Banks are still facing tough draws, as another bank in Illinois closed just before the weekend. Despite receiving $85 million from a federally-distributed Troubled Asset Relief program, Midwest Bank was seized Friday after failing to raise enough capital to remain an independent bank. Midwest Bank, based in Elmwood Park, was supposed to raise between $125 million to $250 million by the May 13th deadline. The failure of Midwest Bank to raise this capital will cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. around $216.4 million, and the assets and holdings of Midwest Bank will be taken over by FirstMerit of Ohio. more ›

• The above is a piece of graffiti that some think is yet another example of Banksy's work. It was photographed in Pilsen earlier this week by Molly Kolecki and like that earlier work, appears on his own website in the "outdoors" section. For an interesting counter-point to the Banksy craze, check out what TOC's Laura Weinberg had to say.
• Former Blago Chief-of-Staff John Harris pleaded guilty to fraud charges for a second time.
• Add Midwest Bank to the list of failed banks taken over by the feds.

The saga of Mr. Beef's recent misfortunes continues today as co-owner Joseph Zucchero testifies before Congress regarding his recent struggles with Midwest Bank, which holds the lien on the River North institution, has cut off Zucchero's line of credit, and threatens to foreclose on the restaurant. This despite Midwest Bank recently being the recipient of $85 million in TARP funds from the Treasury Department. From the Tribune's "Swamp" Washington Bureau blog more ›