It's a joke, right? They're not seriously kissing on live television. Right? more ›

We can lift today's televisions with two fingers, but do you remember the days when a color television was a major furniture purchase? For the years, Zenith was headquartered in suburban Lincolnshire and their television consoles proudly touted being made in Chicago. more ›

Illinois Senate candidates Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias squared off in the second of three scheduled debates last night on ABC7. Much like their "Meet the Press" debate last week, the focus was on personal ethics. Kirk once again answered why he embellished his military record, while Giannoulias reiterated that investigations into his family's Broadway Bank did nothing wrong in making loans to people who were later outed as reputed mobsters. more ›

Just when you thought it couldn't get much more ridiculous in the Epic Saga of Rod Blagojevich (et al.), ABC7's Chuck Goudie digs just a little bit deeper. Reporting for ABC-7, he and his I-team have revealed that during Blago's first run for governor in 2002, the campaign was preparing to have Blagojevich clumsily attempt to go for the "goofy nickname" voting block, all while assuming that black voters couldn't say his last name. more ›

We can't imagine this to be anything other than a misunderstanding, because if it's for real, it's almost too weird to be imagined. The man best described as "that guy with the crazy suits who shows up on local news exterior live shots," also known as Vincent Falk, was reportedly arrested for threatening one of the street-level TV news studios he regularly haunts. more ›

We'll hand it to ABC 7: they've figured out a way to harness the internet for full, blanket news coverage. You wouldn't think the day after Easter would be full with too much news. In fact, between Tiger Woods, Scottie Pippen, and Opening Day, it felt like the focus was all on sports (if not on Blago). So we can't blame the ABC 7 team for sending Chopper 7 to cover the events at Luther North High School this morning where a coyote, obviously in need of a little springtime roadrunner companionship, wandered on to a football field at the school (students have the day off). The little guy has spent most of his time trotting around and staring at the Animal Control vehicles that are on the track surrounding the field though he did scamper a bit across school grounds just for fun. We'll admit, we were riveted for about five minutes but, eventually, just realized that - while they've certainly made plenty of headlines over the last few years - a coyote wandering around a field is still just a coyote wandering around in a field. more ›

News outlets have been playing back (or more notably, not playing back) footage of the events of September 11, 2001 today and while it's good to remember what happened nationally, sometimes local news can bring things home in a way that the replay of other tapes can't seem to capture. John Drury and Diann Burns were on the anchor desk for ABC-7 that night, and their recap of the days events is worth watching for the perspective, to remember what it was like to just not know what really happened. It also brings back memories of being glued to the TV during the hours and days that followed, trying to make sense out of a senseless act, wanting to know anything new, anything at all. more ›

Four local television stations are banding together to share coverage of non-exclusive events, according to a report by Phil Rosenthal in yesterday's Tribune. The stations involved in the agreement are NBC 5, Fox 32, CBS 2, and WGN. The hold-out? Top-ranked ABC 7, whose chief Emily Barr "has said she wants her station to remain independent and flexible with its coverage," according to Rosenthal. Essentially, there would be one camera crew at a non-exclusive event - i.e., a Mayor Daley press conference - that will feed all four stations with each station deciding on how it uses that footage, also cutting down on costs. Check out Rosenthal's story for more information, including quotes from each station. more ›

When he's not smack-talking Sen. Durbin, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is apparently planning on sticking around at his current gig. In an interview with ABC 7's Charles Thomas, Burris said - albeit in a round-a-bout way - that he plans for running to keep his seat in 2010. more ›

Along with Norm van Lier and Johnny "Red" Kerr, longtime ABC7 restaurant critic James Ward passed away yesterday after a long illness. The flamboyant Ward was noted for his very theatrical and enthusiastic reviews; long before former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael adopted the same look, Ward's sartorial trademark was a pair of red-rimmed glasses. Prior to his television work, Ward was a restaurant critic for the Sun-Times and Chicago Daily News; edited restaurant and travel guides for R.R. Donnelly & Sons; and worked at Restaurants & Institutions, a food-industry trade publication. [ABC7 Chicago] more ›

Are you like us and stuck in an office while others get the day off? And do you dig parades? If so, you can catch today's Columbus Day Parade streamed live over the interwebs over at ABC 7's website. more ›

Renowned local television and radio personality Norman Ross passed away this morning at the age of 86 from congestive heart failure. Ross was a popular radio host on WGN and WFMT, including the shows Tunes from Talman and The Norman Ross Show. Ross also worked at ABC 7 as a reporter and commentator from 1989 to 2001. Away from the media, Ross was "vice president for public affairs for First National Bank of Chicago for many years, and chaired the architectural competition for a new downtown Chicago public library." His father was Norman Ross, Sr., 1920 Olympic gold medalist and also a radio host. more ›