As the oil disaster in the Gulf continues unabated and law suits start to stack up, BP has taken a beating in the media for the impact its corporate culture has had on safety throughout their operations. In Chicagoland, that is prompting many to cast a wary eye south along the shore of Lake Michigan to Whiting, IN where BP is in the midst of a massive and controversial refinery expansion. more ›

In a new report that surprises no one, Chicago has the highest gas prices in the nation. With the national average coming in at around $2.92 per gallon, the average price here in Chicago is $3.22 per gallon. The results of the new Lundberg survey come just ahead of the typical seasonal rise in prices heading in to the summer. But there may be some relief ahead. Even as gas prices have increased and BP still toils with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States' crude oil supply has increased and the price per barrel has dropped, indicating a drop of gasoline prices may be on the way. more ›

• The State House approved the proposed state tax holiday, passing it off to the State Senate.
• The Saga of Scott Lee Cohen now includes his underage son.
• Thanks a lot, Greece computer glitch.

As the busiest travel day of the year - Wednesday - approaches, Chicagoans look like they're going to be blessed by two things: good weather and lower gas prices. While Chicago has had the highest average gas price in the nation the last few years, the nation's gas price drop has reached us. So low, in fact, that some stations have regular unleaded actually below the current national average of $1.98. The lower prices come as the price of a barrel of oil has dropped from $147 a barrel in July to under $50 a barrel currently, as close to a silver lining as you'll find in the current economic crisis. Though this paragraph from the AP story certainly got our attention: "Some 'peak oil' adherents view the theory as an incentive to work harder on alternative energy. Others claim it's too late for that, and forecast an apocalyptic future in which industrial society and the global marketplace give way to local micro-economies with backyard farms, abandoned malls and marauding hordes." Um...Happy Holidays, everyone! more ›

With the price of oil at $67 a barrel, gas prices continue to drop, down to an average of $3.22 per gallon here in the Chicago area and they could reach as low as $2.80 a gallon here and $2.50 nationwide by the end of the year. But prices might not drop much further as OPEC is looking to take as many as two million barrels per day off the market to slow the current trend. And even though the recent dramatic price drop has resulted in an almost $125 billion surplus among Americans, it's not necessarily a sign of an improving economy as Americans continue to see the Dow roller coaster and fear layoffs and the obliteration of retirement funds. Sigh... more ›

If you have a hankering to hang out — quite literally — with a few hundred naked like-minded progressives this weekend (and who doesn't) mark your calendar for tomorrow night. more ›