Results tagged “homelandsecurity”

In the last decade, the Chicago World Music Festival has gone from an nascent underfunded gathering of a few groups from around the world, to a huge, weeklong celebration of global sound featuring dozens of venues and group after group of performers and musicians...and though it's still underfunded, the city and sponsors have come together once again to put on a tour de force of world music.

Air travel could get a little harried for Illinois residents this spring. Illinois is one of seventeen states that have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to the post-9/11 REAL ID Act’s provisions over concerns it could cost too much to implement. The law is designed to make driver's licenses more secure.

Jill Morgenthaler, Blagojevich's deputy chief of staff for public safety and homeland security tendered her resignation Tuesday, effective November 1. She apparently called Rich Miller to confirm speculation that she will challenge freshman 6th District congressman Peter Roskam next year. The retired Army Colonel and former psy-ops specialist has been the topic of speculation for while, circulating ballot access petitions and raising money.

"The United States of America v. the State of Illinois" has a real dramatic ring to it, no? The Department of Homeland Security is suing Illinois in an attempt to invalidate a state law that bans employers from using E-Verify, a website that allows employers to check if a Social Security number is valid. Blago signed the law, which passed with bipartisan "veto-proof majorities," in August, and it's supposed to go into effect in January....

One year after she took refuge inside a Humboldt Park storefront United Methodist church, immigration fugitive, mother, and unlikely activist for immigration reform Elvira Arellano announced that she would risk deportation by leaving the church to head to Washington, DC to lobby Congress for immigration reform. "If this government would separate me from my son, let them do it in front of the men and women who have the responsibility to fix this broken law...

It's no secret that Chicagoist is interested in global politics. In the wold-wide checkerboard of cities, we love knowing that our little City by the Lake is quickly becoming a global destination, for business, people, education, and life. That's why our ears perk up a little bit when some national or international figure pays us a visit; even more so when Chicago is used as a platform for some sort of important announcement or drama....

In a press conference earlier this morning, Daley announced that Cortez Trotter has resigned. The first and only disaster chief has been in place for just 14 months, but is now leaving for a job in the private sector. The position was created as a response to a lot of things, including the fatal 2003 fire at 69 W. Washington St., the abominable response to Hurricane Katrina and the threat of biological warfare or an...

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like...

Mike Quigley would have you believe that he supports good government for Cook County. He came into office in 1998, the lone reformer on the bloated and corrupt board. By his second term, he found brotherhood: joining forces with Forrest Claypool, Larry Suffriden, and Tony Peraica, they managed to form an alliance and win some victories against John Stroger's Machine. In 2005 he threw his hat in the ring to challenge the former County Board...

Wikipedia has truly grown into the little public encyclopedia that could. After six years of existence, the collaborative site has a myriad number of articles in 250 languages and is one of the top information destinations on the Web. Chicagoist swears by it ourselves, often using it as a research hub for unexplored subjects or to expound on facts and trivia we already knew. But using Wikipedia as cold, hard fact in a legal sense?...

What's Going on with the North Avenue Bridge?

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend...

Whether or not the folks down at Homeland Security are looking for a fight, it looks like they just got one. Pretty much all of the officials in Chicago allowed their panties to bunch up something awful when they read the report, which counted the city as one of the least prepared for disaster.

While we are huge supporters of art, we have to admit: the giant faces on the art installations in Millennium Park freak us out a bit. While the idea behind them is excellent — a work of art that reflects the city and its people, and provides fun entertainment for kids in the hot summer months — we don’t particularly like to be stared down by 50-foot-tall faces. However, the giantific portraits became even creepier when we discovered yesterday that the faces didn’t only look like they were watching us, but in fact, they were.

By mid 2008 all US citizens are scheduled to be carrying documents that identify our names, addresses, birthdays, gender, photograph, and some kind of biometric marker to any federally sponsored agency that requests the information. Real ID act which gave The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the authority over the contents of a national ID card was tacked onto a tsunami relief bill back in 2005. It passed in the US House (368-58) and Senate (100-0)

En route to Milwaukee to visit relatives, a 42-year-old woman gave birth to a baby girl on a Mexicana Airlines flight from Guadalajara, Mexico. The plane landed at O'Hare, and officials say the 7-pound, 8-ounce baby was delivered on the aircraft by an obstetrician. Obstetricians on a Plane is currently in the works.

Responding to the unadulterated chaos that ensued last summer when a Blue Line train derailed and forced 1,000 passengers to be evacuated, Chicago aldermen are aiming for a crackdown. Their demand?

A $2.4 million pilot project aimed at increasing the mobile security network for buses and trains throughout the city will begin this month. The project, funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, will provide wireless transmission of live streaming video to patrol cars and emergency vehicles from buses and train cars. Frank Kruesi told the Tribune that, "The mobile security network expands the capabilities of security cameras on our buses." In addition,...

Long before there was a League of Chicago Music Venues or a Hawk Winter Music Festival, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs (under the guidance of program director – and fellow Lane Tech grad – Michael Orlove) was bringing together the city’s club scene via the World Music Festival. After seven years, the festival has earned a place beside both Blues and Jazz Fest as one of Chicago’s premier music showcases. WMF is also one...

Remember how much fun fire drills were in grade school? Loud alarms, a break from class, a chance to talk with your friends outside (even though there was supposed to be no talking!) - it was essentially a mini recess. And, we didn’t have to pay attention because an emergency would never really happen to us. Oh, the invincibility of youth.

"baile 18" via City of Progress

Chicagoist believes that the concept of homeland security is all about a delicate balance between feeling safe and being constantly reminded that you're supposed to be wet-your-pants scared every time you set foot in a crowded public place. We were acquainted with this notion when we took our first overseas trip as a teenager. Those soldiers with M-16s in the Frankfort airport sure looked like they could handle any trouble that came our way, but holy crap, what was so freaking scary that they had to wave a machine gun around at the tourists? This concept is old hat in most of the world and it's only made itself comfortable here in the States since Sept. 11, but the same rules apply. Those German shepherds at the train stations look like they can tear ass on any troublemakers, but are any of those bad guys around? Did you see one? What's that guy doing with his bag over there? Shit, get me off this train!

Of the country's biggest 10 cities, Chicago has been the only one who hasn't had even a single police helicopter. And we haven't for decades. Ironic since Chicago once boasted about creating one of the nation's first helicopter units. In the 1980's the program was terminated to cut costs. But times, they are a changin'.

Last night Chicagoist headed over to the Double Door for a night of eclectic and cheap music. Not knowing what to expect, except that our friend The Rich Experience (look him up at myspace.com) would be playing a couple of his classics as an opener, we went in with an open mind to hear some of Chicago's lesser known bands.

A $9 million federal Homeland Security grant is being used to tech out over 1,000 Chicago Police cars. New wireless laptops will be going in and it's gonna happen by December of next year. Right now squad cars already have computers in them, but the information that can be accessed is very limited. Officers can look up a specific arrest warrant or automobile registration. With the new plan they'll be able to look up any...

Chicagoist received a mass e-mail message this past week with the subject line "Mandatory Draft" followed by a number of, depending on your position, exciting or menacing exclamation points. The e-mail mentions companion bills H.R. 163 and S 82. The titles of both these bills contain the text "...to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes."

Monday, the Bush and Kerry camps agreed to three 90 minute debates with the first held on Sept. 30 at the University of Miami. The first debate will touch on foreign policy and homeland security. The second debate will be a town hall meeting with questions from "soft" Bush and Kerry supporters in St. Louis on Oct. 8. And the third debate on Oct. 13 in Tempe, Ariz.? It's the economy stupid.

Mayor Daley unveiled a plan today that would link 2,000 surveillance cameras in public places around the city. Most of the cameras are already in place, but the $5.1 million project would add about 250 more. Thanks, Homeland Security!