It was 30 years ago, almost to the moment of this post, that John Hinckley opened fire on President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. There will be plenty of retrospectives and recaps and mentions of Jodie Foster in the press today (which we're sure she's thrilled about) but only FuzzyMemories can bring that coverage back home to Chicago. more ›

Larry Mendte, who worked at Chicago's WBBM-TV in the early 90s, has been sentenced after pleading guilty in August to hacking into former co-worker Alycia Lane's email account and leaking embarrassing communications she had with NFL Network's Rich Eisen. Mendte was given six months of house arrest and three years of probation. Here's Larry "Crash Override" Mendte in happier, wetter times: more ›

Reaching into Ross Perot's playbook, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour primetime television spot from CBS and is currently negotiating with other networks to purchase the same time slot. Obama will air an election infomercial during the time slot, scheduled for Wednesday, October 29. Officials at CBS said, "We will, of course, make an equivalent opportunity available to Senator McCain and other legally qualified candidates upon request." Perot's spot in '92 drew in 16.5 million viewers. As long as Barack brings the pie charts and doesn't go up against America's Next Top Model, we're guessing he'll do okay, too. more ›

To say that many of us at Chicagoist are news and politics junkies is a gross understatement. We devour it. And several of us are the nerdy types that enjoy a Sunday morning viewing news shows, including Face the Nation with the incomparable Bob Schieffer. Schieffer has been covering the news for over 30 years and has established himself as one of the premiere broadcast journalists of his (or any) generation, as well as an oft-called upon debate moderator. And, lucky us, Schieffer is hitting town this week for a pair of appearances to promote his new book, Bob Schieffer's America, a collection of commentaries Schieffer has offered at the end of Face the Nation over the years. more ›

Was this a slip? Was someone supposed to muzzle this unwitting sap before he spilled the beans? No matter what, we now know that the hit WBEZ show has arranged to film a pilot episode has been talking with CBS about maybe making it into a series. more ›

Mike Kelley's new show Swingtown was supposed to premiere last winter, but the writer's strike shut down production. Instead the hour-long drama debuted on CBS last Thursday, and Kelley actually sees the delay as a blessing in disguise. The show is set in the summer of 1976, and as he astutely points out, it parallels this summer in the sense that tides seem to be shifting. Politics are reorganizing, minds are changing, and our ideals are in a state of metamorphosis. For that reason, Swingtown, though set in the past, works well alongside today's pop culture. more ›

A couple planted live worms in a salad at an Indiana Applebee's in order to get a free meal. Guh-guh-guh-gross, and holy crap, at least go someplace expensive if you're going to carry around "a plastic container of maggot-like bee moth worms." The staff at the restaurant discovered the scam when the woman accidentally left her purse behind after she and her dining companion "loudly complained she had found worms wriggling in her salad after the two had almost finished eating" and walked out on a $57 tab. A waitress was looking through the purse for ID so she could contact the bag's owner when she found the bugs. She called the cops. Again, we say gross. [CBS 2, image by deyboblue] more ›

County prosecutors today announced their intent to seek the death penalty against Reginald Potts, the man accused of killing Nailah Franklin. [S-T] more ›

Eight Chicago Public School students were shot this weekend, three of whom died. So far, 17 CPS students have died from gun violence this school year; last year, 27 students died as a result of gunshots. That was a tragic high, and this year is on pace for the same number of young people dying--Mayor Daley? How's that gun control stuff going? Mr. Governor? We know you want to build a new building at NIU, and that's great and everything, but children in Chicago are being murdered. Frequently. Maybe there's something we could do about that, too. more ›

Former alderman Dorothy Tillman was arrested over the weekend in Alabama. She was charged with criminal tresspassing after refusing to leave an Montgomery hospital, according to the police. Tillman says the cops used excessive force and that she was brutalized. more ›

Five people were injured in Waukegan about an hour ago in an explosion in a shopping area that destroying Tuxedo World, Cleopatra's Unisex Hair Salon, Cellular Concepts, a travel agency and vacant space. Details are still emerging. more ›

Eight people were bound and robbed at gunpoint Sunday night at the Hilton Chicago at 720 S Michigan. The assailants got away with about $20,000. more ›

Drew Peterson's third wife's death has been ruled a homicide, Will County States’ Attorney James Glasgow announced today. Kathleen Savio died in 2004, and her body was exhumed in November after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared. more ›

The clock is ticking for Diann Burns, one of Chicago's top-paid news anchors. WBBM announced yesterday that starting April 21, six months before her $2 million contract is up, they're replacing Burns for the 5pm weekday news with California anchor Anne State. Burns will continue to coanchor the 6pm and 10pm newscasts with Rob Johnson, and State will report for the 10pm broadcast as well. more ›

Stephen Kazmierczak's professors and classmates say he seemed like a normal guy. [Trib] more ›

At least two people were shot during a geology class at Northern Illinois University this afternoon. As of 3:50, NIU had posted this on its website: more ›

Johanna Vera, 23, was charged with attempted murder for allegedly giving her children, 3 and 10 months, juice with rat poison and boric acid in it. Vera also apparently drank it herself. All three survived the November 29th incident, which Vera says stemmed from a domestic dispute that left her wanting to "die and take her children with her." [S-T] more ›

Well, the hits just kept on coming for one Mr. Christopher T. Turner of South Carolina. Last February, he checked into the Drake, where he was staying while on a business trip. He decided to have a little whiskey from the minibar, but when he drank the mini bottle of Dewar's White Label Scotch Whiskey, he says it tasted like urine. more ›

In a memo released to the press yesterday, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe tried to manage expectations for tonight's returns: more ›

More details are emerging about the Tinley Park murders from this weekend. In addition to the five women who died, one woman was shot but survived and gave police a description of the gunman, who is still at large. Lane Bryant is offering $50,000 reward for information that leads to the shooter's arrest. more ›

What's the best part about the Monday after the Super Bowl? Why it's heading into the office and listening to Mr. Hilarious Co-Worker re-enact all of his favorite Super Bowl ads of course. more ›

An Austin man was killed in a car crash Wednesday, just hours before his home and business went up in flames. James Phillips called 911 yesterday morning from behind the wheel, saying he was having an asthma attack. Around 10:30, he lost control of his Escalade, crashed into a pole and died. Then nine hours later, his barbecue restaurant and catering business Phillips Ribs and his home above the restaurant on 5048 W Chicago Ave on caught fire. more ›

Randy Salerno’s childhood friend has been charged in his death. Scott Hirschey, 44 and also of Crystal Lake, was charged yesterday with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle; he was allegedly drunk, driving the snowmobile with Salerno on the back. Hirschey was also injured in the accident and was released from the hospital yesterday. Salerno’s family says they don’t want to see Hirschey prosecuted. God, what a nightmare. more ›

Well, when it rains it pours. Today, it's raining awful people and practices, so let's get all the coverage done at once, and then we'll try to chase it with some puppies or some such after this. To the jerk cave! more ›

Investigators had in recent weeks become concerned about the movement of some of his finances, a source said.

CBS 2 morning news anchor Randy Salerno died yesterday in a snowmobiling accident in Wisconsin. He was 45. more ›

Send good thoughts Roger Ebert's way tomorrow. He's having surgery again. [S-T] more ›

Live in the 44th Ward? Care a ton about Wrigleyville development? There's a public meeting tonight with Alderman Tom Tunney to talk about the proposed development on Addison. Yes, head to the Stadium Club at Wrigley (swank!) at 6:30 tonight for the airing of grievances. Er, discussion. more ›

Today's must-read: The Reader's Whet Moser discovers the Chicago Tribune was not such a big Martin Luther King fan back in the day. more ›

With lots of delegates and potential momentum going into Super-Duper Tuesday, Nevada's primary has been both contentious and significant this year. Earlier this week a federal judge settled a lawsuit brought by the Nevada Teachers Union that should have helped Obama. Instead, with more than half of the precincts reporting, CBS, CNN and other major news outlets are projecting Clinton the winner today. Mitt Romney was the big winner in the GOP caucuses, taking his third primary win, and some serious momentum heading into Florida. more ›