We're starting to turn into an obituary blog here, but wow, just wow. Chicago Tribune entertainment columnist Terry Armour died on Friday from an apparent heart attack. Armour, who was only 46 years old, collapsed at the Tribune offices on Friday and was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Armour bounced around a number of duties at the Tribune, from covering the Bulls beat in the 90s during their championship......

Unless you stayed inside all day yesterday (and that wouldn't have been a bad idea, because it was dis-gusting out there), you couldn't miss the super-slippery sidewalks all around the city. An ice storm Saturday night made traveling around the city extra-treacherous due to the thin coating of ice on sidewalks. Chicago city officials, being their normal helpful selves, urged people to salt their sidewalks and walk carefully when it's icy. And also to look......

Eeeeheeeheeehehehe. More snow is on the way tonight--maybe another four inches. Anybody got some good boot recommendations? Mama needs a new pair of shoes. Speaking of shoe shopping, Anthropolgie? We vehemently disapprove of the term "shootie." Please join us in this protest. "Shooties" appears to be catching on, so the time to act is now. No to shooties! The term and the shoes, now that we think about it. Loyola is buying Gottlieb Memorial......

First, you're diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and then you wait months and months on the UNOS list (along with about 100,000 other Americans) for an organ. But your case is rare; you actually get the transplant you need. Hurray! Unless you're one of four transplant recipients in Chicago whose new organs gave them HIV and hepatitis C. This is the first time in more than 20 years that donor organs have transmitted the virus.......

The note says "To Inspector of Buildings: Meet me next door at the restaurant. Harry Sometimes the coziness of local politics can be infuriating, like when Children's Memorial Hospital is represented by the law firm "Daley & George, whose partners once included Mayor Daley and still include the mayor's brother, Michael." Gah, that's no good. Or that a Blagojevich donor and associate was apparently able to buy a vacant Aurora hospital on the DL,......

Where Do Cows Go to Retire?...

Is lead that inexpensive? Some toy stores are being hurt by Mattel's massive toy recall, and others are actually watching business boom. Mayor Daley introduced a proposed ordinance Wednesday calling for increased parking rates at O'Hare International and Midway Airports that would generate about $24 million in additional revenue a year. (They're really working on cranking out the ordinances, hey?) Sounds like the plot of a creepy movie ...a convicted murderer whose sister-in-law helped......

Here are some things in the news while we do spit takes at the ticket prices for the upcoming Van Halen tour. A $300-a-year parking permit created for realtors, home health care providers, and social workers to plug a $2.4 million hole in the city's 2007 budget only generated $15,900 in revenue. Facing increasing criticism in allowing BP to increase the amount of pollution it can discharge into Lake Michigan, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels......

Much to the enjoyment of many of our readers, Macy’s can’t seem to catch a break. It’s no secret that sales are down, a gracious amount stemming from local boycotts. Just this Monday their food court came down with a severe case of drosophila melanogaster (we did that from memory – damn you, freshman bio!), garnering a shutdown from the Health Department. Macy’s earned the right to reopen this morning, but with last night’s news,......

This morning three relatively young men were charged for viciously beating a homeless man with chains and a sign. The only provocation for the attack was apparently when the man bumped into one of the men as they were walking out of a bar near Randolph and Wabash. Because of an accidental run-in, 40-year-old Franklin Hayden ended up in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition with the possibility of losing an eye. To be honest,......

Bank of America may not get LaSalle Bank, but National City plans to buy the Illinois-based company that runs 82 MidAmerica Bank branches in Chicago and Milwaukee. The Color Purple debuted in Chicago last night. The Brookfield Zoo needs your help naming a 4-month-old polar bear cub. The smallest baby ever born at Northwestern Memorial Hospital finally went home. She was in the hospital for almost two years! These are the best bosses in......

Tom Simon does a lot of things right. He investigates white collar crimes for the FBI, volunteers for a youth crisis hotline, biked thousands of miles for AIDS charities, and donates his organs to perfect strangers … just because he can. But whatever you do, don't call him a hero. According to Simon's blog, The Kidney Chronicles, his desire to "help others and alleviate suffering" led him to consider handing over one of his kidneys.......

You know that extra car you have lying around? The one that only half works, requires lots of maintenance and doesn't get driven that often? Yeah, us neither (we rely on the lovely services of the CTA). But if we did, we would be pumped about an event that Zipcar is having next Monday, Feb. 26, at the Music Box Theatre called "Drive-In, Don't Drive Out." Drivers who bring in their old Pintos, Yugos and......

Happy President's Day weekend! Take a load off and enjoy our usual madness: Three women were murdered in West Rogers Park following a domestic dispute. Karmin and Karolin Khooshabeh, stepsisters, were found bludgeoned to death with a hammer Saturday morning at 6459 N. Washtenaw. Karolin's 60-year-old mother also fell to the killer when she opened the door of her apartment at 2635 W. Arthur. The suspect in custody is Karmin's 56-year-old husband, who was found......

We are guessing it is the weather and lack of activity, but we’ve been actively searching for good food-related events for the past month or so. This week is no different. We've also got dancing and book swapping, so get on it. We can’t stress enough how excited we are about the SwapSimple live swap. Out with the old and in with the new at the spacious Mercury Café. While you are there, take advantage......

Tank Johnson was already having a pretty bad week. His house was raided by Gurnee police, his stash of guns was confiscated and he was charged for illegal possession of firearms. His bodyguard Willie Posey was arrested for felony pot possession during the raid. And as a result of Thursday's run-in with the police, Bears coach Lovie Smith announced that Johnson would be inactive for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. Yet somehow, Tank Johnson's personal......

By this point we’re pretty much used to Chicago catching some flak for its portly midsection. So we were saddened, though not surprised, that our very own Children’s Memorial Hospital is the focus of a study that explores the effects of having fast-food restaurants located inside pediatric centers. Out of our country’s 250 children’s hospitals, 59 of them have fast-food joints located on-site. Children’s Memorial found a way to one-up the other 58, however,......

As we trudged through the rain yesterday, Chicagoist thought about how our big umbrella might come in handy if we were ever attacked, and we proceeded to make a mental list of all the ways to hurt someone with an umbrella. Unfortunately, someone else was thinking the same thing earlier this week and used the idea for evil (assault) instead of good (self-defense). Brian J. Johnson, 39, was charged with severely beating a 76-year-old man......

A man was stabbed with a screwdriver early this morning in the Loop. The 31-year-old victim was severely wounded, according to police. The incident happened at the corner of Adams and State around 1:30 a.m. The attacker was described as a tall, slender man in his 20s. He and the victim were arguing prior to the stabbing, said Central District Lt. James Sazama. The victim is in guarded condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Police do......

If you’ve been keeping up with the site this week, you know that Chicagoist made a new friend in local rocker Richard Marx. And though we’ve had a bit of fun at his expense (and he at ours), we’ve also been spending quite a bit of time going over his old videos. So it seemed only right to make this week’s Friday Afternoon Diversion all about him. The “take this job and shove it”......

Do you like the Sun-Times' new redesign? Working Mother magazine made its picks for the best companies in the US. Nine of them are in Chicago area: Abbott Labs, Allstate, Children's Memorial Hospital, Grant Thornton LLP, HSBC, Kraft, Motorola, Northern Trust and Northwestern. Playdough Palooza? Featuring Richard Marx? Oh, whatever, it's for charity!......

Chicagoist has always been a little intimidated by the Lakeshore Athletic Club and the fit, pretty people we’ve seen walking in and out of its doors. Turns out we may have had good reason to be creeped out. Thomas Rahim, a 21-year-old fitness instructor at the club’s Lincoln Park branch is being held on $40,000 bond after being charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse. Rahim allegedly sexually abused a 14-year-old girl at the club’s rooftop......

Depending on how you get your morning news, you may or may not have noticed that an elderly man was shot at Northwestern Hospital last night. “One person remained in critical condition Wednesday morning after a shooting the day before at Northwestern Memorial Hospital,” according the CBS 2 story lead. What? A shooting? At the hospital? OMG! What happened? Further down in the story, hospital spokesman Andrew Buchanan is quoted as saying, “It’s not a......

John Bobbit*, move over. Jakub Fik has got your story whipped. He didn't get his penis cut off by a vengeful lover. He didn't get it severed in an accident. He didn't get it lobbed off in some freak incident. Nope. He cut his member off himself. The Sun-Times reports that on Wednesday, the distraught-over-his-girlfriend-in-Poland Fik had police called on him for smashing up car windows and breaking into a house -- apparently after he......

A bunch of cops at a Chicago Park Department rec center who were watching the Super Bowl had some other entertainment too: Strippers. Fearing lawsuits, Northwestern Memorial Hospital will only allow cameras before and after a birth but not during. There's a new art show in Philly that spotlights Chicago as a place that inspired and spawned awesome visual art. It looks at 20th century Chicago artists and features about 80 works of art.......

Call it a case of Joni Mitchell’s Disease. Imagine you’re a folkie singer-songwriter from the 60s. In your genre, Bob Dylan is the standard-bearer and is the first name spoken when discussing those who’ve left their mark on it. But you’ve made great contributions too and can hear the influence of your work even today. After 30 years of waiting to be recognized and lauded for your contributions, what do you do? You do it......

Our friends at Chicago Magazine brought us news this morning of two restaurant closings when its Dish column revealed that Eli's The Place For Steak is closing in July. A Chicago institution -- if not for their steaks, then most certainly for their cheesecakes -- the Streeterville spot at 215 E. Chicago Ave. where it has called home for the past 39 years is being torn down by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. According to Chicago Mag,......

Venus and Serena Williams will be in Chicago today kicking off their 3-city McDonald's Williams Sisters Tour to help raise funds for World Children's Day, a fundraiser benefiting the Ronald McDonald House. The Williams Sisters are visiting Children's Memorial Hospital in the morning and then stopping by the local Ronald McDonald House and a clinic at Young High School. Tonight at they'll be playing an exhibition match against each other tonight at the UIC Pavilion.......

We've been saying that Dave Matthews Band is a bunch of shit-soaking garbage for a long time, and now we might have proof. Sunday afternoon, about 80 people aboard Chicago's Little Lady on the river were soaked in a "'brownish-yellow'" substance that rained down from the bridge above, apparently after a bus or two drove across. (The Sun-Times calls the boat the First Lady, but the details are hardly the important element here.) More than......

Two East Chicago residents thought they were hobos from the 1920s and hitched a ride on a freight train Sunday. Upon jumping off the train, which had slowed to 10 mph outside Valparaiso, one man severed his leg. Oh, yeah--he�d been drinking alcohol all day. Joseph K. Lopez and Daniel L. Crane had been drinking in the Hegewisch area and were heading back to their residences in East Chicago. Via boxcar. The train was moving......