Do you like the Bears? Do you like to make fun of Tim Tebow? Do you like MST3K? Are NFL announcers annoying? If you said yes to any of those questions, go to this. more ›

If there was anything that came out of this election, it was good humor. The "Mayor Emanuel" Twitter feed wound up being more popular that that of the Mayor-elect (who, by the way, reiterated today on Roe Conn that he'll make a donation to charity if the person behind the doppelganger's feed outs himself). And then there's Ed Bus, who conceded last night as only the alderman of the 53rd Ward can: by threatening to "jerk off" Emanuel if he doesn't "keep things as they are. more ›

We're throwing tradition to the wind and blowing everything up as the Chicagoist Podcast Series enters the winter season. This Friday podcast finds us all under a little bit of snow and trying to figure out exactly what the hell might be out there worth seeing this weekend. So this week on the podcast we're commandeering a few minutes of your final day of work during the week (be honest - you weren't doing anything this afternoon anyways) to talk with a couple people involved in some of the more interesting events in the next 72 hours. more ›

A City Council committee has approved moving ahead with a noise ordinance proposed by Ald. Brendan Reilly, aimed at cracking down on the "Bucket Boys" and other street performers downtown. Picking up where his predecessor Burt Natarus left off, Reilly wants to give an existing noise ordinance more teeth by revoking a performer's license after fewer violations of playing above acceptable decibel levels. Police Cmdr. Steve Georgas testified to the committee agreeing with Reilly that the performers weren't just annoyances, but can also contribute to petty crime, like pickpocketing. more ›

Alderman Brendan Reilly (42nd) has taken up the mantle of his predecessor Burt Natarus in the crackdown on street performers. For years Natarus tried to get them -- especially the "bucket boys" -- to pipe down, and introduced two ordinances towards the end of his career. The first -- which sought to ban street performers entirely -- met with charges of "urban cleansing" so the second time around, instead of bans, Natarus requested license fees, noise limits, and control of where performing was permitted. That version made it into law. more ›

Tom Tunney’s cracking down. The 44th Ward alderman has had it with Wrigleyville’s booze-soaked reputation. He’s sick of bar after bar after bar littering his neighborhood, sick of drunken young urban professionals that don’t act quite so professional after a long night out. He’s finally listening to constituents that are less than thrilled to wake up to a crusty puddle of vomit on their front steps. And he’s enlisting others to help with improvement of Chicago’s partyingest enclaves. more ›

A piece that ran in Sunday's Tribune got us to thinking about the ramifications of last week's election here in Chicago. Much has been made about the significance of the nine new aldermen that will take office in May, especially those that had the support of labor. Dorothy Tillman, Madeline Haithcock, and Shirley Coleman all went down, beaten by union backed candidates. Toni Foulkes in the 15th Ward, an actual union member, beat Felicia Simmons-Stoval... more ›

This has been quite a week on the city council with a dozen aldermen headed to runoffs on April 17 in one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. Today we take a look back at a man that was as much a character of Chicago as any other, soon-to-be-former alderman of the 42nd Ward, Burt Natarus. In many ways he represented a time when being a character, when being eccentric was OK. As Eric... more ›

With most of Tuesday's election settled around the city, 24 candidates are gearing up for the special election April 17. The big story that is coming out of this vote is the role that unions played in this election. Of the twelve runoffs, five were candidates that were endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor. Two are union members; Leroy Jones in the 21st is a member of SEIU Local 73, and Toni Foulkes is... more ›

Well, another municipal election has come in Chicago, and in many wards (but not all) it's gone. As expected, Richard M. Daley sailed to re-election, set to eclipse his father as the Chicago's longest-serving mayor, in spite of Ben Joravsky's best efforts. At the time of this writing, a few things are clear: there will be a few runoffs this year, including Madeline Haithcock - Bob Fioretti (2nd), Dorothy Tillman - Pat Dowell (3rd), Shirley... more ›

After a brief jaunt out west, Chicagoist is back at the homestead, making camp here on the prairie that is sweet home Chicago. But just because we took a long weekend doesn't mean that our elected officials did. Here's a look back at what's been newsworthy so far this week: Illinois junior senator Barack Obama has a huge lead — in MySpace friends! Outpacing Hillary Clinton's "friends" by some 20,000, he's clearly in the lead,... more ›

The architectural preservationist signal went up all over town Thursday afternoon. On that day, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks went to vote on the fate of the Farwell Building, an Art Deco/French-inspired edifice at 664 N. Michigan. Prism Development Company, the Farwell's current owner, put their proposal in front of the board: To strip the outside of the 11-story landmarked building of its facade, demolish the skeleton, and reattach the facade to a newly-built 40-story... more ›

We took a gander at this short news story from ABC 7 (via AP) and thought to ourselves, "They can't be serious." more ›

Whew! What a week it's been in politics, and it's only Wednesday! Chicagoist has lotsa political tidbits for you today, so saddle up little buckaroo, and let's ride out! more ›

There's dancing going on in Chicago. And Burt Natarus has had enough of it!! more ›

The debate over the possible locations for the new Children's Museum site flared up at a meeting of the Grant Park Advisory Council. That is to say, of course, that there was some continued opposition to the idea of it even moving to Grant Park. more ›

Let's say you come from a family that enjoys good conversation while sharing a bottle of wine on the holidays. Or maybe you come from a family where you need a stiff shot of Glenrothes in order to get through the unwrapping of presents. But you live in Chicago, both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fall on a Sunday this year, and you can't buy liquor until 11 a.m. Let's take solace in... more ›

As if 130 bands, overpriced food, kids’ shows, an art exhibit, and people watching weren’t enough, Lollapalooza 2006 will serve up afternoons of interactive entertainment on the Mindfield Stage. Good to see three local comedy offerings on the bill but, with all due respect, they’re pretty much the opening act everyone’s sitting through to get to the headliner. To any of our readers coughing up $60 or more just to see Chicago comedy in Grant... more ›

It seems as though not a week goes by without an alderman doing or saying something that makes Chicago look like just another parochial, hick town. If they're not banning foie gras, or passing a smoking ban that allows bars a time frame for compliance that more resembles an exit strategy from Iraq, then they're feuding with each other on the Council floor, passing salary increases for themselves, and getting caught in the occasional compromising... more ›

We admit: The time that Alderman Burt Natarus said that there should be a speed limit for tour boats on the Chicago River because when he is in his kayak they nearly tip him over with their wake, we laughed. In fact, we probably would pay good money to see a lot of he and his fellow alderpeople's antics. But we were flabbergasted and just plain pissed off when we heard those fat cats were... more ›

The Chicago area Canada goose population is a little smaller this week, but this time it's not because coyotes are eating their eggs. On Saturday morning, residents of McHenry County discovered a gaggle of dead geese on the frozen surface of the Fox River. The body count varies from 19 to 28 depending who you ask, but either way that's a lot of dead birds. more ›

In a city as big as Chicago, you can’t expect all the various aldermen and city departments to be in close contact with each other. Still, you’d think that the folks at the Department of Aviation might have wanted to give a heads-up to Alderman Natarus’s office before they released information on their holiday music program at O’Hare. more ›

The reviews are in on Northerly Island and they’re so glowing, we’re wondering if Da Mare is making a list of other underused airports he can bulldoze. Expect complaints from Burt Natarus’ constituents any day now (we know that’s not his ward over there but those people seem to complain anytime someone seems to be having too much fun downtown). more ›

Because their yippy little shits just CAN'T be bound by a leash, the Gold Coast set is really standing up to the man lately. Just last Friday night a richie engaged in a bit of civil disobedience when a police officer asked for his ID because his dog cavorted about Washington Park without a lead. The man refused and, according to the Sun-Times, told the officer, ""You f------ fascists, you are not taking me." We don't understand why the man didn't just say "fucking" instead of "eff, hyphen, hyphen, hyphen, hyphen, hyphen, hyphen." Maybe it's the new hip jet set lingo. And uhm, dude, we'd bet there are quite a few people that could give you the correct definition of "fascist". more ›

Through adroit parlementary manuvers, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance today that would ban drivers from using cell phones without a hands free device. Chicagoist has learned that the ordinance will be enacted this July, and first time offenders will be fined $50, with repeat offenders subject to fines of up to $200 with each offense. The ordinance does not apply to people in parked cars, people calling 911, or law enforcement officials. Alderman... more ›

Chicagoist was walking down LaSalle Street at Madison at about twenty to two when a fleet of fire trucks came flying down the street. Their destination? 135 S. LaSalle, the LaSalle Bank Building. It was only eight days ago that this same address experienced a significant fire on the 29th and 30th floors. The Chicago Fire Department responded en masse, with no fewer than four pump trucks, five ladder trucks, and a battalion chief. more ›

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Bad news for booze hounds, late night partiers, and folks that didn't pick up at the 2 am bars: The city is making it harder to get a 4am license. Ald. Burt Natarus, who represents the downtown area and more bars than any other alderman, sponsored an ordinance yesterday that would give more residents the right to reject new applications for a 4 am liquor license. more ›

You know that really pretty church across the street from the John Hancock Building? Yeah, that one. Well, the folks who belong to the Fourth Presbyterian Church voted 611-173 yesterday to approve sale of land behind the church for the construction of a 64-story condominium. In return the church gets $25 million, and use of the first six floors for various church outreach programs. Chicagoist first brought this story to you two weeks ago, and since then neighborhood groups surrounding Fourth Pres. have started to heat up. more ›