Results tagged “fare”

As gas prices continue to plummet, the gas surcharge on taxis is going away for good. The $0.50 surcharge kicks in when gas prices reach $2.70 per gallon and then rises to $1 when gas hits $3.20 a gallon. The surcharge was dropped back to $0.50 on Halloween, prompting the first warning of a cabbie strike and as the surcharge is now slated to go away Friday, the cabbies of Chicago are renewing that threat. United Taxidrivers Community Council chairman Fayez Khozindar has set a November 25th press conference during which the date for the strike will be announced.

The sidewalks are covered in ice and the temps are sneaking down to the single digits. That's perfect weather for toting a toddler around, right? Here are three (free!) reasons to spend that extra hour bundling your kid up this weekend. Christkindlmarket is a candy-cane striped Bavarian winter village deposited into Daley Plaza. Come to gawk at the expensive, often hand-made gifts, and snack on traditional German fare. The children's lantern parade is today at...

The Randolph Street Market District, home to Marché, Sushi Wabi and more, is one of the most popular and big-ticket dining areas in the city. But how do they fare under the withering gaze of the City Department of Public Health? Sushi Wabi had troubles with violations 33 and 34. Violation #33 requires "all utensils shall be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized after each usage, as well as all food and non-food contact surfaces of equipment...

Enjoy that mindfuck, by Mark Bachara and Michael McGrath, and other such gems at tonight's Chicago Short Film Brigade show at the Hideout (8:30pm, $8). Local filmmakers showing off their shorts include Micah Barber, showing his West Side–set Winter Is Outside, animator Lisa Barcy's "Mermaid," and Julie Fab and Heather Marie's "Puss in Boots," an experimental foot-fetish film. You can watch an excerpt here: click on the picture, then click "videos" on the bottom...

As several commenters pointed out, Second City Cop has been on the CTA identity theft case for a few days--and the story there is that a reverend who's on the CTA board attempted to keep the arrest quiet. The only reverend on the CTA's board of directors is Charles E Robinson. Our call to the Board's main office was not immediately returned. Jeanette Sliwinski's psychiatrist testified today that she "didn't see any psychotic symptoms"...

Ron Huberman et al handed down the proposed 2008 CTA budget, and it ain't pretty. At all.

Another day, another quote from the CTA that has us shakin' in our boots. Ron Huberman, whom the Red Eye dubbed "Mr. CTA" yesterday, announced today that the CTA's budget won't be out until Friday--later than planned--because the State hasn't made any progress on funding reform. Plus we've had enough bad news for one day...right? Today's CTA board meeting was cut short so Huberman et al could go work on last-minute budget stuff, but the meeting will resume Monday morning. Do we smell a live blog? Oh boy, do we.

After that hilarious "oops, we ran out of gas" bit, Megabus is offering something even more spectacular for customers and onlookers — daily service from Chicago to Bloomington-Normal! Megabus already offers quick, cheap service (like your mom) between 13 cities in the Midwest, and between some in the Southwest. The company makes good on its $1 promise if you book way ahead of time — Thanksgiving is right around the corner! — but fares closer...

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...

We've all been talking about the CTA, their budget crisis, and what exactly will (or will not) happen if they CTA doesn't get some help from their governmental parents in the Illinois legislature. While the CTA isn't ruled by the IL government, we think this is a little like the college kid who keeps drinking hard, wasting her money, and wondering why she keeps getting into situations that don't have great consequences — thereby necessitating...

Just as a cloud of gloom began to set in over the carless masses of Chicago, a ray of hope came as the State Senate has been called into session on Monday. While a spokesman for Senate President Emil Jones would only say that the session would include discussion of the "transit issue," Sen. John Cullerton, (D-Chicago) told Crain's that he thinks they are going to take up the same bill that Julie Hamos was...

Obama has done it. Durbin has done it. Now Daley’s gonna do it. The “it” in question? Lobbying for alleged murderer Hans Peterson’s extradition to the United States. The story’s old hat by this point: Peterson supposedly confessed to killing dermatologist Dr. David Cornbleet last October in his office on Michigan Avenue. Unfortunately his confession fell on French ears, as Peterson had fled to the isle of St. Martin, where he invoked his Gallic heritage...

Anteprima isn't your standard Italian joint, complete with garlic bread, minestrone soup and heaps of pasta drenched in red sauce. Instead of the usual fare, this Andersonville venue offers up dishes that are simultaneously traditional and modern, simple and complicated, and even better, every one we tried, perfectly delicious. The evening started out with a complementary amuse bouche of a zucchini tart; it was tender, and perfectly highlighted the sweet zucchini. For appetizers we...

Not too long ago, we told you that Chicago cab drivers were working on forming a union to help try and work on some of the ongoing problems they feel they are up against ... super high gas bills and not enough money to take home, being a primary concern. They have tried to get a per-mile surcharge put through City Council, but so far that idea hasn't come through for them. Now, the cab...

Bad news hit the Chicagoist offices late yesterday afternoon as word came through that SB572 — the bill that would have raised sales taxes in Cook County and the five surrounding "collar" counties, as well as the real estate tax in Chicago, to help fund regional transit — failed to reach a "supermajority" of 71 votes in the Illinois House. Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), sponsor of the bill, halted voting and placed it on the...

Here’s what you missed while you were sneezing and burning: Guest #18, your comments are hilarious, but how do you fare with a live audience? If you think you’ve got the chops, submit a 1-2 minute video to Time Out Chicago by September 20. Best entries will be screened online for their discerning website visitors. The top four will compete live for the chance to be crowned “Chicago’s Funniest Person.” (... at least according to...

On Wednesday, the Illinois House Committee on Mass Transit approved legislation that would enable the RTA to fund the CTA, Metra and Pace and prevent service cuts and fare hikes across the board. The Illinois House Committee on Mass Transit approved a transit funding and reform proposal by a 15-4 vote. The House is expected to convene to vote on the proposal next week. This bill comes after the RTA announced that a "doomsday" scenario...

"'Cause it's Friday, you ain't got no job ... and you ain't got shit to do." Well, you can go check out the New Orleans Social Club at Millennium Park. If you aren't, here's some stuff in the news. Buckingham Fountain is slated to undergo a complete overhaul in autumn 2008. Near West Side businesses get $1.5 million in TIF money intended for keeping manufacturing jobs in the area. Does Manny Flores have the...

Well, he did it. Blagojevich finally pulled the trigger. 23 days after it was passed by the legislature, Rod Blagojevich approved much of Illinois' new budget. In a news release he said that he has removed $463 million in spending on "special pet projects and other spending that we simply can't afford." The cuts now go back to the General Assembly for consideration, where a fight is expected with Speaker of the House Mike Madigan....

Thanks largely to the ubiquity of the Food Network, everyone dabbles a bit in gourmet these days. Even bars that one would think should only cater in standard pub grub are going out of their way and dressing up their burgers with buns and sides our grandparents wouldn't dream of when they were our age. We're not knocking it, mind you. We're just saying that sometimes we just want a burger to just be a burger.

Here are some newsworthy items to dwell on while we still wonder why Karl Rove can't leave now. The Mercantile Exchange cuts 380 jobs as it continues its merger with the Board of Trade. St. Sabina's roof is in disrepair, forcing services to their school auditorium. A fire that killed a mother and two children in Naperville this weekend was set by the mother. Lakeshore Athletic Club is closing its 441 N. Wabash location...

The dog days of August are here. And we've got some ways to beat the humidity or, even better, give it a big ol' raspberry. We've also got some food news for you. Let's get started. - From Crain's, Jon Young and Helene Albert, the folks behind Kitsch'n and Volo have a new gastropub opening later this month. The two-story Paramount Room at 415 N. Milwaukee in River West will center on pairing upscale pub...

Hear us now, believe us later, but if you don't want to end up with a crappy solution to a shitty problem, it might be a great time to contact your State Representatives and Senators and to tell them that you really, really do want to ride the CTA in the "ehh" manner you're used to, rather than the CTA-lite version that the CTA board just passed if they don't get more funds. Tony Coppoletta...

Take a walk down 18th Street in Pilsen and you won’t go far without passing a carnitas shop, pizza joint, hot dog stand or Mexican grill. It’s a varied mix of cheap (read: affordable) and cheap (read: not very good). For tablecloth dining options in the neighborhood, diners are often limited to May Street Café or Picante Grill, two places both given the Chicagoist review treatment. The former closes down when convenient (e.g the previous...

Each morning we're going to highlight five bands playing at Lollapalooza that we think are worth seeing. Some will be popular, some less known, but we believe they're all worth your time. And for those not making it to the festival itself, we'll round it out with an additional show going on after the grounds close down for the evening. The Switches We are sure we'll be cursing this band from England throughout the day....

Baseball's trading deadline came and went quietly yesterday afternoon, with only Rob Mackowiak needing to pack up his locker in the Sox clubhouse.

Last week we heard that a bulk of the city's cab drivers are starting to consider forming a union. That sentiment may be put to the test when we see whether any drivers heed a flyer calling for cab drivers to stay parked tomorrow.

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a...

The Chicago Tribune reported on Friday that the 11,000 people who drive taxi cabs in Chicago are considering organizing a union. Based on the organizing model that led to the successful Taxi Workers Alliance in New York City, organizers here are hoping to duplicate those achievements here in Chicago as well. As the price of gasoline has soared, taxi drivers have been hit hardest on their bottom line - take home income. Cab drivers have...

The Chicago Fire may have found a spark in Cuauhtemoc Blanco that Chicagoist hopes helps the club ignite a run to the playoffs. The Mexican star made his debut with the Fire on Sunday when the team played an international friendly with Celtic FC of the Scottish Premier League. Blanco marked his debut with a beautiful goal in the 30th minute and continued to entertain the crowd with cheeky back heel passes and deft touches...