The Costs of War can't be measured in dollars and cents, nor dollars and sense. more ›

Yesterday, nearly 1,500 people massed at the Thompson Center to protest the killing of more than 60 people in a church in central Baghdad. more ›

In his second address to the nation from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama announced the end of combat operations in Iraq last night, while pivoting to Afghanistan and a lagging economy that has plagued the United States since before he took office. more ›

As the last American combat troops leave Iraq, part of the U.S.'s complete military pull-out, scheduled to be complete next fall, we take a look at this video from photographer Richard Mosse. Says Mosse of the video on his website: more ›

In a press blast earlier this week, which Chicagoist gets but doesn't generally read very closely since they're usually just partisan talking points, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mark Kirk took a swing at his Democratic opponent Alexi Giannoulias, attempting to tie loans from his families failed Broadway Bank to the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The email, (the substance of which is also on a website paid for by Kirk for Senate) sent by the Illinois Republican Party tried to link Giannoulias to Hussein a la Kevin Bacon, through various degrees of separation via Nadhmi Auchi (and Tony Rezko). more ›

President Obama announced today that his plans to draw down combat forces in Iraq by August 31st, 2010 are on schedule. In a speech to the Disabled Veterans of America in Atlanta, Obama said “Already, we have closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of bases. We’re moving out millions of pieces of equipment in one of the largest logistics operations that we’ve seen in decades.” By the deadline, U.S. Forces will number 50,000 - a reduction of 94,000 since Obama took office according to the Tribune. At present, there are nearly 65,000 soldiers in Iraq. This does not include contractors however, which number more than 100,000. more ›

The U.S. Senate spent the weekend in session, appropriating $626 billion to the Department of Defense for the remaining 10 months of the 2010 budget. The bill includes $128 billion for “ongoing contingency operations” in both Iraq and Afghanistan. That figure, however, does not factor in the new 30,000 troop surge in Afghanistan, which could potentially be as much as $40 billion. more ›

Just as Senate Dems secured enough votes to open up President Obama's Health Care plan for debate, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is headed for an early-week visit to troops in Iraq. Sen. Burris, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is part of a delegation that will, as an aide told the Tribune, "examine security and political developments in the region." Burris will be joined by Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, (both Oregon), Tom Udall (New Mexico) and Michael Bennet (Colorado), all fellow Dems. The delegation will return by Thanksgiving. Last week, Burris was cleared by a Senate ethics committee of any wrong-doing stemming from his testimony about his communications with then-governor Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat he now holds, but it did earn him an admonition from the panel. more ›

Craigslist buyers uncovered a scam by people pretending to be Illinois National Guardsmen who need to sell big ticket items like cars and boats in a hurry before they're deployed overseas. After receiving several calls, the Illinois National Guard verified that the names of the sellers on Craigslist were bogus according to Chicago Breaking News. Guard spokesman Michael Chrisman said the verbiage is almost the same in every ad, only the type of vehicle for sale is different. more ›

• Our thoughts and prayers with the family of Chicago's Staff Sgt. Roberto Andrade who was killed in action this weekend in Baghdad from injuries sustained when his vehicle struck an IED.
• A Calumet City resident found an unpleasant surprise when shoveling snow today: a dead body.
• Two teens have been charged in the shooting of another student outside Collins High School last night.

In 2004, the brother of New York University professor Wafaa Bilal (formerly a prof at SAIC) was killed by an American missile at a checkpoint in their South Iraq hometown. Not long after, Bilal's father died -- ostensibly of a broken heart. These two major losses inspired Bilal to explore the war in Iraq as a subject in his art. Tonight the Invisible Institute presents Bilal and Kari Lydersen reading from and discussing their book Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life and Resistance Under the Gun. The evening also includes a screening of a documentary on the subject of censorship of Bilal's work. 7 p.m. at the Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone. more ›

Joshua Harris, 21, of Oak Park and Jason Vazquez, 24, of Chicago, members of the Illinois National Guard, were killed earlier this week in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb. Both were posthumously promoted. Said Maj. Gen. William Enyart, "This is, by far, one of the most difficult and saddest times for the Illinois National Guard. This loss is felt by us all, both overseas and here at home." Harris and Vazquez joined Carol Stream's Pfc. Leonard Gulczynski (Iraq) as Illinois' war casualties this week. Harris and Vazquez were both part of Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery, providing security for police mentor teams in Afghanistan. Illinois Senator (and Democratic Presidential Candidate) Barack Obama paid tribute to the soldiers, saying, "These brave young men served their nation proudly and honorably in Afghanistan and Iraq." Our condolences to the families of these brave soldiers. more ›

Retired Air Force Sgt. and Elk Grove resident, Mark Evans is throwing a giant Fourth of July pizza party for US troops in Iraq. Evans has arranged for 3,000 frozen, packed-in-ice Lou Malnati's pizzas (offered at a patriotic discount) to be shipped DHL-style to Iraq in time for the holiday. His 16 year-old son came up with the idea and is calling it "Pizza 4 Patriots." We agree that it's a great one but why stop there? To complete the holiday celebration we'd like to ask local companies to volunteer to ship the following Fourth of July party necessities: more ›

We finally saw the Heavy Metal in Baghdad documentary last night and walked away rather stunned. It follows the one and only metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda, from just after Saddam's defeat through 2006 when they are seeking refugee status in Syria. (Currently the band is in Turkey.) more ›

Often, the readings and events we post are for your consumption, and while all attendees are participant of sorts, it's rare that a direct contribution of yours actually becomes a permanent part of the piece. more ›

Several years ago, we read Philip Gourevitch's powerful book on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, We Wish To Inform You.... This led us to eventually pick up Samantha Power's brilliant A Problem From Hell: America in the Age of Genocide, winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Power's book is a riveting look at the United States' policies, approaches -- and more than occasional avoidance -- to genocide during the 20th Century, beginning with the Armenian Genocide during World War I and running through the Kosovo War of the late 1990's. With it, Power established herself as one of the leading experts and writers on U.S. Foreign Policy. more ›

With the special election for Dennis Hastert's vacant 14th Congessional District seat coming up next Saturday, the race has heated up. Democrat Bill Foster has hit Jim Oberweis almost daily, pointing out the differences on Social Security, global trade, and the war in Iraq. Oberweis has fought back, calling Foster a liberal and a liar, and charging that he will raise taxes. The close race got even more interesting this week when Foster released recent internal polling indicating that he leads Oberweis in the race. Now Foster is claiming that Oberweis violated the so-called "Millinoare's Law", by failing to disclose that he was about to dump buckets of his own cash into the race. more ›

With the Democratic primary election in the 14th Congressional District all but settled, Bill Foster and Jim Oberweis are duking it out over Iraq. Oberweis is accusing Foster of politicizing the Iraq War in his bid to take the seat that Dennis Hastert vacated by retiring. Foster says he won't support any policies that don't "change the course in Iraq and do it now." more ›

In a political season that has been marked by the theme of change, Illinois's 3rd Congressional District has become one of the battle grounds over what the Democratic Party might look like going forward in 2008. Critics of the incumbent, Dan Lipinski, are unhappy with his opposition to abortion rights and stem cell research, and his siding with moderate Republicans on the war in Iraq and domestic spying. Besides his voting record, they also don't like how he came to congress: If you don't remember the 2004 general election, the elder Lipinski won renomination in the primary, withdrew during the campaign year, and then led the process to pick his replacement on the November ballot - his son Dan, a political science professor from Tennessee. Although Dan won handily in 2004, angry challenges in 2006 held him at only 54% in the primary, with the opposition split between two opponents. more ›

Head to Daley Plaza this morning at 10:30 a.m. for a quick early voting rally for Mark Pera. Pera, the assistant Cook County State's Attorney who is running against Dan Lipinski for the 3rd Congressional District seat, is the first serious candidate to challenge Lipinski since he went to congress in 2004. Pera's campaign has attracted a lot of attention, both online and in the district. Online support has helped helped fund his campaign, but anger in the district at how the elder Lipinski handed his seat to his son has fueled the viability of his candidacy. Still, he's running against the full force and weight of Chicago's entrenched Democratic Machine. more ›

Michigan defied the conventional wisdom yesterday, giving Mitt Romney 30 delegates to the national convention and his second primary win. more ›

There's more than just choosing candidates for President at stake when the Illinois Primary rolls around February 5. For instance, in our home 3rd Congressional district, puppet incumbent Dan Lipinski is facing an actual opponent this time in Assistant State's Attorney Mark Pera. more ›

Hillary Clinton's "Emotional Moment" in the Portsmouth, NH café on Monday has already become the stuff of myth, with many pundits directly and indirectly attributing Clinton's surprise victory in Tuesday's primary to the tears that almost fell (but never actually did). Leave it to Chicago's own Jesse Jackson Jr., co-chairman of Barack Obama's national campaign, to siphon the tears out of the excretory ducts of Clinton's eyes and leverage them for political gain: more ›

But if you're not, maybe these tasty tidbits will help: more ›

We love us some Xmas movies; but frankly there are plenty of swell, non-Holiday movie events coming up as well: more ›

Interview: The Movie Queens more ›

File this one under "Color Us Surprised": Obama was interested in girls, drank alcohol and experimented with drugs in high school. Obama made a campaign stop at a study hall in Manchester New Hampshire yesterday and answered students' questions. Prior to meeting with the students, Obama unveiled an $18 billion plan that would expand public education from pre-school through 12th grade. He also criticized No Child Left Behind. To their credit, the high schoolers had... more ›

Listen, we've kept mostly quiet about the daily newspapers' coverage of the online world. We love and thrive off our paper brethren. And for the most part, aside from every story about an online trend being about 13 months behind the actual trend, we think they get it right. Hell, we actually miss James Coates, since we found his computer advice to be direct, engaging, and idiot-proof. more ›

Mark Pera, Democratic candidate for congress in the Third District, is launching his first TV ad today. Debuting on cable television around the area, the ad contrasts incumbent Dan Lipinski's supposed political affiliations with his actions in Congress. “The Iraq war is the defining issue in our campaign for Congress, and we’re giving voters a clear choice. I’m offering to voters real leadership in Congress to end this war and bring our troops home safely... more ›

This is the final week for the CTA as we know it, unless state funding kicks in. To highlight the upcoming doomsdsay, the CTA put on a quite a little show. more ›