Drivers: it's time to get your new city stickers and City Clerk Susana Mendoza's office quietly started online sales earlier this week, a full two weeks before in-person sales begin. more ›

Chicago is losing one of its biggest — arguably its biggest — cultural advocates at the end of the month with the retirement of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Lois Weisberg. The 85-year-old Weisberg is best known for organizing the wildly successful "Cows on Parade" public art exhibit of more than a decade ago, but her legacy runs deeper than that. Weisberg was also the driving force behind the Chicago Cultural Center, Taste of Chicago, Gallery 37, most of the major music festivals along the lakefront and neighborhood festivals throughout the city, and Friends of the Parks. Weisberg's knack for networking was the subject of a Malcolm Gladwell New Yorker profile. In short, Chicago could still conceivably be a cow town without Lois Weisberg. more ›

Did you know that Chicago's an ecotourism destination? Neither did we, until we noticed that the Chicago Tourism Office's Website includes a page geared toward "ecotourists." We always thought ecotourism involved rain forests and other undeveloped habitats, not Donald Trump-made skyscrapers and potholes galore. Go figure! more ›

Of all the egregious things the city can do to property owners, from jacking property taxes to the current favorite, the misuse of TIFs, none seems more unfair and ripe for abuse as eminent domain. For the uninitiated, eminent domain allows the city government to seize ownership of private property, paying the owner whatever the city deems as "market value". It's supposed to be used for the "greater public good", such as the expansion... more ›

Hoooly balls, this Streets and Sanitation news item--is it a press release? just an announcement? either way — is a hot mess. Apparently the City is "over the moon with street sweeping mileage." We're not so over-the-moon about this hand-drawn, badly punctuated flyer. Does this make Streets and San trashy? Ho, ho.... more ›

First bottled water was cool and tap water was out. Then bottled water was bad (eek! pollution!) and tap water was the name of the game. And now... we say stick with beer, as some scary news has emerged about the people guarding Chicago's H2O. more ›

Mayor Daley unveiled his $5.4 billion budget today, and with it the expected $108 million increase in property taxes and the 10-cent charge on bottled water. City stickers for SUVs will be more expensive, parking fines will be higher, the tax on liquor will also increase, and the monthly phone surcharge that covers 911 costs will go from $1.25 to $2.50. Also, every time you hear a baby giggle, you have to give the City... more ›

LAist began the month with a new food series exploring the popular and unknown late night eats around town. If a Top Chef winner opened up a late night spot in Los Angeles, denizens would flock it, yet the LA Times and other media might be wary. Turning to sports, the Dodger season was quite memorable in the way that it imploded and the LA County Sheriff's Department made some games of their own... more ›

It's making the rounds, so we feel sort of obligated to link it up, but bleh. Someone really did hang a skinned goat on the Harry Caray statue, though their curse-cursing didn't do anything. And the cops had to cut it down. Still trying to figure out what to do tonight? Local artist Brian Morris's solo show of drawings and customized toys has its opening party at Rotofugi tonight. If you like skulls and... more ›

This is going to get way boring, but what the eff. The City Council meeting is streaming online! Watch it yourself, or just follow along with us. Updates at the bottom, until we get too tired of doing this. 10:02 They take attendance. 10:03 This stream is...meh. It keeps cutting out. "We have taken a major step in making our city government more transparent." Turns out they didn't know how hard it would be to... more ›

Something tells Chicagoist that Pars Cove isn't going to be rocking out a booth at next year's Taste of Chicago. The restaurant — and specifically the cucumber hummus salad it served at the Taste — is at the center of a health department investigation. So far, 126 people have reported feeling ill (up from 17 yesterday), and it isn't because of the turkey legs they ate; investigators believe the tahini used in the hummus could be contaminated with salmonella. 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 ›

Last week ended with 144 aldermanic candidates having filed nominating petitions, among them 47 incumbents. It has been said that there may be a record number of people running for alderman this year. While we aren't certain of the factual accuracy of that statement, we are sure that there are a lot of people running this year. Several races have piqued our interest, in particular the race in the 32nd Ward. In that race, there... more ›

For the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, the answer is simple: put down the blowtorch. This year, two high-profile historic buildings have been destroyed by torch-related accidents. The Pilgrim Baptist Church, a centenarian Adler and Sullivan beauty, smoldered in January, and just a few weeks ago, scrap workers accidentally torched the Wirt Dexter Building using the same tool. The LPC calls for new laws restricting such cutting and welding operations at historic sites. Beyond these... more ›

Fresh off the heels of the gubernatorial poll released yesterday morning comes the Cook County Board president poll, revealing a dramatically closer race than the one for the state’s top seat. Democrat Todd Stroger and Republican Tony Peraica are virtually neck-and-neck less than a month before Election Day, with Stroger leading 39 percent to 36 percent. With an enormous 22 percent of voters still undecided about whether they'd rather choose the product of nepotism or... more ›

As is the case in most major cities, providing and maintaining access to affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues in Chicago. A few weeks ago, many of you said that you were paying close to 30 percent of your salary toward housing, and chances are you have jobs that pay significantly more than a sizable portion of Chicago residents. more ›

While Topinka and G-Rod tried desperately to link each other to convicted former Governor George Ryan in last night’s debate, the Executive Director of Chicago’s Board of Ethics was handing in her resignation. More time with the retiring husband, she says. more ›

OK, look. We know it's hard to get a job in the Chicago area. Hell, it took Chicagoist about three months to find a good job, even with a pretty solid resume. But with another hiring scandal coming out of the woodwork nearly every month, we can't help but wonder if it's impossible for anyone to get a government job through traditional means. If you were wondering why you never heard back about that Cook... more ›

As you know, last week the Inspector General, who we will henceforth be referred to as Inspector Gadget due both to the close approximation of some of the letters and our affable immaturity, set up a hotline so people can call in when they suspect city corruption. Or, you know, when they just feel like talking. Oh, hell, they’ll make something up if they have to—they just want to be loved! more ›

A new study has found that Chicago’s museums attract crowds that are disproportionately white, educated and affluent. In other breaking news, there may be some corruption issues in city government, and the Cubs aren’t exactly the winningest team in baseball. more ›

Mayor Daley gave his annual State of the City address yesterday, and judging from his words, everything is just hunky dory. more ›

We all know that patronage in Chicago city government is alive and kicking, even though that is not supposed to be the case. But what can we do about it when we see it in action? more ›

Last night we had a dream (or maybe a night[da]mare). In the dream, a parade of Chicagoans marched to city hall (torches and pitchforks in hand), up 5 floors and through the doors of Daley's office. Ron Huberman tried to stop them, but somebody kicked him in the nuts, and the mob plowed past. They grabbed the squealing Daley, tied him up and headed outside with him in tow on a rope. They headed to the Richard J. Daley Center's plaza singing "Ding dong! The Boss go'n' be dead. Which old boss? The second one!" more ›

The implied mission of Mayor Richard M. Daley's new chief of staff, Ron Huberman, is to reform city government -- do what none of the almost dozen chiefs of staff before him were unable to do. Monday, in a press conference he announced, along with City Corporation Council Mara Georges, that patronage and clout in city hiring is over. "It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter who you know. We are operating as... more ›

You can be sure that every pol in Illinois is talking about Time Magazine naming Mayor Richard M. Daley as one of the top five mayors in the nation. Much like a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed about Daley a couple of months ago, Time Magazine brushes aside the numerous recent city government scandals and entirely focuses on how good Daley is at the mechanics of providing city services. Naturally the Tribune and Sun Times grouse... more ›

Now and then a Chicago newspaper runs an article detailing gynormous sums of money coursing through the bank account of a campaign fund connected to a powerful city official. The story is usually structured: "Big sum of money -> little-known ward organization -> powerful official connected to it -> city contractors contribute to fund". The implication, with no direct facts, is usually that the powerful official directs city contractors to their favored ward organization, and in return the contractor gets a job. more ›

People from warm places love to gloat: "How's the weather in Chicago?" "Wow. That's a lot of snow you've gotten." Next time you talk to someone from San Diego, just reply with, "What's it like to have your city government collapse?" more ›

In a significant expansion of the U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation of the Hired Truck Scandal, seven new sets of indictments were handed down from the bench yesterday, four former city employees and three trucking company operators, bringing to fourteen the number of defendants resulting from the investigation. Yesterday's charges reveal the federal prosecutor's interest to aspects of city government other than just the hired truck program. more ›

Outside of Chicago, Mayor Richard M. Daley is viewed as a model big-city mayor. And when you talk to the average Chicago citizen, Da Mare is generally thought of as good for the city. Hey, props to you Big Guy. So all that happy, fuzzy stuff aside, what the heck is going on with city government lately? more ›