Here are some things in the news while we do spit takes at the ticket prices for the upcoming Van Halen tour. A $300-a-year parking permit created for realtors, home health care providers, and social workers to plug a $2.4 million hole in the city's 2007 budget only generated $15,900 in revenue. Facing increasing criticism in allowing BP to increase the amount of pollution it can discharge into Lake Michigan, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels... more ›

Although many members of our staff are involved in noteworthy projects outside of our daily blogging duties, we generally don’t report on everything we do, reserving our self-coverage to only the coolest activites. Rachelle Bowden on "Eight Forty-Eight"? Cool. Scott Smith on "Chicago Tonight"? Trés Fab. Shannon Saar’s intricate ode to Louis Sullivan in gingerbread form? Well, that’s worth telling you about. Shannon, who writes on the weekend shifts and is one of our... more ›

No, "Chicago Treasures" is not a citywide treasure hunt. It’s a lecture series — spawned by the Chicago History Museum and hosted by "Eight Forty-Eight"s Steve Edwards — that brings together two influential Chicagoans for a conversation centered on a single theme. This Thursday’s segment will pair local chef Rick Bayless with Rafael Pulido, aka “El Pistolero,” a Spanish language radio personality, for a discussion about the deepening connections between Mexico and Chicago. Bayless is... more ›

Chicagoist has watched as a string of our favorite artists have played Practice Space residencies at Schuba’s. This month is no exception as Canasta spends the month of April giving us a reason to leave the house on Monday nights. more ›

Sometimes Chicagoist likes to venture out to the burbs and remind ourselves that politics outside the city limits is just as exciting as it is the Land of Daley. more ›

Yesterday’s GOP gubernatorial debate between candidates Bill Brady, Ron Gidwitz, Andy Martin, Jim Oberweis, and Judy Baar Topinka on Chicago Public Radio’s Eight Forty-Eight seemed like any other debate—Republicans good, Blago bad. You can listen to the debate online. However, if you really want to be entertained, skip forward to the last few minutes when the debate was officially over and the candidates took questions from the media, or watch the video here or... more ›

earlier this week, and we admire her eloquence and thoughfulness about her writing. She reads--both in her writing and her spoken reading--like a poet, which makes for a great bookstore event. See for yourself at Women & Children First tonight at 7:30. more ›

Indie kids the world over have been salivating in anticipation of the new Sufjan Stevens album Illinois, the second of fifty albums about the fifty states, that was to be released today. Pitchfork even gave the new album, due to be released today, an astounding 9.2 rating. Mr Stevens himself even appeared on NPR’s Eight Forty-Eight this morning to promote his album…due to be released today. Only it wasn’t released today. Sort of. DC Comics... more ›

First lady of Chicago blogdom Claire Zulkey will be on Eight Forty-Eight Wednesday morning as the latest installment of their series "Chicago's Web Sites, Blogs, E-mags, and Zines." Turn your dials to 91.5 FM from 9:35 to 11 a.m. to catch some of Ms. Zulkey's saucy wisdom. more ›

� I, Robot is set in a futuristic Chicago more ›

The Chicago Public Radio site has streaming audio, so you can listen at work. We'll be listening in from New York, because, as Rachelle tells us, NYC doesn't have $6 all-you-can-eat fish fries on fridays during Lent, damnit. more ›

Stories on Stage, Chicago's only live dramatic short story reading series, is sponsoring its third short story competition. The competition, entitled "Now Hear This," is open to all writers within the Chicago Public Radio listening area. On November 7, the winner of the competition will get their story read by a single actor, who works with a director on interpretation and presentation of the story. The deadline to submit a story is July 19. Chicagoist thinks if we were a better writer and we won the competition, that it would be awesome to hear one of Chicago's top performers read our story. more ›