A bill in the state legislature to raise the speed limit on highways outside of Chicago from 65 mph to 70 mph has hit a pothole in the form of two automotive organizations tussling over the bill. Not that raising the speed limit to 70 mph would be out of the ordinary; 33 states already have that speed limit in place. According to Diana Novak at The Expired Meter, AAA, which has almost a million members in the greater Chicagoland area, is against the new bill, saying state roads were built for a maximum speed of 70 mph but that the intended speed limit should be lower. Meanwhile, the NMA, which has a much, much, much smaller representation in the area (a few hundred), supports the bill, citing the 85th percentile method. more ›

A new study released today found that 97 percent of Illinois parents don't know the state's child safety restraint laws, and 67 percent said "most parents with a young child do not have a clear understanding of how to correctly install and/or use child safety seats." For the record, Illinois law says kids in the car need to be in a "child restraint"—a car seat or booster seat—until they're 8 years old. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children under 14, according to AAA, and, and the NTSB says using proper restraints for kids could reduce injuries and deaths by 50 percent. [AAA, Seatcheck] more ›

Gas prices in the Chicago-area have dropped, according to AAA. According to the survey, the current average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Chicago is $4.15. Uh...hooray? Nationally, the average price is $3.996, with the cheapest being in Wichita, Kansas ($3.61) and the most expensive being Anchorage, Alaska ($4.43). more ›

The Tribune's Phil Vettel wrote on The Stew this morning about the just-released 2K8 AAA Restaurant and Hotel ratings. Chicago leads the way with more five-diamond rated restaurants than any other city. Furthermore, there are no surprises on the list, since it's identical to last year's awardees. Congratulations are in order to Alinea, Arun's, Avenues, Charlie Trotter's (his fourteenth straight year with a five-diamond rating), Everest, Seasons, and Tru for setting the standard in local... more ›