One of the more contentious races in Tuesday's election is at the Cook County Board of Review, where incumbent Joe Berrios is facing a stiff challenge in trial lawyer Jay Paul Deratany. For many homeowners throughout Cook County, the Board of Review is their best chance at finding relief from both the monster property tax increases proposed by Mayor Daley and the County Board and the skyrocketing assessments of County Assessor Jim Houlihan. more ›

Here's what happened while a punk rock choir distracted us from Doomsday: Fall arts season preview season is here. If you didn’t pick up a Reader over the weekend, you can still bookmark their A & E preview online. The Trib’s writers chose their 10 most promising in theater, art, dance, music (rock and otherwise), comedy and architecture. The Bright One previews Broadway in Chicago and upcoming rock concerts and CDs (remember those?). New City... more ›

One of Chicagoist’s things to do before we die is to gamble in a casino. A lofty goal, we know. Our one previous attempt at a Quad Cities riverboat ended in a DQ, as we weren’t old enough and our mother had left her driver’s license at the hotel. We know it’s way less glamorous than movies would have us think, but damn if we don’t want to feel the chips in our fingers and... more ›

The Illinois State Budget Fight just got weirder. Governor Rod Blagojevich quietly filed suit in Sangamon County Friday against House Speaker Michael Madigan, attempting to force the Speaker to hold special sessions when he calls them. "It is imperative that (the governor's authority to call special sessions) is preserved and honored," Rebecca Rausch, a spokeswoman for the governor wrote in an e-mail to the State Journal Register. "After lawmakers failed to follow the governor's special... more ›

Boy, you know it must be bad when Mayor Daley is calling you out on your legislative tactics. In remarks to the press yesterday, Daley called Blagojevich's plans to cut $500 million from the recently passed budget and impose a universal health care plan of his choosing legally questionable and "dangerous." "In short, I'm cutting pork and special-interest spending and, in its place, I'm using the legal authority that I have to expand health care... more ›

At the time of this writing, a budget had not cleared the Senate. This morning major news outlets are reporting that the Senate voted 52-5 to pass an operating budget late last night similar to what the House approved 99-9 earlier in the day. The Senate legislation will have to be voted on by the House before it can go to the governor's desk. The potential budget includes increases in spending for education, but not... more ›

Mister C, you win! Your guess of May 1 for the end of Frank Kruesi's career in our Frank Kruesi Dead Pool has won you a lovely Chicagoist T-shirt. Email Rachelle@chicago.com to claim your prize. For the rest of you — well, you can rejoice as well because the glory days of CTA President Frank Kruesi are over. Mayor Daley announced at this morning's press conference that Kruesi is retiring. Ron Huberman, the Mayor’s chief... more ›

A few news items about ComEd and its parent company Exelon managed to poke their heads through the noise of Super Bowl Hype Week I. No, they're not freezing rates again (not until something else freezes over), but here's what everyone's favorite utility behemoth was up to this week: Exelon reported about half a billion in profits for the last quarter, netting $592 million. That's a huge improvement over last year, when they reported a... more ›

Remember back in September when we warned you about the impending rate increase from ComEd, and everyone talked about TV shows instead? That was awesome. But you might want to think about switching off the telly every now and then; ComEd's 24 percent rate hike goes into effect this week, meaning that the "Ugly Betty" marathon you watched this weekend just cost you approximately $485. more ›

Yesterday Governor Blagojevich decided that keno will not have a role in funding state construction projects. So if your gambling itch can’t be adequately scratched with the lottery and riverboat casinos, you might want to head up to Michigan. more ›

While Senate President Emil (D-Chicago) said yesterday that a gambling expansion bill is very much alive, both Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) and a confidante of Mayor Daley said they don't expect any sort of gambling deal to come out of this Fall's veto session. As Chicagoist predicted yesterday, it looks like you won't roll any dice in Chicago until at least spring. The State House and Senate adjourn next Thursday. more ›

With the Illinois General Assembly's veto session beginning Monday, quite a bit of important legislation could be passed. Leaders of the State Senate and House met with Gov. Blago Thursday to discuss the agenda. Legislators will discuss increasing the number of armed security guards at the capitol (in light of the September shooting of security guard William Wozniak), the CTA bail-out, more casinos in Illinois (as one possible source for the CTA bail-out) and one... more ›

Joseph W. Lullo, an Chicago police officer in the Marquette district, was arrested Saturday after some sort of brawl at the White Sox/Tigers game. Lullo was seated in House Speaker Michael Madigan's "prime seats" because he is, according to the Sun-Times, a "behind the scenes" political player. Lullo is a 13th Ward precinct captain for Madigan and has contributed $3,400 to Citizens for Lisa Madigan since 1998, which, even though the article makes it sound kind of serious, doesn't seem like that much money. Chicagoist spends $565 a year on Diet Coke. more ›

The Illinois General Assembly adjourned on Tuesday, but House Speaker Michael Madigan called them back to the capitol for a one-day session next week. If the legislature can’t work it out, the elections board, the state attorney general or the federal courts can. more ›