Frank "The German" Schweihs, reputed mobster and courtroom shenaniganeer,died last night at Thorek Hospital and Medical Center. He was 78. Schweihs, who had been ill with cancer for years, was awaiting federal prosecution on charges of racketeering and conspiracy. He had been too sick to stand trial with the rest of the Family Secrets defendants but was scheduled for his own trial starting in October. [AP, S-T, Trib, ABC]......

Frank "The German" Schweihs was in court today, weakened but not defeated by his battle cancer. Schweihs was supposed to face prosecution as part of the Family Secrets, but he was too sick, so his trial is set for this October. He was in court today for a hearing, and boy oh boy was he chock full of insults and bad language, largely directed at prosecutors. When one apparently looked at Schweihs, the alleged mobster......

The Cook County State's Attorney race has been contentious, with Democratic candidates taking plenty of shots at each other in a televised debate and myriad endorsements. [Ed note: I love when there's a usage note in the dictionary.] Now Jesse Jackson's candidate Larry Suffredin is under renewed scrutiny for his work as a corporate lobbyist. According to the Sun Times, Suffredin, a Cook County commissioner from Evanston lobbied on behalf of Kankakee Regional Landfill LLC.......

Chicago is the 23rd greenest city in the world. Did you take your dog to church yesterday? Visit the Museum of Stuff Left on the Sidewalk. Here's a You Tube Video of legendary soul singer Syl Johnson live in Chicago from 1975. Unfortunately, the song isn't the classic "Is it Because I'm Black?" But it's still choice. Prosecutors in the Family Secrets Trial played on the paranoia of Frank Calabrese, Sr. Really? "Never Stop......

They didn't coerce anyone out of this one -- Chicago mob kingpins guilty in decades of crime. And a relative of a mob murder victim wasted no time applauding the guilty verdicts in the Family Secrets case. Signed, sealed, can't be delivered --Heavy rain forced Stevie Wonder to cancel his concert Monday at the Charter One Pavilion on Northerly Island. It was rescheduled for tonight. David Letterman and Oprah are BFF now. Screw The......

As the week winds down, here are some things of note while we go out and find a fuck lion. Mayor Daley presses Springfield to approve a sales tax increase for the Chicago area to stave off the proposed Doomsday scenarios of CTA and Pace. Bank of America’s pending acquisition of LaSalle Bank could cost the metropolitan Chicago area over 10,000 jobs over the next two years when completed. Chicago Public School teachers voted......

The Mayor's Office and the Office of Inspector General have differing opinions on who should monitor city hiring practices. A newly signed deal ensures Illinois is Pepsi country for the next ten years. Albertson's, the parent company that owns Jewel Food stores, is one of the supermarket companies involved in the recall of botulism-tainted French-cut green beans. When the statewide indoor smoking ban goes into effect in January, the "cigar-at-a-steakhouse" dudes might have to......

- The Illinois Appellate Court ruled the city is not liable for negligence in the 2003 Lincoln Park porch collapse. - Hollinger Inc., the majority shareholder in Sun-Times Media Group, has taken control of the board, leading to speculation that it's stepping up efforts to sell the Bright One. - "Someone filmed a documentary about Thax Douglas?" Yup. View the trailer here. - William Heirens, the state's longest-serving prison inmate at over sixty years,......

That Mayor Daley. What a guy! When he isn't busy saving us from being the next Detroit, he's addressing the media with frustration and consternation. After a 48 - 0 vote in the council yesterday, Daley's plan to divorce the Office of Professional Standards from the Police Department was approved. As part of his new plan to "restore public confidence", Da Mare will be bringing Los Angeles attorney Ilana B.R. Rosenzweig in to be the......

- Craig Stebic had his divorce petition dismissed. We're guessing he got no argument from his wife. - An electricity relief package worth $1 billion in savings to consumers is almost complete. Customers might see benefits of the package as early as next month. - Friend of Mayor Daley - and major figure in the Hired truck Scandal - Fred Barbara was fingered by Nick Calbarese as being on the scene of Outfit bombings......

It probably comes as no surprise when we say that we Chicagoistas have a touch of the news junkie to us. And even though we haven't been posting up on the "Family Secrets" trial too much this week, we certainly haven't been ignoring the largest Mob trial the city has seen in decades. All the talk about This Thing Of Ours (...omerta...) reminded us of one of the most infamous events in journalism history,......

This sounds pretty cool -- the State of Illinois' third annual small-business challenge cited 13 winners for its $10,000 Innovate Illinois grant program. You can find out more about the program here. Don't stop believin' in anonymity when it comes to the mob -- as the much-anticipated Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial opens, jurors will share their backgrounds, views on issues and reading habits-but not their names. It's Police Superintendent Idol! Three and "possibly......

This morning the FBI started rounding up a bunch of reputed members of Chicago's mob... .just when you thought the Chicago mob was dead... 14 mob members including Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, long known as a top leader in Chicago organized crime were indicted on charges of conspiracy, murder, plotting to commit murder, loansharking and bookmaking dating back to 1970. Also charged were 2 retired law enforcement officers. This was all the result of a......