In today's no surprise news, it looks like Tony Rezko is cooperating with the Feds in order to help his own sentence (happening in December). This is pretty much what we expected all along. While his information will surely hurt Blago, it remains to be seen how much it will affect the Obama campaign. At least one state GOP member thinks it won't harm Obama, who has not been accused of improper behavior in the......

The city of Springfield is looking to recoup $50,000 in expenses from the Obama campaign stemming from his August 23 rally to announce Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. City spokesman Ernie Slottag said, "The mayor (Timothy Davlin) is looking at all our finances and would like to recover whatever costs we can." The Obama campaign offered no comment. Obama's campaign was not billed for his February 2007 rally that announced his candidacy, but,......

The squirrels have spoken: they want change. And nuts. Lots and lots of nuts. [via Cute Overload]......

Need to upgrade your Obama wardrobe? T-shirts are so primaries. We suggest you accessorize with any of the following: Obama hats. Obama shoes. (And more Obama shoes.) Obama purses. Obama neckties. Obama jewelry. And sure, a bunch of these items exist for McCain too. Republican political hipster clothing doesn't seem to be as stylish, though.......

Slow news day or a surge in the media's crush on Obama? Upon returning from his O-Force One '08 Summer Tour, Barack Obama's weekend agenda, besides speaking at the UNITY conference, included getting his sore hip checked out. The Senator injured his hip playing basketball a few weeks ago and finally had it looked at in an appointment this weekend at the University of Chicago Medical Center. No word yet if opponent John McCain has......

Local boy presidential candidate Obama received the endorsement of a lifetime, of sorts. Just before death row inmate Dale Leo Bishop was executed in Mississippi earlier this week, he spoke his final words: For those who oppose the death penalty and want to see it end, our best bet is to vote for Barack Obama because his supporters have been working behind the scenes to end this practice. While Obama is not a death penalty......

Photo by josephp Police are searching for two men considered "armed and dangerous" who "are believed to be responsible for a string of armed robberies and carjackings in the south suburbs over the past week." An autopsy of the Naval recruit found dead in Waukegan this weekend revealed "heroin, cocaine and anti-anxiety medication" in his system. More on the tragic shooting in the Ukrainian Village this weekend that killed a waitress/ mother of three.......

Well now, that didn't take long. Vanity Fair offers their take on the New Yorker cover that created such a brouhaha a few weeks ago.......

Taking his message to the skies, Barack Obama is now traveling in a plane emblazoned with his campaign slogan, "Change We Can Believe In" and the Obama logo on the tail. The plane is getting a workout on Obama's current international hopscotching. Ever the lightning rod for critics, Obama's patriotism is yet again being hammered. Because no American flags on a plane means the terrorists win? A few of the Trib's commenters have bypassed the......

Image by pantagrapher. Obama arrived in Kabul today for a ‘surprise’ visit. Didn’t we all know he’s be showing up there sometime soon? [S-T] Sailors began the Chicago Yacht Club’s annual race to Mackinac today. You can track boats on-line here. [Trib] A man who lost his leg in a meat grinder is now suing the meat factory where he worked. [WBBM] Mya Lyons, the nine-year-old girl killed earlier this week, was laid to......

Apparently multiple shootings and animal porn aren't the only problems facing the Chicago-area. Some disturbed Arlington Heights vandals decided to show one woman what they thought of her "Obama For President" signs by rubbing fecal matter all over them. Wait...what? Robin Harris of Arlington Heights discovered Wednesday night that someone had smeared feces on two Obama presidential campaign signs in her front yard. "I was horrified. I felt violated; someone was on my property," Harris......

We haven't even started in on our morning coffee and already Chicago's Presidential Candidate is in the headlines for a new controversy. Unlike last week, though, this one is not of Obama's doing. Barry Blitt's cover for the July 21 issue of the New Yorker, titled, "The Politics of Fear," purports to satirize the recent Fox News "terrorist fist jab" controversy, but it's created quite a commotion within the Obama campaign, which has been working......

Illinois Senator and presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama is facing new opposition over his recent decision to support Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) legislation, which goes before the Senate today. The surprising source of this new opposition? His own base. Obama had formerly supported amendments to the FISA legislation repealing retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. It's the new bill's restoration of retroactive immunity that has Obama supporters up in arms. One of the largest......

Will Smith has already said he'd play him onscreen, but first we have to get through the convention in August, an event that has its own series of rituals and traditions. One of the most high-profile of these is the biographical promo, a short film designed to introduce the nominee. Past efforts have invloved the likes of Harry Thomason (for Bill Clinton) and James Moll and Steven Spielberg (for John Kerry). Al Gore's 2000......

Photo by kookybites Police are still investigating what they think is a drug-related triple homicide that occurred last night in the 7800 block of South Kingston Avenue. [Trib, S-T, CBS2] An unnamed person was arrested in McHenry County today by the FBI for possession of illegal toxins. [Trib, S-T] Now this is Pulitzer-worthy investigative journalism: What does Obama do on his day off? We were going to say "practice Guitar Hero skills" but, alas,......

One of the persistent questions that political observers have wrestled with about Tony Rezko is when (and if) he will roll on Governor Blagojevich and others now that he has been convicted. Will he cut a deal to get a shorter prison sentence, or will he do his time and hope that his friends will reward his loyalty when he gets out? Rezko answered that question in part in a letter he sent to Judge......

Obama made his debut at his new church, the Apostolic Church of God, by delivering the sermon today, Father’s Day. The presumed Democratic nominee for President, Obama told the congregation: We also need families to raise our children. We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child. It's the courage to raise one.......

Multi-exposure shot of a summer Chicago evening by Stuck in Customs. Tomorrow, on Father’s Day, Obama and his family will be attending a new church. At least that’s what he told talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on Friday. Metra expects at $20 million short fall, due to increased costs of diesel fuel. This despite a record 7-million riders. They’ll fix it by delaying plans to increase service, which puts Metra on-track with having standing......

The Sox and Cubs sit atop their respective divisions, Chicago resident and Illinois Senator Barack Obama is set to be named the Democratic Presidential candidate, and Chicago made the short-list to host the 2016 Olympics. Some have suggested that the summer of '08 is Chicago's "moment", to which we say, "Really? Just now?" Yes, Chicago has seen some great success stories so far this year: Tracy Letts' August: Osage County has a Pulitzer and is......

An update on the Red Line stoppage: a man was struck and killed by a Red Line train just south of the Chinatown stop at about 4:30 p.m., his body still pinned under the train. Red Line trains are once again running on their designated tracks between Howard and Roosevelt, where they then run on the Green Line tracks to the 35th-Bronzeville Green Line station. [Trib, S-T, CTA] Violence in the City: A man was......

Obama photo by Radiospike Photography. We’ve been waiting for the moment when Hillary would acknowledge she’s no longer the front-runner. She did that this morning in Washington DC at a party for supporters. Obama thanked Hillary via his Web site, and had this to say: Obviously, I am thrilled and honored to have Senator Clinton's support. But more than that, I honor her today for the valiant and historic campaign she has run. She shattered......

With the last primaries in this seemingly endless Democratic primary season finally over, Barack Obama took the stage in St. Paul MN to address supporters. "Tonight I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States," Obama declared. Speaking to supporters in New York, Hillary Clinton congratulated Obama, while leaving the end of the nomination battle open. "Now the question is where do we go......

The Illinois Gaming Board fined Aurora's Hollywood Casino $800,000 and suspended three managers for sending marketing materials to problem gamblers who had volunteered to be banned from Illinois casinos. [Crain's] Ashley Souba and Bryan Worden, last year's Batavia High homecoming king and queen, will wear the royal colors again this year. Souba has been battling leukemia since sixth grade, and Worden suffers from recurring cancerous tumors under his eyes. [Sun-Times] Obama's short list of VP......

Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski, the Carpentersville woman who was accused of racism for comparing two African-American children climbing a tree to monkeys, was told today she would be allowed to keep her position as an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention. After it initially appeared as though Ramirez-Sliwinski, also a village trustee, would "voluntarily" step aside, it seems that the campaign actually, you know, examined the facts and cooler heads prevailed. Obama spokesman Ben Labolt said,......

A Carpentersville woman who serves as a village trustee was asked to step down as an Obama delegate over an incident in which she called the children of her African-American neighbors "monkeys." Linda Ramirez-Sliwinski was fined $75 and ticketed for disorderly conduct for the incident, which happened last Saturday. Ramirez-Sliwinski "came outside and told the children to quit playing in the tree like monkeys. The tree was not on Ramirez-Sliwinski's property," Carpentersville Police Commander Michael......

Obama revealed during a conversation, airing yesterday on The View, that his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has acknowledged comments he made were controversial and hurtful. A spokesperson for the Senator clarified Obama’s comments did not imply that the minister had regret over his comments. Today, the Sun-Times is reporting the Trinity United Church of Christ is building a Tinely Park Home, valued at $1.0 million, for the minister. The Rev. J Bennett Guess, communications......

A couple weeks ago, we directed you to a site selling the most awesome t-shirts in the world. When we saw our love for Obama combined with our love of the White Sox combined into one and printed on 100% cotton, our credit card came right out. After waiting two agonizing weeks, we got the goods in the mail last week -- a few days ahead of the March 15 expected ship date. Obama of......

Last Thursday the Illinois State Board of Elections finalized its list of delegates selected in the February 5 primary. For Republicans, it's simple: John McCain has 54 delegates, Mitt Romney has 3. For Democrats, though, the complex rules of their party primary mean that 69 delegates will go to the convention to vote for Barack Obama, and 31 will vote for Hillary Clinton. Also tagging along will be a gaggle of superdelegates, some of whom......

While Obama was busy winning Mississippi last night, Crain's Chicago Business was busy wondering what an Obama presidency might mean for Chicago. "The person who's president is going to take care of his home state," former Illinois Democratic Party Chairman Gary LaPaille told Crain's. Olympic dreams, funding for capital projects, the economic well-being of local businesses and the future of corruption-buster US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald are all on the list of local issues that could......

With Democrats hell-bent on dragging their primary season all the way to the convention, and John McCain all but the GOP nominee, the question of who is more electable is weighing on the minds of many voters. SurveyUSA, whose polling is usually pretty good, put together a couple of nice maps. They interviewed 600 registered voters in each of the 50 states, for a total of 30,000 interviews, asking who they would vote for in......