If you can't take a bunch of knives into the Daley Center, it should go without saying that you can't take a gun in, either. But one man still tried this morning on the way to a hearing on the foreclosure of his home. Thomas Pridgeon, 48, showed up for his court hearing with a .45-caliber handgun tucked away in his briefcase with one bullet in the chamber and seven more in a clip. Pridgeon's defense when he was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a weapon: he forgot it was there. Tighter security has been in place at the Daley Center since the October 1983 Hutchie Moore shootings, when Moore, a wheelchair-bound police officer in the midst of a divorce trial, smuggled a gun into a courtroom where he opened fire, killing the presiding judge and an attorney. more ›

Chicago Police raided the house of Kevin Long, the man arrested last week trying to sneak four knives into the Daley Center, and uncovered quite a stash: 1,600 knives. Not only that, but they also found papers with the names of various police officers and sheriff deputies. Authorities indicated the names may have been potential future targets of Long's. Steve Patterson, a spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, told the Tribune, "We recovered numerous boxes of documents from his home and in those were several pieces of papers with police officer and sheriff deputy names on them. There was nothing saying a specific threat against a specific person but it was certainly clear that he was documenting specific people's names." more ›

Kevin J. Long, 48, of the 4500 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon on Tuesday afternoon when four hunting knives were discovered inside his briefcase at the Daley Center. A Cook County sheriff's deputy noticed images of knives inside Long's briefcase as it ran through an X-ray machine and questioned him. Long allegedly said his briefcase contained "just papers," according to a news release from the sheriff's office, and told police that he had come to the Daley Center to visit the law library and had forgotten that the knives were in his briefcase. more ›

Six men were arrested at the Daley Center last night after they ripped down an Olympic banner from the Picasso and tried to burn it in the "eternal flame." The group got into a "physical confrontation" with police officers who responded and all six were taken into custody. Authorities have said they believe that the six jackasses men were not part of the organized anti-Olympics rally that was held earlier in the evening - we'll have more on that later. We'd like to think that these jerkstores were just upset over Pele's dissing of Michael Jordan, but...no. They just seem like trouble-making douchebags making things harder on those that protested earlier without relegating themselves to destruction of city property. more ›

Here are some photos from the 7th annual Chicago Turkish Festival. more ›

Perennial favorite The Midnight Circus has returned to "Franken Plaza" for this year's Chicagoween (note to the Mayor's Office of Special Events: easy on those ham-handed amalgamations, guys). The contemporary high-flying act features juggling, a German wheel, aerial silk, and more. The Midnight Circus has gone "eco-friendly" and brought all of their gear to Daley Plaza via bicycle -- which might explain the smaller set pieces than in previous years. Performances will take place at 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. through Halloween (with additional shows at 2:00 p.m. on 10/30 and 10/31), perfect for a lunch hour change of pace for you downtown office dwellers. more ›

In honor of Chicago making the 2016 Olympics Candidate shortlist, Major Daley is hosting an Olympics and Paralympics "Citywide Celebration" at Daley Plaza today at 11:30 a.m. more ›

What's 50 feet tall, weighs 162 tons, was forged in Gary, Indiana and has no name? No, that's not the start of a really bad joke, it's a description of the statue that Pablo Picasso gave to Chicago in 1967. Many of us local yokels know it as The Picasso. And it just turned 40. more ›

Today is the fourth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. We are left asking many of the same questions we did four years ago: what are we fighting for? Freedom? Is this why the US military has been arresting Iraqi labor leaders? Peace and justice? Is that why Iraq is devolving into a sectarian civil war? To rebuild a nation devastated by years of totalitarianism and profiteering? more ›

* Before you start commenting, we're just having fun with the topic, we know that Chicago isn't called the Windy City because of the actual wind. more ›

• A school in Gary has had a wooden replica of our Daley Center Picasso in their cafeteria for 35 years. Now they're starting to wonder how much it might be worth.
• Last year everyone was excited because the number of murders in the city dropped below 500, a 25% decline. This year, the number of murders is about the same as last year. At least the number didn't go up!
• A year after the disaster, the Notebaert Nature Museum has a new display, Tsunami: Science & Hope. It focuses on the scientific aspect of the Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, as well as other tsunamis in history.
• A Bears fuckup has left some season-ticket holders without tickets for the playoffs.
• Amtrak's Hiawatha route is going to break a record for passengers this year. They've already had a half million, breaking last year's record of 477,000. Reasons: A new station at Milwaukee's airport, the rising cost of gas, best on-time record of any Amtrak corridor.
• A suspect has been arrested in a bunch of suburban church robberies. He says he targeted churches because they steal from people to support pastors' fancy cars and big houses.
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Seneca is about 70 miles southwest of Chicago, and, apparently, it is the happening hotspot for Bigfoot. After what the Tribune characterized as a “flurry of investigations” run by the organization with the formidable title of Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, the village of Seneca, Illinois is basically a Sasquatch disco. more ›

For some Chicagoans, today’s World Music Festival Chicago 2005 kickoff validates our town's role as ambassador of global culture. For many more of us, this week will serve as an introduction to a glut of inventive musical stylings prompting a pledge to continue broadening our musical horizons. The most adventurous music fans can see dozens of performers from five continents at venues spanning every corner of Chicago. If you'd like a low-risk introduction, check out... more ›

Own a business or live downtown? Want pretty parks to make your life more pleasurable? Daley says if your answer is "yes" to both questions then you should put your money where your mouth is. The City is considering a special taxing zone downtown to pay for landscaping, transportation upgrades, beautification of the central business district and operating Millennium Park. If the "Downtown Special Service Area" wins approval, property owners downtown will be hit with... 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 ›

As a court hearing on the fate of Double Door commences this afternoon, a new website is trying to organize the venue's fans into a critical mass. more ›

Tomorrow on your lunch break head over to Daley Plaza where they'll be celebrating Chicago Moves Day with activities from 11am - 1pm. more ›

Has all the scandal stuff made you numb yet? City Hall...old governor...current governor...Is everything beginning to blend into one big money and favor-grubbing mess? Chicagoist is beginning to think so. And we have a shocking opinion on it: Voters don't really care about scandals. more ›

It might be worth shelling out for Tribunes this week. They have an in-depth feature on the Loop, and we think it might be losing a little something online. Plus you get to have newspaper smell all up in your face. Today's installment in the �Unauthorized Loop� is a history lesson, and, if the rest of this week is as slow as today, we�ll recap the daily updates the rest of this week. Definitely... more ›