While we drowned ourselves in themed cocktails instead of staring at LOLcats for the day, some local legislators seemed to see the light and came out in opposition to the bills. more ›

Sources close to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart are telling the Associated Press that the county's top cop is "all the way in," adding that "he's decided to run." When asked directly of his plans by an AP reporter, Dart demurred, saying that he is "very strongly considering" a run for mayor that he plans to make an announcement in the next three or four weeks. Dart's name has been among the many that have been mentioned as potential replacements to Mayor Daley, who is not seeking re-election. Former Chicago Alderman and University of Illinois political scientist Dick Simpson was more blunt about Dart's prospects, telling CBS2 that "he automatically -- if he declares -- will be the leading candidate." Petitions have been circulating to get Dart's name on the ballot for mayor, although he's told the media that his supporters have asked if they could put petitions out and there is no organized effort. more ›

Per a recent interview with Gay Chicago Magazine, staunch LGBT ally U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Chicago) is reportedly "hopeful" for progress on a number of pieces of queer-centric legislation in Congress yet this year, but has admitted it's unlikely LGBT issues will see much movement prior to this fall's midterm elections. more ›

A few months back, we mentioned that U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley was aiming to get a Lakeview Post Office named after singer-songwriter Steve Goodman, most widely known for his song "City of New Orleans" but best known locally in these parts as the man behind the "Go, Cubs, Go" song that the team plays after wins (which hasn't been very often this season) and the (sadly) more realistic, "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request." Today, President Obama signed that proposal, paving the way for the post office at 1343 W. Irving Park to be named after him. Goodman studied at the Old Town School of Folk Music along with other folk heavy hitters like Roger McGuinn and John Prine. Goodman died in 1984 from leukemia. In a statement, Rep. Quigley said: more ›

As clean-up from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill continues, a new, albeit smaller, oil catastrophe is unfolding much closer to home. An oil pipeline that pumps about 8 million gallons of crude oil from Griffith, Indiana to Sarnia, Ontario cracked near Kalamazoo, Michigan on Monday. The pipeline, part of Enbridge Energy Partner's Lakehead System is estimated to have dumped over 800,000 gallons (~19,500 barrels) of oil into a creek leading to the Kalamazoo River, which empties into Lake Michigan at Saugatuk though officials told the AP they don't expect the spill to reach the lake. Enbridge has dispatched crews to contain the spill, deploying booms onto the river. Local officials have already declared a state of emergency and Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pali Matyas said yesterday afternoon, "It’s all rolling downhill and there are a lot of complications.” Authorities on site say that the spill appears to be contained at Battle Creek. “Oil entered the Tallmadge Creek and found its way to the Kalamazoo River,” Enbridge Chief Executive Officer Patrick Daniel told Bloomberg News. “Teams have been working through the night and day working on the containment and clean up.” Some of the complications mentioned including workers not able to use trucks to help remove some of the oil due to high water levels. more ›

• Rep. Mike Quigley got a Congressional resolution honoring the Blackhawks passed, though there were five 'no' votes.
• Interesting story from LAist in the wake of our post on the latest Critical Mass mess here: the L.A. Critical Mass group held a ride the LAPD and all went well.
• Mark Kirk, still apologizing.

Former Arkansas governor and rumored presidential wannabe Mike Huckabee may have missed his first shot at dinner with the Hearty Boys - Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith - in April, but perhaps the addition of another notable guest, Congressman Mike Quigley, might be a game changer for the Fox News commentator? more ›

Today the Tribune ran a feature on several of our local congressmen and their efforts to save money (and maintain a certain image) by sleeping in their D.C. offices while Congress is in session. And who can blame them? If we, like Rep. Mike Quigley, had two daughters in college, we'd look for any way to save cash, too. Quigley also says it's a symbolic gesture for his constituents: "I like to think that this reinforces the point that I live in the district, that I spend most of my time in the district, and I'm trying to be in solid contact with my constituents." 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 ›

Last night's Colbert Report had some local flavor as Northwestern's own Stephen Colbert had some Wiener Circle fun and welcomed U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley to his show as part of his celebration of Illinois' 5th Congressional District. more ›

Is there anything U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley won't do? It seems carving a penguin out of ice wasn't enough because he also busted out his acting chops on stage at the Goodman. It was part of a benefit production of “A Christmas Carol” for Chicago-area servicemen and women and their families. U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky co-hosted the event and Schakowsky joined Quigley on stage. more ›

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley got in on the holiday fun last night at the Lincoln Park Zoo by participating in the annual ZooLights fun. What did Quigley do? No less than carve a penguin out of ice. Somewhere, Rahmbo plots how to persuade Quigley use that saw to threaten opponents of the health care reform bill. more ›

You might know him as "U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley," Democratic Congressional representative from the state of Illinois' fifth District. But to us, he is "Mr. Quiggles," a kind, uncontroversial man who says things such as, "Oh Mrs. Perry, these crumpets are delightful — and your cranberry jam is extraordinary!" Mr. Quiggles spends his days riding "the trolley" to and from his job as a political science professor (some of his students and colleagues are mice and squirrels), making phone calls on a big beige rotary phone, lunching on tuna fish sandwiches and tea in remote department store cafeterias, and, upon returning home at night, playing backgammon or checkers with his talking terrier, Lemons. Sometimes he solves mysteries involving misplaced items, like that time when he found Mrs. Winters' lost spectacles (they were in the umbrella caddy — heavens!). more ›

Not a day goes by that we don’t have some sort of press release cross our desk, or get an email promising “secret information that will "distroy" [Sic] Mayor Daley’s House of Cards,”, but it isn’t often that a U.S. Congressman gets on national television to read his love for the Second City into the Congressional record. That said, Mike Quigley’s “Top Ten Reasons the world should still stop by for a slice of deep dish in Chicago, the greatest city in the world” is way too populist on the food angle (really, he couldn’t mention Alinea or the Publican?), and really kind of ridiculous on the schools end (as in, our high schoolers could kick Rio’s high schooler’s asses). more ›

Yesterday Illinois State Congressman Mike Quigley threw his support behind Pat Quinn for a full term as governor in 2010. At a press conference Monday morning, Quigley said “Our state has been paying the cost of corruption for too long; now more than ever, we can't afford it.” With the state still reeling from the omnipresent punchline that is former Governor Rod Blagojevich, Quigley joked that “Hunting for corruption in Illinois is like hunting for cows. They come up to you and moo. It's hard to govern when people are laughing about this government instead of functioning.” more ›

In an election result that came as a surprise to almost nobody, (except, perhaps, for Rosanna "chicagolady" Pulido), Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley handily won Rahm Emanuel's Fifth Congressional District seat last night. In spite of the fact that Rahm "forgot" to vote for him, with 69 percent of the vote. more ›

And then there were three...In about 36 hours, residents of the Fifth U.S. Congressional District will finally know who their new congressman (or congresswoman) will be. Tomorrow's vote to replace Rahm Emanuel, now ensconced in the White House as Obama's Chief-of-Staff, comes after months of official and unofficial campaigning and the field has been whittled down from 20+ to three candidates: Democratic candidate Mike Quigley, Republican Candidate Rosanna Pulido, and Green Party candidate Matt Reichel. Everyone under the sun expects Cook County Commissioner (and avid Red Wings hater) Quigley to take the seat and we admit that we expect the same. It'll be interesting to see if turn-out is as low for tomorrow's vote as it was for the primary vote (17 percent). And while Pulido and Reichel have high hopes of an upset, Quigley's fundraising advantage over them ($600,000 compared to Pulido's $16,000 and Reichel's $2,000) gives him the edge. That is, as long as his supporters turn out to vote. more ›

After a campaign of weird ads, big money and the revelation that Mike Quigley and Sarah Feigenholtz have a deeper kind of local political connection, voters turned out to cast their ballots in yesterday's primary to select candidates to replace former Congressman Rahm Emanuel. more ›

• Terrence Ligon, the man acquitted of killing a 4-year-old in a 2001 shooting, was shot dead Monday night.
• A faked ID production ring in Chinatown was busted up by federal authorities today.
• Both the Cook County Sheriff's office and the Chicago Police Department are implementing new, more rigorous background checks for employees.

Early voting has already begun in Illinois's Fifth Congressional District, so Chicagoist figured that with 25 candidates in the race to keep Rahm Emanuel's seat warm for him, we'd look at five each day all this week. Read Part 1 here. more ›

Earlier today, we brought you the first in our series of candidate profiles of those running for Congress in the Fifth U.S. Congressional District of Iliinois, the race to replace Rahm Emanuel. If you're interested in getting to know more info about the candidates, several will be appearing at a forum tonight. The forum will run from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the Second Unitarian Church of Chicago (656 W. Barry). As of posting time, those candidates scheduled to appear include: State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D), State Rep. John A. Fritchey (D), Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley (D), Ald. Patrick O’Connor (D), Jan Donatelli (D), Charles J. Wheelan (D), Paul J. Bryar (D), Tom Geoghegan (D), Jon Stewart (R), Mark Arnold Fredrickson (Green), and Matt Reichel (Green). Thanks for the tip, Stephen! more ›

Cook County Commissioner and notarized Red Wings hater Mike Quigley is filing papers to run for the U.S. Congressional seat being vacated by Rahm Emanuel, a race which continues to heat up. Quigley has a history of battling with Mayor Daley so he could become The Anti-Daley Candidate. While many have talked the talked about joining the race to replace Rahm, the only other candidate to officially file is state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz. more ›

Just yesterday we were speculating over who would replace outgoing Senator Barack Obama who has a new job. Now we turn our attention to the departing Rahm Emanuel, who even though he was just reelected to his U.S. House seat on Tuesday, is leaving Congress to become Chief of Staff in the Obamistration. Governor Blagojevich, who seems to have plenty on his plate already, will have to set a special election to fill Congressman Rahm's seat (unlike with the Senate seat, where Blago is allowed by law to name a successor). FYI - Rahm holds the same seat (5th District reprezent!) Blago did before he bolted in '02 to become governor. The law requires the special election be held if there is more than 180 days until the next election (in this case, it is - 2 years, actually) and the election must be set within 5 days of the official vacancy. more ›

We're all getting over our excitement for the upcoming NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day. Blackhawks versus Red Wings at Wrigley? Hell yes, we say. But some of us are teeny bit more excited than others. For example, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley. Quigley put together a resolution declaring January 1, 2009 as "Chicago Blackhawks Day" and designating Wrigleyville as an "Octopus-Free Zone." But our favorite part of the resolution? The clever Quigley tossed in a slam on the rival Red Wings by using red capital letters in the last line of the resolution that, when written out together, spell "DETROIT SUCKS." Buuuuurrrrrrn! Your move, Detroit. more ›

In quick succession, the Cook County Board shot down a series of tax hikes yesterday, including proposed increases on electricity and natural gas. Five other increases backed by Democrat Roberto Maldanado, including taxes on SUVs, hotel stays, jet fuel and liquor sold in bars, died without support from any commissioners. The 2-14 vote against the electricity and natural gas taxes, proposed by Stroger ally Bill Beavers, signaled the unofficial death of Board President Todd Stroger's... more ›

Crook County Board President Todd Stroger unveiled his $3.2 billion budget Wednesday. Stroger has struggled to give the appearance that his government is small and fiscally responsible, eliminating about 735 positions over the last three fiscal years, and reducing 1,800 positions from this year's budget. Now he claims that bringing the county's tax take to $888 million by 2009 — by tripling the county sales tax and doubling gas and parking taxes — is necessary... more ›

In other news, Blagojevich says that he will cut $500 million from the budget and spend more on a health plan he favors. Yesterday, Cook County Commissioner and once and future candidate for Board President Tony Peraica announced that he would run for Cook County State's Attorney in 2008, which current three-term State's Attorney Dick Devine will be vacating at the end of his term. "It's time for Cook County to have a State's Attorney... more ›

Remember growing up, there was that one graveyard you just didn’t go into? You weren’t sure why, but something about the place just gave you the creeps at any time of day. Chicagoist recalls wistfully (maybe not wistfully; more like hysterically) one dare-fuelled drive into Barrington's famed White Cemetery, where two of our friends wouldn’t even breathe the open air, opting instead to cover their mouths with their shirts. And when the car became mysteriously stuck in the boneyard’s driveway … well, it wasn’t a feel-good situation. (Later reflection points to the winter weather rather than impish ghosties.) more ›

Remember when all the county hacks on the payroll were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, crying about how Forrest Claypool was going to destroy Cook County by laying off everybody? Remember when progressives and reformers were begging people to vote for Tony Peraica and all the DINO pork-choppers were saying that he was Ronald Reagan reincarnated, hell-bent on destroying the social safety net of Cook County? We hate to say we... more ›

That Todd Stroger. He makes being Cook County Board President seem easy. When he isn't slashing budgets, trying to hand out no-bid contracts to his mobbed-up friends, and devastating the already minimal social safety net that the county has set up for the most vulnerable residents, he's running late to an endorsement session held by black ministers or trying to get family members cushy jobs on the county payroll. And this week was no exception. more ›