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President Obama swung through town yesterday to raise some money for his re-election campaign, blow the dust off his Kenwood home and dined at mk, where he used to take First Lady Michelle Obama on dates. The President saved the most rowdy fundraiser for last at a Navy Pier gathering of around 2,300 people. Obama played to the hometown crowds, reminding them Chicago was where he met his wife and started a family, and played on civic pride by reminding the supporters that his re-election headquarters will be here and donning a Bulls cap (Bulls stars Derrick rose and Joakim Noah were in attendance). Obama also displayed a sly with and had some fun with birther conspiracy theories. more ›

When we last checked in with Steve Gadlin, he was riding high off a fresh wave of Groupon-induced cat drawings. Gadlin, creator and sketcher-in-chief of IWantToDrawACatForYou.com, has now turned his attention away from felines, and toward game shows. more ›

The team charged with the inauguration of Mayor-elect Emanuel, re-elected City Treasurer Stephanie Neely and City Clerk-elect Susana Mendoza is in place. That team includes former White House social secretary Desiree Rogers; Teamsters Local 25 president •John T. Coli; Harris Associates chief investment officer •David Herro; Antonio J. Gracias, founder and CEO of Valor Equity Partners LP; Chatham Business Association executive director •Melinda Kelly; Groupon co-founder and venture capitalist •Eric Lefkofsky; and investor Tim Mullen. more ›

Rahm Emanuel and Gery Chico aren't the only candidates who've been busy raising money for their respective campaigns. The 235 candidates for the city's 43 contested ward elections next month have raised $5.6 million so far, according to campaign finance filings. Among some of the more hotly contested races where money seems to be going include the 7th Ward, where Sandi Jackson and Darcel Beavers are squaring off again. They and three other candidates have raised $82,000. 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waugespack has raised $63,000 for his re-election campaign. And 19th Ward Democratic committeeman has raised over $200,000 to replace the retiring Alderman Ginger Rugai. more ›

We know that Rahm Emanuel has collected a lot of cash for his mayoral campaign in a short period of time,but where is the cash coming from and how much is coming from whom? Would you be surprised to discover that 1 percent of Emanuel's donors come from the coasts? And they account for 23 percent of his campaign contributions? It's like a microcosm of wealth in America. more ›

The Rahmformer is raking campaign donations at a furious pace, thanks to his longtime network of deep pocketed donors. But what about those of us who can't afford the cash to support Rahm while seeing the newly slimmed-down Jennifer Hudson sing at House of Blues? For the plebes, the Emanuel campaign has set up a store that wouldn't look out of place on Cafepress.com. more ›

Gery Chico became the first of the major mayoral candidates to release fund raising numbers. Chico released reports that showed he's raised $2.5 million for his mayoral campaign. In the process, Chico also fired a salvo in the direction of Rahm Emanuel by stating that 97 percent of his contributions have come from Chicagoans. Emanuel has held some very lucrative fund-raisers out of town. more ›

Bad news for the Salvation Army, which was expecting to raise $12 million ringing bells this season. Their haul so far is down 13 percent. more ›

Pipeworks Brewing Co. is the brainchild of Beejay Olson and Gerrit Lewis, who met while working at West Lakeview Liquors, one of the better beer geek havens in town. Olson and Lewis have been slowly getting their brews out to Our Town's beer drinkers, brewing from a location in Bucktown. more ›

Following up on last week's news that Howard Brown Health Center needs to raise $500,000 by the end of the year comes word that a anonymous donor has offered to match up to $100,000 in donations as part of the center's "lifeline appeal." more ›

The wide open field of Mayoral candidates narrowed today when Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced he would not run for mayor. Dart cited family commitments as the reason he was not running, but Dan Mihalopoulos, reporting for Early and Often, writes that Dart was faced with the grim reality that any money he could raise for a mayoral campaign would pale in comparison to the money pipeline Rahm Emanuel will have at his disposal. Mihalopoulos's source said Dart's consultants, Joe Trippi and Tom Lindenfeld, couldn't find a scenario where Dart could raise even half as much as the war chest predicted for Emanuel. more ›

The entire foundation of Brady's campaign is of a man who won't accept "business as usual" in Springfield, not to mention hanging the albatross of a 20-year state budget mess on the neck of a man who's only been governor 18 months and was largely marginalized as lieutenant governor by the Human Pompadour... But how does Brady reconcile his "agent of change" stance while accepting money from two men who were complicit in maintaining the status quo? more ›

President Obama went into Candidate Obama mode last night, stumping and raising money for Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias in his tight race against Mark Kirk. With many polls showing Kirk and Giannoulias in a dead heat, Obama's second fundraising appearance here in as many months for Giannoulias is a clear indicator that his Administration believes the seat, which the GOP wants largely as a symbolic victory, is winnable. Although making this Chicagoist staffer choose between Giannoulias and Kirk is like picking between strychnine and witch hazel. more ›

Maybe Alexi Giannoulias isn't political kryptonite after all. President Obama will return to Chicago on August 5th to fundraise for Giannoulias in the race to fill Obama’s old Senate seat (aka "The Race No One Seems To Want To Win"). According to the Giannoulias campaign, Obama’s support comes at a critical time, as Mark Kirk’s campaign has nearly $4 million compared to Giannoulias’s $1 million. Campaign Manager Michael Redina said “ The President's visit will reinforce the importance of the clear choice Illinois voters face between Alexi, who supports helping the President move America forward, and career Congressman Mark Kirk, who wants to go back to the same failed Bush policies that got us into this mess” in a statement on the campaign website. more ›

After an extended break due to the holiday weekend, the trial of former governor Rod Blagojevich got back underway yesterday. There was the small matter of the dismissed juror, but that was merely a minor bump on the road to a verdict as a full day of testimony continued. The primary focus from prosecutors was on a 2005 interview in which they claim Blagojevich lied to the FBI in regards to a connection between fundraising and doling out state jobs. But the day began with the ongoing suggestion by prosecutors that Patti Blagojevich was collecting money from Tony Rezko for a job in which she did absolutely nothing. more ›

• More details in yesterday's Marquette Park quadruple murder.
• The City is issuing $1.2 billion in bonds to help pay for the O'Hare expansion project.
• There will be no "kayak czar" for Gov. Quinn.

Since we first posted about it Friday, more restaurants have offered to join in the Haitian earthquake relief efforts. The list of restaurants that wil give diners the opportunity to add $1 to their checks through the 24th, with the money going to Heartland Alliance, has grown considerably. the full updated list can be viewed here. more ›

The relief effort in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti is only getting started and the reports coming out of that country are harrowing. Locally, restaurants are responding admirably to the call for help. From January 18-24, guests at the restaurants listed after the jump will have the opportunity to add an extra dollar to their checks. The total collected amount will then be donated to Heartland Alliance (now would be as good a time as any to ask you to re-read Megan's interview with Heartland Alliance's "refugee nutritionist" Sarah Eichberger, as it's particularly newsworthy in the wake of what's happened). more ›

Back in the early days of this-little-website-that-could we used to make it a practice of actually trying to meet our readers at a pre-arranged location to have some drinks, have a good time away from the flat-screen glow, get to know each other and (most important) thank you for choosing to spend a portion of your day reading Chicagoist. As you can see from this Flickr set, these "Reader Happy Hours" were very fun. more ›

We're fast approaching Christmas ale season and Goose Island is giving back in a way that will make any Grinch's heart grow three sizes. more ›

When he isn't suing former bandmates, Jay Bennett puts out records. Last November, the erstwhile Wilco guitarist issued Whatever Happened I Apologize, his fifth solo effort, through the online-only distributor Rock Proper, which offers free downloads of its releases. But for those who'd like to hold more than a jumble of ones and zeros in their hands, Bennett and Rock Proper have hooked up with a somewhat novel new service called Kickstarter: pledge some cash, and watch that download become a real live 12" record. more ›

Ah, the public radio fundraising drive. We love NPR - and we've got a whole heap of love for the badasses at WBEZ - but sometimes we get a bit miffed with the interruptions asking us for money. Well, our pals at the BEZ have come up with a pretty clever campaign that not only raises money to help keep them on the air, but keeps us entertained to boot. They've launched WBEZ20, a new website featuring videos, comments, and other interactive features while at the same time asking readers to donate $20 to help keep the station going. It's a pretty great idea and will help keep their programming interruption to a minimum. more ›

In spite of some serious financial woes, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is still trying to raise money for a potential re-election bid in 2010 and says he'll make a decision on that race soon. Burris held his first fundraiser yesterday here in Chicago but the money he pulled from that event will go towards paying off his $111,000 in debt he's racked up so far since taking over the U.S. Senate seat once held by now-President Barack Obama. One aide told the Tribune they hope to have raised about $50,000 from yesterday's event. But there's even more debt for Burris as he claims he's also dug himself a $500,000 hole in legal fees. more ›

The tenacious folks at the Sun-Times have uncovered another shady connection between embattled Senator Roland Burris and his appointer, former governor Rod Blagojevich. The Bright One obtained a fund-raising document from three weeks before Blago appointed Burris to fill Pres. Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat. more ›

• Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night nor arrest stayed these fundraisers from the swift completion of their appointed money collecting for then-governor Rod Blagojevich.
• Quinn has company: Republican state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington has entered the 2010 race for governor.
• Another reason to not party in Wrigleyville: you'll deal with people like James Burns who, in a drunken rage, hijacked a taxi.
• Chicago Police have charged Robert Branch with assaulting seven different women in area parking garages.

About Face Theatre (AFT), a Chicago company whose work focuses on LGBTQ and gender issues, is in danger of shutting down. Besides producing Pulitzer Prize/Jeff/Tony Award-winning work, About Face fills a specific niche in our community with its Youth Theatre workshops and outreach programs - so while we’d hate to see ANY Chicago theater close its doors, we think there would be an especially noticeable void left in its absence. more ›

Photo taken from Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s photo gallery.