Looks like that open casting call the city held to fill the aldermanic vacancies left by Toni Preckwinkle, Ed Smith and Tom Allen resulted in... Mayor Daley filling two of them with politically connected insiders. And to think we embellished our resume for nothing. more ›

A vote on Ald. Ed Burke's controversial plan to require all cats and dogs in the city to be sterilized hit a roadblock today when...the court reporter taking testimony at the City Council hearing had to leave. Still, the no-vote followed hours of testimony and the measure looks to be facing some opposition. Ald. Ray Suarez (31st) said, "It really doesn't make a lot of sense when you tell me what a dog owner can do." Ald. Ed Smith (28th) had an issue with Burke's claim that such a measure would stop dog attacks, saying, "We're on the wrong track." Still, Ald. Burke, who has promised to bring the measure up for voting again at a later date, was not deterred as he said, “I still believe there is a sufficient number of votes to pass this thing." [Trib] more ›

In an about-face from his recent calls for Senator Burris to resign and for a special election to be held to fill the U.S. Senate seat, Governor Quinn today backed off of Burris and said the focus of Illinois should instead be on things like the economy. Said Quinn: more ›

28th Ward Alderman Ed Smith cautioned State Attorney General Lisa Madigan that if she walks away from the Jon Burge torture cases that allegedly took place at Area Two Headquarters in the early 80's she'll face a backlash that could have consequences on any campaign she launches for Governor, U.S. Senate, state supreme court, or even re-election. Madigan's office has been handling the Burge cases since 2003, when Chief Criminal Court Judge Paul Biebel found that then-State's Attorney Richard Devine had a conflict of interest because Devine once represented Burge. Madigan has asked that five of the 25 cases she's currently handling be shifted back to the state's attorney office. "If this is shifted back, it's gonna get lost in the cracks, put on the back burner and nothing will happen. Those people who are in jail will remain in jail. I want her to follow these cases to fruition and make sure that justice is served from her office" Smith said. "Our community is still upset about these cases. It could give the impression that she just wants to walk away and let it go. It could be an adversity if she ran again." more ›

Mayor Daley has many nicknames among Chicagoans, but we're going to start referring to him as The Harbinger of Doom. Daley announced that he has been informed by several CEOs to expect massive layoffs in the city's private sector as the nation's current economic recession deepens. "Huge layoffs are coming in November and December. And next year, there’s going to be [even more] huge layoffs. All the corporation CEOs have come in to tell me. That’s just the beginning. It’s not their end result." Oh, and that $420 million budget hole the city is facing? Turns out that's not the only bad news we're facing.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that Chicago will close the book on 2008 with an unreserved corporate fund balance of just $1.5 million, a dangerously low level that, Wall Street Rating agencies warned, threatens the all-important bond rating used to determine borrowing costs. more ›

According to a new Sun-Times analysis of last Tuesday's county-wide primary races, those candidates that attempted character assassination of their rivals by associating them with unpopular Cook County Board President Todd Stroger lost, almost across the board. Stroger's approval ratings are basically in the same territory as President Bush's—somewhere between rock bottom and Herbert Hoover—so the prevailing logic was that if you could associate a candidate with Stroger, it would be like transferring his unpopularity onto them. Makes sense, right? more ›

It wasn't just Presidential candidates that were running for nominations in yesterday's vote. A handful of local Democrats and Republicans also ran for their party's spot on the November ballot as well. more ›

Among all of the jockeying for Cook County State's Attorney and the sparks and drama of the presidential primaries, one of the more significant local races this primary season hasn't gotten nearly the attention that it deserves. more ›

The race for Cook County state's attorney has been hot and heavy in the past few weeks, with candidates taking plenty of shots at each other in a debate last week. (You can watch the debate here.) more ›

...than Ed Smith's video blog? As alderman of the West Side's 28th Ward, Smith has a reputation as (sort of) an independent. Coming into office with Harold Washington in 1983, Smith was behind the smoking ban, has pushed for federal prosecution of former police commander Jon Burge, and generally annoys Mayor Daley. Now he wants to be Cook County Recorder of Deeds. As The Reader's Mick Dumke pointed out, this election may be the Year... more ›

Judge Joan Lefkow handed 28 aldermen their asses today, denying their request to force the City to disclose the names of the police officers accused of brutality. Lefkow said that the case is currently being appealed (busy day at the 7th Circuit), but if the aldermen want to sue the City, they can. Have you been wondering which 28 aldermen signed the petition? We sure have. We called Manny Flores's office and were told there... more ›

We already know we're under surveillance ... well, pretty much all the time. But it looks like the City may be adding some more robot overlords in the near future: City Hall is looking for companies to provide high-res cameras to be attached to street sweepers to photograph illegally parked cars. The cameras would capture a pic of your license plate, and you'd get a ticket in the mail. Most street sweeping tickets are $50.... more ›

Carol Marin is "a little worried about Chicago being a world-class city," given that that status tends to equal corruption and bullshit. No joke. You know what we're worried about? The phrase "world-class city." The term — which means what exactly? — has been all over the place recently. RTA boss Stephen Schlickman's saying it. A "Chicago Reader driver." An Olypmic committee guy. Edward Keegan. The Sun-Times can't get enough. Mayor Daley says it, that... more ›

A little over a year ago we collectively sighed with relief when Ald. Joe Moore of the 49th Ward persuaded city councilmen to decide, in a 48-to-1 vote, to ban the sale of foie gras, those delicious fatty livers of geese and ducks. We sighed not because we were happy, but because there was so much talk about it at the time, even we got tired of the whole debate. But the issue just wouldn't... more ›

Although Chicagoist would never advocate you go all Niles Crane on us, you might want to bring a clean handkerchief with you the next time you dine out, to check for dust and polish the cutlery. Fran Spielman writes in the Sun-Times today that Chicago has only 46 Health Department sanitarians and 12 supervisors to keep 15,500 restaurants in compliance with health code regulations, prompting aldermen to question just how efficiently those inspectors are doing... more ›

Look. Chicagoist is just as tired as you all of the Smoke-Or-Not-To-Smoke discussion and we know there is only so much left to be said on the topic to ban smoking in restaurants, bars and basically all public indoor areas of Chicago by April 1. However, as the vote approaches -- Wednesday, to be exact -- it's worth taking up space here. Look for the kids over at the Illinois Restaurant Association to ... well,... more ›

Next Wednesday the City Council is expected to approve an ordinance that will ban smoking in all restaurants, bars, and all of Chicago's indoor public spaces. If approved, the ban would go into effect on April 1, 2006 - that's 2 weeks after St. Pat's day, so don't worry about the freedom to smoke your lungs out on that holiday. And it's not an April Fools joke! more ›

As we told you last week, the county and city governments are currently wrestling with budgets and raising taxes to make up for a number of revenue shortfalls. We thought our readers would be especially interested in the cigarette taxes. We know you're that creepy guy (or gal) sitting at the corner of the bar chain-smoking and "making eye contact" with us. Daley originally wanted to raise the cigarette tax to just 48 cents per... more ›

Chicagoist went to the CTA budget hearings last night and managed to have a pretty good time. The hearing was really just a chance for people to get up and vent, and for the CTA officials to look bored and pained, but as far as bitchfests go, it was a lovely opportunity. Thanks for giving us the chance to stand up and have strangers clap. Hoo yeah. We were surprised how empty the auditorium was—the... more ›