Who rides bikes in Chicago? An article in today's New York Times on the City's infrastructure investments makes it seem like two-wheelers are unique to the North Side and Loop. more ›

The Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side currently has the edge in national voting with a proposal from the Gary Comer Youth Center and Make Miracles Grow Foundation to redevelop a two-acre brownfield into an urban farm. more ›

As Daley’s on his way out, there’s a lot being said about what he did (or didn’t do) for our city. While most of the hot topics include Chicago Public Schools, privatization fiascoes and police commissioners, not much is being said about his contribution to Chicago’s literacy culture, claims James Warren from the Chicago News Cooperative. more ›

Early and Often, the subscription-based political news website that was a partnership between the Chicago News Cooperative, Center Square Journal/Roscoe View Journal publisher (and Chicagoist alum) Mike Fourcher and Jimm Dispensa of Aldertrack fame, has ceased updates as of today. more ›

Chicago News Cooperative’s excellent columnist James Warren drops an educational bomb today in detailing CPS’s new “Breakfast in the Classroom” program. No doubt that nutritional issues are hampering performance for a lot of public school kids who simply aren’t getting the food at home needed to keep them focused through the day. And no doubt that takes a toll on teachers and other students. But Warren points to some hugely problematic issues with the program that makes us wonder if the well-meaning plan doesn’t end up doing more harm than good. more ›

Hyper-local media mogul (and former Chicagoist) Mike Fourcher, the man behind Center Square Journal and the recently-launched Roscoe View Journal, is taking an idea he says he’s been thinking about for five years live today: Early and Often, which builds on a lot of the work that Jimm Dispensa did with Aldertrack in 2007. The subscription-based Chicago political news site covers not only the (newly exciting) mayor's race but also every aldermanic race in the city, in depth, as well as the City Treasurer and Clerk campaigns. more ›

Three of the most recognizable features on the skyline west of the Loop are the smokestacks from the Fisk and Crawford Generating stations; ancient coal-fired power plants that most agree are blight on the City’s green image. They represent the Chicago's biggest carbon pollution sources and a health threat to this big burgh's populace. But even as a succession of loud voices have called for the plants to clean up or close down, these Teflon polluters remain operating in the places they were built a century ago. What gives them such staying power when similar facilities have been eliminated in so many other American cities? This week the Chicago News Cooperative points a finger at the twin pillars of the city’s political scene---money and the Mayor---but notes out that change could be coming. more ›

An eyebrow-raiser in the local media world this morning: The Reader's Mick Dumke, who's produced some of the best investigative reporting in the city over the last few years, is departing the weekly alt-paper for the Chicago News Cooperative, according to Reader colleague Michael Miner. It's a big name pick-up for the CNC and one who, for once, doesn't have an extensive background at the Tribune. In a talk with Miner, Dumke insists his departure isn't a protest over the firing of long-time editor Alison True, but that after that firing, "the conversations intensified." more ›

There might not be anything as un-sexy as water infrastructure. Which is probably why a year or two ago, you would probably have gotten blank stares if you had asked your neighbors about the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, a quasi-governmental agency responsible for dealing with the region’s water system. Despite its sizable budget, taxing powers, and massive impact throughout Chicagoland, MWRD has remained off of most people’s radar. But that has changed in a big way in 2010 as a series of high profile stories have shined a light in WWRD’s direction. more ›

Earlier this week, it was announced that former Tribune writer/editor Jim Kirk, most recently of Bloomberg's D.C. bureau, was heading back to Chicago to take the Managing Editor position at the Chicago News Cooperative, the (sorta) independent news organization whose stories are appearing in a special local Chicago edition of the New York Times twice a week. But Kirk's hiring is not going unnoticed for more than just the usual reasons. It seems that the original reason of skepticism over the CNC - that it's really just a collective of old Tribune folks - is being highlighted even further. more ›

We pondered the new Chicago section of the NY Times and even reminded you yesterday and...now it's here. I actually picked up a copy this morning but haven't had time to read it yet. However, lucky for me (and all of you, right?) you can also access the content online here. Besides the CNC's NY Times content, the site also features Chicago-centric headlines from other sources as well as links to other helpful Chicago sites (including us!). Of course, if you're reading this then you probably already know that stuff. more ›

Media junkies of Chicago, get ready. Tomorrow, the first edition of the New York Times featuring the Chicago-centric section (well, two pages, anyway) produced by the newly-formed Chicago News Cooperative will hit newsstands. The CNC will provide the Chicago content for the local edition, which will appear on Fridays and Sundays. Since the initial announcement, the CNC, already heavy on former Tribune folks, managed to poach a few other Tribune writers, including City Hall reporter Dan Mihalopoulos. In the words of Gawker, "New York Times Hires Gang Who Killed Chicago Tribune to Kill Tribune.” However, Gawker also insists that "The Times has always had a very good foothold in Chicago because there is no local alternative for the sort of people who read the Times--curious, smart, and not invested in Chicago's bottomless Second City status anxiety." more ›

• Chicago-based United Airlines has officially retired its full fleet of 737s.
• The Chicago News Cooperative continues to lure writers away from the Tribune. [via]
• The on-again, off-again fuel surcharge on the city's taxis goes into effect once more starting tonight at midnight.