Your loyal correspondant took to the airwaves to sling mud and insult the other herbs. more ›

Last night I was in the media pool for the Tribune/City Club of Chicago mayoral debate. The first time I covered one of these events, I had raised, possibly delusional expectations: I imagined grabbing my press pass and heading to the edge of the dais as Barack Obama gave his first speech to Chicago as a presidential candidate, camera in hand, rubbing shoulders with reporters from Politico and the New York Times. The rubbing shoulders part was right - I was herded over to a platform with the rest of the press as we were shoehorned in and told that we couldn't leave the area we were in. The mayoral debate was no different. more ›

In a post titled "3-D doesn't work and never will. Case Closed." a couple of days ago, Roger Ebert got the Internet buzzing about the the latest wave of Hollywood 3-D spectacles. Citing as evidence a letter on the topic from one of the most esteemed cinematic artisans alive, Ebert may have intended to end the debate on the merits of the technology at the megaplex; he succeeded only in inflaming it. So was he right? more ›

Senate candidates Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk kicked off their debate series on NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday. Host David Gregory apparently spent some time boning up on Illinois politics, hammering Congressman "Maybe I misrepresented my military record a little bit" and State Treasurer "I didn't know I was loaning money to mobsters and I'm sorry for losing money on your childrens' Bright Start accounts" on the ethics issues that have dogged the both of them for months. Ethics issues that Sun-Times Washington correspondent Lynn Sweet said in the prelude to the debate gave the impression of Illinois voters having to choose between "a serial embellisher and a mob banker." more ›

Six Republican candidates for governor met in a debate Monday that focused hard on the issues of government spending and corruption in Illinois. Each candidate vowed to slash spending and restore ethics to a state government that has seen its share of scandal over the past few years. How this will be achieved, however, is still up for, well, debate. more ›

There were a pair of debates last night of interest to voters with the approaching primaries in February. Of particular interest to local voters is the The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) Cook County Board President forum. ABC 7 has video of the complete forum that you can check out here. The participants were current Democrat candidates Pres. Todd Stroger, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, and MWRD Pres. Terrence O'Brien, Green Party candidate (and former No Games Chicago leader) Tom Tresser, and only one Republican candidate, John Garrido. more ›

2010 is a big election year and state Republicans are hoping to take back, among other offices, the governor's seat. But first they've got to get through the primary and with seven candidates in a heated campaign, the race to see who will oppose Quinn or Hynes in 2010 could be pretty interesting. The debate happens tonight at the downtown Hilton (720 S. Michigan Ave) and Chris Robling will moderate. You can purchase tickets here, find a viewing party, or wait for WLS 890 AM to rebroadcast the entire debate tomorrow night at 7 p.m. more ›

From the "calm the fuck down" department: Jeff Ruby's list of his 30 favorite burgers turned the echo chamber at LTHForum up to 11, much of it centered on why Patty's Diner (3538 Main St., Skokie, 847-675-4274) didn't make Ruby's cut. Some samples (emphasis ours): more ›

By now, you've watched the debate, read the recaps all over the interwebs, and even checked out this "Joe The Plumber" guy. As for us, our political writer, Kevin Robinson, is traveling right now so I caught up with him via IM to get his thoughts on last night's third Presidential debate. While it was at times lively, and we thought moderator Bob Schieffer did a good job, it ended up being much of the same for anyone who has watched previous debates and followed the campaigns. Still, there was plenty to talk about. more ›

During last night's debate, our ears perked up when Sen. John McCain dropped this little nugget:

[Sen. Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. My friends, do we need to spend that kind of money?

Adler Planetarium, to support replacement of its projector and related equipment, $3,000,000 more ›

Anyone looking for a train wreck at last night's Vice Presidential debate came away disappointed. Democrat Sen. Joe Biden didn't ramble too badly and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin exceeded expectations by solidly, if uninspiringly, standing her ground. Gone was the Palin who looked in over her head in interviews with Katie Couric and, instead, was one who had her answers well-prepared answers and deftly dodged the questions she didn't want to answer, saying at one point, "And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear..." more ›

To say that many of us at Chicagoist are news and politics junkies is a gross understatement. We devour it. And several of us are the nerdy types that enjoy a Sunday morning viewing news shows, including Face the Nation with the incomparable Bob Schieffer. Schieffer has been covering the news for over 30 years and has established himself as one of the premiere broadcast journalists of his (or any) generation, as well as an oft-called upon debate moderator. And, lucky us, Schieffer is hitting town this week for a pair of appearances to promote his new book, Bob Schieffer's America, a collection of commentaries Schieffer has offered at the end of Face the Nation over the years. more ›

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Esquire Magazine's "Best Sandwiches in America" article is a must-read, if only for us because it gives us a checklist of places to hunt down the next time we're on vacation (btw, Katz's pastrami on rye is really all that). Although we have to question the inclusion of the McRib sandwich, we have no qualms with seeing Chick-Fil-A make an appearance on the list. more ›