We're starting to turn into an obituary blog here, but wow, just wow. Chicago Tribune entertainment columnist Terry Armour died on Friday from an apparent heart attack. Armour, who was only 46 years old, collapsed at the Tribune offices on Friday and was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Armour bounced around a number of duties at the Tribune, from covering the Bulls beat in the 90s during their championship......

Unless you stayed inside all day yesterday (and that wouldn't have been a bad idea, because it was dis-gusting out there), you couldn't miss the super-slippery sidewalks all around the city. An ice storm Saturday night made traveling around the city extra-treacherous due to the thin coating of ice on sidewalks. Chicago city officials, being their normal helpful selves, urged people to salt their sidewalks and walk carefully when it's icy. And also to look......

First, you're diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and then you wait months and months on the UNOS list (along with about 100,000 other Americans) for an organ. But your case is rare; you actually get the transplant you need. Hurray! Unless you're one of four transplant recipients in Chicago whose new organs gave them HIV and hepatitis C. This is the first time in more than 20 years that donor organs have transmitted the virus.......

Much to the enjoyment of many of our readers, Macy’s can’t seem to catch a break. It’s no secret that sales are down, a gracious amount stemming from local boycotts. Just this Monday their food court came down with a severe case of drosophila melanogaster (we did that from memory – damn you, freshman bio!), garnering a shutdown from the Health Department. Macy’s earned the right to reopen this morning, but with last night’s news,......

This morning three relatively young men were charged for viciously beating a homeless man with chains and a sign. The only provocation for the attack was apparently when the man bumped into one of the men as they were walking out of a bar near Randolph and Wabash. Because of an accidental run-in, 40-year-old Franklin Hayden ended up in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition with the possibility of losing an eye. To be honest,......

Bank of America may not get LaSalle Bank, but National City plans to buy the Illinois-based company that runs 82 MidAmerica Bank branches in Chicago and Milwaukee. The Color Purple debuted in Chicago last night. The Brookfield Zoo needs your help naming a 4-month-old polar bear cub. The smallest baby ever born at Northwestern Memorial Hospital finally went home. She was in the hospital for almost two years! These are the best bosses in......

Tom Simon does a lot of things right. He investigates white collar crimes for the FBI, volunteers for a youth crisis hotline, biked thousands of miles for AIDS charities, and donates his organs to perfect strangers … just because he can. But whatever you do, don't call him a hero. According to Simon's blog, The Kidney Chronicles, his desire to "help others and alleviate suffering" led him to consider handing over one of his kidneys.......

Tank Johnson was already having a pretty bad week. His house was raided by Gurnee police, his stash of guns was confiscated and he was charged for illegal possession of firearms. His bodyguard Willie Posey was arrested for felony pot possession during the raid. And as a result of Thursday's run-in with the police, Bears coach Lovie Smith announced that Johnson would be inactive for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. Yet somehow, Tank Johnson's personal......

As we trudged through the rain yesterday, Chicagoist thought about how our big umbrella might come in handy if we were ever attacked, and we proceeded to make a mental list of all the ways to hurt someone with an umbrella. Unfortunately, someone else was thinking the same thing earlier this week and used the idea for evil (assault) instead of good (self-defense). Brian J. Johnson, 39, was charged with severely beating a 76-year-old man......

A man was stabbed with a screwdriver early this morning in the Loop. The 31-year-old victim was severely wounded, according to police. The incident happened at the corner of Adams and State around 1:30 a.m. The attacker was described as a tall, slender man in his 20s. He and the victim were arguing prior to the stabbing, said Central District Lt. James Sazama. The victim is in guarded condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Police do......

Depending on how you get your morning news, you may or may not have noticed that an elderly man was shot at Northwestern Hospital last night. “One person remained in critical condition Wednesday morning after a shooting the day before at Northwestern Memorial Hospital,” according the CBS 2 story lead. What? A shooting? At the hospital? OMG! What happened? Further down in the story, hospital spokesman Andrew Buchanan is quoted as saying, “It’s not a......

John Bobbit*, move over. Jakub Fik has got your story whipped. He didn't get his penis cut off by a vengeful lover. He didn't get it severed in an accident. He didn't get it lobbed off in some freak incident. Nope. He cut his member off himself. The Sun-Times reports that on Wednesday, the distraught-over-his-girlfriend-in-Poland Fik had police called on him for smashing up car windows and breaking into a house -- apparently after he......

A bunch of cops at a Chicago Park Department rec center who were watching the Super Bowl had some other entertainment too: Strippers. Fearing lawsuits, Northwestern Memorial Hospital will only allow cameras before and after a birth but not during. There's a new art show in Philly that spotlights Chicago as a place that inspired and spawned awesome visual art. It looks at 20th century Chicago artists and features about 80 works of art.......

Our friends at Chicago Magazine brought us news this morning of two restaurant closings when its Dish column revealed that Eli's The Place For Steak is closing in July. A Chicago institution -- if not for their steaks, then most certainly for their cheesecakes -- the Streeterville spot at 215 E. Chicago Ave. where it has called home for the past 39 years is being torn down by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. According to Chicago Mag,......

We've been saying that Dave Matthews Band is a bunch of shit-soaking garbage for a long time, and now we might have proof. Sunday afternoon, about 80 people aboard Chicago's Little Lady on the river were soaked in a "'brownish-yellow'" substance that rained down from the bridge above, apparently after a bus or two drove across. (The Sun-Times calls the boat the First Lady, but the details are hardly the important element here.) More than......