Princeton Review released its college rankings yesterday, and some Illinois schools have a lot to be happy about. Others....not so much. The results are from student surveys, so you have no one to blame but the kids at your alma mater. Bradley: 4th worst library DePaul University: 10th most diverse student body, best college town Illinois Institute of Technology: seventh least popular professors, second for least accessible professors, 11th for most red tape, seventh least......

Local colleges are closed today following separate written threats of violence. Malcolm X College canceled classes today and evacuated its campus, and St. Xavier University cleared its campus over the weekend after threats were scrawled in a dorm bathroom. From SXU's president: Two instances of threatening graffiti found on April 5 and April 10 in Regina Hall, a freshman residence hall, have violated the spirit of these [school] values. On the considered advice of the......

Countdown to Smoke-Out 2008! In case you forgot, or were outside smoking when someone shared the news, come January 1 there will be no more smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants, casinos, dorms, stadiums and anywhere else that is inside, aside from personal homes and cars. No idea yet on whether there will be smoking shanties outside of bars frequented by die-hard smokers, or if bars frequented by die-hard smokers will really obey the......

It seems like the press is finally catching on that Governor Blagojevich doesn't like to venture into the public eye very much (except for Blackhawks games), where reporters might have a chance to ask him some questions about the spate of federal investigations, the inaction of the state legislature, or the recent indictment of his former chief fundraiser. An Associated Press story from yesterday outlines several "feel good" photo ops that most politicians would......

If you need further evidence that cultural awareness is increasingly non-existent among the general populace, look no further than college blog Campus Squeeze. Following on the heels of its list of the 20 most beautiful college campuses, the site recently weighed in on what they deemed the 20 ugliest campuses in the country. While the prison-style buildings of Drexel University and the utilitarian blocks at Rochester Institute of Technology certainly didn't look appealing, we......

Chicagoist knew there'd be plenty of surprises during Sunday's college football Bowl Championship Series selections, given the losses by the two top-ranked team on Saturday and then general tumult among the top ranked teams all season long. Among the biggest surprises was the Rose Bowl's selection of the Fighting Illini to play against the USC Trojans on New Year's Day. The Illini did knock off Wisconsin when they were ranked fifth, and they handed Ohio......

Train update: "Fire Commissioner Ray Orozco said five people were in serious to critical condition and at least 30 people suffered less serious injuries. That number could rise to 50, he said." The NTSB is investigating. Storm watch this weekend. Cold, icy, rainy, blerg. RIP, Evel Knievel. America's Legendary Daredevil was 69. Check it out: local steampunk wedding. Congrats! Here's our favorite part of this Freakonomics interview with Sin in the Second City author Karen......

Every last Friday of the month, the bartenders and servers at Kuma's Corner donate their night's tips to a worthy cause. Tonight, it's all going to Windy City Roller Tahira "Tequila Mockingbird" Johnson, who's still recovering from her injury over the summer. If you find yourself gorging on the "Hatebeak" or "Goblin Cock" this evening, please tip better than you usually do. Just in time for Hanukkah, local food writer Leah Zeldes will give a......

Lots to rock about over the next few days, from Modest Mouse at the Congress, to Bob Pollard at the Metro, to our beloved Hall & Oates at the UIC Pavilion, but DDaN's gonna keep it live and local this week. InchWORM mounts the stage at the Double Door tomorrow night to fire up the cornfield psychedelia and shambling country pop that have garnered them comparisons to Wilco, Sparklehorse, and My Morning Jacket. Their most......

Looks like some of the Columbia College dancers had a leeeetle trouble in the parade. Via Emily Rehm......

Old-school local newscasters Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson will be teaching a class in broadcast journalism at Columbia College. The duo co-anchored the WBBM 10pm news in the 70s and 80s, but now Jacobson is retired and Kurtis is busy hosting crime shows on A&E. They'll recreate the magic just for the month of January, (when Columbia has its intensive -study J-session) but we're convinced the legendary team will realize--after all these years!--that they......

Ah, it's like shootin' fish in a barrel over at Chicagoist EOYW headquarters. We know how passionate you guys can get about these things, so we'll cut right to the chase: If you've never at least tapped your foot along with the vapid faux-angst anthems of Avril Lavigne, you may have been living in a mall-less town in, say ... Canada. Oh, wait. We've seen her in concert before under the guise of "journalism," and......

This week's listings kick off this evening at Merchandise Mart with "Chill: an International Wine & Culinary Event" sponsored by Luxehome and Wine Spectator. Proceeds from the event benefit the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The event runs from 5 - 8 p.m. Chicago Professionals for Youth is committed to improving the lives of local underprivileged youth through literacy and mentoring programs, college preparation, job training and career skills assistance. Saturday they're hosting......

Here at the Chicagoist offices, several reality shows are popular among the staff, but our devotion for the majority of programs pales in comparison to our love for the crème de la crème, Project Runway. Bravo's hit show returned last night for its fourth season of designing, measuring, catwalking strutting and drama, with two Chicagoans vying for the chance to take it home at New York City Fashion Week. The first episode was the usual......

The Reeling Film Festival is in its last days, but there's still time to catch what's sure to be one of the most fascinating movies in the program. Quearborn & Perversion, a new documentary by Columbia College alum Ron Pajak, tells stories of lesbian/gay Chicago life spanning the years 1924-1974. It's surely a beautiful irony of history: what is today the epicenter of the Viagra Triangle was, in the 50's, the epicenter of gay life;......

Many Wicker Park commuters are feeling a little less caffeinated these days since Half & Half (under the Damen Blue Line stop) closed up shop. Owner Debbie Sharpe told Metromix that the quality of the building is to blame. The good news is Sharpe also owns the Goddess and Grocer down the street, and Half & Half's delicious commuter sandwiches and pastries will be available for purchase there. LTH commentors prophecy its space may become......

We reported on Wednesday sales have been sinking at the flagship State Street store--nostalgic epicenter for Field’s lovers. Meanwhile, Field’s Fans continue to protest. A group of concerned Field's Fans showed up on Saturday to “protest against Macy's business practices here in the Chicago area.” They have scheduled special “leaflet” events on the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving, as well as another rally “Under the Great Clock” at noon on Saturday, December 2. Wednesday’s Trib......

George Ryan starts his prison sentence today, and the Sun-Times and Trib have helpfully chronicled every move the former governor has made since last night. You know what that means: time for a Ryan Round Up! Olé! Yesterday, the 73-year-old released this statement to the public, again claiming innocence and thanking his family and legal team. At 5:50 this morning, Ryan left his home in Kankakee in a van driven by his son, George Ryan......

Over on Kid Nation, the episode focused on money and greed, as the Council receives directions to go to an abandoned, bat-infested mine (eee!), where they discover a treasure chest full of the town's currency, buffalo nickels. Faced with the decision of distributing the cash among the kids or buying items that the town can collectively share, the Council takes the "big government" approach, buying toys for the town. Shockingly, the kids are A-OK with......

The Bears have their bye week this weekend, which means a weekend off for Lovie Smith's players. We imagine Kyle Orton will end up in some embarrassing photos taken in some college-town bar. We suspect that Brian Urlacher will stay home to rest his aching back... unless some starlet want to hang with him in Vegas. And perhaps Lance Briggs will use the free time to finally test drive some new rides. It also means......

Unless you’ve been dating one person your entire postpubescent life (don’t laugh, we know people like that … suckers), you know what being single is all about. We’ve been there. Whether it’s Match.com or the darker side of craigslist, most of us are just trying to find that special someone. Or his brother, if he’s younger and wears glasses. Rawr. Er, we digress. Such situations make ripe environments in which dating education courses flourish like......

Northwestern is among forty North American colleges and universities in the running for PETA's most vegetarian-friendly campus, to be awarded next month (if you're so inclined, you may vote for Northwestern or any of the other nominees here). The nominees were compiled by students throughout the US and Canada and tallied by PETA2, the animal-rights organizations youth activism arm. Northwestern was cited for its extensive vegetarian and vegan-friendly options in dining halls throughout the campus.......

So the word is semi-official, according to Robert Feder ... Steve Dahl is moving from afternoons at WCKG to take over mornings on WJMK, better known as JACK-FM. On one hand this move makes perfect sense. No one has really dominated Chicago's morning-drive since Mancow's popularity plummeted, and Howard Stern took to satellite. Dahl is a pretty dependable commodity that we're reasonably certain will deliver the ratings. At the same time, WJMK has been the......

Jesse Thorn, Host of The Sound of Young America ...

Tired of self help books always letting you down? Telling you that actually, the problem is you, and you need to change? Want to just let it all go and experience real change? Now you can! Thanks to Scott Kenemore, author of The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead, you too can experience the carefree ways the zombie has embraced for centuries. We had a beer with Kenemore to discuss the art of......

No, the Bulls aren't looking to flee Chicago, or even the United Center for that matter. But they might be hunting for a new radio station to broadcast their games. After their previous radio deal with WMVP (1000 AM) ran out, they were unable to sell the rights for anything close to the $3 million annually the long-term deal had paid. Guess they just weren't as hot without MJ. The Bulls chose to self-produce their......

Why is WBEZ warning us about "sensitive language" in a story about a sexually-charged art exhibit? On 848 Gabriel Spitzer said the language might be "offensive." We've listened to the coverage of "Girl on Guy: the object of my desire" twice now, and we have no idea what the hell they're talking about. Does saying "genitalia" really warrant a warning? Is uttering the word "porn" really so scandalous? Lisa Labuz said "sodomize" a few minutes......

In yesterday's Tribune, John Kass discovered the existence of "freegans." Like Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens trying to describe the Internet, Kass ridicules the movement as "equal parts youth, privilege, guilt and Al Gore's wackier environmental pronouncements mixed with bits of what your socialist professors told you in college but you can't remember, exactly" while theorizing (via his assistant) that most freegans embrace the philosophy because "(i)t's all about getting dates." We have a hard time......

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......

Aurora's Planned Parenthood can open immediately. How bad do things have to get before Daley will denounce what's going on with the Chicago Police Department's Special Operations Section? Even the Associated Press is saying, "Not since club-swinging cops in baby-blue helmets chased demonstrators through clouds of pepper gas at the 1968 Democratic National Convention have Chicago police been so awash in trouble." Dayum. And yet Da Mare has given no indication that he'll disband......