If you walk, bike, drive or take public transit in the Chicago area, point your browsers toward Grid Chicago. The sustainable transportation blog has rounded up a network of sites covering local transportation. more ›

Hideout may be just the place for you on Sunday night when the Chicago Short Film Brigade and Logan Square International Film Series present the Bike-In Movie Theater.more ›

The nightmarish death of a woman who fell off her bike and was unintentionally crushed by a dump truck is a grim reminder of the dangers cyclists face in Chicago. more ›

It took a few months but Gov. Quinn finally got around to signing into law a bill intent on protecting bicyclists. The new law imposes stiffer penalties for the all-too-often occurrence of motorists exhibiting threatening behavior towards bicyclists. From a press release: more ›

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Joe "M500" Marinaro just e-mailed us with an update on life without a car to get him around. He took a quick photo of his first trip to the grocery store (Whole Foods South Loop) on the bike he received when he traded in his Jeep. more ›

After a week of having holiday music stuck in our head, we need to laugh. Luckily, there are plenty of comedy shows this weekend... more ›

Just when we thought we were going to run out of reality shows to cover, the powers that be keep shoving them upon us. The Amazing Race This Sunday saw the return of the Energizer Bunny of reality series, The Amazing Race. The 12th season premiere had the highest ratings of any other program on Sunday, as 13.8 million viewers tuned in to see 11 teams of globetrotters being shipped off to lovely Shannon, Ireland.... more ›

For the fifth time in six years, the New England Revolution have ended the Chicago Fire's season. New England forward Taylor Twellman scored a spectacular bicycle kick goal in the 38th minute that turned out to be the game winner. Twellman was covered tightly by Dasan Robinson and Logan Pause but was able to head the ball in the air then perform the acrobatic kick between the two defenders and leaving goal keeper Matt Pickens... more ›

As several commenters pointed out, Second City Cop has been on the CTA identity theft case for a few days--and the story there is that a reverend who's on the CTA board attempted to keep the arrest quiet. The only reverend on the CTA's board of directors is Charles E Robinson. Our call to the Board's main office was not immediately returned. Jeanette Sliwinski's psychiatrist testified today that she "didn't see any psychotic symptoms"... more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out... more ›

For those interested in learning more about Scientology off the job, the church is expanding its Chicago presence. The Church of Scientology is setting up shop at the former Artcraft Building in the South Loop, at 650 S. Clark. When the flagship center opens next summer there will be activities, social services and, presumably, auditing. The building’s previous tenants, ACORN and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, moved out because the space and crumbling façade needed attention... more ›

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market... more ›

We've gone around and about a lot of times about a couple key subjects: How relevant losing Marshall Fields is in the grand scheme of things, Hipster/Yuppie, where does Whole Foods play into the life of a person looking to eat healthy and live on a budget? But another topic that never fails to get someone's ire up is that of biker vs. driver vs. pedestrian vs. driver vs. biker. Most people realize that there... more ›

We noticed a short Fran Spielman piece today reminding us about Daley's globe-trotting and found something we didn't expect — bikes! When we first read about Paris's new bicycle initiative, Velib, we salivated. The city peppered the city with more than 20,000 heavy-duty rental bikes in an effort to become a city of bikes. The program almost seems too good to be true. The bikes can be rented from 750 stations throughout the city, free... more ›

First person to name the song those lyrics in the headline came from gets a no-prize. Own some of Billy Corgan. Really. It's not a good idea to e-mail a Playboy playmate via Myspace, especially when said playmate is dating the Bears' Adam Archuleta, you're from Aurora, and type in bold threatening capital letters. Some Wisconsinites have a unique take on the designated driver. What did you do on your summer vacation? (via) Give... more ›

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked... more ›

"'Cause it's Friday, you ain't got no job ... and you ain't got shit to do." Well, you can go check out the New Orleans Social Club at Millennium Park. If you aren't, here's some stuff in the news. Buckingham Fountain is slated to undergo a complete overhaul in autumn 2008. Near West Side businesses get $1.5 million in TIF money intended for keeping manufacturing jobs in the area. Does Manny Flores have the... more ›

Perhaps in an effort to pass something — ANYTHING — that everyone could agree on, Blagojevich signed new bicycle lane courtesy legislation. The new law requires drivers to yield at least three feet of clearance when passing a biker. more ›

So in 2000 a dude gets hit by a New York City Bus (Bear with us; the story has roots in New York, and eventually makes its way to our city) and decides he’s going to make something positive out of the experience. What does Brendt Barbur do? He creates a Bicycle Film Festival (BFF), featuring films celebrating the bike. And all forms of bikes: Tall-Bike Jousting, Track Bikes, BMX, Alleycats, Critical Mass, Bike Polo, Cycling to Recumbents--if it’s a bike, BFF has probably screened a movie about it. more ›

If we were to describe this movie update post using song titles … In an email last week, long-time Chicago Filmmakers program director Patrick Friel announced he will be stepping down on August 10 to pursue other interests. He had been with Chicago Filmmakers for over eleven years. A replacement has not been announced yet. Also in his email was news that there will be opportunities to become involved with the programming of their weekly... more ›

It takes a strong constitution to negotiate Archer Avenue on a bicycle; some stretches between California and Cicero require a rider to put the fear of death out of his head. But it's worth the trip west, young man, for the literal smörgåsbord of Polish restaurants, meat markets, and European delicatessens you'll come across. One that we're ashamed to have never visited until this weekend is Racine Bakery. This Garfield Ridge institution has been in business since 1984, eighteen of them in its current location at 6216 S. Archer. For émigrés from Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and other areas of central and eastern Europe, a visit to Racine Bakery can ease the transition to their new lives in America by giving them a taste of home. more ›

Saturday night found us in the company of old friends enjoying Lebanese food at Semiramis in Albany Park. Semiramis is a BYOB restaurant, which can lead to some unfortunate food-and-drink pairings if one isn't careful, or worse, if someone in the group decides to play sommelier for everyone (for the record, we know better). So everyone made their own decisions about what they wanted to drink, and we picked up a six-pack of New Belgium "Skinny Dip" across the street at the liquor store. It wouldn't have been our first choice from New Belgium during summer; that would have been Blue Paddle. And someday New Belgium should have their full complement of selections available to Chicagoans. It just wasn't to be on this day. more ›

Maybe weather just doesn't understand. For every notch it turns up the thermostat, another person makes the regretable decision to wear shorts. When we woke up in a sweat today we realized that if it was that hot so early in the morning, weather must officially be declaring war on us. That's what Skilling is saying anyway. Why else would he describe the recent heat as being caused by "better organized, muggier South winds"? Those... more ›

Sort of like the point in an old person's life when they decide they're not going to look behind them when they back out of their driveway anymore, Daley has clearly well past the point in his career where he gives two shits what the media says or thinks about him. Manifesting itself in "playful banter" a'la Dubyauh, his new tactic of dodging questions from reporters by making fun of them is actually pretty hilarious... more ›

If it hasn't been drilled into your heads yet, street festival season is kicking into high gear. This week, we'll highlight a couple to check out, as well as feature one of the more humorous press releases to reach our inbox this week. Strap it on! We'll Call Ours the "Triple Bypass": Wendy's is hosting an online contest to see who can design their next burger. Folks who log on to www.thisismyburger.com can choose from... more ›

One of the reasons we feel fortunate living on the south side is when we want to visit a nearby neighborhood, we can do so with relative ease via bicycle. We're a couple minutes away from Pilsen. Bronzeville is a few pedals from the house. Hyde Park is a quick ten minutes via the lakefront bike path. We've even found great West Indian cooking in Englewood en route to Beverly via Damen Avenue and... more ›

We have a huge case of the giggles today. It all started when we tried to type “jagoff” and it came out “jagoof” and we could not stop laughing at ourselves for five minutes. Then we decided to be productive and write up this edition of EOYW, which only proved that the Ticketmaster gods were laughing along with us with their offerings for this week’s ticket sales. more ›

The major stories this week are the opening of Crust, the continuing saga of David Hammond, bug eater, and how — if Hammond decides to head to Beverly in the near future — he might have a Tippi Hedren moment fighting with the seagulls who've been dining al fresco on cicadas. There are still plenty of events happening in the next seven days. Here are a few of note. - This weekend would be a... more ›

What happens when you remove all the cars from Lake Shore Drive? It gets filled with bikes. Thousands of bikes. Even with a little drizzle enveloping the skyline. And what fills the absence of auto noise and noxious emissions? The sweet smell of the lake, clicking of gears, the squeaks of bicycle chains, the voices of toddlers being pulled along by their fathers and mothers as they ask, “How much longer until the pancakes?” But... more ›