The day Rod Blagojevich has been dreading has arrived. more ›

Dick Mell wasn't proposing bicyclists be licensed last week. Let us reiterate. more ›

This is more a case of Mell simply thinking aloud, especially as Klein moves to install over 100 more miles of protected bike lanes in the next four years. more ›

The loss of Black residents to the suburbs and an increase in the Hispanic population means something has to give when the ward remaps begin. more ›

The Streets and Sanintation Department has issued a passive reminder that, with the remnants of the Blizzard of 2011 fast melting, it's time to get the lawn chairs, milk crates and other trash we're using to save our parking spaces off the street. more ›

Frank Schmidt, one-time owner of a Joliet landfill that was at the center of an epic feud between Chicago Ald. Dick Mell and former Governor Rod Blagjoevich, has been charged with federal tax evasion. According to federal authorities, Schmidt has been charged with five counts of tax evasion for failing to pay $2 million in tax on $11 million of income. Schmidt is expected to plead guilty. more ›

The prosecution has rested their case in the federal corruption trial of Rod Blagojevich, and their presentation of the long-awaited wiretap audio has ended. We laughed, we cried, and we heard a lot of bleeped-out cussing on radio and on television. And since it takes a lot of time to poke through the Justice Department's excellent site and track down the appropriate audio, we thought we'd continue to show you the tapes the way you can't get them on broadcast media. You can find the first offering of uncut, purely profane audio here, and now we've worked our wizardry on a few more clips. more ›

A tearful Democratic Lt. Governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen announced his withdrawal from the Democratic ticket last night amidst increasing calls for him to remove himself from the ticket. Last week's revelations of Cohen's use of anabolic steroids, allegations of domestic abuse, and owing nine months in back child support payments while he pumped $2 million of his pawnbroker's fortune into his successful primary victory had party leaders fearing Cohen's presence could jeopardize the election chances of Governor Pat Quinn and Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias. Cohen came to his decision after a Friday meeting with State House Michael Madigan, who's also state Democratic Party Chairman. According to the Tribune, Madigan told Cohen "very direct and very frank" way to step down from the ticket. Governor Quinn's office released a statement following Cohen's announcement which read Cohen "made the right decision for the Democratic Party and the people of Illinois. Now we can continue to focus our efforts on putting our economy back on track and working to bring good jobs to Illinois." more ›

• A pair of area deaths related to H1N1 have been reported. In related news, a truck with 900 H1N1 vaccine doses was stolen in Milwaukee though police have apprehended a suspect.
• As the search continues for a hit & run driver responsible for the death of 25-year-old Rachel Gilliam, a surveillance tape is making the rounds that shows the alleged car that moments later hit Gilliam and her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the driver.
• With 1,000 officers eligible to retire, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis admits he's "nervous" about retirements cutting into the CPD's already thinned ranks.

One thing about Daley and his pals that you can count on is that they tend to know what they're doing when they say they will or won't do something. So it came as a bit of a surprise that 33rd Ward Alderman Dick Mell told the Tribune he would call the selection meeting to replace former Commissioner Roberto Maldonado sooner than Tuesday's meeting. The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to roll back the sales tax increase in July, before Maldanado left the board to become 26th Ward Alderman. Stroger vetoed that bill, but it looked like the board might have the 14 votes it takes to override that veto. more ›

Federal investigators are now looking at 33rd Ward Alderman Dick Mell's role in Blair Hull's failed bid to win the 2004 Democratic Senate primary. Mell, who is former governor Rod Blagojevich's father-in-law, apparently worked as a consultant on Hull's campaign, and was paid as a subcontractor by Fred Lebed's consultancy, the Prairie Group. Mell's take was reportedly $100,000. more ›

A few weeks back, we discussed the Chicago tradition known as "dibs." It now seems that Ald. Dick Mell (33rd) has had it up to here with you kids and your dibs, issuing this email to constituents. more ›

City Hall's response to cell-phone-yapping motorists is simple: get a hands-free device or put a sock in it. While that's still the case, a new plan working its way through city council would scale back the punishment for offenders of the cell phone ban, which now includes text messaging and internet surfing. Under the current ordinance, talkative drivers have their license taken away by the police department and can only get it back after they pay a fine or go to court. But during Wednesday's full council meeting, Mayor Daley introduced a proposal that allows offenders to keep their license. The proposal also allows violators the opportunity to contest their ticket by mail or through an administrative hearing. more ›

33rd Ward Alderman Dick Mell had a bad experience at the Democratic Convention in Denver, but it wasn’t the restaurant’s fault. During a visit to the famous cigar bar at the Brown Palace Hotel, Mell and his entourage spotted Massachusetts Senator and 2004 also-ran John Kerry. Mell and 39th Ward Alderman Margaret Laurino, who were hanging out with delegate Linda Murphy, a professor at Wright College, spotted Kerry. "Margie says to (Murphy), 'Would you like a picture taken with John Kerry? We can do that.' She's all excited and she says, ‘Sure, I'd like to have that.' " Mell said. Laurino and Murphey approached Kerry, and then quickly left. About 15 minutes later, hotel security asked them to leave, escorting them from the hotel and down the block. more ›

While the city was preparing to buyback nearly 6,000 guns this weekend, some Chicago suburbs are repealing their handgun bans. Morton Grove, who was sued by the National Rifle Association along with Chicago, repealed its handgun ban, and Wilmette has followed suit as well. Daley, however, remained adamant that Chicago would not be next. “I don’t look at this lightly—that, ‘Oh, because the Supreme Court’s done it we’re just gonna dismiss it and all of a sudden people can arm themselves,'" he said. "Morton Grove can do anything that it wants." more ›

Mayor Daley announced yesterday that he is behind Dick Mell's proposed ordinance to reopen gun registration in Chicago, creating a one-month amnesty for gun owners who forgot to re-register. The mayor says he's doing it for hunters with summer homes out of state, not the alderman. "A lot of people go back and forth to their summer homes ... A lot of people move their shotguns. A lot of 'em are bird hunters, gun collectors. ... They move 'em back from Wisconsin, Michigan, [other] parts of Illinois," the mayor told the Sun-Times. "It's one time [for] one month ... You want to have 'em register. There's nothing wrong with that ... People want to just register. A lot of 'em bring 'em back from hunting trips. So, why not?" more ›

More aldermanic shenanigans today: Dick Mell (33rd) is re-writing a law he accidentally broke. Apparently, Mell forgot to register his arsenal of guns last year, and when he realized he was going to lose his appeal, he decided to change the law. more ›

Boy, you know it must be bad when Mayor Daley is calling you out on your legislative tactics. In remarks to the press yesterday, Daley called Blagojevich's plans to cut $500 million from the recently passed budget and impose a universal health care plan of his choosing legally questionable and "dangerous." "In short, I'm cutting pork and special-interest spending and, in its place, I'm using the legal authority that I have to expand health care... more ›

If you're looking for a quick way to score an easy 20% on the AlderTrack Challenge, here's your crib sheet. Yesterday we told you about five of the ten aldermen who, through luck, the will of the community, or (more likely) legal wrangling, have the political good fortune of running unopposed. Today, let's take a look at the rest of the bunch. Much has been written about how Alderman Mary Ann Smith skillfully removed her... more ›

Having a troubled family member is a classic story in politics. We all remember Roger Clinton, failed rock musician, alcoholic and convicted cocaine user, who's legacy lurked in the shadow Bill Clinton's presidency. And who could forget Billy Carter, Jimmy's good ol' boy brother, who endorsed Billy Beer and registered as a foreign agent with Libya in exchange for nearly a quarter million dollars? Rod Blagojevich should be so lucky to have a relative as... more ›

Yee haw, pardner, all these politicos are ripe for the rustlin' it's so cold today! Let's move 'em out! more ›

Photograph of Vincent dancing on a bridge via flagtothefloor. more ›

What could possibly go wrong with the concept of donating clothes to those less fortunate? Apparently … quite a bit. Some aldermen are proposing the removal of Chicago’s clothing drop boxes. It all started when Ald. Dick Mell (33rd) designed an ordinance that would fine the drop box owners for not quickly removing graffiti. Tagged donation boxes were creating an eyesore and garnering some complaints from the neighbors. But Mell soon heard other drop box horror stories. Donated clothes being sold for personal profit. Boxes placed on private property without the permission of the city or property owners. Well after hearing all this, Mell is now looking to straight-up outlaw the donation boxes. more ›

Image via bhaggs more ›

Let's say you come from a family that enjoys good conversation while sharing a bottle of wine on the holidays. Or maybe you come from a family where you need a stiff shot of Glenrothes in order to get through the unwrapping of presents. But you live in Chicago, both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fall on a Sunday this year, and you can't buy liquor until 11 a.m. Let's take solace in... more ›

With all the screw-ups going on with the Brown Line reconstruction project, there’s no lack of things to complain about: cost overruns, customer dissatisfaction and sculptures that look like giant schlongs. Oh you missed that last one, did you? Well the office of Alderman Dick Mell certainly hasn’t. According to a report from Pioneer Press published in the Sun-Times, Ravenswood sculptor Josh Barger has created two 10-foot-tall lotus blossoms made out of aluminum to be... more ›

After much speculation, former Chicago alderman Edwin Eisendrath has decided to challenge Governor Blagojevich in the Democratic primary this coming spring. Edwin currently serves as Vice President of Academic Affairs for Kendall College. Prior to that he served as alderman for the 43rd ward from 1987 to 1993 and headed the Chicago regional office for the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1995 to 1997 under President Clinton. Eisendrath lost a 1990 bid... more ›

The Blagojevich hiring scandal seems to get weirder by the day, and Chicagoist can practically picture Dick Mell reading the latest headlines and laughing. The Sun Times is reporting that a Blago official wore a wire as part of the federal investigation looking into the governor’s hiring practices. It is unknown which insider wore the recording device, or exactly who and what was recorded. A source also confirms federal investigators have interviewed several potential... more ›

Chicagoist knew it was getting bad when we asked our friends, “Hey, did you hear the latest about the hiring scandal?” And they said, “Which one?” Of course, you might say it got bad when you realized this is the kind of stuff we talk to our friends about. Not to be outdone by the corruption in Chicago’s hiring practices, Governor Blagojevich’s office is now dealing with its own hiring scandal. Today the Chicago... more ›

When voters go to the polls to elect their officials, many factors are weighed. Is the candidate honest? Will he or she keep taxes down? Does this person care about the issues that are important to me? And does the candidate have big balls? more ›