Artists beware. If you plan to paint anything on your own property that depicts even the slightest vestige of the Chicago Police Department, you run the risk of being brown-washed. At least that’s what happened to well-known Chicago artist and muralist Gabriel Villa Thursday. He received a call that a large-scale, outdoor mural he had been painting in Bridgeport for two weeks had been covered in brown paint - at the insistence of 11th Ward Alderman James Balcer. more ›

If you've been waiting to see professional lacrosse at Soldier Field, you can exhale because your time is finally here. The Chicago Machine, of Major League Lacrosse, have reached an agreement for the professional lacrosse team to play a pair of games this season at Soldier Field. Appropriately enough, it'll be the season opener and closer that'll happen at the spaceship on the lake. The Machine will open their 2009 season on May 30 against the Boston Cannons and close it out August 8 against the Long Island Lizards. Other home games will take place at Toyota Park and one match-up (against D.C.) happens in Milwaukee. more ›

With all the investigating and convicting going on these days, the case against the Hispanic Democratic Organization and its leadership hasn't been in the news much lately. With George Ryan out the way, the feds can get back to taking down the Chicago Machine. The first casualty of what will likely be many in that case came yesterday, with John Resa, an HDO coordinator who controlled some 70 city jobs, getting 15 months in prison... more ›

Of the grassroots congressional campaigns this season, Mark Pera's race to unseat 3rd District Congressman Dan Lipinski is among the more notable. According to the Pera campaign, they out-raised Congressman Dan Lipinski during the 3rd quarter, $100,000 to $75,000. Even more telling was where the money came from: Pera's nearly 850 contributions came from individual donors, while just one of Lipinski's 74 contributions was from inside the district ($100 from a single contributor in Brookfield).... more ›

Lacrosse Fans should head out to Toyota Park this Saturday to catch some Illinois High School Lacrosse action in addition to checking out the professionals of the Chicago Machine. The first game on the docket Saturday is a match-up of Grayslake and Fenwick at 2pm in the Lacrosse Cup Final, featuring finalists from the Illinois Class B tournament. Directly after that match at 4pm will be the Class A Illinois State Championship game. Since 2002... more ›

We read a little story in the Sun-Times the other day that had us scratching our heads a little. Well, actually, a lot. First, we were thrown off kilter to see that the story advocated bypassing 311 in all sorts of situations (squirrels in gutters, potholes in the street, needing a building permit) for ringing up our alderman (alderperson?). However given that our alderman can "intervene on our behalf to resolve these problems twice as... more ›

Lacrosse, often considered to be a sport played only on the East Coast of the United States, continues to grow in the Midwest and here in Chicago in particular. Obviously, the introduction of two Chicago-based professional lacrosse teams, the Chicago Shamrox of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and the Chicago Machine of Major Lacrosse League (MLL) proves there are investors who believe the sport can succeed in Chicago. This weekend, local lacrosse standouts will have... more ›

Professional Lacrosse is coming to Toyota Park in Bridgeview. The Chicago Machine announced they will play their home games at Toyota Park. Although the 20,000 seat stadium was built as the home of the Chicago Fire, it is also an excellent facility for concerts and sports other than soccer. The Machine played their inaugural season at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. John H. Meister, the Machine's President, is excited about the move as it will... more ›

The big news yesterday was that Daley would run for relelection. Lined up at city hall with all the aldermanic candidates was none other than Terry Peterson, former Chicago Housing Authority CEO and Daley's campaign manager, carrying less than 25,000 signatures to put Hizzoner on the ballot. This is a far cry from past campaigns when Daley surrogates would arrive with nearly a quarter million signatures. While some have speculated that filing light like this... more ›

Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States and here in Chicago. In the span of a few months, Chicago has been awarded two professional lacrosse teams. The first team, the Chicago Machine, will play traditional outdoor lacrosse as part of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). Their inaugural season begins May 20th and runs through August. The Machine will make their home at the Sports Complex of Benedictine University in Lisle. Chicago... more ›