The Emanuel administration said Chicagoans wouldn't have to foot the bill for the upcoming NATO/G8 summits, but the city has yet to receive any of the federal funding promised. more ›

The price one local school is asking for to replace grass with synthetic turf seems a little high. more ›

Crain's is reporting this morning that the federal government is about to make it rain at O'Hare with a new round of funding - $400 million - for the airport's expansion. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be on hand as will U.S. Dick Durbn, Gov. Quinn, and Mayor Daley, who bemoaned the lack of funding earlier this year. It's a major boost for the City in its ongoing fights over O'Hare expansion. Besides the Battle of Bensenville and the fight over the St. Johannes Cemetery relocation, the City has also faced off with airlines over the expansion project. Six major airlines have previously expressed their opposition to the expansion project and American and United Airlines protested a new landing fee meant to fund the project. And that's not even getting into the accused shenanigans surrounding contracts on the expansion. It's not yet known what the new round of cash will be used for but it's still a welcome influx for the City and Mayor Daley who's in full 'Git 'er done" mode on the expansion. more ›

Eight Midwest states are busy readying another high-speed rail project proposal in the hopes of getting a piece of the $8 billion in funding set aside by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The proposal, which is due Oct. 2, uses Chicago as a hub for a Midwestern high-speed rail system that would connect most of the major cities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri. The trains would travel 110 mph, compared to a current top speed of 79 mph for most Amtrak trains in the area, according to an article by NPR. more ›

The CTA unveiled the first of its new 58 articulated hybrid buses today. The buses were purchased with $50 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, just one of several projects the CTA is undergoing with their $241 million in stimulus cash. Once the rest of the new buses get into action this fall, the CTA will have a total of 151 articulated hybrid buses on the roads and the buses will help the agency save around $7 million a year in areas like fuel, parts, and labor. [Crain's] more ›

• The state budget doomsday is nigh: Gov. Quinn - in a speech to the General Assembly today - promised to veto the "half-baked" budget proposal that's most likely going to be sent to him before tonight's midnight deadline.
• A judge sentenced a corrupt former cop to 11 years in prison and exclaimed, “In this city, it seems to me we are bombarded by stories and cases and prosecutions of police misconduct."
• Spider-Man, Spider-Man, stealing whatever a Spidey can.

Democrat Jim Oberstar, the Minnesota Congressman who heads the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was in Chicago Friday to review some of the area's proposed transportation projects. Local politicians hope that those proposed project will make it into the final version of a proposed $500 billion federal transportation bill. more ›

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin met with the press Monday outside of the Shedd Aquarium to defend the practice of earmarks - directing federal spending to specific projects, often in a congressman's own district or state. The two Democrats were referring specifically to $4 million set aside to fund reconstruction of a portion of the city's crumbling shoreline. more ›