U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton criticized Cook County’s illegal immigration policy in a letter to County Board President Tony Preckwinkle. more ›

Since 2009, 76 counties in Illinois abstained from participating in the program. more ›

Think of the best, most thoughtful holiday card you've ever given. Now prepare to feel bad about your feeble effort as we tell you about the card composer Augusta Read Thomas gave flutist Claire Chase in 2008 that contained "Euterpe's Caprice," a two-minute solo work dedicated to Chase. As of posting, we cannot determine whether the card also contained a tedious summary of the achievements and news of Thomas's family that year. Anyhow, you can hear "Euterpe's Caprice" and other works for free at a concert put on by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), one of our favorite new-music groups kinda-sorta based in town (they split their time between here and New York), at the Art Institute this Friday evening. more ›

The national fervor surrounding Arizona’s controversial immigration legislation shows no signs of tapering off. While Sarah Palin is urging states to follow Arizona down the road to a “papers, please” society, even some officials who have closer ties to the issue question the state’s recent immigration law. The Tribune reports in a visit to Chicago yesterday, John Morton, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Arizona’s new law is not “good government.” In a meeting with the Trib’s editorial board, Morton also said that his agency may not process illegal immigrants arrested in Arizona under the new law. While he did say that his agency would step up enforcement of immigration laws, he said “the best way to reduce illegal immigration is through a comprehensive federal approach, not a patchwork of state laws.” more ›

Fans of sonic experimentation will want to clear their schedules November 19 for the return of the Chicago/NYC-based International Contemporary Ensemble to the MCA for a rare performance of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's work. Brad Lubman will conduct and Saariaho herself will supervise the group's rehearsals and make a guest appearance at the concert to field audience questions. more ›

Alright, folks, I have to make this quick before my editors get back from their coffee run. Here's the deal: By now you probably know about our fifth anniversary party this Saturday night at The Whistler. I want to tell you about a great concert going on that night, but if my editors find out I plugged something other than our party, they'll make Gitmo look like a Mancow stunt. They are not fucking around on this one. more ›

Toby Maloney calls it a “crazy year,” but it's been over a year since he opened up The Violet Hour, the now-famous bar with no sign, no cellphones, no smoking (pre-ban) and some of the finest drinks that Chicago has ever seen. With a focus on fresh-squeezed juices, homemade syrups and bitters, and an excellent array of fine spirits with an emphasis on gin, rum and rye – no vodka at the outset – VH was the kind of place you either loved instantly, or just didn’t get it. more ›

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new self-deportation program Tuesday. Chicago, along with four other cities, has been chosen for the pilot program, known as "Scheduled Departure". The program asks illegal aliens who have already been ordered by a court to leave the country, but have stayed illegally, to voluntarily to report to ICE to coordinate their departure. According to ICE, the program is designed "for fugitives with no criminal record, who pose no danger to the community and who have the ability to verify their departure from the United States." Fugitives are aliens who were previously ordered removed from the US but stayed illegally. more ›

We’ve seen a new type of product showing up in liquor stores over the last few months: purified, spring-water ice. The ice is sold in large, zip-top bags or in individually wrapped trays that are ready-to-freeze. The claim is that “ordinary” ice, either bought at a grocery store or made in your freezer, is not made with pure water and will change the flavor of drinks. To be frank, this sounded like the height of pointless snobbery – and it also struck us as somewhat twisted to be selling luxury ice during a recession. We were sent a bag of one of these products, called “On The Rocks,” and we decided to conduct a little taste test! more ›

Sand, kitty litter, salt and...beet juice? Yes, there's another product in the de-icing repertoire these days, and it comes from sugar beets. more ›

Although the cover story to yesterday's Sun-Times said that diners shouldn't be alarmed, it's hard to not be after reading the sensationalized cover story which listed 21 restaurants whose ice had more bacteria than a toilet in the Sun-Times men's room. A note for downtown workers looking for lunch this afternoon: you may want to buy a bottled drink. The testing of ice cubes from 49 area restaurants found that the unlucky 21 tested for... more ›