We hope you’re not reading this on your phone, as the Illinois House voted Thursday to ban the use of hand-held mobile devices behind the wheel. more ›

Talking about high taxes in the City of Chicago is a pastime of sorts. Now, we have another one we can put on the list. According to a study done by The Wireless Association - "an international nonprofit membership organization founded in 1984, representing all sectors of wireless communications" - Chicago tops a nationwide list of cities with the highest cell phone taxes. The study was released over the weekend by New York congressman Anthony Weiner, the Vice Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. Weiner is also a cosponsor of the Cell Tax Fairness Act, a bill that counts a few of our own area U.S. reps - Luis Gutierrez, Judy Biggert, and Peter Roskam - among its cosponsors. more ›

T-Mobile customers rejoice: your carrier has joined U.S. Cellular, AT&T, Cricket, and Verizon as carriers that provide service in underground CTA subway tunnels. The 10-year deal will generate at least $3.1 million for the CTA; the underground systems for AT&T and T-Mobile should be active before the end of the year. [WBBM] more ›

Ever been flummoxed by being unable to use those iPhone apps for the CTA, Chicago 2016, Wilco, or even read us in the city's subways? Worry no more. The number of carriers boosting their cell phone signal to the subway tunnels of Chicago is about to grow again, this time adding iPhone carrier AT&T. U.S. Cellular, Verizon, and Cricket are the other three carriers to offer their signal underground. The CTA board is expecting to approve the contract today, which would be $3.1 million over 10 years. [Sun-Times] more ›

Be warned, Red and Blue Liners. It's about to get a little easier for those d-bag loud cell phone talkers to keep yammering even when the train is underground. Cricket Communications has signed a deal to provide wireless service in the underground tunnels, joining Verizon and U.S. Cellular. The agreement is for 10 years and Cricket will pay the CTA a fee of $22,250 per month to provide services on the 11.4 miles of underground tracks. The CTA also indicated to the Tribune that more providers will be provided in the near future. [Tribune] more ›

Oh, Verizon. Aside from providing me with a last-second Halloween costume idea every year, you've always been benign. Well, until this big no-no. It seems some nosy employees at Verizon accessed Barack Obama's cell phone records, though no voicemails or emails were accessed. Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam issued an apology statement, saying:

We apologize to President-Elect Obama and will work to keep the trust our customers place in us every day...a number of Verizon Wireless employees have, without authorization, accessed and viewed President-elect Barack Obama's personal cell phone account...All employees who have accessed the account — whether authorized or not — have been put on immediate leave, with pay. Employees with legitimate business needs for access will be returned to their positions, while employees who have accessed the account improperly and without legitimate business justification will face appropriate disciplinary action.

Late last year one of Belmont Avenue’s staple boutique shops, Tragically Hip, moved down the block. (Relax! It’s not gone!) Instead of being replaced with yet another trendy clothing store, we were surprised to see an entirely new idea move in. The space is now home to 20 Seconds, a store devoted to selling all the self-defense and survival gear any rape-fearing urbanite could possibly need. more ›

Sumei Hu, the woman who disappeared from O'Hare on Feb 26, still hasn't been seen or heard from, but her husband Steven Frash went on Greta Van Susteren's show last night to explain--or, not really explain--what happened. 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 ›

On the missing/murdered woman radar, Reginald Potts, Jr., the former boyfriend of Nailah Franklin, who has been held without bail since Decemeber when he was charged with Franklin’s death, plead not guilty on Friday. Potts has been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, vehicular hijacking and robbery. Potts and Franklin dated on and off for several months before Franklin’s death last September. more ›

Police announced today that they believe Anu Solanki is alive and with a male companion. Investigators used her cell phone records to connect her to 23-year-old Karan Jani of California. Solanki, who hasn't been heard from since Monday, was in contact with Jani several times the day she disappeared, and police say they think the two are in a rental car. If you see Solanki or Jani, give the Cook County Sheriff's office a jingle (847-294-4733)--she's still a missing person. And if you have a USC log-in, please let us know what Jani's Facebook profile says. more ›

The thousands of Chicagoans who have received citations for refusing to wear an ugly head set while driving may feel a bit at ease today. The Law Offices of Blake Horwitz is filing a class action lawsuit against the city, Mayor Daley, and several police officers for illegally ticketing thousands of drivers in violation of the cell phone ban since its inception over two years ago. more ›

Wow, Alderman Tom Tunney has been having an interesting couple of months. First he gets a ticket for talking on his cell phone while driving and may have received special favors from the police department, then he makes a sweet deal and moves his flagship Ann Sather's, and now it's being reported that Tunney was the victim of an attempted holdup yesterday afternoon just a block from his 44th ward office. more ›

More news today about the state's case against Reginald Potts, and the evidence is really piling up. Potts was charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend Nailah Franklin over the weekend and on Monday was denied bail. more ›

Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old Bolingbrook woman, has now been missing for five days. Though police are still calling their investigation a missing person search (and not a homicide investigation,) it can't be good that they are searching a nearby pond. Today's news has three main parts: The actual investigation: Two days before she disappeared, Stacy Peterson told husband Drew Peterson that she wanted a divorce, according to her aunt, Suzan Robison. The next day, Peterson... more ›

Undeniable proof that cops actually are cracking down on drivers who disregard the cell phone ban: Alderman Tom Tunney got a ticket for talking on his cell phone while driving. more ›

A jury of science professionals unveiled their picks for the top ten most important scientific achievements in Chicago history. The list, from most to least important: The first controlled nuclear reaction The invention of the first portable cell phone The development of hormone treatment of prostate and breast cancer The invention of magnetic recording The discovery of malaria treatment The creation of the modern skyscraper The proof of the existence of the top quark The... more ›

Do you find your cell phone doesn't do enough for you, what with features limited to text messaging, video and music playing, internet access, cameras, alarm clocks and, oh yes, actual call capabilities? Do you find yourself wondering, "When, oh when, will I finally be fulfilled by my cell?" Well, until we get those kind of Touch capabilities built in, maybe not for a while, but in the meantime, you'll soon be able to use... more ›

Number one place not to smoke weed/hash: work. A longtime Cook County employee was busted in the stairwell of the County Building on Wednesday for allegedly smoking hash. New allegations of brutality by Chicago police have surfaced. In his lawsuit, one man claims he was beaten during a traffic stop. In that vein, two hundred people attended a town hall meeting on the city's West Side Wednesday night to complain about police misconduct and... more ›

Every day, we walk along a stretch of Madison Street in order to get to work. Outside a certain Dunkin Donuts west of Wells, we frequently spot a bike with a trailer on it filled with blankets and newspapers. That particular bike belongs to an aging, mild-mannered man and his large yellowish dog, who squat in alcoves and under awnings, looking for handouts. We’ve seen plenty of people who take a couple minutes out of... more ›

Former WKQX-FM 101.1 radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller filed a lawsuit Tuesday against his former employer, saying radio officials disparaged his show and blocked him from getting other work. We are getting pretty sick of the cell phone drivers, but we are always amazed at the cell phone bikers (not in a good way). Yesterday, an 19-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a garbage truck on the Northwest Side, was apparently talking... more ›

Can local NBA players breathe a bit easier now? Late last week, Chicago police arrested four gang members in connection with the home invasion and robbery at Antoine Walker's River North mansion. Working with police in Burr Ridge investigating the similar break-in at Eddy Curry's house, the police connected two of the suspects to both crimes. The alleged motive for the two home invasions was "monetary gain" and neither of the NBA stars has been... more ›

To background, I manage a Chicago band called Tom Schraeder & His Ego, which landed a coveted spot on the 2007 bill. Though our slot was early (12:30 p.m. on Friday), the work for artists doesn’t stop once they’ve loaded up their vans (or in our case, the hearse) and exited the festival grounds. To give our esteemed Chicagoist readers a quick sketch of life deep on the Lollapalooza undercard, I kept a scribbled-note journal... more ›

When we are alone on the train or on the street late at night, especially if we are (maybe just a little) impaired in any way, we are pretty cautious. We turn off our music and just generally try to be aware of our surroundings without being afraid of them. That being said, we've found in recent years that the very best defense against would-be attackers is a ponytail directly on top of the head.... more ›

Ever since Frank Kruesi got kicked to the curb back in April, we’ve been nothing short of elated. We looked forward to a new reign of … whatever the opposite of ineptitude is. (Eptitude?) With time comes sobriety, as the usual problems have started cropping up once more. Two trains shutting down in one week? Bad form. Honestly, though, we weren’t expecting that kind of mechanical stuff to be cleared up overnight, especially when the... more ›

Earlier this week, accompanied by armed guards, and carefully escorted onto American soil, the first shipment of iPhones began to arrive. The creator of the ubiqitous iPod, has the PR buzz (or Reality Distortion Field) in full effect, and we can't remember so many people ever caring so much about a cell phone. No one really got excited about the new Blackberry (even if they are promoted by John Mayer), and when an updated TREO... more ›

Chicagoist likes to think we work on a European schedule, taking the entire month of August to hang out with the Parisist staff on the French Rivieria sunbathing and making snotty comments about Americans. Sadly, our limited vacation days don't allow us to show off our pasty legs for much more than a week. Recently while some of us were on vacation, we posted, we checked e-mail like we were important, and we stayed in touch with people in the city despite our best efforts to "get away." more ›

While, we always thought that the debate was pointless, speculation over where Springfield is actually set has raged throughout the 18 years of the Simpson's existence. The creators in "Behind the Laughter" have insinuated that it is probably somewhere in Kentucky, but it was based largely on Portland, OR, where creator, Matt Groening, grew up. For the most part, we are content with Springfield being Anytown, USA, allowing the creators to make it whatever they want for a particular episode. more ›

We know you guys aren't sitting around pining for us, nor do you really care about our personal lives, but we got caught up in some personal things, and our lives were a whirlwind for a couple of weeks. We're caught up now, and people were being pretty dumb whilst we were away. Welcome to a week (or two) in wtupid roundup. We're pretty sure this is the plot of a movie — A firefighter... more ›

Chicagoist isn’t afraid of riding coattails. In fact, we have a lot of friends that we’re just waiting to get famous so we can ride their tails all the way to L.A. It’s not that we don’t think we can make it ourselves. Of course we can — Chicagoist is very resourceful — but wouldn’t it be so much easier for someone else to make it so we can hang out? more ›