Grammer has received accolades in the past for his comedic work on the show Frasier, but this marks the first win for the actor in a dramatic role. more ›

The police department accounts for about one-third of the city’s corporate budget. But cuts have long been politically thorny in a city struggling with street violence. more ›

The final curtain seems to have fallen last night on the most entertaining piece of ongoing performance art in Chicago, as the MayorEmanuel twitter appears to have called it quits. Dancing to the sounds of Journey with his whole retinue (advisor David Axelrod, Carl the Intern, Axelrod's dog Hambone and Quaxelrod the duck), the prolific and profane twitter doppelganger was coaxed into a "time vortex" at the behest of Richard M. Daley, because when it comes to actual mayors of Chicago, it is like The Highlander: there can be only one. With one last f-bomb, MayorEmanuel was done for now more ›

Chicago's local food community was buzzing with excitement in early February when then-candidate Rahm Emanuel announced the food policies for his potential administration. Now that he has taken the mayor's office, it's time to revisit those policy statements and see what is in store for Chicago's urban food scene under the new Emanuel administration. If he is able to enact his plans, we could see a dramatic transformation; a city where food trucks are legal, produce is sold directly to consumers, urban agriculture is promoted, and food deserts are eliminated. more ›

Openly gay Ald.Tom Tunney announced this week he may consider a mayoral run should Mayor Daley not seek re-election. His announcement - joining the ranks of Mike Quigley and Rahm Emanuel as other potential successors to the crown - begs the question if Chicago could join the ranks of cities like Berlin, Paris and, weirdly enough, Houston by electing a gay mayor. more ›

It's an interesting question being asked this morning thanks to Sally Quinn's column in today's Washington Post. The column begins reflecting on the revelation of a third uninvited guest who sneaked into November's state dinner and the ensuing mess this has cause the Secret Service and the White House. Quinn then turns the column to a discussion of the current White House power structure which leads to the inevitable Chicago connections, including White House social secretary Desirée Rogers and Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel. It's a this point that Quinn drops this paragraph on us: more ›

It looks everyone’s favorite Olympic events, mountain biking and road cycling, could take place in Madison and Mt. Horeb, Wis. if Chicago wins the 2016 Summer Games. Hey, at least it’s not table tennis. But it turns out the cheese-head state is a cycling hot spot that offers more competitive courses than Chicago. Sadly, it’s doubtful that moving the events to Wisconsin will significantly lessen the economic troubles looming for Chicago taxpayers. more ›

"To be honest, the architects really drive this, because they talk about lead time on ordering steel, etc., and how this would all work," Kenney said. more ›

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Mayor Daley sure is busy. Or at least chatty. more ›

Last week's announced plan from Governor Blagojevich to tear down Cole Hall has been met with great backlash amongst state lawmakers, NIU staff and students. An email sent yesterday from Northern Illinois University President John Peters to students and faculty put a hold on the Governor’s plan and called for campus-wide discourse regarding the fate of the 40-year-old building. Peters said the future of Cole Hall should “represent a consensus opinion” of the university community. more ›

Chicago took another step towards fulfilling Mayor Daley’s vow that by 2016, we’ll have cameras on “almost every block.” more ›

Eight Chicago Public School students were shot this weekend, three of whom died. So far, 17 CPS students have died from gun violence this school year; last year, 27 students died as a result of gunshots. That was a tragic high, and this year is on pace for the same number of young people dying--Mayor Daley? How's that gun control stuff going? Mr. Governor? We know you want to build a new building at NIU, and that's great and everything, but children in Chicago are being murdered. Frequently. Maybe there's something we could do about that, too. more ›

Tony Rezko's rise to power in state politics didn't happen overnight. When got started as a strong advocate of grassroots Arab-American activism in Chicago and was often the largest contributor to Arab-American campaigns. But several years ago, Rezko’s name started showing up on campaign disclosure forms for prominent politicians in Chicago, Cook County and the state. more ›

Unlike so many political figures in Chicago, Tony Rezko didn't come from a background steeped in ward politics and clout. In fact, after he finished his degrees at IIT, did what most new immigrants to Chicago do: he got a job. more ›

Did the president of Medill use made-up quotes in a newsletter? We...barely care. What really bugs us is journalists citing the existence of Facebook group as some kind of indicator of anything--"students and alumni joined the new 'Save Journalism at Medill' group on Facebook. On Tuesday afternoon, there were nearly 90 members ...." There are 650 fulltime students at Medill. Fewer than 90 of them . Agh, not news. [Trib] more ›

It was pretty much inevitable that discussions about the NIU shooting would turn to gun control. And turn they have. more ›

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Like his old man, Mayor Richard M. Daley is determined to transform public housing as part of his legacy (here's hoping it turns out better than Sr.'s effort -- several detractors don't have high hopes). His plan is creeping forever forward -- it's currently many years behind -- and the city will eventually replace CHA high rise projects like Robert Taylor Homes and Cabrini-Green with mixed-income housing. more ›

Mark your calendars: For one hour on March 29th, Chicago will be in the dark. The City of Chicago and COM ED are asking businesses and residents to turn off their lights and unplug all electrical devices between 8 and 9pm on Saturday, March 29th to participate in Earth Hour, a global initiative organized by the World Wildlife Fund in which cities and communities turn out their lights to symbolize their commitment to finding climate change solutions. more ›

Convicted criminal and ex-City Clerk Jim Laski, fresh off his incarceration, has published a book about taking the fall in the Hired Truck scandal--and he says Mayor Daley knows more than he's letting on. Wait, wait, wait, hold the presses: Mayor Daley is intimately involved with scandal and patronage, but he'll deny it? Noooo. more ›

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Mayor Daley introduced a new ordinance today that would fine motorists whose reckless behind-the-wheel antics endanger cyclists. Fines from $150-$500 could be levied against drivers who turn in front of someone on a bike, pass with less than three feet of space between car and bike, or door someone. more ›

One of the more contentious races in Tuesday's election is at the Cook County Board of Review, where incumbent Joe Berrios is facing a stiff challenge in trial lawyer Jay Paul Deratany. For many homeowners throughout Cook County, the Board of Review is their best chance at finding relief from both the monster property tax increases proposed by Mayor Daley and the County Board and the skyrocketing assessments of County Assessor Jim Houlihan. more ›

The sweetheart deal negotiated by the investors of Park Grill and the Park District has been covered before. But a good story is worth repeating, so we'll remind you, the taxpayer, what you're paying for at Park Grill: more ›

.] Now Jesse Jackson's candidate Larry Suffredin is under renewed scrutiny for his work as a corporate lobbyist. more ›

We're feeling punchy here at Chicagoist HQ today--blame the cabin fever, the extra coffee, whatever you like. But writing about Steve Dahl this morning, all we could think about was Dhalsim from Street Fighter. more ›

Joseph Pannell was 19 years old when he shot a Chicago police officer in 1969. And then he skipped bail. And skipped bail again in 1974, this time fleeing to Canada, where he changed his name to Douglas Gary Freeman and lived under that identity for almost 40 years. But in 2004, Chicago's cold case squad tracked him down and started extradition proceedings, which Parnell fought....until this week. more ›

The split between Mayor Daley and Chicago's labor movement grew a little bit bigger this week, as the Congress Hotel, which has been on strike for the last four and a half years, was denied an expansion request by the city's Plan Commission. Four of the nine Plan Commission members voted for the proposal Thursday, one member rejected the request, and four other members abstained from voting. Mayor Daley supported the proposal, saying that "it would be inappropriate to bring the hotel's labor issues into a discussion.... The matter before the Chicago Plan Commission is to determine if these plans are in accordance with the Lakefront Protection Ordinance. And that's all it has to do." The hotel's New York-based ownership wants to build an additional five floors to the historic property, to be used for a swimming pool, a health club, a restaurant, and more rooms. more ›