As expected, President Obama announced his 2012 re-election campaign today, via e-mail and video. We're actually shocked the Obama campaign didn't send us a text message... whoops, spoke too soon. more ›

The Rahmformer's latest campaign is 30 seconds of Emanuel talking tough, letting voters know he considers all city employees, from the Mayor down to the lowest garbage collector, city servants, while metaphorically about cracking the whip on city workers who are just collecting a paycheck. Some of the more choice quotes. more ›

While Miguel del Valle tries to move past "undecided" in the polls and Carol Moseley Braun considers paying her staff in tea and organic food, Rahm Emanuel and Gery Chico's latest campaign ads up the ante in their respective campaigns as to why each is the man for the job. There's also some unintentional comedy in each. more ›

Mayoral hopeful Gery Chico spent some of that $2.5 million he's raised for his campaign on some brand spanking new ads that tout his life and career arc as "a Chicago story." Well, that's about as good a way of saying "troubleshooter for Richard Daley" as one can without bringing it up. more ›

Bill Brady's campaign porn is back on our airwaves, a day after they were pulled for non-payment. Brady said the issue lay with his media buyer and has since been corrected. He also got a burr in his saddle when questioned about the non-payment by ABC7. "Now wait a second, no one said we didn't pay our bills...we paid our media buyer, he's the buyer, don't put words in anybody's mouth," said Brady. more ›

With campaign ad season ramping up ahead of November's general election, City Clerk Miguel del Valle has struck the first advertising blow for the 2011 Mayoral election with this, the first official ad of the first post-Daley campaign. Given how many people are considering running, it also promises to be the first of many, many ads. more ›

The National Republican Senatorial Committee took a swing at Alexi Giannoulias the day after the primaries, launching an ad accusing Giannoulias of alleged mob ties at his families bank, as well as Rod Blagojevich and Tony Rezko. The ad, which played off popular notions of American mafioso lore (with a dash of the Sopranos thrown in for a laugh) caught the attention of the media, and showed what both Kirk and the NRSC had in mind in terms of the tone of this race. more ›

• A large early morning fire has rendered a South Side building at S. King Dr. and 47th Street - which houses Blu 47 and The Spoken Word Cafe, among others - a "total loss."
• Two victims of the earthquake in Haiti have arrived in Chicago for treatment.
• A proposal to renovate New Trier High School in Winnetka carries an eye-popping $174 million price-tag.

Not only is every single resident in the 5th Congressional District running for Rahm Emanuel's vacated seat, some candidates are getting in front of voters sooner, rather than later. Democrat Charles Wheelan was up on the air early with a commercial that ran locally several hours before the Super Bowl. more ›