Made in Chicago has been buried under snow and soot for a minute, but on a cold, wintry day such as this, we're digging it out with another homemade gem to share with all of you to help you finish out the week. more ›

Chicagoist is starting to think we're bad luck for business. First Carson's folded, but only the location we frequented. Then CompUSA pulled their plug, not just in Chicago, but half of their locations in the U.S. Now we've discovered that the Virgin Megastore on Michigan — a store we just visited yesterday — is going bye-bye. Seriously, we feel like we need an exorcism here. more ›

A Civic Federation study released today makes recommendations that promise relief for major cultural institutions in fiscal decline since 2001 and overburdened property owners who have been whining for even longer. The study tracked a dozen major cultural organizations linked to Museums in the Park and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, including the Field Museum, the Shedd, the Brookfield Zoo, and the DuSable Museum, and discovered a major economic engine whose 2004 attendance was almost twice that of Chicago’s six major sports teams (note: the NHL was idle that year and debate persists whether the Blackhawks really matter anymore). But rising costs and declining attendance came as state and local subsidies were cut considerably. Between 2001-2004, the Museums in the Park saw subsidies from the Chicago Park District cut by more than 13% and from the State cut by 9%. more ›

In what now seems to be a grim, depressing and all-too-frequent ritual, Chicagoist has the regrettable task of informing you about the deaths of two more residents of the Lincoln Park Zoo this morning. Our hearts are heavy yet again, this time for dearly departed lowland gorilla named Mumbali and, somewhat predictably, our dear pachyderm friend Wankie. more ›

What an awful year for the Lincoln Park Zoo. In their quest to spread free animal love throughout Chicagoland, they've become a target of animal rights activits and - at the end of the day - won't even have any elephants to show for it. more ›