• In puppy news, dogs seized in a puppy mill raid on the south side have all been adopted.
• The University in Chicago Medical Center is in trouble after an audit found the hospital violated federal law when an emergency room patient died. Perhaps this has a little something to do with why a highly criticized plan to move the ER has been temporarily tabled.
• A principal in Wisconsin has had his school fight song changed because it contained the word "fellow," which he felt was sexist.

Plans to decrease beds and move patients from the University of Chicago's emergency room to other South Side facilities have been halted amid protest within and outside the university community. more ›

As L.A.-filmed, Chicago-set television show ER winds down it's 15th and final season, several actors from the show, including original cast-member Noah Wyle, were in town this week to film some final scenes for future episodes. The show has, from time to time, filmed certain scenes here, but now that the popular drama is winding down, the city took the time to honor the show by declaring yesterday "ER Day." With ER coming to the end of its run, it's also time for us to figure out where the show ranks in terms of Chicago-set shows. Our knee-jerk reaction is to place it somewhere below Perfect Strangers but above Family Matters. (Punky Brewster is our favorite.) more ›

Everyone expects to be shuffled through several waiting rooms without any pants on during a regular doctor visit, but it can be very frustrating to wait when you have to go to the emergency room. Adventist GlenOaks Hospital in the western suburb of Glendale Heights has embraced the idea that time is crucial in emergency situations, spending $7 million on an emergency room with no waiting rooms. more ›

Good news. NBC5 reports that with four days left to the forewarned service cuts and fare hikes on the CTA, Governor Blagoevich has stepped up with some help. He now says that he will try and find some money in "state coffers," and offered up a figure of $20 million. We realize that what he's offering is just a quick fix, but sometimes you put a butterfly bandage on a wound until you can... more ›

Chicago’s comedy scene is more than a small world, it’s a densely knit web. Everyone’s leaning on someone for something, from professional improv instruction to drunken 2 a.m. inspiration for the next routine. And with fame comes increasing gratitude for close friends and casual online “friends.” more ›

The Tribune ran a list of "Ten Things You Might Not Know About Chicago Transit." more ›

Apparently, Chicago emergency rooms aren’t the best places to go if you think you’ve been infected with a biological agent. Chicago ER doctors don’t know which of five likely bioterror weapons would cause specific symptoms. Yikes! more ›

Chicagoist has spent some time in the hospital, and we can assure you, even in the nicest ward, you'd still rather be at home. If, say, you tried to make an escape, we could sympathize. But of course, we would put our clothes on first before leaving. more ›

Apparently, Maureen Ryan isn't the only one who's hating on "Happy Hour," the new Chicago-set sitcom. If you check out TV Death Watch '06 you’ll find that, at the moment, it's the one new show everyone’s betting will get axed the fastest. Having just watched the 2nd episode online we’re eagerly rooting for its demise. Does TV really need another witless show with main characters who are either bland or just plain annoying? It’s the kind of show we’d only watch if it was showing on the plane and we’d read the SkyMall catalog a few times already. There seems to be approximately one genuinely funny joke per commercial break segment. Perhaps there’s a wartime humor-rationing program in place that no one bothered to tell us about. more ›

Depending on how you get your morning news, you may or may not have noticed that an elderly man was shot at Northwestern Hospital last night. “One person remained in critical condition Wednesday morning after a shooting the day before at Northwestern Memorial Hospital,” according the CBS 2 story lead. What? A shooting? At the hospital? OMG! What happened? Further down in the story, hospital spokesman Andrew Buchanan is quoted as saying, “It’s not a... more ›

Back in the waning days of the late 1990s, Chicagoist’s college roommate came to visit us. Since he was a big "ER" fan (remember this was the late 90s when the show was still good), he demanded to see where “County General” was. We had to delicately break it to him that there was no such place though we did take him by its doppelganger, the old Cook County Hospital building. We further shattered his illusions by driving him past Michigan and Wacker to illustrate how George Clooney and Anthony Edwards would have been idiots to talk a walk down by the river during their breaks from saving lives. more ›

This could be the best lede we’ve read all week: more ›

As were were going through our Tivo’ed episodes of Law and Order last week, we noticed that TNT had found a winner in its “Dramatic Auditions” contest: Chicago stage actress Monifa Days. more ›

There were a few surprises this morning when the Chicago Film Critics announced the winners of their annual awards. Past award slates from the CFC have been known for the occasional maverick choices and this year was no exception. Joan Allen, the pride of Rochelle, IL earned a Best Actress win for her performance in The Upside of Anger while Mickey Rourke was named Best Supporting Actor for Sin City, makeup be damned! Maria Bello’s... more ›

Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, strippers who really like you and television medical dramas. What do these things have in common? None of them are real (except for House. That shit’s all true. The woman from last season with a 30-pound tumor? Totally happened to someone at Northwestern). more ›

Increased popularity has its costs, though: the number of motorcycle-related deaths in Illinois jumped from 100 in 2002 to 143 in 2003, and seven people in Cook County have died in motorcycle crashes in the last 21 days. Nationwide, motorcycle fatalities increased by 12 percent from 2002-2003. Police and ER doctors alike emphasize that driving your two-wheel beast recklessly can be extremely dangerous. Police spokeswoman Pat Camden went so far as to call them "'[organ] donor cycles.'" We've heard that phrase referenced on hospital shows and stuff, but didn't realize that people actually used it. Yipes. ER doctors encourage everyone to wear a helmet: even if you crash going over 100 mph, a helmet can still save your life. more ›

, but without the death. more ›

Edward Allen Bernero, the former Chicago police officer who teamed up with John Wells to produce Third Watch, is getting 7 figures from Fox TV to create 2 new Chicago cop-themed dramas. One will air on FOX and is described as a modern-day Starsky & Hutch and has 2 cops who solve cases together and have different views on upholding the law. The other is described as a police "area headquarters ensemble show" (whatever that means) and will be on CBS. more ›

A jury in Cook Country has ordered Walgreens to pay $21 million to the family of Alexandra Gehrke, age 6, for accidentally giving her the wrong medication. Alexandra was born prematurely in 1998 and cannot walk, talk, or feed herself. In 2001, Walgreens admitted they made a mistake, but at trial they argued that Alexandra's injuries were a result of her premature birth. Alexandra's parents blamed the injuries on the drug mix up. Most of the money awarded to the family will be used for the future care of Alexandra. more ›

Our prayers to the TV gods have been answered! Chicago Hope, one of Chicagoist's all-time favorite shows, is returning to the airwaves tonight. Well, yesterday afternoon, but it returns in earnest tonight. Amen. more ›

The new Batman movie, Batman Begins, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, is going to be doing some shooting in Chicago. Tomorrow there is an open casting call for extras so it's your chance to be in the movie. Here's the dillio: Joan Philo is the extras casting director (she's also done High Fidelity, Chain Reaction and ER) and will be looking for "students and all ethnic groups" for one- and two-day exterior shots, mostly at night. They are also looking for people willing to work with their cars. more ›

Chicago historians and architecture buffs who are in a rage over the impending demolition of Cook County Hospital will be happy to know that the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the historic site to its 11 Most Endangered Historic Places of 2004 list. Well, not happy per-se, but psyched for the backup. Cook County Hospital (handy map) was built in 1913 and was home to the first blood bank in the world in... more ›