A bill has passed the state legislature and is now headed for Gov. Quinn's desk that, if signed, will change the way drivers have to treat crosswalks across the state. The bill, Illinois House Bill 43, states "where traffic signals are not in place, vehicles must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk rather than yielding the right-of-way by slowing down or stopping if need be." In other words, you'd better come to a complete, full stop whenever there's a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Fines for failing to do so could range from $50 to $500, according to The Expired Meter. Illinois would become the twelfth state in the country (plus D.C.) to enact such a law. more ›

Scattered showers across the area are a gentle wake-up for some while, for others, cloudy skies are enough. We begin November on a cool note today as, even as the showers depart and clouds eventually break, we'll still only reach the lower 50s today. And it'll be even colder tonight when lows fall into the lower 30s. more ›

We start off with fog once again, just like a lot of days over the past few weeks. The fog will burn off by mid-morning and we'll have partly sunny skies and temps in the mid-70s. It'll still be a bit humid, though. Lows will be around 60 tonight and look out cause there could be rain a-comin' for the weekend. more ›

As Frank Burns says, it's nice to be nice to the nice. And it seems like people are getting on the kindness bandwagon today. First the Neighbors Project wants us to give out thank you for shoveling cards. The folks at NP will send you free postcards to pass out to your shovel-inclined neighbors to thank them for their magnificent de-snowing skills — and it's also a way to shame your blockmates into clearing... more ›

So far this year, 64 pedestrians have been killed in Illinois in collisions with trains, 11 involving Metra trains, and of those 9 were in the last four months. It sounds like a lot, but it actually puts 2007 on the lower end of the deathscale. According to Metra's media department, fatalities (including pedestrian vs. train and vehicle vs. train) over the last five years are as follows: There were 23 deaths in 2003, 34... more ›

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market... more ›

We've gone around and about a lot of times about a couple key subjects: How relevant losing Marshall Fields is in the grand scheme of things, Hipster/Yuppie, where does Whole Foods play into the life of a person looking to eat healthy and live on a budget? But another topic that never fails to get someone's ire up is that of biker vs. driver vs. pedestrian vs. driver vs. biker. Most people realize that there... more ›

We've only cried twice at rock shows. Once was when the Flaming Lips opened for Beck, and something about "Lightning Strikes The Postman" (was it the strobes? the bullhorn? the crowd's empathic explosion? we don't know) caused our tear ducts to let loose and lose control. The other time was Friday's Arcade Fire show at the Chicago Theatre, as we were surrounded by as unlikely a crowd as we ever expected to see rejoicing in... more ›

We were trying to explain to a friend last night that most DJs no longer use vinyl, and now use vinyl emulators. Yes, the primary trend is to plug in the ol’ laptop and scratch away at your digital files. We DJ around town, and have made the migration from vinyl to CDs to MP3s / M4As over the years ourselves, so we don’t view this practice as being less authentic. In fact, in the right hands, it opens up whole new avenues of sonic overlays to explore. more ›

DuSable Park should have its own place in history as a figure of speech. Example: “Sure, I’ll call you back, when DuSable Park is finished”. DuSable was originally discussed in 1988. Wrigley got lights, the Bears lost to the 49ers in the NFC Championship, Daley was a year away from being mayor, and DuSable Park was only going to cost $1.2 million. Today, estimates put the completion of DuSable park at around $12 million,... more ›

Due to the U.S. General Services Administration's recent request of Chicago, we're going to have to change our ideal "crime" from intoxicated walking to allowing a street to become "a haven for illegal parking." more ›

It’s the beginning of the year, and that means it’s time for architectural institution Preservation Chicago to unveil its picks of the seven most endangered buildings in the city, colloquially known as the Chicago 7. We’re always interested to see what buildings, structures or districts the little-organization-that-could deems worthy of its annual list. The finalists: North Avenue Bridge. We mistakenly believed this was the bridge someone asked Chicagoist about last week, but 'tis not the... more ›

We all know that lists are great for pulling in readers and encouraging debate. As a matter if fact, this trend has grown into obscenely silly proportions in the MS(music)M, but we suppose they will do whatever they can in an attempt to keep themselves fresh. We’re looking at you Blender, Q, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly. (We’re letting Time off the hook for this one since their recent music list was just so obviously wrong, and people tend to turn to them for news and not music.) more ›

Early Saturday morning a woman was crossing the street at 1227 N. Ashland and was hit by a cab. Chicago police are searching for the taxi driver, who witnesses say was speeding through a red light when the woman was hit and critically injured. The 26-year old is currently at the Stroger Hospital of Cook County. Police are still looking for any information regarding the cab driver, who was last seen speeding North on Ashland.... more ›

On Monday when we discussed the city's plans to step up efforts to protect pedestrians, a few commenters replied by saying that often, pedestrians are just as much to blame as vehicles for creating dangerous situations at intersections. They're right too; Chicagoist has witnessed many walkers blithely wandering into the street against no-walk signs, and let's not even start on the herds of people on Michigan Avenue who apparently skipped street safety day in grade... more ›

In today's Getting Around column, the Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch says that this spring, the city of Chicago will start sending officials posing as pedestrians to bust drivers who endanger walkers at intersections. The Department of Transportation and Office of Emergency Management will work with the police to conduct stings on reckless drivers, particularly those making right turns through crosswalks. On average, more than one pedestrian is killed in a traffic accident each week in the city. Mayor Daley has also created a Pedestrian Advisory Council and a Safe Streets for Chicago plan that will look to build more pedestrian-friendly intersections, coupled with a marketing campaign to promote pedestrian safety. more ›

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward... more ›

Streets around 2 East Randolph are closed after a pedestrian was hit by concrete falling off the building after 4 p.m. A Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman did not know the woman’s condition. She did say no one has been taken to the hospital. A pedestrian was injured this afternoon when she was hit by concrete falling off a building under construction in the Loop, a Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman said. Concrete is reportedly falling from... more ›

Halloween is Tuesday, which means this weekend is really the time for all of the –ists to celebrate. And whether they're designing super-spooky costumes or talking about the super-spooky upcoming elections, we'd say that they're doing a fine job of it. Austinist knows that few things in life are scarier than zombies, people with way too much money, and politicians who try too hard to be funny. Slightly less scary, depending on whom you... more ›

Now that it's cool to live in Andersonville again, some local politicians are mulling over a proposed ordinance that would ban chain retailers and restaurants from opening up shop in designated business districts and historic neighborhoods. The idea is that by freezing out the Starbucks and Borders of the world, hoods like Andersonville can retain their charm by favoring places like the Kopi Cafe and the Women and Children First Bookstore. The ordinance hasn't yet been introduced to the City Council, and if it were to pass, qualifying neighborhoods could opt in or out of the so-called "formula retail" ban. more ›

We're pretty opinionated about the safety of the lakefront bike path. Apparently, so are you. Why not join in the Dick Herron Bike and Walk this Sunday? This 15-mile ride along the lakefront path, or short walk through Lincoln Park, is in honor of Dr. Richard Herron, a cyclist killed two years ago in a traffic accident. Proceeds from the walk will be funneled toward the Dick Herron Memorial Fund, which helps build the self-confidence of young people through bulding bikes, or the Chicago Bicycle Federation's "Drive With Care" initiative. more ›

Times must be hard out there for middle-aged women these days. Maybe increased property taxes from TIFs has got them down. Maybe they know they'll never look like Beyoncé again, if they ever did (which is a long shot). Chicagoist still has some time before we truly get into their minds, and judging from our female relatives, we can wait forever and a day. What makes us want to stop time even more is the fact that two older Chicago women committed suicide by train in two days. more ›

Chicagoist is an enthusiastic proponent of walking as much as possible. We had the good fortune of living close enough to work to walk every day for years, and even though we had other mass transit options, we still preferred to hoof it, mostly because we could. It's a unique benefit of urban living, something we never had in our small town, car-centric childhood. more ›

Book burning, gay bashing, kicking a homeless woman out of a library for freeloading public resources? It sounds like the Holy Trinity of turn-ons in one of Rush Limbaugh's wet dreams, minus maybe a pharmacist handing out endless prescriptions to Oxycontin. But it turns out a fire at the John M. Merlo branch of the Chicago Public Library on 644 W. Belmont back in June was a little more pedestrian. Erica Graham, a 21-year-old homeless... more ›

Things sure have changed since Chicagoist was a kid. In our day, creepy old men tried to lure children with candy and, later, booze and cigarettes. more ›

If you’re like Chicagoist, the longer you live in the city, the more of an expert you become on calculating traffic lights. We now know exactly how much time it takes us to cross each street in our daily commute and at which point we’ll have to run to make it across before the light turns. And the people who don’t know these things and hesitate unnecessarily? Well, they just get in our way. more ›

The CTA is planning to renew its efforts to crack down on drivers who block bus-only lanes and bus stops. Pedestrians, CTA riders and drivers alike know too well the havoc one lonely car can cause when it is parked at a bus stop. Example: A cab stops to pick up a fare who can’t move his/her lazy ass down the block away from the bus stop. The bus can’t move into the stop and is forced to block an intersection behind it, snarling traffic and making crossing the street an even-more difficult and dangerous task for those of us on foot. If you’re sitting on the bus or waiting to get on it, this equally frustrating. more ›

Ahhhh, Lent. Who doesn't love 40 days worth of suffering to make up for the 325 you spent rolling in your own debauched crapulence? more ›

Hungry people at Popeye's on Wabash got more than fried chicken for lunch yesterday. They also got a face full of Volvo Sport SUV, hold the bun. more ›

We've talked more about Chicago's endangered buildings than those sparkling new ones. Consider the sturdy construction, fine craftsmanship, and sentimental value, it’s not hard to see why. But don’t believe today’s architects lack imagination. They’re working around rising material and labor costs, risk-averse patrons and mounting pressure to deliver on time and under budget. more ›