The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association wants us all to “Feel Magnificent,” and this month apparently that means knocking back the bubbly. Throughout February, businesses on the Magnificent Mile and its surrounding area have been serving champagne to diners and shoppers all along the Avenue, which means we have T minus 7 days to score some free (or reduced) sparkling goodness. The Mag Mile web site can fill you in on everywhere that’s filling flutes, but here are our suggestions on where to stop along your own personal “Champagne Crawl.” more ›

A reader asked the Tribune yesterday whether those "Caution: Falling Ice" signs around big buildings in the Loop do any good. Do they mean you're supposed to stay as far away from the building as possible, or hug the side? The answer was no, that those signs by themselves don't do much good because people either don't see them, or just hold their breath and hurry past the danger zone. While ice tends to fall... more ›

Despite the overall increase in department store shopping, 2006 has been a disappointing year for such shops in the city. From Macy’s takeover of Marshall Fields (and the resulting low sales) to the closing of Carson’s on State Street, the department stores where many of us grew up shopping have been having a tough time with Chicago buyers. While the plight of Macy’s/Marshall Fields and Carson’s is well-known, two other Magnificent Mile mainstays are struggling,... more ›

Isn't church supposed to be a sanctuary? No doubt, when you go to your chosen house of worship, you don't expect to be ripped off by a band of gun-toting robbers, or your priest for that matter. But two Chicago congregations found themselves on the wrong end of the collection plate yesterday. Parishioners at the Israel of God's Church in the Lawndale neighborhood were held up at gunpoint by three armed men Wednesday night. At... more ›

New York, Chicago, Boston, DC: They all have skyscrapers, they all have snow. But of all the midwestern and east coast cold-weather cities we've visited, Chicago is the only one where we've seen falling ice signs everywhere. It's like the Cool Kid Club for buildings. You're not the shit unless you've got a sign out. We know that every year people are hurt by ice as it falls off of buildings around the Loop... more ›