Here's a look back at a simpler time for the children of Chicago. more ›

The Melrose Park amusement park Kiddieland will soon be no more. Costco, the retailer that purchased the site back in October, began demolishing the park today. You can visit Kiddieland's most popular ride, The Little Dipper, at Six Flags Great America. A Westmont man purchased the carousel and hopes to reopen it in the area. Relive your warmest Kiddieland memories through photos and videos. more ›

The closing of local amusement park Kiddieland and the selling off of its rides and attractions had a lot of local fun-seekers down. But for those still itching for a blast from the past, there's hope. The Little Dipper, the most popular ride had Kiddieland, has been refurbished and is going up at Six Flags Great America. The park spent $36,000 buying the ride and has spent more money refurbishing it. According to ABC 7, only 10 percent of the original wood from the ride was kept. But the original cars have been spiffed up and Six Flags has done their best to recreate the Little Dipper as authentically as possible, considering they had no blueprints. Gary Pohlman, director of construction, said, "We brought our people down there along with an engineering firm to basically shoot everything in place and do it 'As Built' of the ride there in Melrose Park. That gave us something to work off of for resetting it back up here." The ride should be ready to roll by Memorial Day. more ›

There are major delays happening on the Red Line right now "due to fire department activity at Grand" so you might need to seek alternate routes home. more ›

When spring arrives, the empty field between Batman: The Ride and the Bugs Bunny National Park at Six Flags in Gurnee will become the new home of The Little Dipper, a 61-year-old roller coaster that survived the demise of Kiddieland last September. The process of transporting the wooden coaster to Six Flags Great America is being carried out behind closed doors, with mechanics like Andy Adams checking and replacing parts on the original coaster that was built for the Kiddieland amusement park in 1949. more ›

Some good news for fans of Kiddieland who are still disappointed by the closing of the popular area amusement park: two of the park's rides are staying in the area. The Little Dipper roller coaster will be relocated to Six Flags Great America and the purchaser of the famed carousel hopes to get it up and running in the area. The rides were part of an auction earlier this week. Frank Zygmunt of Westmont paid a total of $420,000 for the carousel told the Proviso Herald: more ›

• Prosecutors raised the amount that Chicago Police Sgt. John Pallohusky has been accused of stealing from the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association; previously listed as $600,000, it was increased to almost $1 million. Pallohusky faces charges of with felony theft and money laundering.
• The Washington Post is closing several bureaus, including the one here in Chicago, in an attempt to save money.
• The owner of a pair of Gary, Indiana casinos has filed for bankruptcy as he awaits a decision by the state about allowing casinos to be built on land.

When it was announced earlier this year that popular area amusement park Kiddieland would be closing due to a family feud, speculation circled that some family members were looking to sell the property for a construction project. Now, it seems those rumors are true as box-store giant Costco confirmed yesterday that they are looking into purchasing the land, according to the Proviso Herald. Costco senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Dick DiCerchio confirmed the plans. more ›

It was just a few weeks ago that we mourned the closing of famed local amusement park Kiddieland. And now, the rides aren't even cold but they're being torn down and auctioned off, giving you a chance to buy your favorite ride. Why? Because the would-be buyer who wanted to buy the park as a whole and relocate it to Utica, IL defaulted. So now you'll have a chance to own a piece of the park as they dismantle it. Five of the park's rides and train have been sold to other amusement parks but there will still be 20 rides - including the carousel and Roto Whip - to choose from come the auction on November 24. more ›

Much like the Riverview Park of yore, Kiddieland is almost nothing more than memories now. This will be the final weekend for the decades-old amusement park in Melrose Park, and rather than dig back through old newspapers we thought we'd take a look at the place that will very soon be history. more ›

• A Decatur man has been arrested for plotting to blow up a federal courthouse in Springfield.
• Mayor Daley called the safety violations the FAA took O'Hare International Airport to task for "not very significant."
• This whole Cubs sale is one step closer to being done.

Riverview. Old Chicago. Kiddie Kingdom. Santa's Village. All bygone Chicago-area amusement parks that exist only as nostalgic memories. And after this year, Kiddieland in Melrose Park will be added to the list. Owners of the historic site that has entertained kids for 80 years have announced that this summer season will be their final one. more ›

Prosecutors yesterday detailed the case against former Melrose Park Police Chief Vito Scavo, accused of extorting the historic Kiddieland Amusement Park. Not for cotton candy and lifetime rides on the Tornado, but rather using "strong-arm tactics" to force the park to use security guards from Scavo's firm. Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen Andersson also says that Scavo ran the security firm out of police headquarters and used on-duty Melrose Park police officers to patrol the firm's clients, leading to some "double dipping" -- they allegedly collected salaries from both Scavo and the village. Besides Kiddieland, feds say Scavo also shook down Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, truck engine manufacturer Navistar, and local bars and restaurants. more ›