At 1 p.m. Chicago time this afternoon, Roland Burris will be officially sworn in as The Lord's Senator™ by Vice President Dick Cheney, ending a several-month-long saga that has been lively even by Illinois standards. Burris will be seated without any protest from any senate leaders in spite of a litany of threats earlier in the process. While Burris faced an uphill climb to gain acceptance from his soon-to-be colleagues, the current Senators promise they'll treat him like any other freshman senator. By duct taping him to his office chair and rolling him down the hall? "Like any other senator, he'll have to learn the ropes and not get lost getting to committee hearings, like I have. I think he'll come in with people open to meeting with him and getting to know him. I think it will be just fine," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn). Oh. Senators also are looking for Burris to distance himself from Blaogjevich once he is seated, saying a call for Blago's resignation could go a long way towards helping his cause, especially if he intends to keep his seat in 2010. more ›

If you feel a chill in the air, it's not because of Autumn, it's because the lead ringwraith himself, Vice President Dick Cheney, is in town to campaign for U.S. Congressional candidate Marty Ozinga. Cheney will be attending a private fund-raiser at Ozinga's house in Homer Glen. Ozinga is locked in a battle with Debbie Halvorson for the 11th District seat being vacated by exiting Congressman Jerry Weller. more ›

Barack Obama might not be Ronald Reagan (thank God for small blessings?), but he and Dick Cheney share something: A common ancestor. Yes, our junior senator and the good old face-shooter are distant cousins. Freaking out! Oh wait, no we're not: The Sun Times reported this over a month ago. Obama definitely has presidential timber in his family tree: He's distantly related to three U.S. presidents — Harry S Truman, George W. Bush and George... more ›

You know, all these food posts today made us hungry around the offices. If they've done the same for you, here's some reading material for you while you we ourselves a plate of something. Just the kind of publicity BP needs right now. The source of an oil leak that made its way to Munster, Indiana's storm sewers Monday night was one of BP's seeping, inactive pipes. In addition to jurors getting to view... more ›

Ever wanted to be in the movies? Well here’s your chance. Fresh Films, a national filmmaking project for teens, is holding a casting call this Sunday for a short film. Needed are males and females in their early twenties; a total of five roles are up for grabs. More info here but it says that previous experience is not required. A casting director as well as the teen filmmakers themselves will be present. The completed films will be judged by a jury of professionals, including industry heavyweights such as actor John Lithgow and Katherine Brooks of MTV’s “The Real World.” The experimental short film being made here in Chicago is described as a comedy about Lucifer’s son. more ›

Yesterday we gave you a preview of who might be running for president in the Democratic camp. Today we turn our focus to the right, looking at the Republican side of the primaries. Since Dick Cheney isn't going to seek the presidency this time around, the field is wide open for any Republican to join the fray, hoping that his agenda is the one that will resonate most with conservative voters. And not unlike the... more ›

Today we here at Chicagoist turn our broad gaze outward, looking far and wide to the rest of the nation, and recap some of the highlights of last nights State of the Union Address. more ›

That cold wind that took over the Chicago area yesterday afternoon? It was none other than Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney was in the suburbs yesterday to raise money for Peter Roskam, the 6th District Republican candidate for Congress. Roskam will face either Tammy Duckworth, Christine Cegelis, or Lindy Scott in the November election. The Democratic battle has been hard fought and well publicized nationwide, while Roskam is running unopposed in the Republican primary. The... more ›

The White Sox made their White House visit yesterday, where President Bush congratulated the team on their World Series title. As expected, manager Ozzie Guillen was a no-show because he was vacationing with his family. He noted to reporters, "A lot of managers push their players toward baseball and not enough toward family. Baseball isn't going to be around forever, but family will be." He mentioned how throughout the season, he allowed players away from... more ›

In the race for the Democratic nomination for County President, the bad blood between County Commissioner Forrest Claypool and current President John Stroger probably won’t be improving anytime soon. Both Claypool and Stroger appeared on NBC 5’s City Desk with Dick Kay yesterday morning. Unfortunately, Stroger is not keen on debates, so they did not appear together. Wait, maybe that’s a good thing. At this point we wouldn’t be surprised to see a meet... more ›

The president's handling of the past year in Iraq -- his dismissal of those who warned him about the difficulty of reorganizing the country, his neglect of deep problems that are costing American lives there -- made us doubt his ability to bring our involvement there to a successful conclusion. And we became concerned by the secrecy of his subordinates such as Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft, coupled with an unnecessary disregard for some of our most cherished civil liberties.

It will be discourse not fisticuffs tonight, however, who knows with Alan "The Gentleman" Keyes (can't get enough of that picture). The second debate between Barack Obama and Alan Keyes, candidates for U.S. Senate in Illinois, is tonight from 7 to 8 p.m. on ABC 7. The debate is sponsored by both ABC 7 Chicago and the League of Women Voters of Illinois. The national League of Women Voters used to sponsor the presidential debates... more ›

Boy oh boy is John Edwards pretty. Man oh(ld) man is Dick Cheney creepy. Last night's VP debate proved quite entertaining and pugnacious. Cheney pulled no punches labeling Edward's record, "not very distinguished" and mentioning, "Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you 'Senator Gone.'" The newspaper Cheney referred to isn't exactly Edward's hometown paper, but it's only 20 minutes away. Cheney said he's in the Senate most Tuesdays but hadn't met Edwards until last... more ›

We�re trying hard here at the Chicagoist offices to be respectful of lots of different political views, but there comes a time when we need to be upfront: Alan Keyes is totally fucking crazy. First, Alan Keyes flipped out at a reporter from the Trib; now, he�s gone the extra mile by calling homosexuality �selfish hedonism.� Well played, Alan. Moderate conservatives eat that shit up. Yes, gay marriage is an important topic this year, and it�s worth debating on lots of levels, but we�re pretty sure that this is over the line. more ›

Ex-President Bill Clinton kicked off the book tour for his new book, "My Life", yesterday at BookExpo America, the annual booksellers convention. Of his 900 page (!) tome, Clinton says, "I don't settle a lot of scores in this book," which causes us to wonder, then why would a political personality write a book at all? more ›