When we were a kid, our uncle had a blind friend for whom he would occasionally run errands. One frequent errand was stopping off at the video store to rent movies, because even though he was blind he still loved watching them. One of his favorites was All the President's Men. Which, if you stop to think about it, is a highly visual movie. We're all grown up now, but we've never stopped asking ourselves: would watching a movie without the picture be as engaging as watching it the standard way? Could it possibly be even more rewarding? more ›

If we say Lost In The Fog is a film about horse racing, surely Seabiscuit comes to mind. But Tobey Maguire isn't nearly as adorable as the horse's cantankerous octogenarian owner Harry Aleo. And unlike most documentaries made after a story ends, filmmaker John Corey just happened to fall into the development of the story of a three-year-old horse named, Lost in the Fog. He followed him from the small-time races in San Francisco, through a 10-race winning streak, until the horse's capture of the coveted Eclipse Award, as the nation's top sprinter. more ›

The Kentucky Derby is marketed as a glamorous event, but those who have been there know otherwise – it’s really just a rip-rollicking, drunkified good time. And the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” as a recent documentary would have us know, would not be so without years of dirt, sweat, and hard work. Now, the Kentucky Derby is associated with a different kind of dirty business, after the highly publicized death of one of the race’s thoroughbreds. more ›

Is Mike Madigan ready to take a gamble? So it seems from a letter he wrote today to state legislators. He said today that he'd endorse a bill proposed by Democratic reps Lou Lang and Bob Molaro that expands gambling—gaming, sorry—and uses that money for roads and schools. From the AP: The new proposal includes many of the elements that already passed the Senate in September, including a huge, land-based casino in Chicago and... more ›

Chicagoist isn't usually one to play the ponies, but then it's not every day that the horse racing world is focused on Chicago. On Saturday, Arlington Park will host the 25th Arlington Million, the largest annual stakes race in Illinois. Among the field is last year's winner, Tin Man, with 3-1 odds. The nine-year-old is looking to defend his title against this year's favorite, After Market. The favorite at 2-1 odds, After Market is trained... more ›

Former state Senator Bob Madigan died on Thursday at the age of 63. He served in the state Senate from 1987 to 2001. The Sun-Times and WMAQ/NBC5 are like BFF now. They're gonna share information and resources. Sun-Times stories will be previewed on NBC while NBC TV station promos will appear daily in the Sun-Times. Under legislation approved on Thursday, 4 of the state's 9 riverboats (the ones that make more than $200 million/year)... more ›

Each year Chicagoist reaches into our deep war chest and pulls out a wrinkly Thomas Jefferson two dollar bill and head to MudBug Off Track Betting on Weed St. for the Kentucky Derby. We admit that we probably have no place in a betting parlor with such a minimal understanding of the sport. The page in the newspaper dedicated to horse racing is Greek to us. What the heck is a quiniela anyway, and what... more ›

After several days of wishy washiness, Mayor Richard Daley has announced that he is supporting plans to build a casino in downtown Chicago. He said that budget problems are forcing the city to find new sources of income and that he wants Chicago to be the first city in the nation to own a license so that both state and city taxpayers would receive all of the revenue benefits - up to $850 million annually. Daley also said that a casino would employ about 2,500 people. more ›