading out this morning. Not that you'd do much better driving today with all the flooding.

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Around Town: 'Tis the Season

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Extra, Extra - A.M. Edition

Catching up on news from over the holiday...

• Dueling Blagos - Gov. Blagojevich has to figure out how to be in two places at once on January 14 when he's constitutionally bound to be in Springfield to oversee the swearing in of new members to the state senate and is also required to be in federal court in downtown Chicago for a preliminary hearing focusing on probable cause in the current federal case against him.

• Police continue to search for the mother of an infant who was abandoned in the vestibule of an Uptown apartment building earlier this week.

• Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - Area drivers and riders of mass transit weren't the only ones dealing with treacherous conditions. After a plane skidded off a taxiway at O'Hare on Wednesday, a plane got stuck in a snowbank on a taxiway at Midway yesterday.

• It's been a rough week for CTA workers. A CTA bus driver is recovering from a bullet graze wound suffered on Christmas Day. The incident happened at 66th & Western when two men outside the bus got into an argument and one fired a gun which went through the bus and grazed the driver on the knee. And then last night a Blue Line train conductor was injured last night when the worker left the train near Morgan Street to check a mechanical problem and fell on the southbound tracks. The tracks were shut off for around half-an-hour and the worker was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

• An interesting yet completely unsurprising report from the Tribune identifies Chicago as "America's most segregated big city." According to the study, "To truly integrate Chicago, 84 percent of the black or white population would need to change neighborhoods, the data show."

• State Rep. Will Burns (D-26th) is prepared to introduce legislation that would allow Governor Rod Blagojevich to appoint President-Elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate replacement, but would call for two public hearings and require both the State House and Senate to approve the selection. Burns also says the legislation would apply to this specific instance only.

• We can't stress this enough: beware of carbon monoxide. Three people, including two children, on the city's northwest side were hospitalized yesterday morning as a result of a carbon monoxide leak in their building. Meanwhile, a Park City man died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning after he seemingly passed out in his car while it was running. Suicide was not suspected and it's speculated the man may have been drinking before he passed out.

• Congrats to Naperville Central grad Candace Parker who was selected the Associated Press's 2008 Female Athlete of the Year thanks to a year that saw her win a national championship at Tennessee, drafted first in the WNBA, earn WNBA Rookie of the Year and MVP honors, and help the U.S. Women's team capture Olympic Gold. Damn.

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Checking the Roads

With so much flooding hitting our area again - and reports of flooding already coming in, including the Bishop Ford and Dan Ryan - be sure to check up on road conditions if you have to travel. Traffic.com is a good start. Be safe out there.

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Retail Sales Continue to Underwhelm

Early indications are that the economy will continue to put a crimp in retail sales including the coveted after-Christmas sales.

Though many retailers opened before dawn and advertised bargains aggressively, malls appeared relatively quiet Friday. The number of people visiting shopping centers declined an estimated 19 percent from the day after Christmas last year, according to NPD Group Inc., a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm, based on visits to 26 malls nationwide....

As the worst holiday shopping season in decades comes to a close, it is becoming clear that even clearance sales aren't going to resurrect the season. In one of the first tallies to come in for the holiday shopping season, SpendingPulse estimated that retail sales, excluding gas and auto, were down 2 to 4 percent Nov. 1 through Dec. 24 from a year earlier.

That didn't, however, stop some shoppers from hitting the Mag Mile for some post-holiday deals.

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Celebrating Kwanzaa

The seven-day African holiday Kwanzaa began yesterday, and celebrations are going on throughout the city. Perhaps the most well-known celebration is the annual Kwanzaa Observance Program at Malcom X College, now in its 14th year. Their program of activities happens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day and is free. Be sure to check out the full schedule here. Today, from 11:00 a.m until 3 p.m., a Kwanzaa celebration will be held at Kennicott Park (4434 S. Lake Park) which is free and open to the public. Also, the DuSable Museum of African-American History, Bronzeville Children's Museum, and Museum of Science and Industry will all host events over the next several days.

Photo by lbj79us

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Morning Box Score

Blackhawks Thump Flyers
Five different Blackhawks scored en route to a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. It's the 'Hawks eighth-straight victory and their ninth out of their last 10 games. Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp gave the 'Hawks a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. Philadelphia would answer a few moments later, but Nioklai Khabibulin shut the Flyers down from there, stopping 17 out of 18 shots. A scoreless second period gave way to a quick start in the third period for the 'Hawks who got three more goals in the opening 5:07: Brian Campbell and Kris Versteeg chipped in power play goals and Dave Bolland netted the final goal of the night to finish off the Flyers. And the fans continue to turn out in record numbers, literally. Last night's game set a new attendance record for the 'Hawks with an attendance of 22,712 fans.

Heat Torch Bulls
It was a close game for three quarters, but the Heat finished strong while the Bulls withered, scoring only 13 points in the fourth quarter as they fell to Miami 90-77. Ben Gordon led the impotent Bulls offense with 15 points and Larry Hughes added 13. Dwyane Wade, meanwhile, shot 11 for 23 to contribute 28 points. Despite leading 45-40 at the half, the Bulls only managed 32 second half points and shot 36.9 percent for the game. Said Gordon, "It was a close game and then it just got a way. We never made plays down to the end. We didn't play winning basketball and that's what happens when you play like that in critical moments of the game.''

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Today's Weather: Diluvian

We know it's the last thing area residents wanted to hear after the events of September, but once the dense fog - that wreaked havoc at airports last night - clears, we'll need to be on the look-out for flooding today. Warming temps headed into the 50s will serve to melt the piles of ice and snow that have accumulated over the last several weeks. In addition to that will be this new storm system that will dump one to three inches of rain to the area which is why we're under a Flash Flood Warning. Great, exactly what we need. City crews are already out and about at the ready for the flooding, so at least someone's prepared. We're also only a third of an inch away from our wettest year ever. It's good to have goals, we guess.

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Fog Cancels All Midway Flights

Today's incredibly dense fog has had an adverse effect on travel all day and shortly after 6 p.m. tonight, perhaps the biggest effect of all at Midway where every flight for the rest of tonight was canceled. Airport officials have asked for several hundred cots to sleep stranded travelers. Around 80 flights in all were canceled at Midway, which handles in the neighborhood of 580 on your average day. Airlines are expecting more delays and bumps tomorrow due to more bad weather and rebooking all the stranded passengers. Officials hope to get flights out starting tomorrow morning; over 400 flights were canceled today at O'Hare.

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one word..High Speed Rail!

Posted by accessofdiesel December 27, 2008 6:18 AM

Thanks to This Week's Advertisers

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Chicagoist.

• Samsung Omnia, bringing a world of features to your phone in just one touch.
  
• Decider Chicago, the new website from The Onion.

If you're interested in advertising on Chicagoist or any other site in our network, check out our online mediakit.

Bad News Bear

Poor Mike Brown. He's fought a host of injuries in his time with the Bears: Achilles, calf, Lisfranc fracture, and knee. And now a calf injury that has been bothering Brown off-and-on all season has led to Brown once again being placed on injured reserve, ending his season regardless of whether or not the Bears make the playoffs. Brown left the Packers game Monday night and was replaced by Craig Steltz. To fill the roster hole, the Bears have re-signed Cameron Worrell.

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Friday Afternoon Diversion: Remembering Eartha Kitt

If ever a person had a name that befitted his or her personality, she was Eartha Kitt, the original "sex kitten." The mixed-race daughter of South Carolina farmers passed away yesterday at the age of 81. In her passing, Ms. Kitt joins Charlie Chaplin and Jame Brown on the list of entertainers who died on Christmas Day.

To do a Diversion today and not honor Ms. Kitt would be an insult. But we'd be damned if we posted a video for "Santa Baby," it's a great song, but way overplayed this time of year. Instead, today's Diversion is a two-parter, starting with Ms. Kitt singing "I Want To Be Evil." For the second video tribute, we couldn't pass up the chance to run a clip from the 1992 Eddie Murphy movie "Boomerang." Try to work what Ms. Kitt purrs into Murphy's ear into your conversations this weekend.

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looks good

another video i saw recently was the preview for the new biggie movie "notorious" looks really incredible suggest everyone checks it out!

Posted by ToddK December 26, 2008 5:02 PM

It appears I slightly misquoted. But you're welcome all the same. :)

Posted by Mr_Smith December 26, 2008 6:55 PM

I'm not ashamed to say that I cried like a baby when I heard about this yesterday.

On the other hand, the afterlife just became a hell of a lot more fiercer.

Posted by Kaonashi December 26, 2008 7:16 PM

More Problems For the Spire

No, we're not a broken record: the Chicago Spire project has once again run into problems. Despite being able to sell the two-story penthouse, money woes have impacted the Spire such that earlier this fall construction on the building was halted. Now comes word that the world's economic crisis may have an even bigger impact than previously thought. The new problem involves the bank crisis in Ireland where Anglo Irish Bank Corp. is about to be nationalized to avoid collapse. Anglo Irish Bank happens to be the main lender for the Spire's developer, Garrett Kelleher, executive chairman of Shelbourne Development Ltd.

[Kelleher] used private funding assurances from Anglo Irish to persuade Mayor Daley's administration to grant zoning approval for the project in 2007. Kelleher had said Anglo Irish's com- mitment was almost open-ended and required no threshold of condominium sales before it would underwrite construction.

Property records show Shelbourne has drawn $69.5 million from Anglo Irish for the early stages of construction at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive. But work has been stopped, and Shelbourne has been hit with several liens from contractors -- including one from his own celebrity architect, Santiago Calatrava. Though the building has been marketed almost as a Calatrava artwork, the architect alleges Kelleher owes him $11.34 million.

Sources said Kelleher has been seeking other investors, either in debt or equity positions, to help get construction restarted. But the world's financial crisis has dried up the supply of money looking for speculative investments.

We wonder if anyone wants to revise the promise the Spire will be finished by 2012 come hell, high water, or economic collapse.

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Funny watching all these favorite economic 'tigers' that the free market disciples loved to boast about fall apart in our pyramid scheme of a world economy.

Posted by Navin December 26, 2008 3:05 PM

Navin - Don't be so naive. No one ever promised Free Market theories are without any pain. It's because of free markets, that the weak die and the frauds exposed.

Socialistic markets prop up theses failures and simply extend the inevitable.

Posted by EvilPoliticians December 26, 2008 7:05 PM

I see somebody's been drinking the laissez faire Kool-Aid.

It was laissez faire-inspired ideology that inspired the reckless, mindless deregulation of the financial industry in the late 90's and early 00's. That, in turn, allowed the formation of an absolutely absurd credit bubble and subsequently turned what would have been a typical downward part of the cycle into a major world-wide catastrophe. It wasn't anything "socialistic", despite what the right wing apologists would try to have us believe.

The short version: Laissez Faire Capitalism and Communism are equally reckless, extremist ideologies. It's just that the latter has been fully undertaken and found to be a complete failure while the former has blown up in our faces in more limited instances in which remarkably foolish and unforgivably reckless people attempted to apply it.

Posted by ReverendSlappy December 26, 2008 8:51 PM

It's because of free markets, that the weak die and the frauds exposed.

In fantasy and theory of course, meanwhile back in reality the SEC/FED/TREASURY/White House are run by "free market" Friedman worshippers who are giving billions (with no transparency) to their friends who also preach about the "free market" until of course-- they lose. Praise the "free market" while you gamble with other people's money.

Posted by Navin December 26, 2008 9:35 PM

The short version: Laissez Faire Capitalism and Communism are equally reckless, extremist ideologies.

The funny thing too Rev. is that boosters of both ideologies find themselves often in agreement as they both like to say: The conditions have never been right for true capitalism/communism. Hehe, equally deluded.

Posted by Navin December 26, 2008 9:40 PM

To get back to the Spire: It will only go forward if Chicago gets the Olympics!
No games, no Spire!

Posted by Scooter Libbby December 26, 2008 9:56 PM

Belated Box Score: Irish Hammer Hawaii

Wow, we did not see this one coming. A struggling Notre Dame offense came to life on Christmas Eve in the warmer setting of Honolulu as the Irish throttled the Hawaii Warriors in the Hawaii Bowl, 49-21 and finished the year at 7-6. Not only was Notre Dame able to finish over .500, but they also said, "Aloha" to that nasty nine-game bowl losing streak. QB Jimmy Clausen looked as sharp as he ever has with the Irish, completing 22 of 26 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns; his favorite target was the aptly named WR Golden Tate who reeled in six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Notre Dame stormed out to a 28-7 halftime lead, accruing 327 total yards of offense in the first half alone, good for 9.1 yards a play. And while the Irish defense gave up 326 passing yards to Hawaii, they still recorded an astounding eight sacks and forced two turnovers, holding the Warriors - who were essentially playing a home game - to just 32 yards on the ground. By the time the dust settled, the Irish set eight new bowl game records:

• Points scored (49)
• Total yards (478)
• Passing yards (413)
• Passing touchdowns (Clausen's five)
• Completion percentage (Clausen's 84.6 on 22 of 26 passing)
• Individual receiving yards and touchdown catches (Tate's 177 and three)
• Longest kickoff return (Armando Allen's 96-yarder for a score).

It certainly gives the Irish a reason to look to 2009 with optimism. Said Golden Tate, "We have something to hang our hats on. We're trying to get Notre Dame back to where it's supposed to be."

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Don't read into this TOO much, Notre Dame fans. Hawaii had probably THE WORST defense, particularly in the secondary, that I have ever seen in a bowl game.

Posted by Tower18 December 26, 2008 5:57 PM

I agree Tower.

I'm a Notre Dame fan, and while I am enjoying the win, it was against a very poor opponent.

But, to know ND football is to know that we needed this win.

Go Irish!!

Posted by irishman1 December 27, 2008 11:48 AM

Gun Discharged in Struggle With Police Officer

A struggle between a Chicago Police officer and a suspect last night resulted in the discharge of the officer's gun, but no one was hurt in the incident. Police had stopped Shardell Green for reckless driving but Green fled the scene on foot and a chase ensued. When officers caught up with Green, a struggle ensued and he tried to disarm one of the officers, causing the gun to fire. Green was on parole stemming from a 2006 vehicular hijacking conviction and has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and one felony count of disarming a peace officer.

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Friday Lunch Time Diversion: Wrigley Rink Time Lapse

We're less than a week away from the NHL 2009 Winter Classic, pitting the Blackhawks against the rival Red Wings on New Years Day at Wrigley Field. We're pumped to watch the game (from the comfort of our warm homes) and this time-lapse video of the crew putting together the rink is pretty sweet. [via Awful Announcing]

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For Sale: Al Capone's House

The fascination with Al Capone carries on. The Tribune is reporting that the home at 7244 S. Prairie Avenue where Capone lived with his family while rising through the ranks to fortune and infamy is going up for sale. The current owner, Barbara Hogsette, has lived in the house for 45 years and when she first bought the home in 1963 it was because she liked it, not because of who had lived there:

[Hogsette] knew little and cared even less about its history. But its walls were sturdy, and there were enough bedrooms for the single mother to raise her son and still have rooms to rent out. The exterior of the six-bedroom, split-level remains virtually identical to the place Capone called home. Much of the interior is original, too, with detailed green and white tile in the front entrance, dark hardwood floors and narrow hallways.

The home features a large basement with a crumbling wine cellar that, on the day Hogsette moved in, contained one of the few relics from the Capone days: a long table and two old phones believed to have been part of the gangster's bookmaking operation.

The house found itself in the middle of controversy in 1989 when the National Register of Historic Places pondered making the house an official historic landmark. Members of Italian-American groups said "the designation would honor a vicious criminal" and the landmark status was never granted.

After Capone's imprisonment in 1931, his mother continued to live in the house until her death in 1953. The estimated market value of the house is $450,000, history included.

Photo from Google Maps. Here's a more historical photo of the place.

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it *is* a buyer's market... *strokes chin*

Posted by Shannon December 26, 2008 5:09 PM