America has often written off the mess in Detroit as unique to that city. But Chicago's shrinking population and growing swaths of vacant emptiness on the South Side should have us questioning that solace. more ›

For Chicago's many ex-Michiganders, your future Thankgiving pilgrimages will be slightly shorter. more ›

Among some of the Illinois big businesses looking into seeking new stomping grounds, Sears has jumped on the bandwagon. Unhappy with the tax increase, Sears has been courted by several states regarding the relocation of their headquarters. more ›

The two capitals of the Midwest. The epicenters of Rust Belt productivity. Two of the grandest final stops of the great migration. Focal nodes of 20th century musical heritage. Partisans in the sorts of impassioned sports rivalries that can only come from a fraternal intimacy. Since 1825, when the U.S. government ordered a road connecting Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit and Fort Dearborn, Chicago and Detroit have been connected by a lot more than mere geography. But what do the cities have to tell one another now? more ›

Although some were holding out hope that Christopher Nolan's sequel to The Dark Knight would do some filming in Chicago, ReelChicago.com is being cited by many as saying that, when filming begins this year, Detroit will fill in for Chicago. But take that with a grain of salt. more ›

Earlier this week, Business Insider posted another in the internet's long line of "Hey, doesn't Detroit really suck" articles, in which they list a number of properties going for dirt cheap in the Motor City. Surprise! An economically depressed area with a withering population has damaged properties that are bank-owned that are basically worthless! Vice coined the phrase "ruin porn" last August. But is Detroit the only place where people can gawk at blight? Isn't there something closer to home? more ›

In the sea of independent music that Chicagoist covers from day-to-day it is very easy to muck through a bunch of promotional materials and get turned off by what seems like an insurmountable wall of same old, same old indie rock. When we got our hands on Mayer Hawthorne's debut seven-inch, Just Ain't Gonna Work Out/When I Said Goodbye, last year with it's signature heart-shaped, fire-engine-red vinyl, it was quite literally hard to miss. When we got past our love of the packaging and opened our ears we discovered what we loved even more: Hawthorne's hip-hop-flavored old-school soul sound. more ›

In an interview earlier this year, The Gories rhythm guitarist and singer Dan Kroha made no bones about the lack of polish on the band’s two-decades-in-the-making reunion. In fact, The Gories had admitted to not even practicing leading up to the reunion shows and upcoming European tour. According to fans who attended the Friday installment of the Detroit garage rockers’ sold out two night engagement at the Empty Bottle, the rough edges really showed; that’s saying something for a band who based their whole vibe on being crude and raw. Saturday night The Gories played loud enough to blow your clothes off, made three chords sound like a party and were still, in garage rock parlance, “rough around the edges.” In other words, they were damn near perfect. more ›

We are Mary Mitchell fans. She writes things that need to be said in this town and is willing to speak truth to power. more ›

A pair of incidents on board airplanes bound from Amsterdam to Detroit - one serious, the other not - over the weekend have caused a new round of terror fears and, as a result, a new set of guidelines for those boarding plans during one of the busiest travel times of the year. By now, everyone has heard of the Christmas Day incident when a Nigerian man on board Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit tried to set off an "incendiary device" only to be stopped by other passengers. Another incident yesterday proved to be a false alarm when a Nigerian man on the same flight - Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit - became ill and spent an hour in the plane's bathroom, causing the flight crew to issue an alert. Authorities say there was no threat and that the man was legitimately sick. more ›

Just one day after the announcement Chrysler will cut 14 Chicago-area dealers and another 28 in Illinois, General Motors delivered some bad news to auto dealers as well. About 1,100 of GM's 6,000 dealers won't have contracts renewed after they expire in October 2010. While it is not known how many of those casualties are located in Chicago or Illinois -- GM said it does not have to release that information -- two local GM dealers say they have already received the dreaded notice. more ›

Kilpatrick has hired former US Attorney Daniel Webb, who has some experience representing elected officials. He recently represented George Ryan (can't win 'em all), and has been ranked the "No. 1 white-collar criminal defense attorney" by Corporate Crime Reporter. more ›

While the Field’s Fans are too busy protesting poor customer service at Macy’s as they long for the days of Marshall Field’s, customer satisfaction for shopping scabs has increased. An annual University of Michigan Study ranking shopper satisfaction among discount and department stores and supermarkets reported Macy’s saw a 5.6% increase in customer satisfaction, ending with a score of 75 out of 100 points. Nordstrom tops the list with a score of 80, only five points between the two. The Sun-Times reported: more ›

more ›

The Silent Years play Schubas tonight as part of UR Chicago's monthly AMPLIFY series. We dig these kids from Detroit, but you don't need to take our word for it since the band is offering it's debut online, totally for free. If you like folksy and rockin' pop, we highly recommend it. more ›

The Spice Girls are in town tonight at the United Center for the Chicago stop of their reunion tour. Originally Chicago tour dates were scheduled for both the February 15 and the 16, but management moved Saturday’s show over to Detroit. Tickets are still available for tonight’s show. more ›

Screw Valentine's Day...let's think of tomorrow as Palentine's Day instead. High fives and paper airplanes for everyone! more ›

Image credit: Nature abhors a vacuum more ›

While the Cubs and their fans held their annual love-in last weekend, this past weekend the rest of us gathered at the Palmer House Hilton to celebrate and commiserate with fellow White Sox fans. Given the airing of grievances by fans and feats of strength by team management, it could very well have been renamed SoxFestivus. more ›

Further evidence that Macy’s strategies are not headed in the successful direction executives hoped, Macy’s North, the division that operates Macy’s in the Midwest, announced Friday the layoff of 271 employees, citing lagging sales. Combined sales for November and December were down 1.1%, while December’s sales were down 7.9%, significantly worse than the anticipated 4 to 7 percent drop over last year. January’s same day sales are expected to dip 4 to 6 percent. more ›

The Von Bondies play the Abbey Pub tomorrow night with SSM and Freer, 9:00 p.m., $12 advance/$15 day of. more ›

Chicagoist certainly doesn't envy White Sox GM Kenny Williams and the difficult task he has to rebuild a team that lost 90 games in 2007. On Tuesday, he once again was overmatched by the opposition and missed the ball on potential help for his club. Recent reports suggested that the Sox were close to landing third baseman Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins — a player that Ozzie Guillen referred to as his "fourth son."... more ›

Today's Sun-Times has an interesting article on restaurateur and Chicago native LaVan Hawkins, who's opening Nancy's Pizza and Al's Italian Beef franchises even as he's set to go to prison on corruption charges. The biography of Hawkins is a true rags-to-riches, rise-and-fall-and-rise-again story starting with his early years running in a gang and battling drug addiction, then from working his way up from the lowest rung at a McDonald's to commanding a fast-food franchise empire... more ›

For the first time in a long while, Chicago is seeing success from both the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and the Chicago Wolves (AHL). The Wolves are off to a 13-1-1 start, giving them the best winning percentage in the league--which should come as no surprise to their faithful fans. On the other hand, it is a surprise that after a quarter of the season, the Blackhawks aren't breaking their fans' hearts. The Hawks have skated... more ›

The Cubs finally traded maligned outfielder Jacque Jones on Monday, sending him along with $2 million to Detroit for utility infielder Omar Infante. A slow start to the 2006 season after signing a 3-year, $16 million deal to join the Cubs caused the fans to sour quickly on Jones. He became the next "Corey Patterson" -- which Chicagoist predicted the day he signed -- and the target for relentless taunting by the fans in the... more ›

It only took them five games into the season, but the Bulls finally won a game on Thursday night. After dropping their first four to mediocre teams, they handed the previously undefeated Detroit Pistons their first loss of the season. Nice! Second-year player and new starting power forward Tyrus Thomas had his second monster game of the season, leading the team with 19 points while grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds. Luol Deng added 17 points,... more ›

The Chicago Blackhawks have released a schedule for home televised games for the 2007-2008 season that includes seven dates starting with Sunday's 6pm game against the Detroit Red Wings. more ›

Had they won on Sunday, and entered their bye week with a 4-4 record, maybe things could work out and the Bears would still make the playoffs. But those of us who endured the Bears' 16-7 loss to the Detroit Lions know that the post-season is not in the cards this year. Where to even begin with what went wrong? How about the offense? Cedric Benson continues to reinforce the perception that he's a bust... more ›

Last week, we introduced our “Made in Chicago” feature about local artists. This week, we bring you Jacqueline Sourvelis, 28, of Le Photique. Jacqueline grew up in Detroit and has been in Chicago since summer 2004. We love all her local themed jewelry (like the Chicago Skyline necklace, pictured right). We asked Jacqueline to share her Etsy secrets:... more ›

Sure, we're all anxious and upset about the supposed cuts to the CTA service. However, there is one bus route we wouldn't mind see being cut. "We're a team that gets off the bus running the football,'' Bears coach Lovie Smith said Wednesday. ''I have it memorized, and that's what we are, period.'' Has he been watching the same offense we we've been watching this year? The only thing separating this team from a 1-6... more ›