In a political season that has been marked by the theme of change, Illinois's 3rd Congressional District has become one of the battle grounds over what the Democratic Party might look like going forward in 2008. Critics of the incumbent, Dan Lipinski, are unhappy with his opposition to abortion rights and stem cell research, and his siding with moderate Republicans on the war in Iraq and domestic spying. Besides his voting record, they also don't......

The race for Cook County state's attorney has been hot and heavy in the past few weeks, with candidates taking plenty of shots at each other in a debate last week. (You can watch the debate here.) The race has also split up local democrats, as endorsements abound. Lt Governor Pat Quinn is supporting Anita Alvarez, saying "she happens to be a woman. She happens to be Hispanic. And she also happens to be the......

There's more than just choosing candidates for President at stake when the Illinois Primary rolls around February 5. For instance, in our home 3rd Congressional district, puppet incumbent Dan Lipinski is facing an actual opponent this time in Assistant State's Attorney Mark Pera. Lipinski owes his seat in Congress to the greasy maneuvers of his father, Bill. The elder Lipinski, who held the seat for 22 years, won the Democratic Primary in 2004. Amid denials......

A tiny bit more information coming out today about Subhas Chander, the Oak Forest man who's been charged with murdering his daughter, grandson and son-in-law. He was ordered held without bail yesterday, and his lawyer says he's suffering from some liver problems. Prosecutors said that Chander had admitted to lighting the fire, and they said Chander had said his son-in-law was from a lower caste. First Assistant State's Attorney Robert Milan told the judge......

Subhash Chander has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of intentional homicide of an unborn child in the Oak Forest fire that killed his pregnant daughter Monika Rani, son-in-law Rajesh Kumar, and grandson Vansh. Prosecutors say Chander set the fire because he believed his son-in-law was from a lower caste than his daughter, and that he didn't approve of the marriage. The fire also destroyed a 36-unit building and has......

More news today about the state's case against Reginald Potts, and the evidence is really piling up. Potts was charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend Nailah Franklin over the weekend and on Monday was denied bail. According to Assistant State's Attorney Bob Milan, Potts left a voicemail for Franklin saying he could have her "erased" after Franklin sent an e-mail to some of her friends detailing Potts's criminal past. (According to Potts's blog entry on his......

Rep. Dan Lipinski, who is hoping for a third term in the 3rd Congressional District, is facing a tough challenge from Assistant State's Attorney Mark Pera. Lipinski's critics are unhappy with his opposition to abortion rights and stem cell research, and his siding with moderate Republicans on the war in Iraq and domestic spying. Besides his voting record, they also don't like how he came to congress: If you don't remember the 2004 general election,......

It seems like Cook County politics becomes more and more like a bad soap opera every time we open the newspaper. While Todd Stroger is threatening more cuts and tax hikes to cover the tab on the bloated executive payroll, Tony Peraica is giving speeches about prosecuting the crooks. Forrest Claypool wrote an op-ed piece earlier this week about the disaster that the County's health care system has devolved into, and Todd Stroger won't even......

We're not sure if you've managed to stay outside R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet, or if you've managed to avoid the real-life "hip-hopera" of his ongoing saga surrounding a sex tape that surfaced several years ago featuring Kelly and an underage girl. If you have, kudos. Every time we think about Kelly peeing on anyone, much less a girl in her early teens, we just cringe. Golden showers are fine if that's your thing,......

If the kid living with you joins a gang, gets a gun, and shoots a thirteen year old girl, you might look to yourself and try to determine what went wrong. You might. Or, you might take that anger and frustration and send it right back to Mayor Daley for calling suspect Tony Serrano a "nineteen year old punk." Serrano is accused of firing the shots that killed Schanna Gayden on the orders of gang......

Like baseball and steroids, drug-dealing and hip hop always seem to be mentioned in the same breath. This time Lupe Fiasco’s business partner at 1st and 15th, the record label he started in 2000, has been sentenced to 44 years on drug charges. There have been no charges filed against Lupe who partnered with Charles Patton for his first album, Food & Liquor. Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Coughlin stated that it was rare to have......

Yesterday brought us news that Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty, but today in a short blurb in the Tribune we learn that Jeanette Sliwinski will not face the death penalty for her alleged suicide attempt where she crashed her car at 70 mph into a stopped car in Skokie killing three local musicians, Michael Dahlquist, John Glick and Douglas Meis, who were on their lunch break. Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Rick Cenar......