Results tagged “illinois”

   

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Blackhawks Shutdown, Shut Out Predators

The Dallas Stars came to town and did something that other teams are having a hard time doing this year: beat the Blackhawks. Dallas edged the 'Hawks 4-3 last night at the United Center. After a scoreless first period, the dam broke in the second as the teams combined for five goals in that period alone. Dallas took a 2-0 lead before Troy Brouwer got Chicago on the board. After another Dallas goal, Jonathon Toews scored to cut the lead to 3-2. After a fluke bounce off the boards got past Huet for another Dallas goal in the third period, Niklas Hjalmarsson scored to cut the lead again, this time to 4-3 but Dallas held and came out with the win. Cristobal Huet jad 21 saves besides allowing the four goals. The 'Hawks get a few days off now until Vancouver skates into town on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., CSN).

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

The Chicago Blackhawks gave fans their money's worth at last night's home opener, edging the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 in a dramatic nine-round shoot-out win. The Blackhawks got on the board first thanks to a power play goal from Cam Barker. The Avalanche, however, bounced back in the second period with the next two goals to take a 2-1 edge. From there, the two teams exchanged goals as a total of five goals were scored in the second, ending with the teams tied at 3-3 (the 'Hawks got goals from Andrew Ladd and Duncan Keith). After a scoreless third period and overtime period, the teams moved to a shoot-out. The two teams extended the shoot-out to a ninth frame, the longest shoot-out in Blackhawks' history, when a goal by Andrew Ladd gave the 'Hawks a 4-3 shoot-out edge and a 4-3 win. Cristobal Huet stopped 16 of 19 shots he faced in regulation and overtime and came through with some key saves in the shoot-out, stopping 6 of 9 shots. The Blackhawks next welcome Calgary to town on Monday (7 p.m., VS).

Even a Cubs fan such as myself has to hand it to the White Sox: this "Well, if we can't be in the playoffs so we might as well completely screw up the playoff picture for someone else" attitude is pretty addictive. The White Sox downed Detroit 5-1 last night, forcing the Tigers into a tie with the Minnesota Twins heading into the last day of the season. Adding a little fun to the festivities, if the Twins and Tigers finished tied, the Twins host a playoff which will have to be played Tuesday because of the Vikings-Packers Monday Night Football game at the Metrodome. Anything that messes even the slightest bit with Bud Selig is totally awesome with us. Okay, but there was a game last night, too. Freddy Garcia looked sharp, pitching seven-plus innings, striking out seven, and giving up only a single run. Carlos Quentin had a two-run homer and Alex Rios also had a great night, knocking in three runs. The Sox wrap up 2009 against the Tigers today at 12:05 p.m. (WGN).

The Cubs won for the third straight game and for the sixth time in seven games since sending Milton Bradley packing for the year as they tripped up the Giants 6-2. Earlier this week, we said the Cubs' playoffs hopes were done. Even though the Cardinals (finally) clinched the NL Central, the Cubs do still have slim hopes of sneaking into the playoffs, 5.5 games back of Colorado in the Wild Card with 8 games left, though they'll still have to get through the Giants (which they will with a series sweep), Florida, a streaking Atlanta, and the aforementioned Rockies. Playoffs or not, the Cubs looked good yesterday, starter Tom Gorzelanny allowing only one run over five innings and the bullpen giving up only a solo homer in the seventh. The offense did their part, too, as Jake Fox and Geovany Soto had two RBIs each and Aramis Ramirez added a homer to the tally. The Cubs go for the sweep today at 3:05 p.m. (WGN).

The White Sox mustered an extra-inning 4-3 win yesterday in Anaheim and, more importantly, made a move up in their division, sliding into second place ahead of the Minnesota Twins. John Danks pitched a fantastic game, holding the Angels scoreless over six innings and the Sox were up 3-0 thanks in part to solo home runs from Gordon Beckham and Scott Podsednik. But the Sox bullpen gave away the lead, as Matt Thornton and Bobby Janks combined to give up three runs over the eight and ninth innings, forcing extras. In the top of the 10th, Podesednik came through again for the Sox, scoring on a wild pitch to go up 4-3, a lead they would hold for the victory. The Sox also stand alone in second only five games back of Detroit. The teams decide the series today at 2:35 p.m. (CSN).

After missing two games for the birth of his newest child, Derek Lee returned to the lineup in dramatic for the Cubs, hitting a pair of homers that helped the Cubs down the Mets 5-3. Down 1-0 in the fourth, it was Aramis Ramirez that got the Cubs rolling with a two-run homer. After the Mets tied the game in the bottom of the inning, Lee hit his first homer of the game - a two-run shot - which proved to be the winning runs. Lee then added another homer in the eighth to give the Cubs a little breathing room. Rich Harden struck out 10 over five innings for the win and - after the bullpen held - Carlos Marmol got the save. The two teams tussle again today at 12:10 (WGN).

                    

With a huge hand clutching a glass of Austrian sparkling wine, David Cleverdon slowly gestured across the seemingly endless verdancy surrounding us like a compass searching for True North and said, "You're catching us at the beginning of a transition. Tomorrow, trucks will be coming to the farm and tearing up the land as we start laying the ground work for the future of Kinnikinnick Farm."

With the state feeling the financial crunch and reeling from that recent budget dust-up, we knew lots of folks we're going to suffer repercussions. One of the latest groups to feel the sting is a group of the state's college students who were denied financial aid. Why? Because they applied after the state's May 15 deadline, a deadline which, in the past, had been set much later. Then there's this, according to the Sun-Times:

Any Chicago sports fan knows the lengthy time that Wrigley Field spent as home to the Chicago Bears' football team (1921 until 1970 when they moved to Soldier Field). But now Wrigley could once again host a football game if several people, including University of Illinois coach Ron Zook, have their way. The story's been bouncing around for a while now, but Zook raised the issue again at today's Big 10 Media Day, asking for a game against Northwestern next year at Wrigley. During the media day, Zook appeared on ESPN 1000 where he said:

Via tribune Wine writer Bill Daley: the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has just designated a new wine viticultural area encompassing 29,914 square miles in four states, including Carroll, Jo Davies, Lee, Ogle, Rock Island, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago counties in northwest Illinois. Beginning July 22, any wineries within the Upper Mississippi River Valley Appellation — the nation's largest designated winemaking region — can use the designation on their labels, which gives consumers a sense of where the wine is from. More detailed information can be found here.

It's exciting times in Illinois politics - and almost impossible to keep track of the players. The 2010 election, about eight months out at this point features three key races - and enough plot twists to keep even the most well-informed political junkie interested.

In another round of Great News!, it turns out kids in Illinois are getting fatter. In a study just released, based on 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health, Illinois children rank fourth in the United States in terms of being overweight or obese with 20.7 percent of the children tipping the scales.

If there is one thing we can thank the former Governor for, it’s the gridlock in state funding he helped to create that has left a long list of “shovel ready” projects. Illinois may have benefitted from this laundry list, of sorts, winning quick approval for many transportation projects in the federal stimulus program.

After the recent decision to allow gay marriage in Iowa, there's been cause for optimism amongst supporters in Illinois. Whispers grew a little louder on Monday when Gov. Quinn, speaking at Harper College in Palatine, indicated that a civil union law may not be far away for Illinois. Said Quinn: "I think that's probably where the legislature is headed in the state." With a civil union bill currently in the General Assembly, it's a distinct possibility. However, there are indications that a law allowing gay marriage isn't in the state's near-future. The Times and Democrat - a paper based out of South Carloina, of all places - addressed the issue this week.

A single-engine plane crashed at the Sandwich Airport in DeKalb County yesterday afternoon, killing two. According to the Chicago Tribune, Randy Hougham was taking friends for rides in his vintage 1946 Ercoupe 415-C. Two flights went well, but the third ended in disaster. The plane crashed and caught fire shortly before 2 p.m., killing Houghham, 53, and his passenger, recent Bradley University graduate Lauren Hamilton, 22. Hougham's brother-in-law, Bruce Burlingame, said, "He was a great guy, a good family man, a good dad. He was just a normal guy who did construction work and had a plane."

The first day of the NCAA tournament saw only one upset and that was the last game of the night as the 12th seed Western Kentucky Hilltoppers made 5th seed Illinois' visit to the Big Dance a short one, hanging on for a 76-72 victory over the Illini. After a close opening 10 minutes, Western Kentucky pulled ahead of a sluggish Illini team that was missing star Chester Frazier. The Hilltoppers were up 68-51 with a little over four minutes to play when Illinois showed life and began a furious comeback, cutting the lead to one score in the final minute, but just couldn't get over the hill. Trent Meacham led Illinois with 24 points and Calvin Brock did an admirable job filling for Frazier, scoring 14 and bringing down 10 rebounds.

So now that President Obama has signed the controversial stimulus package, just how big will Illinois's piece of the pie be? The AP reports our take will be $1.58 billion, good enough for fifth place overall amongst the 50 states. Lawmakers now have to decide how that money will be spent. According to the AP, "The law also requires that half the money be spent on projects that have been vetted by the federal government and deemed "ready to go" in 120 days, as a way to jolt the economy and create jobs."

The Blackhawks won their third straight and fourth of their last five games as they topped Calgary 5-2. After a back-and-forth first period that saw the teams exchange goals to a 2-2 tie, the 'Hawks scored three unanswered to pull away. Five different 'Hawks scored, but it was a big night for Andrew Ladd (1 goal, 2 assists) and Matt Walker (3 assists). Khabibulin was solid in net, stopping 29 of 31 shots, including nine on power plays. The 'Hawks are at 4-1 on this eight game road trip and sit solidly in second place in the division and third overall in the conference.

After our new Gov. Pat Quinn spent the morning with a Sharpie crossing out "Lt." on all his business cards, he got right to work trying to clean off the stank of our (good god we love saying this) now former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The first order of business was to issue an executive order bringing the Illinois Reform Commission he had set up earlier this month under his wing in the governor's office. The commission consists of at least 12 commissioners and is an "independent advisory group [that] will examine government practices and ethics." OK, sure, having the group directly under the governor seems about as "independent" as Mayor Daley's Office of Compliance, but at this point we're willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for even the tiniest chance of reform in this state -- especially when Quinn says that "we're going to start to fumigate state government from top to bottom to make sure that it has no corruption."

Did you ever hear something about your doctor or dentist that made you wish you'd know that before you had your first visit with him or her? Do a little research before placing that phone call. The Illinois Department of Professional Regulation allows you to look up the licenses for a number of professions and you can see if they've ever been professionally disciplined. We clicked on "Professional Regulation" on the left hand side and then "License Look-up" to get to this page.

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh