It is not unusual to hear Chicagoans whining about their local media options, especially the Trib. But some interesting new online data points in a different direction. Illinoisans love the Chicago Tribune. Hoosiers do too. more ›

Last year, 37.5 million Americans moved from one home to another. As Forbes noted, this "mobility makes us efficient seekers of economic improvement," with the fortunes of cities rising and ebbing like tides as people move. more ›

Democratic Cook County Assessor candidate Joe Berrios is really getting worked up over the challenge he's received from independent candidate Forrest Claypool. Maybe it stems from that Chicago magazine piece or Berrios' complaint with the IRS against the Better Government Association in connection with the piece. Whatever the case, Berrios has brought the sass in his latest press release addressing Claypool and his rich donors, name-checking some that were found on that Forbes list we posted on yesterday. In the statement, Berrios goes after Claypool for having a bunch of Richie Rich donors, dripping with so much sarcasm that we imagine he was doing the two-finger air quotes gesture while dictating the statement to his campaign's press liaison. more ›

Recession? What recession? Economic collapse? Pay it no mind. Job losses? Pshaw, we say! Forbes has let loose with it's annual list of people who make us feel poor and a smattering of Chicagoans made the annual 400 richest Americans list, including Tribune Company Owner Sam Zell (No. 60, worth $4.4 billion), Oprah (No. 130, worth $2.7 billion), and a slew of Pritzkers. You can check out the list here and check out the Trib's photo gallery of Chicago's reps here. more ›

Following up on their decision to name Mount Prospect the best place in the U.S. to raise children in 2008, BusinessWeek magazine has passed the title on to Tinley Park for 2009. Unlike their magazine rival, Forbes, who has voted Chicago the nation's most stressful city for the past two years, it seems like BusinessWeek may have a bit of a crush on the suburbs of Chicago. more ›

It seems actually showing your team's games on local television can be financially beneficial. Who knew? The Blackhawks' local broadcast deal is one of a few being cited by Forbes' magazine as one of the reasons the the NHL's overall value jumped last year. As for the 'Hawks, the team also took a big jump in value to the tune of 26 percent. Of course, we're sure a young team, a fantastic season with a trip to the Western Conference finals and a rabid fan base helped. Now standing at an overall estimated worth of $258 million, the 'Hawks rank seventh in the league overall. In fact, the Original Six all rank in the top seven (Philly being the odd man out at No. 5). The jump was the largest one-year change in the entire league. You can check out Forbes' entire feature here. [via Crain's] more ›

The city's loss of the 2016 Olympic bid isn't the only thing probably causing Oprah to cringe today. There's the news that the last year has not been financially kind to the big O. Yes, even Oprah suffers from the recession. According to this year's Forbes' 400 Richest Americans list, Oprah lost $400 million though she actually went up in the rankings (from No. 155 to No. 141). Overall, Oprah is worth $2.3 billion. [Sun-Times] more ›

It's hard to believe it's been a year already since we were named "America's Most Stressful City" by Forbes. What's not so hard to believe? We've repeated as champs! Yeah, Chicago! Once again, factors included quality of life statistics, median home price drops, unemployment, air quality, and - yes - weather. What sayeth Forbes about our lovely village on the shores of Lake Michigan? more ›

In its annual "America's Most Miserable Cities" list, Forbes named Chicago the nation's third most miserable city. Numbers One and Two? Stockton, California and Memphis, Tennessee. Said Forbes of our fair home: more ›

Forbes has released its annual list of the nation's most stressful airports and O'Hare comes in second. Our lovely hub at the end of the Blue Line is the only midwest airport in the top five and, frankly, no one I know is shocked by any of this. Forbes reported the O'Hare on-time arrivals from September 2007 to September 2008 at 76.2 percent and the on-time departures for the same time period at 78.6 percent. Our personal on-time departure rate remains at zero percent. more ›

According to the latest basically meaningless yet weirdly post-worthy list from Forbes Magazine, Chicago is the most stressful city in America. The rankings used housings costs, cost of living, a city's air quality, the number of sunny days per year, and population density. So wait: Expensive, crowded, stinky, grey cities breed stress? Blink blink. Sayeth Forbes: "Chicago has a 7.3% unemployment rate, the eighth most polluted air in our ranking and in city where everybody drives to get around, a gallon of gas costs a nickel under $4 dollars." (Everyone here drives to get around?) We also had the second-highest population density. Hear that, person who lives so hilariously close to me they can see my computer screen from their house? The other stressful cities are, from most to least, New York, Detroit, LA, San Francisco, San Diego, Cleveland, Sal Lake City, Providence and Philadelphia. [Forbes] more ›

Forbes's ever-healthy list mania continues, now with rankings of the most valuable NFL teams. According to the business magazine, 19 NFL franchises are worth more than $1 billion. The Bears are the ninth most valuable, worth about $1.1 billion, but according to the story, "the team does not generate sufficient revenue given its big market, great stadium deal and famous brand." [Forbes] more ›

Chicago is the fifth-hardest drinking city in America, according to a new analysis by Forbes, who's really feeling the ranking stories this week. We drink less than Austin, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Providence. Providence? more ›

To generate the list, Forbes estimates celebrity earnings, then factors in media metrics like Google hits, press mentions as compiled by Factiva, TV/radio mentions from Lexis/Nexis and the number of times an A-lister appears on the cover of more than 50 consumer magazines.