Sears announced yesterday that it will begin selling official U.S. Army-licensed clothing. The All American Army Brand's First Infantry Division collection will offer "vintage inspired design, intricate attention to detail, and supreme quality standards, inspired by Army technology," according to Sears's press release. The clothes, ranging in price from $12 for a t-shirt to $120 for coats, will be in stores in October. [Sears]......

Photo by Joshua Mellin Today's the first day for free CTA rides for active military personnel, who must be in full uniform to qualify. Onerous! A military ID card, a la the senior card, is in the works to expand the program to disabled veterans at some point this summer. Also, the CTA is cutting 100 non-union administrative jobs. [S-T, CTA]......

DN-0071189, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum. Closing the music library of DJ "Pretty White Jeebus" for a spell, we're getting back to the photographs of yesteryear. The forecast calls for a lot of blech this weekend, and there better be a lot of flowers next month after the rain that's come down this week. Digressing, the shot is of the 1st Illinois, 149th Field Artillery marching north in the rain on......

Who knew "celebrity" golf tournaments could be such a flustercuck? Not Caddyshack star Cindy "Lacey Underall" Morgan. She hosted a 2006 event, which was supposed to benefit the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund, turned out to be a disaster. A giant no-money-making, friendship-ending, lawsuit-generating disaster. Morgan says only about 100 people played golf, that the Caddyshack cast members who did show (Bill Murray and Chevy Chase weren't there) left early, and now she's on the......

In the mood for a beer and debate about the war tonight? Considering some of our comment threads on politics, we thought so. Globally Occupied Attention (GOAt) presents a discussion titled Could a Draft Cool Talk of the War? at Schubas tonight. The army is running thin on volunteers, even with clever ad campaigns and more recruitment incentives. Is it time for a draft? And if the draft is reinstated and politicians' children are at......

Looks like we're not the only ones with a case of the Mondays: Things aren't looking so great for Blagojevich today, either. Over the weekend, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn blamed Blago for the firing of 17 veterans from security jobs within the Illinois Department of Military Affairs. "The governor proclaimed this 'Hire a Veteran Month.' He didn't say 'Fire a Veteran,'" said Quinn. All together now: Oh, snap! Blagojevich says it's a matter of federal......

We're not very good at this rah-rah patriotism stuff sometimes. Especially when it seems like there's so very little to be patriotic about. Day in and day out, we're bombarded with information about our dysfunctional County Board, our crumbling mass-transit system, a stumbling economy, a dismal federal government and a long-term embroilment in a far-away sandbox, so on and so forth, fill in your own blank here: _________________ So when we take these few yearly......

During our six years in the Navy we can remember being away from home during the holidays but not unwanted, thanks to the volunteer families of Adopt-a-Sailor programs in the towns and countries where we found ourselves on duty. Sailors at Great Lakes Naval Station ("Naval Station Great Lakes" in military/Yoda-speak) won't have that opportunity this Thanksgiving. Recent changes in program guidelines by NSGL brass effectively shut out individual families from the Adopt-A-Sailor program. Instead,......

Get pumped, paleoconservatives and libertarians — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will be in town tomorrow for a support rally. As a presidential candidate, Paul has gained a small but dedicated following, campaigning on a more defensive military role, a reduction in forces around the world, and the elimination of government-funded social programs. While his candidacy has inspired the short-lived (and only kind-of funny) lolrons, it has also inspired this much funnier website. If you'd......

Here’s a question for you: If politicians can use the “I didn’t inhale” line when asked about past drug use and the military can hide behind its “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” slogan, can localvores get away with eating non-local foods if they don’t swallow? OK, mind out of the gutter, please, and Chicagoist isn’t referring to the chew-and-spit diet featured on a Sex in the City episode. Instead, what we were hoping was to get......

What would you do with $180,000? Oh, the possibilities. You could buy 18,000 albums on iTunes. You could pick up that brand-new Mercedes you’ve always wanted. Or maybe you could finally afford one of those new condos springing up everywhere. Danielle Littrell had lofty dreams of her own: the Farmington, MO teen was going to use it for college. That is, until the Navy yanked their dangling carrot out from under her nose. Littrell, 18,......

Former Chicago resident and one-time member of the Maniac Latin Disciples Jose Padilla was convicted yesterday of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas, conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists, and providing material support for terrorists. Adham Amin Hassoun, a Lebanon-born Palestinian, and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, a naturalized US citizen born in Jordan, were convicted as well in federal court. Although held for 3-1/2 years in military custody as an enemy combatant, his......

The most popular museum in the world is the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., which sees nearly 9 million visitors come through its doors each year. So it is no surprise that Chicago's Annual Air & Water Show is the largest two-day spectator event in the United States, with audience numbers reaching nearly 2.5 million. The free annual event is back for its 49th edition and has a great line-up ready to......

It's no secret that Chicagoist is interested in global politics. In the wold-wide checkerboard of cities, we love knowing that our little City by the Lake is quickly becoming a global destination, for business, people, education, and life. That's why our ears perk up a little bit when some national or international figure pays us a visit; even more so when Chicago is used as a platform for some sort of important announcement or drama.......

When last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival rolled around, we were psyched to see most of the headliners, but Os Mutantes (“The Mutants”) threw us for a loop. While we’d long been interested in Cuban jazz, Brazilian Tropicalia was a new frontier for our musical palate. We weren’t disappointed in the reunion of the revolutionary band that had influenced such diverse Chicagoist favs as David Byrne and Kurt Cobain. It’s really no surprise that Tropicalia’s influence......

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires......

The Pentagon confirmed last week that in the mid-90s, they had considered developing a “gay bomb.” The Air Force’s Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio (of course, Ohio), had proposed developing an aphrodisiac so strong, it would incapacitate the enemy troops by making them more interested in making love with each other, not war. The implication that an army of men could turn gay under the power of a pheromone or some other chemical alteration was......

Qannik, a six-year-old beluga whale arrived at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium early Sunday after a flight on a chartered military transport plane from his previous home at Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium. A deadly shooting on a CTA bus is now the inspiration for a new proposed federal law to create a national database of all gun owners to keep guns out of the wrong hands. He didn't have a peg leg. There's......

Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day was first commemorated after the Civil War as a way to honor fallen Union soldiers. After World War I it was expanded to honor all men and women who died in a US war or military action. It was originally observed on May 30, but since becoming a federal holiday, is now always observed on the last Monday in May, effectively creating a national three-day weekend. For many,......

It isn't just the folks living in the 12 Wards that are holding Aldermanic runoff elections that are thinking about outcomes today. The aftermath of the vote that is going on as you read this will impact the city for years to come. By the time the polls close tonight, there will be some new aldermen, and others will have held onto their seats. Some will coast to victory, and others will squeak in by......

Screening as part of the Sixth Chicago Palestine Film Festival, Leila Khaled, Hijacker is a 58-minute documentary which examines the life of Leila Khaled; as a member of the PFLP she participated in two airplane hijackings in 1969 and 1970. As the first female hijacker, she occupies a disquieting position at the crossroads between feminism and terrorism. She's inspired both revulsion and admiration (songwriter Julian Cope, who composed the song "Like Leila Khaled Said," has......

Here at Chicagoist we're all about DIY. (That's "Do It Yourself," by the way.) Chicagoist itself is DIY. Not to toot our own horn, but most of us here are unpaid volunteers whose recompense consists of the chance to share really cool stuff with you, our readers, and trigger interesting conversations (and getting jiggy with the occasional celebrity). We also believe that Chicago the city is DIY. Our motto is "I Will," and every day......

As John Edwards buckles down and tries to keep his presidential bid moving forward while his wife deals with the return of cancer, the two other major Democratic players — Hillary and Barack — have been in the news lately for their stands not just on gay marriage, but the morality of homosexuality in general. After Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Chicago Tribune that "homosexual acts between......

On Monday, Republican Congressman Tim Walberg stated in a radio interview that he has gathered from his discussion with American troops returning from Iraq that "80 to 85 percent, in a conservative fashion, of the country is reasonably under control, at least as well as Detroit or Chicago or any of our other big cities. That's an encouraging sign." Chicago and Detroit may have their problems, but surely it is a bit far reaching to......

Today is the fourth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. We are left asking many of the same questions we did four years ago: what are we fighting for? Freedom? Is this why the US military has been arresting Iraqi labor leaders? Peace and justice? Is that why Iraq is devolving into a sectarian civil war? To rebuild a nation devastated by years of totalitarianism and profiteering? We here at Chicagoist have been asking......

Jan Lorys, Director, Polish Museum of America...

As of late last night, there was still no deal between Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs. An arbitration hearing is scheduled for today. And speaking of Z: Could the market for Big Z really ever get any higher? Could Hendry trade him in a forward-thinking move for a team built to win now, and explain it as a good decision? If we win the Olympics bid, Grant Park will become a celebration site that......

Sometimes, in the course of covering news stories with our hard-hitting, ultra-professional blog style, we at Chicagoist hear straight from the horse’s mouth. Or, in this case, we hear from a horse of a different color. You might recall our post from Wednesday concerning new gear for firefighters that had holes burned into them in the line of fire (get it?). In a rebuttal move, we received an e-mail from a representative of Lion Apparel,......

On Wednesday it was discovered that an Orland Park firefighter was arrested for felony theft for falsely claiming he was fighting for the military in Iraq. Lawrence Masa was actually working for a private security firm in Iraq and was being paid quite well. During this time Masa made approximately $190,000 as a firefighter and $200,000 as a private security worker. Yesterday, Steven Slawinski, a Lemont Firefighter, was accused of the same crime. Slawinski, a......

Some time before Chicagoist was a Chicagoan, we were a resident of the great American Southwest. We grew up in the wonderful state of New Mexico, and we absorbed much of the local culture: cowboys, chilis, and lowriders. We also grew up steeped in UFO culture. We spent many years growing up in the UFO capital of the world — Roswell, NM — and even Granny had the full Time-Life "Mystery of the Unknown" series......