The Blackhawks took care of some in-house business by signing Patrick Sharp to a five-year contract extension yesterday. more ›

The four best words we'll hear today are not "Happy Valentines Day, dear" but "pitchers and catchers report." For the Cubs and pitcher Carlos Marmol, today is especially ripe for celebration as the two agreed on a three-year, $20 million deal. The Cubs avoid arbitration with their star closer. Marmol set a team record for strikeouts by a Cubs reliever last season with 138, while racking up 38 saves with a 2.55 ERA last season. more ›

Looks like Steve Dahl and I weren't the only ones to have a pizza summit recently. The Tribune's Paul Sullivan reports that the seeds for Kerry Wood's one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Cubs were sown at D'Agostino's Pizza in Wrigleyville, more ›

Todd Stroger's (now-former) Deputy Chief of Staff spent the night in Cook County Jail after being arrested and charged with defrauding the county of $300,000 in a scandal involving multiple no-bid contracts awarded at a dollar threshold just low enough to avoid county board approval. Carla Oglesby was held on $250,000 bail after she was arrested Monday afternoon. State's Attorney Anita Alvarez served a warrant issued as part of an investigation by her financial crimes unit. more ›

Carla Oglesby, Todd Stroger's former deputy chief of staff, was arrested Monday afternoon by the Cook County State's Attorney's financial crimes unit on a warrant related to charges stemming from an ongoing corruption probe of Stroger's office. Oglesby was charged with theft of government property, money laundering and and official misconduct. more ›

• Cook County President Todd Stroger's troubled jobs training program lost $2,7 million and could lose even more.
• The Cook County Sheriff's latest partner in crime-fighting: garbage men.
• The attorney for Rod Blagojevich, brother and co-defendant of former governor Rob Blagojevich, admitted he regrets not calling U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. to the stand.

There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Screw It Zone. Presented for your consideration: One Mr. Todd Stroger, (soon to be former) Cook County Board President. Stroger ascended to his seat in a Machiavellian deal with the devil, taking power in the second most populous county in the United States after his father succumbed to a stroke. But all is not well in the heartland. more ›

The election to replace Cook County Board President is still five months away, but Todd Stroger's still in the captain's seat. And that means that his administration is still in charge when it comes to contracts and hiring. According to the Sun-Times, the Stroger administration quickly hired and payed two contractors to help promote energy efficiency and composting in Cook County (you remember those campaigns, right? Right?), even though they aren't listed in state or county business registries, as required by law. more ›

(Soon to be former) Cook County Board President Todd Stroger beat back an attempt by county commissioners to reign in his hiring authority, after the board failed to override his veto of a hiring freeze ordinance by two votes. The board voted 9 to 6 to override the veto, with one member voting present, even though the voted 16-1 in favor of the original hiring freeze. The failed veto override comes after an opinion from the state's attorney's office that found a hiring freeze would "result in an unconstitutional change in the form of government,” and therefore be unlikely to survive a legal challenge. more ›

(Soon to be former) Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is heading deeper into the "Screw It Zone." In the wake of Stroger's veto of an ordinance designed to limit his ability to spend taxpayer dollars and hand out raises at will to workers on the county payroll, deputy chief of staff Carla Oglesby, whom Stroger suspended earlier this month, returned to work Tuesday. Oglesby was placed on unpaid administrative leave after an investigation into charges that she commandeered a county contract worth nearly $25,000 for her publicity firm from Stroger. At the time, Stroger said he'd make a decision about Oglesy's future with the county after Inspector General Patrick Blanchard had finished his investigation. Oglesby is back, but Blanchard told the Tribune that the investigation "is active and it is ongoing." more ›

With just seven months left in the captain's chair, Todd Stroger has entered the "Screw It Zone," prompting new restrictions by the Cook County Board. more ›

The historic Maxwell Street Market has been through several changes since it first opened in the late 1800s. It was closed down in the mid-90s due to the expressway and new developments and then relocated to Canal Street. In 2008, it moved to its current location on Desplaines Street between Harrison and Roosevelt. The market will now be managed by the city. The Daley Administration terminated its $850,000-a-year contract with JAM Productions, according to the Sun-Times. more ›

Yesterday it was the Sox locking up some players; today, it's the Cubs' turn. The North Siders reached deals with five players eligible for arbitration while filing for arbitration on three others. The Cubs' signed: more ›

With the season opener just days away now, the Chicago Bulls are making a few small maneuvers to get all their ducks in a row before they tip off Thursday night. The Tribune reports that the team has named Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Lindsey Hunter as team captains for the 2009-2010 season. Also, in a move that surprises no one, the team picked up the options on contracts for Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, ensuring that the pair will be under contract through the 2010-2011 season. Speaking of Rose, it looks like he'll get some playing time during Thursday night's opener, but don't expect much from him in the first few weeks as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. more ›

Facing a deep budget gap of its own, the CTA is making moves to earn a little cash. One way it's doing so is by re-upping a deal with soft drink maker Coca-Cola. The deal, which will net the CTA around $1.4 million over the next five years, means Coke is the exclusive provider of all drink vending machines at CTA stops. According to a press release by the CTA: more ›

Orchestra members of the Lyric Opera opened the season on Saturday with a performance of Puccini's "Tosca" without a contract, Chicago Breaking News reports. more ›

The group of community leaders in Bensenville fighting the O'Hare expansion has launched a new multimedia ad campaign, saying the plan will destroy the community without improving airport capacity. "We are not about 'Not In My Backyard.' We are about expanding the airport the right way," Bensenville Village President John Geils said at a news conference at Chicago City Hall. The city plans to spend $15 billion to modernize O'Hare by 2014 and has already acquired over 500 properties and a cemetery for a runway scheduled for 2011. more ›

Just months after the city's Human Resources Commissioner, Jacqueline King, resigned her position following a scathing report by federal hiring monitor Noelle Brennan, Chicago has awarded over $150 million worth of consulting contracts for "examination, administration and security" of employee selection tests, "executive talent identification and recruiting" and operation of "assessment centers" to a group of contractors. more ›