The grass isn’t the only green thing at the Bears’ home field. This week Soldier Field earned a prestigious LEED certification for its recycling and energy efficiency programs. more ›

A Lincoln Square man broke up an assault, suburban school districts consider mandating lunch, and other news. more ›

Even though the Bears were out of it long ago and the Super Bowl is technically dead to us, we guess we’ll still watch it. Here are some Super Bowl Sunday recipes from the Chicagoist staff. more ›

It's week 3 so how's the team looking? For first timers and veterans alike, the first two weeks is the hardest because there's no real stat sheet to look from. Sure there was the preseason, but that's hardly a barometer to go by. more ›

In a White House ceremony celebrating the Packers' Super Bowl win, President Obama took fantasy football to a new level when he lobbied Green Bay to trade their all-pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Bears. more ›

The event was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m., but organizers waited until 5:45 p.m. to announce the event would be canceled. Even Urlacher was pissed off. more ›

There's a lot more at stake than the $9 billion the NFL players and owners are squabbling over. more ›

Just in time for your shotgun wedding during the Bears-Packers game tomorrow, a West Dundee man has designed wedding gowns to celebrate the meeting between the Bears and the Packers on the football field. David Gaffke, a bridal store owner and the brains behind these gowns, created the original Bears wedding gown four years ago. To match the heated rivalry going down tomorrow, Gaffke made a Packers gown to pair with the Bears gown:

"Whether you're a Packers fan or not, the gown is gorgeous," said Gaffke. Then, proving that the historic rivalry has reached the fashion industry, he added, "The Bears gown is much prettier."

This morning, WBEZ introduced us to the "hot wings index," gauging the economic index of the playoff game by the number of wings restaurants in Green Bay and Chicago were stocking up. One restaurant, in Evanston, was planning to go through 6000 pounds of hot wings - that's 3000 chickens! Anyway, if you are looking for deals of your own, you have come to the right place. Bears fans (and Packers fans, and indifferent football agnostics) can enjoy some great food and drink specials this weekend, as bars and restaurants try to squeeze one more hot weekend of business out of football fever. more ›

Yes, it’s the 25th anniversary of the Bears’ 1985 Superbowl victory. And yes, that might have been the greatest team in NFL history. And, sure, while this is a Bears town, football glory has all but disappeared since Walter, the Fridge, Samurai Mike and the Punky QB left the stage. But really, why the breathless anticipation every time two of these geezers are in a room together? Can’t this city move on? more ›

• Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald is reportedly stepping down due to a battle with Parkinson's.
• No surprise here: Blago's attorney is looking to have the lone conviction against the ex-gov overturned.
• The Chicago Police Union has responded to Supt. Jody Weis' letter from yesterday with a letter of their own calling on him to resign.

A day after the Bears won their season opener despite a questionable call by refs and a questionable call by Bears' head coach Lovie Smith, Smith was on the defensive. On that decision to go for the touchdown on fourth down? Lovie stood by his call: "Still feel good about it. I went for it because I thought we could get it. We needed a touchdown. To keep it close, like it ended up being there at the end, one big play could really have bad results for us. So I felt good about it going for it then, and I feel good about it now. I would do the same thing again." Lovie also spoke on the controversial rule that took what looked to be a sure touchdown away from Detroit on the final drive: "We all agreed on those rules. We've been on the other side of that rule before. The officials make calls based on (the rule), cut and dry. That is the rule we have in place. All the rules we have in place right now are good." Lovie, of course, is thanking his lucky stars. And even though the Bears started out the season with a win, that's not keeping others from already speculating he won't make it to the end of the year. more ›

We're just sayin'... more ›

• The State has removed and limited information about doctors available online.
• The federal government has fined Sea World over the death of Dawn Brancheau, a trainer at the Orlando location earlier this year; Brancheau was a native of Northwest Indiana.
• An overnight traffic accident killed a taxi driver and left two others hurt.

After being initially rejected by veteran QB Todd Collins, the Bears have managed to land the quarterback with a one-year deal today. With only rookie Dan LeFevour available to back-up starter Jay Cutler after an injury to Caleb Hanie the Bears were in desperate need of a solid number two. Collins rebuffed the first Bears offer because of lack of guaranteed money but this time around, the Bears apparently ponied up enough cash to lure Collins, who could make $1 million if he makes the Bears' full time squad for the 2010 season. more ›

• The Blago jury requested and received a transcript of the testimony of former deputy governor Bradley Tusk.
• Authorities in Dolton are seeking a driver who killed a bike-riding teen in a hit-and-run accident as the driver fled police.
• Another lawsuit has been filed against the City's new handgun laws.

Chicagoist: How do you define a "bear,” “cub,” and “otter,” and why, in your opinion, are these tags and groups so important to our community? more ›

• The State Senate rejected the bill that would have allowed school districts to adopt a four-day school week.
• Adieu: Dorothy Brown's "Jeans Day" fund.
• The Garritt Cullerton fiasco has Gov. Quinn calling for a review of the use of state-owned vehicles.

While the schedules are still being finalized, the Bears at least now know who they'll play in both the regular and preseasons. The NFL announced the preseason slate yesterday with vague dates for each. The Bears will have games at San Diego (Aug. 12-15), then home games versus the Raiders (Aug. 19-22) and Cardinals (Aug. 26-29), and then wrap it up at Cleveland (Sept. 2-5). As for the regular season, those dates will be released in mid-April but, besides the home-and-away series with divisional foes the Lions, Packers, and Vikings, they'll have home games against the Patriots, Jets, Eagles, Seahawks and Redskins while going on the road to play the Bills, Panthers, Cowboys, Dolphins and Giants. more ›

Fans will have to shell out a little more to see their beloved Bears play this season. The football team announced a ticket price hike in certain sections of Soldier Stadium on Friday, Chicago Breaking News reports. more ›

The Sox un-retiring the number 11 isn't the only shuffling going on in the Chicago sports world. The Bulls, Bears, and Blackhawks have their own shuffling going on. more ›

The trouble over Soldier Field's turf? It could get resolved even more quickly now that Mike Martz has been signed as the Bears' new offensive coordinator. The mind behind the '99 Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" Martz's high-flying offense could be the push needed to get the Chicago Park District to follow through on a $1.5 million proposal to replace the Soldier Field grass surface with FieldTurf. The team, though, has been reluctant to make the change so far. more ›

The Chicago Bears finally have a new offensive coordinator and it turns out it was the name some folks expected all along: Mike Martz. Martz was rumored to be on the top of the list during the season but denied the suggestion at the time. He inherits an offense that sputtered in spite of some great potential. more ›

• The FBI has charged two men with plotting to kill an assistant U.S. attorney in Illinois.
• The search continues for an L.A. man last seen last week in Chicago.
• An argument over tailgating may have led to the stabbing death of trucker Alan Lauritzen last week.

Well, at least you'll be able to see a few Bears during this year's Super Bowl. No, it won't be Devin Hester or Jay Cutler. Instead, Jim McMahon, Willie Gault, Richard Dent, and a few other members of the Super Bowl XX Chicago Bears reunited recently at Park West to shuffle once again. The project? A 30-second commercial for Boost Mobile that will air during the first quarter of this year's Super Bowl XLIV. Even making an appearance in this commercial? The legendary leader himself, Ditka (who didn't appear in the original Super Bowl Shuffle video). ESPN has a lengthy feature on the reunion and more of what you can expect from the commercial. more ›

Gaines Adams, a defensive end the Chicago Bears acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this season, has died according to a report out of South Carolina [via the Sun-Times]. Not other details are known other than he was taken to the Emergency Room at Self Regional in Greenwood, South Carolina. An autopsy will be performed today. more ›

• Authorities believe the trucker who was stabbed to death today was stabbed by another trucker after an "altercation."
• A soldier from Galesburg, Illinois serving in Afghanistan is currently being held on misguided child pornography charges stemming from a family photo.
• Block 37's insurance issue may soon be cleared up.

With the Bears done for the season at 7-9 and missing the playoffs for a third straight year, the team took out a full page ad in today's Tribune and Sun-Times apologizing to fans for their underachievement. Meanwhile, fans await actions, not words. And while Coach Lovie Smith didn't appear before the media today as he usually does the day after a game, he's still owed $11 million over the next two years which means it might cost the Bears a pretty penny to fire him. On the other hand, team GM Jerry Angelo promised money would not be a factor in the decision to fire or retain Smith. more ›

Today, the Chicago Bears' season will end is over. There will be no post-season. Instead, there will be a lot of second-guessing and maybe some firings. We'll let Benjy tackle that tomorrow. For now, here's a video of Bears highlights from their magical run to Super Bowl XX. It's not the same as a Super Bowl this year, but it'll have to do for another 12 months. more ›

Last night's game was, in a way, a microcosm of the Bears' 2009 season: excellent potential ultimately squandered. The difference, though, was that the Bears managed to win, stunning the favored Vikings 36-30 in overtime, and left Bears fans thinking what could have been while it left Vikings fan wondering what they've gotten themselves in to with another Favre December swoon. The Bears used three Robbie Gould field goals and a Jay Cutler touchdown pass to Greg Olsen to build a 16-0 lead which would be extended to 23-6 late in the third quarter as they used a big pass interference call to set up another Cutler TD pass to Desmond Clark. And it was then the Bears found themselves on the brink of a great collapse as the Vikings rallied for 17 straight points to tie the game at 23-23 and the Bears found themselves without cornerback Charles Tillman (ribs) and wide receiver Johnny Knox (ankle) who were both knocked out of the game. But the Bears found a way to fight back, thanks in large part to Danieal Manning's 59-yard kickoff return that set up another Cutler TD pass to give the Bears a 30-23 lead. And yet, once more, Brett Favre found a way to keep his team in the game, taking the Vikings down the field and throwing a stunning fourth down touchdown pass to Sidney Rice with just seconds left in the game. more ›