Chicago Magazine's February issue has a list of 171 Chicago-based websites they think are worth checking out. Naturally we're in there ... twice! Once under "News Reporting" and then again as Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis' personal picks. The thing is until today, the only place this list lived was in the magazine, even through Chicago Magazine's website has been telling us "story coming soon" for weeks now. Luckily for us Time Out Chicago's web editor......

If you're anything like Chicagoist, you're counting the days (only 382!) 'til Shrub is out and new leadership is in. And hey, America, let's not screw it up this time. Although you may be chomping at the bit as Iowans get the chance to weigh in on the presidential candidates today, your chance is coming soon. Thanks to some clever maneuvering by Mike Madigan in 2007, Illinois primaries were moved up from March 15......

While most of the city was partying down at Lollapalooza this weekend, a different type of party was going on just a few blocks south of Grant Park: YearlyKos, the annual convention hosted by DailyKos, the netroots weblog started by Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, and filled with content, news and views by a motley crew of bloggers from around the nation (including Dick Durbin!). Saturday was a big day for the bloggers by the lake, with......

August 8. August 8 is the day some have been waiting for and some have been dreading. The day Whole Foods will open in the South Loop's Southgate Market. We originally disliked the idea. Then we were pissed when it didn't open in the fall. We also worried that Whole Foods might give up on us all together when their profits were falling. But yuppies, hippies, and everyone in between rejoice: South Loop Whole......

Hey everyone -- you may have noticed that we've made a few small changes to our commenting and feedback systems: 1. Commenters now have profile pages with a bit of information about them, and links to their recent comments, along with comments other people have left in response. If the commenter is also a Chicagoist author, the page will include a list of their recent posts. Here's mine. You can register here -- it's fast......

Now, we love our meat. This is the Midwest after all. Chicago was home to the Chicago Union Stock Yards once dubbed, “slaughterhouse to the world.” So we guess it's no real big surprise Chicago is also home to the world’s largest vegan social network: VegChicago, with 840 members. VegChicago hosts monthly gatherings, generally dine-outs. Their website says, “No agendas, no pressure… just a pleasant social setting for vegans, vegetarians, and veg-curious to meet, network,......

Vegetarian Hot Dogs?...

As advertising increasingly becomes interwoven into our daily lives and our souls we predict digital advertising will be more and more popular in 2007. One of the first introductions in the new year will be by MINI USA. The interactive digital billboards will be located in Chicago, New York, Miami, and San Fransisco and will feature personalized messages to drivers as they near the billboard. We find Mini Coopers adorable, but there is this cult......

Remember that little thing we did last year with the bands, and the rocking and the Sparks? We're doing it again. Mark your calendars for Thursday, February 8, at Double Door. More details coming soon! UPDATE: The lineup is out! Click here to see who'll be rocking you, baby.......

Coming soon to a Judy Baar Topinka campaign commercial, yesterday the state's Auditor General reported that Gov. Blagojevich's plan to import prescription drugs from Canada broke federal law and may be unsafe. What's worse, fewer than 5,000 people even used the program in its first year and a half. Auditor General William Holland questioned the safety of the I-SaveRx program because the state wasn't thorough in inspecting foreign pharmacies filling the prescriptions, or checking to......

Some signs along the Dan Ryan gave a phone number that motorists could call for information on alternate routes. Except when you called that number it was a phone sex service! This week Daley created a new job for Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter. Now he's the Chief Emergency Officer. Does this mean we won't have to listen to him talk about carbon monoxide poisoning in those annoying pop up video ads on the ABC7......

Aurora is sending some of its city inspectors on the job on bike. Hell yeah. The Aurora mayor, Tom Weisner, has said that he thinks it’s a good idea so that the employees will be better connected to the communities they serve. Another official, with the impressive title of past president of the American Association of Code Enforcement, also thought that the employees would be better connected by being in better contact with the residents.......

Love your iPod but too lazy to import all your CDs into iTunes? Then this is the contest for you. RipIt Digital is a Chicago company that makes it easier for you to convert your CDs to digital files for use in your iPod or other portable device. While Chicagoist doesn’t mind spending a weekend sitting in front of a computer, we know not everyone has such nerd-like tendencies. So if your MP3 player is......

Stefan Wohl, the (former) bus driver for the Dave Matthews Band, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts: one for reckless endangerment and one for polluting a waterway for dumping 800 pounds of human waste (roughly the equivalent of DMB's recorded musical output) into the Chicago River. The deal keeps Mr. Wohl out of jail in exchange for 18 months of probation, 150 hours of community service in his home state and a $10,000 fine that......

Chicagoist was sitting around with some of our comic-geek friends the other day and talking about the new Keanu Reeves movie Constantine that hits the big screen this weekend. We thought we’d share some of the comments overheard during that conversation from people looking forward to this film: ... Anyway, the filmmakers seem to have made every effort to replace all the interesting aspects of the Alan Moore-penned comic with the most common denominator. Sting-resembling......

In a cut scene from Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace tells Vincent Vega that there are “Beatles people and Elvis people.” And while some people can like both artists “nobody likes them equally.” Chicagoist isn’t sure if the same holds true for Nirvana people and U2 people but a pair of release parties for Nirvana’s With The Lights Out boxed set and U2’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb are making it seem like it’s......

Hey, kids! The Chicago Underground Film Festival is coming soon and Chicagoist knows you want to get in on all the esoteric cinematic goodness. One of the fest's most noteworthy events is the world premiere of Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? � a documentary about Christian rock, featuring interviews by the local (The Detholz!), the semi-famous (Pedro the Lion), and, not, fortunately, the shitty (Creed). The film even managed to......