Results tagged “database”

The Illinois Secretary of State's office has created a secure database into which you can enter emergency contact information which is then tied to your driver's license, permit, or identification card. Read more about the program here, FAQs here, and sign up here. We checked out the form - looks simple enough! You can list up to 2 contacts and add, change, or delete names at any time by going to the website. The SOS makes sure you know that it is not responsible for inaccurate or outdated information. So if you list your wife and then get a nasty divorce, don't be shocked if she doesn't tell the rest of the family you're in a coma, wasting away somewhere. (Thanks to Sean for the tip!)

It sure doesn't feel like the last days of summer here in Chicago, but hey, at least the sun is shining to remind us what summer could have been. Brazilian electronic duo Database have teamed up with Milwaukee/NYC digital crooners French Horn Rebellion on an EP titled Beaches and Friends that summarizes the spirit of the summer with glittering beats and sing along choruses. The two acts face off against each other this Wednesday night at Sonotheque.

In the wake of the Burr Oak Cemetery discovery, the Cook County Sheriff's office took to documenting all the graves with headstones to aid families searching for the resting place of their loved ones. So far 9,500 of the headstones have been documented and now the Trib is joining in, using the data to create a database with a few more user-friendly search options, including breaking the headstones down by decade. It's definitely worth a look. And in other Burr Oak news today, the Trib uncovered a 2005 police report that shows police saw human bones in plain sight at the cemetery but didn't explore the incident any further.

We were excited to learn that EveryBlock co-founder Daniel X. O'Neil was working with Harper Reed of Threadless fame to develop a new online gadget - but it's not the hyper-local t-shirt you might immediately presume (pretty please?). Instead, the pair produced a new city government transparency toy: CityPayments. And it's likely to be all the rage among us reporters as it gathers momentum. But what does it do? And why do we care?