There are several runners on staff here at Chicagoist, a few of whom have actually run some marathons. But what we've accomplished ins nothing compared to the feat completed by 30-year-old Canadian Paula Stephanson: she has completed swimming across all of the Great Lakes. She completed the 35-mile swim across Lake Michigan, from Chicago to Michigan City, last night. The undertaking began in 1996. [Sun-Times, NBC 5] more ›

On a weekend where gratefulness is foremost on our minds, it’s unfortunate that crime keeps moving forward. We’ll lead off with one story for which we can be thankful is not all bad news:Remember Nicolas Orbovich, the concert violist whose 1892 instrument worth $100,000 was stolen from the back seat of his unlocked car in a Michigan City, Indiana, Wal-Mart parking lot? It’s been found, with the help of Lake Station, Indiana, pawn shop, Orbovich’s... more ›

There are a lot of us who can be accused of taking our team spirit a bit too far. Some of us may spend a few paychecks to see our team play in the Super Bowl. Or maybe we name our dog after our favorite athlete. Then there those like Paul and Teri Fields of Michigan City, Ind., who crossed a line with their level of obsession with a certain Chicago baseball. When choosing a... more ›

BP announced yesterday that it was backing down on plans to increase discharges of ammonia and suspended solids into Lake Michigan from the planned expansion of its Whiting, Indiana refinery. BP announced on its website Thursday "ongoing regional opposition to any increase in discharge permit limits for Lake Michigan creates an unacceptable level of business risk for this $3.8 billion investment." more ›

We know this is blasphemous and all, but we've gotten a little tired of hearing about global warming lately. Each passing day bombards us with another article about switching incandescent lightbulbs for the ones laced with mercury that can be disposed of as easily as, say, batteries, another "green issue" of Jane or Bop or whatever and another quote about the dire situation from a presidential candidate, we're terribly sorry, probably don't even recycle. That's... more ›

Man, you just can't fool anyone anymore. Try to skip out of jail using someone else's name, rob a bank with an initimidating T-shirt, or change your name to that of a famous football player, and someone always stops you. Plus, your damn five-year-old cousin won't stay out of the way when you want to audition for Girls Gone Wild. Aaaargh! On Tuesday, two sisters from Sheboygan, Wisconsin were charged with disorderly conduct after taking... more ›

For myriad and sundry of reasons, Chicagoist is leery to touch this one but we can't help ourselves. more ›