The Chicago food community has shown its committment to charitable causes over and over again, and we've already mentioned a few things being done to help disaster-ravaged Japan. This event, however, is in a class by itself. Some of the best chefs in Chicago, including Jimmy Bannos, Paul Kahan, Tony Mantuano, Mindy Segal, Sarah Stegner, Paul Virant, Bill Kim, and of course, Takashi Yagihashi, are coming together at Takashi on April 18th to create a special 6-course dinner. All the proceeds will go the Red Cross. more ›

An earthquake measuring 4.2 in magnitude struck central Indiana near Kokomo this morning. No damages were reported. more ›

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Ottawa, Canada just a bit ago and the Tribune is reporting it was felt here in Chicago though much less than that quake in February. Our pals at Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me felt the earth move, too, as did a few of our Twitter followers. We just thought it was the continued celebration from the U.S.'s thrilling, dramatic victory over Algeria at the World Cup. Seems a bit far away to really feel it but let us know if you felt it and where you were. more ›

It may not be the nuclear strike we thought was coming but the end of the world is clearly at hand. A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck early this morning with the epicenter just south of Gilberts. It was felt from Tennessee to Wisconsin though no damage was reported. Sure, but with almost a foot of fresh snow on the ground, we're still pulling all our money out of the bank, stuffing it in a coffee can, and collecting all the ammunition we can find. It's about to get all The Road up in here. more ›

The Field Museum has been on a roll lately with their temporary exhibits. First it was Mythical Creatures, which blew us away with its artist interpretations of our favorite monsters and legends. And Friday the Field will open Nature Unleashed: Inside Natural Disasters. In the wake of the Myanmar Cyclone and the China earthquake, this exhibit definitely has our attention. more ›

A 5.2 magnitude earthquake jostled the Midwest at 4:37 this morning. Even though it's one of the strongest ever in Illinois, it's technically not that big of an earthquake, and no injuries or severe damage have been reported. The quake was centered in West Salem, about 230 miles from here, and people felt the tremors as far as 900 miles away. more ›

While the fish-taco revolution is swimming across the area, there are plenty of other events happening this week. Before we list them, however, we should let you know that the cockroaches are taking over our downtown restaurants. This week's victim of the ultimate survivor, Bice. Cockroaches were the least of their problems, however. A Health Department inspection also found no hot running water in a kitchen sink and fruit flies in the bar. If you... more ›

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,... more ›

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the... more ›

Scientists announced that they have found a 4-mile-square fossilized rain forest near Danville, IL. They say it was preserved by a major ancient earthquake and that it has a bunch of big leaf impressions, trunks of extinct trees, and tree-sized horsetail plants. LaSalle Bank getting bought by Bank of America? Not so fast... HowToOpenThings is a new local online venture where site members have contests to get videos created that demonstrate how to open... more ›

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend... more ›

SFist commeters pose for before and aftershocks when the mayor commemorates a 1906 earthquake...at 4:30 in the morning. A hot tip on the Chronicle vending machines comes in and the SFist war correspondent risks life and limb to post this dispatch from the frontlines. Houstonist announces their new Cops spinoff "World's Funniest Tazer Videos" and the possible cancellation of their pervs' "World's Grossest Bathroom Videos" and PBS trains cams on cows at, uhg, Mootube. Also,... more ›

Just an interesting bit of business news on a Monday: When Allstate recently got their financial asses kicked by the likes of Katrina and other hurricanes last summer, they decided to trim costs and improve operations. (They lost $1.55 billion in the third quarter -- their biggest quarterly loss as a publicly traded company. ) They offered 6,800 workers a voluntary buyout offer at the Northbrook office and expected about 700 to take the deal,... more ›

- An earthquake? In southern Illinois? Seriously? more ›

The tsunamis that swept across the Indian Ocean from Thailand to Somalia and killed more than 44,000 people so far may seem like a world away, but they are affecting people around the Chicagoland area in many ways. A couple of stories we've read with local ties - Dipak Jain, the dean of Northwestern's business school, has been in Thailand since December 15 to teach at a school in Bangkok. Jain, his wife, and his... more ›

Anyway, the CTU criticizes Daley’s timing as the plan was announced during a bitter CTU presidential election. The CTU is also concerned that "novice" teachers will be put into jobs that don't pay them well and don't provide benefits. Or maybe it’s just the fact that these private schools won't be accountable to the union.
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• You need to be watching Degrassi more ›

Years ago Chicagoist worked with a woman whose father lived in Wisconsin and had purchased earthquake insurance. We all had a good laugh over that! Who would buy earthquake insurance while living in the Midwestern United States?!? Well, look who has the last laugh now. Last night an earthquake whose epicenter was about 70 miles west of Chicago was felt from Wisconsin south to Missouri and from Indiana west to Iowa. The magnitude was 4.5 and early reports indicate there was no major damage done, but Chicagoist is starting to wonder whether the Big One could be next.. what's that number for that earthquake insurance.. ? more ›