It's been confirmed. Orlando Jones, John Stroger's godson who avoided being interviewed by the FBI in conjunction with a hosptial shakedown in Las Vegas, committed suicide on a Michigan beach. Not only is this a tragedy for the people involved, but we're really disappointed with the Jesuits, as well -- The Rev. Donald McGuire has been convicted of molesting two boys in Wisconsin, faces a new accusation of sexual abuse, and his Jesuit religious... more ›

For the past six weeks, the Chicago Sun-Times has been conducting a trial against the Chicago Tribune on charges of "gross negligence and neglect in its ownership of the Chicago Cubs." Over the course of the past six weeks, the prosecution and defense have "called" countless witnesses to the stand. Jerry "The bleacher preacher" Pritikin, Marc Silverman, Milo Hamilton, Jimmy Piersall, Mike Murphy, Dallas Green, and Ron Santo. Santo was the lone witness for... more ›

Neil Steinberg, Sun-Times columist more ›

Last night, Chicagoist sat down to watch the premiere of “My Boys” on TBS. As the show is supposed to take place in Chicago, we figured it’d be worth a look to see if it captures the spirit of the city and whether it’s worth your time. On both counts, the answer is “not really.” “Sex and the City” is the show that “My Boys” gets compared to the most, as it is ostensibly about... more ›

Oprah urges each and every one of her viewers to “live your best life.” And whether she’s making like an angel or giving out free cars, she often helps to facilitate that in any way she can. But we’re pretty sure she’s not happy about people using her Oprahness to scam people out of money via e-mail phishing schemes. Illinois’ own angel Attorney General Lisa Madigan says not to fall for it. In other less... more ›

A group known as Gospel Music Capitol of the World Productions wants the City of Chicago to purchase and restore the Chicago Defender building and use it to house an International Gospel Museum. (We know this might be the pot calling the kettle black, but shouldn’t that be Gospel Music C-A-P-I-T-A-L Of The World Productions?) The release cites a recent Chicago Sun-Times article that quotes David Bahlman, president of the former Landmarks Preservation Council of... more ›

You know, when Chicagoist received an internal office email alerting us to the impending divorce of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, the subject line read "!!!." Obviously, we all were just as animated in our reaction to this news as the next celebrity stalker. more ›

It’s been a quiet month since we last heard an update about Roger Ebert, the Chicago Sun-Times film critic and co-host of “Ebert and Roeper.” Back then, we posted some suggestions for putting out some good vibes to speed along the man’s recovery. But the best suggestion came from one of our commenters, FernLaPlante: “I think we should all take Polaroids of ourselves flashing the Thumbs Up sign and mail them to Ebert and/or ABC-7.... more ›

When the tubes of the Interwebs stretch all over this planet, it’s sometimes a bit odd to see some local ‘Net news. more ›

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scene. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorito bananas and white guys shopping for wives. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. Bostonist sees Boston and Somerville each whip out their art and face off. A plagiarized novel is the... more ›

If you’re willing to hit the road, Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival has some gems worth seeing. This year’s festival at the Virginia Theater in stately Champaign, IL runs from April 26th through the 30th. Though all the festival passes are sold out, you can still purchase tickets to individual screenings of some of Ebert’s favorite films including My Fair Lady and the criminally ignored David Mamet film Spartan as well as recent fare like... more ›

While Chicago may not be the "First town" of the nation, the babbling rant from the New York Post's gossip columnist Cindy Adams was odd in general, hilarious at best. In a column reminiscent of, oh, the fight over the World's Fair of 1893, the more ›

It has been a while since we've read something from a major newspaper that caused us to repeatedly hit our head against the wall. Just that happened when we were introduced to the first blog from the Chicago Sun-Times. We'll pause here for you to skim the first page of Debra Pickett's new blog. Go ahead... just watch your head. See what we mean? The Sun-Times hasn't had the greatest last couple of years: circulation... more ›

For most of Chicagoist, not to mention the majority of its readership, our first exposure to Richard Pryor was not that of the man who combined his own personal pain with what the Tribune's Allan Johnson calls "the human condition" to create some of the most important social commentary in American history but rather as the balloon vendor in The Muppet Movie. It would be several years before we were not only able to get... more ›

It was only a matter of time before Lord Conrad Black was indicted on criminal fraud charges. Just a few minutes ago, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announced that Black would stand trial for looting millions of dollars from Hollinger, his once-mighty media empire which owns the Chicago Sun-Times. The company also owns dozens of suburban newspapers and once owned the Daily Telegraph (UK) and the Jerusalem Post. The indictments also named three former Hollinger execs,... more ›

Last night, some of Chicago’s best-known music writers and editors got together to answer a simple question: how does an unknown band get nice things written about them? The discussion, presented by the Chicago Music Commission was titled “Pitching Your Story: Media and Local Music” with Chicago Tribune music critic Greg Kot serving as moderator. In attendance were Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork Media; Peter Margasak of the Chicago Reader; David Jakubiak, with the Chicago Sun-Times;... more ›

Are you ready for some Bears football? Chicagoist sure is! The preseason is over, the roster is set and the Bears head into 2005 full of optimism but with a rookie QB leading the offense. Will they see an improvement over last year's woeful 5-11 campaign? Or will they continue to languish at the bottom of the NFL standing? With the Bears season starting on Sunday, we thought we'd take a look at what's in... more ›

Despite the swirl of scandals that threaten to envelop Mayor Daley, one bulletproof accomplishment cited by his defenders is the revitalization of Chicago’s downtown area. Over the past week, the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times have examined the changes in the Loop and beyond. more ›

Keeping up with the scandal at the Sun-Times isn't easy. The story has unfolded like a Greek tragedy, without (so far) the murder and incest. more ›

Chicagoist is admittedly a tad bit biased when it comes to local author, blogging goddess and all-around kick-ass person, Wendy McClure of Pound. We can't help ourselves. She's been cracking our shit up for years now with her sass. So you can imagine how pleased-as-punch we were today to read McClure's brilliant retort to The Assclown Three over at the Chicago Sun-Times, in their own paper no less, in regards to ... yes. The Dove... more ›

The Audit Bureau of Circulation reported yesterday that the Chicago Tribune's daily newspaper circulation dropped 6.6% to 573,744, making it the nation's eighth largest newspaper. ABC, a non-profit organization set up to impartially audit newspaper circulation figures, released the figures as part of a report on the nation largest newspaper circulations. The Chicago Sun Times, which has in the past reported a daily circulation of about 415,000 was not included in the report due to disiplinary action stemming from last year's fudging of circulation figures. more ›

Can Chicagoans handle another weekly read? Following London and New York, Chicago finally gets a Time Out magazine all to itself. Today marks the launch of TimeOut Chicago, a weekly "bible" of food, movies, events, books, arts, theater, clubs, music, gay/lesbian happenings... the list goes on and on. The magazine aims to give Chicagoans what Metromix, the Red papers and Chicago Reader lack. In the debut issue, Editor-in-Chief Chad Schlegel declares, "We've read the other... more ›

Michael Anderson, a senior staff member at Howard Brown Health Center, was arrested yesterday for dealing crystal meth, the same drug his employer was fighting. Howard Brown is the midwest's largest gay and lesbian health center. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, police found 109 grams of meth worth about $36,000 in Anderson's Lakeview apartment and then arrested him at work. He allegedly told police he was selling the drugs to pay for his own habit.... more ›

Michael Cooke, the editor in chief of the Chicago Sun-Times has resigned after 5 years. He's leaving to take the same position with the New York Daily News. Rumors have been flying for days, but today they were confirmed when Cooke announced in an email to Sun-Times employees that he'll take over as editor in chief of the Daily News in February. Cooke will fill the job left open when Edward Kosner retired from the... more ›

Chicago Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter announced yesterday that he'll unveil a health and fitness program for firefighters in the next few days. The planned program will be voluntary, but Trotter has also been pushing for mandatory physical fitness benchmarks for firefighters. more ›

Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert dueled Conrad Black, the ousted CEO of the paper's parent company Hollinger, in letters published in the paper today. more ›

The Hollinger scandal has finally busted itself wide upen, but the ensuing legal battles have probably just begun. Hollinger International, which owns the Sun-Times, has admitted, after a three-month investigation, that they inflated the Sun-Times' circulation by over 50,000 for weekdays and 17,000 on Sundays. According to Hollinger's press release, Saturday circulation was not inflated. Weird. more ›

hits bookstores tomorrow, and we want it pretty badly. If you haven't already perused the dozens of photos, conveniently organized by decade, let us take this opportunity to highly recommend doing so. more ›

Friends of the Parks, a parks advocacy organization, has criticized the Chicago Park District for permitting a 12-foot Nike swoosh to be emblazoned on a new park. Nike donated $500,000 to build a new artificial turf soccer field in Douglas Park, but some are saying that the logo is obtrusive and inappropriately commercializes what should be public space. more ›

Joseph Pannell, (identified in the Tribune as James Pannell) 55, was arrested in Canada yesterday for shooting a Chicago police officer in 1969. The former Black Panther allegedly shot Terrence Knox, now 56, three times in the arm. Pannell was released on bail in 1971 but failed to return to court. He was rearrested in 1973, again released on bail, and again failed to return. The case pretty much collected dust until 2003, when Knox asked the cold case squad to reopen the case. That's a young Pannell in the picture, bee tee dubs. more ›