Would you like flies with that? more ›

All right, people. It's the moment you've been waiting for: as of Friday, the beaches are now open. Glee! Last one to dive headfirst into Lake Michigan is a piece of raw sewage ... much like Lake Michigan itself. Ah, but we poke fun at that body of water of ours. To be honest, the city is putting a pilot program into effect this bathing season in order to help out with that pesky E.... more ›

People living in Wards 5 and 8 should be feeling extra smug today, since as of April 1, they can recycle using Chicago's Blue Cart program. Say "sayonara" to frustrating blue bags and "hola" to your new friends, blue carts. more ›

Concerned environmentalists in Chicago should know better than to expect satisfaction when the fate of a 100-year-old maple tree rests in the hands of the Department of Streets and Sanitation. In fact, when said tree is blocking the development of a multi-million dollar home, as we learned from this instructive Tribune report, they shouldn't just expect to lose their argument, they should also prepare to watch the object of their mercy get fed into a... more ›

The city claims to be winning its war against rats, according to a Streets and Sanitation official. Spokesperson Matt Smith told the Sun-Times yesterday that citizen complaints about rats are down 14 percent from last year. Smith credits increased baiting efforts and the roll out of new garbage cans with tightly fitting lids. Chicagoist wrote about a rat and mice infestation at City Hall last year in which we also quoted Mr. Smith, and now... more ›

If you watched any of the major local news broadcasts this week, you surely saw the story about a "rat infestation" at City Hall and the Cook County Building. But not the same rats causing all those scandals, har har har, as Warner Saunders and Mark Suppelsa assured us, but real live scritchin' and scratchin' disease carryin' rats. Gross! As it turns out though, pest control inspectors say the problem isn't rats, but their smaller,... more ›