Here's something to chew on while you're stuck in rush hour traffic this evening. Chicago has earned the title as the third-most traffic congested city in the nation for the fourth year in a row, according to data from Inrix, which produces the annual scorecards rating stop-and-go traffic. Look on the bright side, our traffic is still better than New York and LA. more ›

Early this morning a man was struck by a car and critically injured on the Dan Ryan Expressway as he was fleeing from police after a car crash. Around 6:20 a.m., police received a call about a hit-and-run crash in the 5800 block of South Wentworth Avenue, which described a man's vehicle hitting a parked car, said Chicago Police Officer Robert Perez to the Chicago Tribune. The 911 caller directed police to the suspect, who they found at 50th Street and the Dan Ryan, where he got out of his car, ran across the northbound lanes of the expressway, and scaled a fence to get to the Red Line CTA tracks, Perez said. The man ran north along the tracks to 46th Street, and then tried to run back across the Dan Ryan, when he was hit by a northbound car. Perez told the Tribune that the man was taken to Stroger Hospital and he is in critical condition. more ›

Four people were injured--one critically--in a rollover crash at 95th Street on the southbound Dan Ryan at 3:30 a.m. early Saturday morning, according to Illinois State Police District Trooper Teressa Allen. Four men between the ages of 19-25 were driving in a 2003 Chevy Tahoe when they tried to cut across three lanes while traveling at a high speed, Allen said to the Chicago Sun-Times. The driver lost control and rolled the car 360 degrees where it finally came to a stop upside down on a guardrail. more ›

The crowd at Bernice's Tavern was separated into smaller groups. They were huddled together, studying a board containing ten photographs of church steeples and facades. more ›

Anyone know the artist behind this work? Ian's dying to know, and frankly, so are we. Crain's is reporting today that Apple, Puma, Zara, J. Crew and Coach are all in talks to set up shop in the Block 37 project. File under: Things We Will Believe When We See Them. Also, we cannot hear "Block 37" without thinking "Block. Thirty. Seven. Starbucks." Alleged dirty cop Jerome Finnigan waived his hearing today, which means... more ›

This Week's Theme: Rise and Fall Fred Solomon Would Agree, Because He Likes Fire: We noticed that Kohan, the teppen grill and sushi bar on Maxwell Street, is expanding. They recently bought an empty space next to their current location and will be building it out. We also hear that once the expansion is complete, they'll focus more on the teppen grill side of the menu, including tableside teppen service. Chicagoist is pleased by this,... more ›

After being sent back to the drawing board following its proposed dual-stadium opening ceremonies, the group organizing Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics have unveiled their revised stadium plan. Rather than a temporary stadium immediately south of Soldier Field, the new proposal calls for a stadium to be built in Washington Park, just west of the University of Chicago on the city's South Side. This plan seems to make a lot more sense.... more ›

If you rely on the Dan Ryan Expressway to get anywhere on a regular basis, we feel really sorry for you. Starting on April 1, the Illinois Department of Transportation will begin a major renovation of the roadway that is scheduled to last for nearly two years. The construction will modernize the Dan Ryan, which now handles twice as much traffic as it was originally built to handle, but in the meantime it will take... more ›

For all the talk about how Version Two of The Ballpark Formerly Known As Comiskey completely changed the landscape of the Bridgeport neighborhood, the truth is that outside of the late, lamented McCuddy’s (the bar most long-suffering Sox fans bring up as Exhibit A of the old Bridgeport nightlife: “Babe Ruth drank beers between innings there when the Yankees came to town!”) Comiskey Park/The Cell has always been a victim of its surroundings. Where... more ›