Tragic news in the story of the Humboldt Park girl who was shot in the head Saturday night: according to family members, 13-year-old Eternity Gaddy is brain dead. Eternity and her mother, who currently live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, were visiting family in Humboldt Park this summer. Eternity and her mother were scheduled to leave Chicago to return to Allentown later Sunday morning. According to a cousin who was standing with the girl, four men appeared......

A Humboldt Park teenager remains in critical condition at Stroger Hospital of Cook County after she was shot in the head early Sunday morning. The girl, 13, was standing in front of her home in the 3400 block of Potomac Avenue when the shooting occurred. She was standing with several adults outside the house; police are not sure whether the shooting was gang-related or if the girl was even a target.......

Photo by TheeErin Chicago Police Officer Michael Ciancio, arrested yesterday for soliciting bribes from tow truck drivers, received up to $800 a week with his scam. Police have arrested a man in connection with a Wednesday morning incident in Humboldt Park in which a 2-year old girl was shot with a BB gun. A memorial created by children at Nicholson Elementary honoring the CPS students killed this year will soon be displayed in the......

As Police Supt. Weis and G-Rod spar over bringing in the National Guard and State Police to quell the rise in violence, crime continues and makes us wonder if we'd be better off with the Man of the Moment. A shooting in West Humboldt Park left three men injured. The shooting occurred shortly before 9 p.m. in the 800 block of North Keeler Avenue. Two men, 23 and 22 years-old, were treated at Stroger Hospital......

Yesterday marked the second anniversary of Weegee's Lounge, one of our favorite cocktail lounges in the city. While others like Violet Hour change out the cocktail menu with the season, Weegee's sticks to the time-honored classics and does them exceptionally. On a visit Saturday night a friend read the menu and remarked, "This should be considered one of America's true contributions to the world." Formerly a Polish bar, Weegee's is named in honor of photographer......

Police issued an Amber Alert for three Humboldt Park kids who've been missing for days. Oscar Casanova, 6, Karla Casanova, 7, and Fernando Casanova, 11, above, were abducted from their school Friday. Their mother was found dead in their apartment yesterday afternoon, and police are treating her death as a homicide. Investigators are looking for Benito Casanova, father to two of the missing children; according to CBS 2, "neighbors now believe...32-year-old Benito Casanova kidnapped [the......

As if you needed reminding, it's Tax Day, one of the more stressful times of the year, especially with the economy in the toilet. But maybe you're lucky enough to get a half-decent refund from the Federal Government this year and feel like treating yourself to something nice. The Second City opened its new show, No Country for Old White Men, this weekend. If we know anything, it's that a Second City show is always......

More fascinated by Kelis' milkshake than Daniel Plainview's? Is the only Oscar you'll watch living in a garbage can? Then this Sunday probably means nothing to you. You're burnt out on the "glitz" and "glamor" of the night, not to mention the drama surrounding that writers strike. Of course, it's never too early to make alternative plans! While all your friends and compulsive gamblers are setting up their Oscar pools and getting ready to check......

Thee Erin captures the ennui of taking mass transit. Drew Peterson Watch: the Cowardly Lion's attorney says a racy message recently found on missing wife Stacy's phone is proof that she was having an affair, and ran off. The mini Wrigley Field formerly at the New City YMCA is being relocated to Humboldt Park. If you're a Streets and San worker around 53rd and Union, be careful that woman you offer money for sex......

The celebrity gossip mill said today that Katie Holmes and Christina Aguilera will be co-starring in a movie called Humboldt Park. Hubbawha? We're hoping this is the same HP that's supposed to star Freddy Rodriguez and John Leguizamo, apparently about three adult children who return home to Humboldt Park for the holidays. State Street Pictures, the production company behind the movie, has produced Chicago-set (and filmed) movies before: Roll Bounce (which is underrated; that movie......

The jibarito is a cross-cultural gem with a very American story. It was invented in Chicago (circa 1993) at Humboldt Park’s Borinquen Restaurant, a tricked-out plantain sandwich inspired by Puerto Rican culture and named after its peasant class, then embraced across strata at local Cuban, Mexican, and South American joints. We’re hardly the first to praise the luscious mix of thinly sliced and spiced steak, stringy onions with a touch of lettuce, tomato and condiments......

A request for a street named in honor of Chicago author Saul Bellow was denied due to controversial remarks and writing by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Bellow's University of Chicago colleague and friend, Richard Stern, made the request to Ald. Toni Preckwinkle. Stern told the Chicago Tribune that Preckwinkle sent him a letter saying she had heard Bellow made racist comments and so would not endorse a memorial to him. Raised in Humboldt Park from......

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......

This afternoon, gangs of Chicago artists are out to change the way you think about Independence Day, slaying sacred cows and cherished myths. Myth #1: July 4 is a time to put politics aside and celebrate America. For Feel Tank Chicago, the personal is political. And that includes how we celebrate The Fourth. Rather than marching lockstep with Team USA cheerleaders, loving their country right or wrong, the artistic collective has planned this afternoon’s Fifth......

It's hard not to love Chicago's MacArthur Foundation because even when they cut funds for something you cherish, they continue to support tons of other amazing services, community programs, and on and on. The newest rabbit with a hat up its sleeve is a boatload of money for sixteen ailing Chicago neighborhoods the Local Initiatives Support Corporation* is concentrating on with its New Communities Program. In what someone (but who?!) calls "the nation's largest community......

Treat is a treat for the eyes thanks to a colorful, funky atmosphere. The food, unfortunately, was not such a treat. The Humboldt Park breakfast-lunch-dinner eatery had everything set up to be just right — happy, bright yellow walls lined with black-and-white photos picturing urban people and scenes; a quaint, little espresso bar/countertop area at the front; retro, faux-wood furniture; a nice, quiet crowd that matched the décor (think funky and eclectic), dishware in......

Every once in a while a band rolls across Chicagoist’s desk with just the right combination of reverence for their influences and clarity of vision for their own work. Erie Choir is the recording name for Eric Roehrig, a Chapel Hill, NC, native with a crisp indie-folk sensibility and a lot of patience. Roehrig spent five years writing and recording Slighter Awake, a tight, classically constructed 38 minutes of lovely, embellished pop recorded for......

Has it really been two years since we were first introduced to The Mystery Jets? It feels like a lot longer. Now, that may be because the young band is particularly adept at kicking out a certain kind of timeless pop, but we’re willing to bet that the main reason is because we’ve been waiting forever for them to hit Chicago so we could finally experience their much buzzed about live show. A few weeks......

Jan Lorys, Director, Polish Museum of America...

A local church is replacing traditional hymns with U2 songs to try to "engage young people and encourage social activism." Columbia College is giving college credits for Second City courses. They're also teaching kids how to become hip-hop producers. Only half of the planes leaving or arriving at O'Hare were on time in December. That places O'Hare dead last for the month among the nation's busiest airports. Can't believe we were worse than LaGuardia......

This morning, Chicagoist hopped on the bus to Navy Pier to listen to a presentation by Chicago Public Radio (CPR) explaining the rationale for their new 2007 schedule. Torey Malatia, the president and general manager of the station, explained the purpose of restructuring the schedule and doing away with the music formats. Malatia described how CPR was simultaneously a local, regional, national, and global broadcaster. In order to remain relevant with local and regional......

In the 1700 block of North Lockwood, Lamell "Slim" Burns, a leader of the New Breed gang, stabbed himself 20-30 times in an attempt to existentially allude the police. The police had to use a stun gun to keep Slim from killing himself, he is in critical condition at Stroger hospital. According to the Sun Times article, a gang war between the New Breed gang and the Traveling Vice Lords have claimed the lives of......

If you’re nostalgic for the caravan of moving trucks tooling around the city in late September—and really, who isn’t?—John Song and Ries Productions have an event for you. “Mobile Exhibitions” is a Humboldt Park art show on wheels, a commentary on urban evolution, and an excuse to play with balloons and piñatas. The one true sign of neighborhood gentrification is constantly debated. The new Starbucks on the corner? The Urban Outfitters next to American Apparel?......

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......

David Schwimmer just won a $400,000 defamation lawsuit, proving he doesn't demand 2 Rolex watches to attend his own charity events after all.. An older suburban couple with a lawn cluttered with ornaments had some of them stolen. A ransom note was discovered. It told the couple to leave $25k in fake money and some Boone's Farm wine "at the White Hen behind the Twist-N-Shake (ice cream parlor)." Hey Cubs fans, "Let's hug it......

Ask the average Chicagoan about the riots of the late 1960s, and he or she will probably nod their head and say “During the Democratic National Convention, right?” While the 1968 riots maintain a prominent (read: notorious) place in this city’s history, this week marks a series of riots that were a flashpoint for the frustrations of Puerto Ricans in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. On June 12th, 1966, 20-year-old Aracelis Cruz was shot by police......

We don't know how else to put this -- there's bad junk going around. Chicagoist hopes that you're not nodding off whilst checking the blogosphere, or getting into a comment war and then running off to cop, but if you are into heroin or were considering picking up the habit, you might want to think twice. Besides the regular old hazards from being riding the big H, (e.g. HIV or Hepatitis C from dirty needles,......

This week we have a heartless gas station clerk, a creative robber, a creepy store manger, five really slow teenagers, and one unlucky gun owner. A little quiet, but what do you expect with all the tryptophan abuse? On Sunday, a gas station clerk at a Gary, IN, Citgo refused to call 911 after a woman was robbed at knifepoint while pumping gas. "Use your cell phone," the clerk told the woman. On Monday, a......

Chicagoist thought we couldn't top last weekend's hijinks, but you impressed us again this weekend Chicagoland. If this keeps up, we'll be able to make a regular feature out of the police blotter. Some of our favorites this week: An Aurora woman who claimed she was a victim of Hurricane Katrina is under investigation. Born and raised in Biloxi, Mississippi, she received $650 from the Red Cross and a free apartment in Aurora. The only......

1. Auburn-Gresham 2. Austin 3. East Garfield Park 4. Humboldt Park 5. North Lawndale 6. Roseland 7. West Englewood A study released yesterday by the Urban Institute shows that more than half of the ex-cons who come back to Chicago after getting out of The Clink end up in these 7 of the city's 77 neighborhoods. Researchers say that these neighborhoods lack the resources needed to help people trying to get back into society and......