Results tagged “chicago”

According to the American Psychological Association's Stress in America survey, Chicagoans are stressed about work and job stability this year. More than 60 percent of residents report money, work and the economy as significant sources of stress. The study also cited that more than half of Chicagoans have been told by a health care provider that they have a chronic condition.

Chicago dedicated a bronze bust in honor of a man once thought of as the founder of Chicago on Saturday, according to Chicago Breaking News. Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable was a Haitian fur trapper and the "first non-indigenous settler to the Chicago area," the report said. He was named founder of the city by the state of Illinois in 1968. The bust, which was donated by members of the city's Haitian-American community, is located on the east side of Michigan Avenue, north of the Chicago River.

                     

In this day and age of replica retro and manufactured memories, it's easy to lose sight of true nostalgia, surrounding ourselves instead with disposable memories and instant gratification. Which is why, when, a true gem from the past finds it's way to us, we're confronted with a real look at our past. One such event happened to John Maloof, who came across Vivian Maier's photography at an estate sale, and knew he had to share this unknown photographer's talents.

Every time our car gets towed from the Chicagoist Happy Hour, we resign ourselves to our fate: a long, expensive ride down to a random city lot somewhere incredibly inconvenient. Endless lines. Administrative hurdles that make tax forms look easy. And sometimes, we're lucky enough to find someone generous enough to give us a quasi-official hearing. We always lose. And then it's ramen noodles again, for months. But at least the hearing made us feel better about the situation.

There's a lot to love about this 1948 MGM Traveltalks film on Chicago (in glorious Technicolor!).

Previously

"Jump in the crowd/ Spark your lighters/ Wave 'em around/ And if you don't know by now/ I'm talkin' about Chi-Town."

                     

A couple of weeks ago, Chicago burlesque star Red Hot Annie sent us a note, pimping her next show, framed on cult classic The Big Lebowski. The motivation (Lebowski Month) was obvious. But naturally, we were curious. How does one translate galumphing, hairy, men into a strip tease that anyone actually wants to watch? We had to investigate. And so we did, Saturday night at the Gorilla Tango Theater. "Rollin' Outta Here Naked" is The Big Lebowski, live. With nipple tassels and a ferret. Red Hot Annie is well, hot. And The Dude (originally played by Jeff Bridges), for all that he is, is not. Spend $15 every Saturday night through September 30 and see for yourself.

                

After thinking about it, we took it upon ourselves to make it to the Saturday afternoon showcase at the Petrillo Band Shell in Grant Park. The four hours we were there featured everyone from Chicago local legend Fred Anderson (celebrating his 80th birthday) to Netherlands-based Azerbaijani Amina Figarova and her sextet, as well as the work of Curtis Mayfield, arranged by William Parker (featuring Black Power poet Amiri Baraka and drumming savant Hamid Drake); the night was closed out by the Dave Holland Big Band.

The street-grid system in Chicago celebrated its 100th anniversary this week, a venture that began on Sept. 1, 1909 at the intersection of State and Madison and formed the basis for a new system that changed every address in the city and even carried over into several Chicagoland suburbs.

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-5th) said he will sleep on the couch in his office at the U.S. House of Representatives when he leaves for his second session of Congress in Washington next week. “It’s not just me,” he said, “There are probably around 40 other members of the House who do it. But it’s worth it.” Quigley, the most junior representative in Congress at 132 days (through Sept. 2), said he flies back home every weekend to see his family in Lakeview - and that he’s sleeping on his couch in his office there because of his daughters, both in private universities. “I had to pay my way through college, and it was a struggle,” he told Chicagoist on Tuesday. “I didn’t want them to go through that… If I could just get the cleaning crew to not wake me up at 2 a.m., it’d be good.”

Here's a shock: there may be some financial shenanigans afoot dealing with the 2016 Olympics and TIFs. A few weeks ago, we took at a look at the city’s new TIF Sunshine website where you can see all of the city’s TIFs, what they’re for and where they’re boundaries are. Last winter, the city announced Michael Reese Hospital would be the future site of the Olympic Village should Chicago be awarded the 2016 Olympics. In June of this year, the City of Chicago bought Michael Reese hospital for $86 million and Mayor Daley later announced that a new TIF would be created to help finance some of those Olympic dreams. That didn’t quite gel; we thought the hospital was already located in the Bronzeville TIF. So we took a look at the TIF transparency website with Friend of Chicagoist Adam Verwymeren and, lo and behold, Michael Reese Hospital was already in the middle of that existing Bronzeville TIF.

          

After the death of blues legend Koko Taylor at age 80 this year, we were struck by Chicago's (arguably) most famous musical form can too easily slip between the cracks in favor of things like, well, Lollapalooza. So after Bluesfest, we took to the clubs - and we've been photographing bluesmen hard at work, all over the city, ever since. This week: the dueling bands at Kingston Mines.

With most folks prepping for that little festival (ahem, ahem) starting tomorrow, it's hard to imagine that there are shows at venues a bit further from the beaten path. E.g. Beat Kitchen's Diane Birch show last night.

      

The equine population of Chicago has tripled this summer, thanks to the horses performing in Cavalia in the West Loop.“It’s all about natural horsemanship and movement,” said performer Casey Hackett, 26. “We’re harnessing their energy into the performance, and the show changes every time.”

Come on, feel the Illinoize indeed. Nevermind those 44 arrests in New Jersey last week. It seems that although that would seem to give The Garden State an advantage in corruption over Illinois, the FBI's statistics say otherwise. According to a report in the Sun-Times, Illinois still ranks pretty high in corruption if you're going by the number of FBI agents tracking political corruption cases. Chicago ranks 2nd in terms of U.S. cities, only behind Washington, D.C., putting Illinois near the top. Not only that, but former Springfield bureau chief Weysan Dun is now in charge in Newark so it's pretty easy to see where he cut his chops in preparation for last week's big bust.

If you're a fan of trying to catch a glimpse of President Obama on one of his rare trips back home to Chicago, you'll have a chance in about three weeks when Obama returns for a DNC fundraiser. No word on how long he'll be in town or if the family will be with him. Really, I just wanted an excuse to run the above picture.

                      

We were excited to go out and actually see the Counting Crows live - if only to watch the bouncing dreads of Adam Duritz in person and marvel at their plasticine uniformity.

A look that demonstrates versatility to handle the temperamental Chicago weather, Robert wears his polyester trousers rolled up, along with a cardigan for extra warmth. Mixing different fabrics of black, Robert creates an interesting monochrome look.

              

"I've spent all my life in America," said Saman, 29. "But I feel connected to everything back there. And it's clear from what we're hearing that something is wrong with the elections [in Iran.]" Saman, who gave only his first name, said his mother was singing the Iranian national anthem along with the protesters via cell phone for most of Tuesday afternoon as a fraction of Chicago's Iranian community rallied in protest of the allegedly falsified elections. "She knows all the words, [to the song, Sorud-e Melli-ye Iran]" he said. "They left Iran before the [1979] Revolution." Saman said he had to read the Persian lyrics, supplied by organizers, to keep up with her.

                                 

There may only be three chords in a typical blues song - but that was no limit to musical variety this weekend. More than 600,000 people were expected to attended the annual free festival in Grant Park. And no matter what stage (or what club) the house was rocked. The best concert we saw (of the more than 60 acts who performed) was blues icon Bettye LaVette. Now 63, LaVette has been in the music business for more than 45 years, a fact she spent several minutes discussing as she transitioned through her set. Age has not proved a barrier though - LaVette even dropped the mic to sing unaided at some points Saturday night.

A new ordinance will give Chicago aldermen at least 60 days to review major city lease agreements and sales in the city. The law, which was approved by the city council June 3, permits aldermen to call in independent auditors before the city contracts are put out to bid. It also allows the council to call on the office of the inspector general for review agreements, though the council retains its usual responsibility for review.

Splattered in blues, yellows, and fluorescent reds, Corea paints a fresh, avant-garde, teenage look. By layering two dresses, Corea transforms a one-dimensional dress into a gradient of colors: from the dark grey top down to the mesh skirt popping with bursts of red. Offering us a glimpse of her soft side, Corea matches her tutu skirt with frilly socks, complementing each other in texture and fabric.

When we were kids, we built vast cities out of Legos. But our micro-sized towns could never have competed with the mini city that the Chicago Architecture Foundation will unveil to the public this week. The exhibition will be free to the public, and located in the atrium of the CAF at 224 S. Michigan Ave. The official public opening and reception will take place on June 11, from 5:30 to 7pm. The exhibit will remain open for viewing until November 20.

Ald. Danny Solis (25th) may have to face a runoff in Pilsen if a federal appeals court decides to overturn his 2007 election to the office. The election two years ago hinged on 178 votes originally cast for disgraced candidate Ambrosio Medrano, who was disqualified by the Illinois Supreme Court for his felony conviction a mere four days before the late February vote. Solis won, but by a tally of only 49.95 percent.

                     

It was billed as the rematch of the year - local boy Jamie Sandoval (now 13-4-1 record; 12 KOs) versus Juan Carlos "El Pez" Martinez (now 8-15) in the boxing ring Friday night at UIC, fighting for the World Boxing Federation's Americas Lightweight Championship. Instead, it was ten rounds of tepid boxing, culminating in a clear win for Martinez. Sandoval, 28, who has been chided by his peers for skipping the proving ground of amateur boxing to head straight into the pros ring, spent the first two rounds avoiding his opponent and the last two forgetting his combinations, often attempting to land single punches on a deft and flighty Martinez. The latter fighter wasn't exactly jumping into the holes left by his opponent, but he could afford to be selective, especially over the course of the first five rounds. Sandoval is former world champion Jesus Chavez's little brother, and has the benefit of great training; whether Friday's fight was a fluke remains to be seen.

Redefining the classics, Ashley creates a new take on the timeless leather jacket with dark denim ensemble. With her low hanging scarf, she softens up what would otherwise be a masculine rigid look.

A Chicago activist was arrested along with a large group of other protesters in Moscow on Saturday during a gay rights demonstration near Moscow State University. “If...the right to assemble is taken away from lesbian and gay people here in Russia, then other Russians have to fear for their own freedom,” said Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network here in Chicago, before police detained him according to a Tribune report. A spokesman for the Moscow police said 40 people were seized, but media reports put the number at 80.

Craigslist will drop its 'erotic services' classified ads section in favor of another, more heavily-moderated adult category, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Wednesday. At a morning press conference, Madigan said, "I think this is a fundamental change, a recognition by Craigslist that the erotic services section truly had become an Internet brothel, truly had become an illegal and dangerous place." The decision followed several months of negotiation with the attorney generals of three states, including Illinois, and a federal lawsuit filed March 5 by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Dart, holding his own presser, said, "Under a fair and objective analysis, it's clear that but for our lawsuit, and the pressure we brought as a result of that and the exposure that came as well, that that is what brought this to conclusion."

Like Holly Golighty peering into Tiffany’s on a quiet morning, Shannon stares into the camera showing off her look. Her high-waisted skirt and quarter sleeve cardigan wave gracefully as she walks the breezy Chicago streets. Leaving the pearls and tiara behind, Shannon accessorizes her outfit with a creamy blue cloche hat and flats, creating a casual yet elegant city look.