Last week, the Cook County board voted to give an independent board permanent control over the Cook County health system to curtail incompetency and improve efficiency.The Cook County Health and Hospitals System has been running the system for the last two years with an expiration date of 2011. The 13 to 3 vote on June 1 eliminated the sunset provision and made the board permanent, with the exception of any future legislative action. Cook County has been a long patronage paradise, but the independent operator has been slashing bloated payrolls and moving the health system to become more effective. more ›

• Another day, another bandit, this time a pair of robberies downtown by The Citibank Bandit.
• A strange story out of Minnesota where an airplane overshot it's destination by 150 miles because the pilots were engaged in a heated discussion.
• An Arlington Heights man has been arrested for stabbing his grandmother in an attempt to kill her. Why? "For not showing him respect."

Don't settle for another Wednesday of and Girl Scout cookies that have been in the freezer for months (not ... that ... we do that ...). There's a shitton of stuff going on tonight! more ›

Remember growing up, there was that one graveyard you just didn’t go into? You weren’t sure why, but something about the place just gave you the creeps at any time of day. Chicagoist recalls wistfully (maybe not wistfully; more like hysterically) one dare-fuelled drive into Barrington's famed White Cemetery, where two of our friends wouldn’t even breathe the open air, opting instead to cover their mouths with their shirts. And when the car became mysteriously stuck in the boneyard’s driveway … well, it wasn’t a feel-good situation. (Later reflection points to the winter weather rather than impish ghosties.) more ›

We here at Chicagoist like to keep it local (since that's our name and all). With that in mind, here's all the news — or at least three stories we found that we wanted to bring to your attention but couldn't really get a whole post out of. So let's get on those chaps, buckaroos, and head on down to the old roundup: Dick Durbin Seeks Review of Tribune Sale. Expressing concern that federal regulators... more ›

Illinois budgets are in trouble all over -- at a meeting with legislative leaders late Tuesday, Gov. Blagojevich warned that unless a budget deal is reached, state government could shut down next month. Selling sex toys on the side and earning a $64,000 salary wasn't enough. Karen Bailey, a top assistant to Cook County Commissioner Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, faces felony charges for allegedly stealing nearly $300,000 from an 87-year-old woman, prosecutors and police... more ›