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 ›

Less than a week on the heels of his appearance at the Unite+Fight Midwest Equality Across America conference, "Don't Ask Don't Tell" activist Lt. Dan Choi made national headlines by handcuffing himself to the White House fence in an act of civil disobedience. The action, in addition to two sit-in protests at the San Francisco and D.C. offices of Nancy Pelosi, sparked a new question of what role aggressive, confrontational activism could play in LGBT communities' quest for the passage of pro-gay legislation. more ›

Like moms joining Facebook, the following video shows how popular things on the internet can easily go bad. In an attempt to insert some humor into the launch of the U.S. House's official YouTube page, someone thought it'd be cute to...well, just watch. We kind of wish the entire video was just the kitties. more ›

Yesterday, Washington and Wall St. descended into chaos as the bailout plan was voted down by the House of Representatives. But why? What happened? Some House Republicans blamed a speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), “I do believe that we could have gotten there today, had it not been for the partisan speech that the Speaker gave on the floor of the House. We put everything we had into getting the vote to get there today.” Here's the speech. Does Pelosi speak the truth? Or is it an unnecessary poke in the eye? And is it really a valid excuse by Republicans? Somehow, we don't see this speech also causing 40 percent of Democrats to vote against the bailout. more ›

While most of the city was partying down at Lollapalooza this weekend, a different type of party was going on just a few blocks south of Grant Park: YearlyKos, the annual convention hosted by DailyKos, the netroots weblog started by Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, and filled with content, news and views by a motley crew of bloggers from around the nation (including Dick Durbin!). Saturday was a big day for the bloggers by the lake, with... more ›

Today we here at Chicagoist turn our broad gaze outward, looking far and wide to the rest of the nation, and recap some of the highlights of last nights State of the Union Address. more ›

It’s been a rough day for Republicans what with the whole loss of power in the House and possibly the Senate, Rumsfeld’s resignation, and getting used to the idea of Nancy Pelosi as the first female speaker of the House. Are we forgetting anything? Oh probably. Who can keep track anymore? more ›

In case you missed it, there was an election yesterday. Chicagoist hopes you got out and voted. And after we rocked the vote, we rocked the Daily Bar & Grill at a special election night happy hour; you should have been there. That said, it was an exciting day: The Democrats have taken the House, but the Senate is still a toss-up. And yes, that means that Nancy Pelosi will be the new Speaker of... more ›