For voters in 14 wards, it's Election Day again as the polls are now open for the ward runoffs. The city Board of Elections is predicting a low voter turnout - fewer than one in four voters are expected to cast ballots - and that tends to favor incumbents. So if you're wanting to get rid of Danny Solis in the 25th Ward because he took campaign donations from the companies responsible for the elevated lead levels in the air around Perez Elementary in Pilsen; or if you want to Rhymefest to be your alderman in the 20th Ward because he may have some ideas to improve the ward you agree with (and/or because he co-wrote "Jesus Walks"); or if you want to hand old and crotchety Bernard Stone his walking papers in the 50th, today is your opportunity. more ›

James Cappleman and Molly Phelan, the two candidates vying to replace outgoing Ald. Helen Shiller in the 46th Ward, are meeting in a transportation-focused forum this evening that should be a good primer to the Monday forum Shiller and 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney are moderating between the two at Truman College. Cappleman and Phelan will discuss their plans for improving walking, biking and public transit in the 46th Ward. The forum will also propose some ideas to use alternate means of transportation make the ward safer for businesses and to reduce crime. more ›

46th Ward Ald. Helen Shiller is a lame duck alderman. The candidates to succeed her in the runoff election, James Cappleman and Molly Phelan, are running as much against Shiller's record as each other. Shiller is (wisely) not endorsing either of them, and a Shiller endorsement may be seen by the candidates and some voters in the 46th Ward as an albatross they don't want around their necks. But Shiller is co-moderating (with 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney) a forum between Cappleman and Phelan March 28 at Truman College that we're going to make a note to attend, and we don't even live in the 46th. This forum has the possibility to show the ugly side of democracy. (h/t Uptown Update) more ›

While Mayor Daley still hasn't announced if he's running for re-election next year, one alderman who has found herself under fire won't be. Uptown's Ald. Helen Shiller (46th), who the Sun-Times' Laura Washington calls "the most controversial, provocative and misunderstood member of the Chicago City Council," announced she won't be making a run at keeping her seat in February's elections. In her column, Washington defends Shiller, who has battled Uptown residents over the Wilson Yard development as well as outbreaks of violence, referring to Shiller's "grit and gumption" and taking some shots at Uptown residents: more ›

Lots of press releases grace our inbox at the Chicagoist offices. Every once in a while we get one that makes us do a double-take. Gerald Farinas's announcement that he's running for 46th Ward Alderman is one of those press releases. Farinas officially announced his candidacy Sunday at Chicago Solidarity Rally in Daley Plaza, held in support of the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. Farinas notes that, if elected he will "be the Council’s second openly gay member," after noting that "Farinas is expected to garner much of his support from reform minded Democrats and, as a former inner circle advisor to Keyes 2004, city Republicans wanting a seat at the table to have their voices heard." Besides Shiller, Farinas will face James Cappleman, who lost in 2007. more ›

46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller, along with 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores, proposed an ordinance Tuesday afternoon that requires new apartment buildings in the city to set aside space for recycling. New buildings with four or fewer units, which are served by the city's Streets and Sanitation Department, would be mandated to set aside space to sort and store recyclables and townhouses would have to have set aside space, either indoors or screened off outdoors for recycling. Buildings with five or more units, which are served by private waste haulers, would have to set aside space on each floor, or incorporate chutes to handle recyclable waste. "It's very difficult, right now, to actually comply with that ordinance, give that there is minimal space," Flores told the Tribune. more ›

The legal fight over Uptown’s Wilson Yard took an unexpected turn this week as two bloggers were subpoenaed by an attorney representing the lot’s developer. The Chicago Journal’s News-Star reported that an attorney for Peter Holsten sent subpoenas to search-engine giant Google, asking for ownership information for two anonymous blogs that have been outspoken critics of the Wilson Yard development. Those two blogs are Uptown Update, which tracks news related to the Uptown area, and What The Helen, which was up and running during the 2007 aldermanic election that pitted incumbent Ald. Helen Shiller against community activist James Cappleman. more ›

The long and heated battle over the Wilson Yard development in Uptown continues as a group of residents sues the city, which they accuse of improperly dolling out $51 million in subsidies to the site’s developer. The group, Fix Wilson Yard Inc., takes to task the city’s claim that the site would never have been developed without some funding from tax-increment financing. “It’s a developer’s dream to have that large of an undeveloped parcel in the city,” said Molly Phelan, president Fix Wilson Yard Inc., to Crain’s Chicago Business. “There’s no reason to use TIF funds to have a developer come in and develop this site.” more ›

It's been a banner year around these parts, with stories big and small, comments bold and beautiful, politicians grand and grandly inept. The last 12 months were filled with sports, food, music and mayhem. What were we all talking about in 2007? more ›

Judge Joan Lefkow handed 28 aldermen their asses today, denying their request to force the City to disclose the names of the police officers accused of brutality. Lefkow said that the case is currently being appealed (busy day at the 7th Circuit), but if the aldermen want to sue the City, they can. Have you been wondering which 28 aldermen signed the petition? We sure have. We called Manny Flores's office and were told there... more ›

We already know we're under surveillance ... well, pretty much all the time. But it looks like the City may be adding some more robot overlords in the near future: City Hall is looking for companies to provide high-res cameras to be attached to street sweepers to photograph illegally parked cars. The cameras would capture a pic of your license plate, and you'd get a ticket in the mail. Most street sweeping tickets are $50.... more ›

Chicagoist really has no idea if these public meetings that are supposed to be to hear community thoughts/suggestions/comments/feedback really are that. Or if they're just legal due diligence, or if they're just so people feel that they had a chance to express themselves, or what. We still plan on going to the last meeting* about the three-track-were-you-smoking-crack sitch in the hopes that we can say something about it, but we're not really sure what it... more ›

The 46th Ward, much like Uptown, is a bizarre place. Laid out in a strange shape on the northern lake front, the 46th Ward is made up of a lot of different people. One of those groups, however, has a bone to pick with the current alderman, Helen Shiller. more ›

What happens when you combine a zest for development, poor video editing skills, and a DSL connection? You get this. Being a Chicago Alderman, by default, makes you something of a historical figure. Being notable, then, ought to warrant you your own page on Wikipedia. The funny thing about Wikipedia is that it is created and maintained by anyone with an internet connection. As Stephen Colbert illustrated all too clearly, that system doesn't always lend... more ›

Chicagoist found this bizarre video today: Yes, yes, the video is juvenile, disjointed, mildly delusional, and most likely from someone that has no affiliation whatsoever to the fellow that is challenging 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller this winter. But if you add it up with some other tidbits, you can see that Shiller is going to have to run a campaign this year to hold on to her office. Besides this bit of weirdness, there... more ›

Alert reader Prashanth tells us that there's a meeting tonight to discuss the Wilson Yard project. Monday's Tribune column said opposition to the project had "a classist or even racist ring," so expect some people from the Uptown Neighborhood Council to be pretty pissed off. Remember when we said a "loud, angry public hearing almost seems guaranteed"? It looks like that's tonight. more ›