It wasn't your imagination. There really were extra problems on Lake Shore Drive this morning, with 20 vehicles damaged and 3 people injured. Stupid potholes. Now it's even more convenient for the City to take your money! New robot kiosks now accept payments for your parking tickets, water bills and red-light tickets. An update to this morning's story about the 4-year-old who was shot and killed: her brother has been charged, as a juvenile,... more ›

One day after Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson stopped by Chicago for a fundraiser, Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani visited Chicago for a fundraiser. Conventional wisdom holds that Giuliani is the man to beat for the GOP nomination, but Fred Thompson has his supporters too. "I think he has a homespun quality that is appealing.... [H]e comes across as a guy that is very comfortable in his own skin and I think he has a... more ›

Hey, teenagers: Avoid nude digital photos. Don't pose for 'em, don't take 'em. Just like nothing good happens after 2 a.m., nothing good happens when you snap nudie pics. Pierre Steel, 15, is learning this lesson the really hard way: He was expelled from Loyola Academy after showing some of his football teammates topless photos he took of his girlfriend. Steel's father, Ray Washington, told the ST that he thinks Steel's expulsion was racially motivated.... more ›

Oh, pornography. It holds a strange power over people. It can cause priests to debate porn stars, the incarceration of R&B singers, and even become a code name in the biggest scandal in American history. Or it can cause a woman to kill her boyfriend. Wait, what? Kill her boyfriend? Jeanette Strowder, 58, had been dating her boyfriend, Jesse Martin, 54, for sixteen years. For the past two years they lived together in Fuller Park.... more ›

What's the only thing more sketchy-ass than Chicago's city hiring? The folks fighting over the money for the victims of said rigged system. We're pretty sure we were denied a job too ... now give us a cut of that $12 million! And we used to just be scared our own vibrating toys would rouse suspicion. (It's a scalp massage, honest!) Now airport screeners think that remote controls for toys are under suspicion as... more ›

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out... more ›

In 1907 Essanay Studios shot a short slapstick film on the streets of Old Town entitled An Awful Skate. It cost a few hundred dollars but went on to make thousands; perhaps as much as $10,000 (which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $216,000 today). A recent profile in the Trib gives a brief history of the once-booming studio, which had facilities in both Chicago and California. Between 1907 and 1917 Essanay churned out... more ›

Part of an international movement, Chicago’s fourth-annual World Naked Bike Ride is set for this coming Saturday. Check-in will be from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. in Union Park, near 100 N. Ashland, at the statue of former Mayor Carter Henry Harrison, Sr. He would be so proud. The official e-mail announcement arrived in Chicagoist’s mail box today, and warns non-participants and disruptive people will be turned away, suggesting you’re not welcome if you’re just... more ›

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA... more ›

We're guessing most of you are hungover from St. Patrick's Day. We are too. But still, we're going to muddle on through our green haze and give you (drum roll please...) this Week In -ists. We start with SFist which broke the -ist record for comments with nearly 500 comments on a post about our Mayor's girlfriend. She responded back on charges that she's not a "girl's girl" and, whoo boy-- the floodgates? They... more ›

Anyone who's seen The Neo-Futurists’ weekly show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind knows the purveyors of this evening of rapid-fire entertainment regularly rely on the audience for seriocomic inspiration. We've seen these performers take up a collection for a poor college kid, treat random ticket holders to ice cream treats, start an impromptu dance party, and enlist the entire room in silent protest against the invasion of Iraq. The Neos also produce... more ›

Good news out of Fort Myers, Fla. this morning: the town’s annual Turkey Testicle Festival will be allowed to keep its name. And they just may have an Illinois town to thank for it. more ›

The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld a Chicago law prohibiting alcohol from being served at clubs that allow nude dancing. Therefore, anyone who likes to sit at VIPs on Kingsbury with a vodka tonic in one hand and a woman who would never talk to you during high school in the other is advised to get there pronto. more ›

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. Getting on the wrong train sucks. Getting on the wrong train and becoming the victim of what will later be described as a "stabbing spree" really sucks.... more ›

Seattlest saw a house party get senselessly attacked with a shotgun and end in seven dead. A local senator is debated and their version of the big dig is investigated. To truly get to the bottom of it they interview the writer Jonathan Raban. Bostonist has its first birthday party and investigates how to attach more gambling dollars to the Red Sox. Benjamin Franklin is celebrated and Johnny Damon is not. Image by Ethan Bagley... more ›

Acting in violation of a year-old state law protecting a woman’s right to feed her children with her boobs, a lifeguard at Great America asked a North Chicago woman to exit a wading pool while breast-feeding her 4-month-old daughter. Despite covering herself, her baby and her boobs with a blanket—thereby sparing all concerned the trauma of a semi-nude portion of the human body—Rebecca Gray was asked to adjourn to a private area while engaging in... more ›

There have been three things on our music-loving minds this week: 1. The dearly departed Delilah’s sign and awning covering A plastic replacement sign showed up above Delilah’s this week but it’s a poor substitute for the Manichean shingle and reclining nude mural that hung above its humble door all these years. Damaged during a recent storm, there are no plans to replace them though Chicagoist would volunteer to put together a benefit show if... more ›

What could be better than sexy girls baring all while bearing Big Macs? Chicagoist sure can't think of anything. And now our fantasy has come true, thanks to two Chicago institutions. Playboy magazine features "Women of McDonald's" in a special Playboy.com (NSFW) feature. more ›

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