Oprah turns 58, a Pilsen man has been charged with a weekend rape, and other news. more ›

Air monitors placed on the nearby Manuel Perez Jr. Elementary School registered .24 micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air. The federal limit is .03 more ›

Julian "Jumpin' " Perez and house music went on to bigger things. So has Pilsen. This video reminds us of how far Pilsen has come and how far it has to go. more ›

This seems more like a someecards holiday than a Hallmark holiday; June 1 marks the first annual Punch A Hipster Day. more ›

An off-the-cuff list of Chicago faves from White House Chef and foodie hero Sam Kass is heavy on eateries South of Madison. Who says the North Side has all the good restaurants? more ›

Thrifters, DIY-ers and upcyclers rejoice: the Vintage Bazaar is setting up shop again, this time for a one-day stint in Pilsen. The pop-up flea market, curated and run by Chicago design mavens, Katherine Raz and Libby Alexander, is little more than a year old, but has grown quickly in popularity: last year's summer bazaar at the Congress Theater in Logan Square saw more than 8,000 shoppers browsing vintage furniture, clothing and pretty much any and all neat-looking odds and ends. more ›

Flickr user mister_scantastic discovered this in an abandoned factory recently and thought it was worth snapping a photo of. Personally we wouldn't be entirely surprised if this flyer was seeded by one the same hipsters it purports to be railing against, primarily because of the Knee Deep Vintage reference, and not an actual longtime resident of the neighborhood. Either way, discuss. Politely, please. more ›

After a three year standoff with 25th Ward Ald. Danny Solis, businesses and residents, a judge ruled that Express Grill owner Alex Lazarevski has a right to open an Express Grill hot dog stand at the northwest corner of 18th and Halsted in Pilsen. more ›

We touched on the subject of crucifixion reenactments yesterday. Here's a shot of the man who portrayed Jesus during Pilsen's annual Via Crucis yesterday. Ken Ilio, who regularly contributes to the Chicagoist Photos Flickr pool, has set up a stunning set of shots from yesterday's processional, from the Last Supper all the way to the erection of the cross at Harrison Park at 18th and Damen. Ilio noted that organizers took the Way of Sorrows and made it into a relevant criticism of the nation's failed immigration policy, an important issue among Pilsen's largely Mexican community. more ›

Lead. In the tiniest amounts, studies show it damages brain development in children. That's why we have taken it out of our gasoline and paint. And it is why the news from Pilsen particularly bad. Monitoring data shows dangerous levels of lead in the air around Perez elementary school at or above federal limits with spikes more than 10 times higher. The Trib’s crack environmental reporter Michael Hawthorne exposed the numbers that “alarm even veteran investigators” in a front-page story which could have significant political impact both locally and nationally. Officials are unsure of exactly where the lead is coming from, but a quick look around the neighborhood points to two likely cluprits. The school is just blocks from the H. Kramer and Co. smelter and the Fisk Generating Station (one of two ancient coal plants in Chicago owned by Midwest Generation, LLC); both have been cited by the US EPA for significant Clean Air Act violations in recent years. more ›

Candis Ricks, 29, a Streets and Sanitation department worker and mother of two, was killed on Saturday after an SUV and a car plowed into each other in Pilsen. Although there was an arrest following the crash, no charges have been filed as of Saturday night. The crash occurred in the 2100 block of South Damen around 1:30 a.m., as Ricks was traveling northbound on Damen in a Ford Escape SUV when her car was hit by a Ford Focus going west on 21st Street. The crash caused both vehicles to jump the curb and roll onto the sidewalk. more ›

When the Chicago Urban Art Society were in the process of curating opened their current exhibition "The Daley Show" in September, it was under the assumption that His Elective Majesty would run again, and the exhibit would be a look at the ruling dynasty that's informed Chicago to its foundation for nearly half a century. With Daley's announcement that he wouldn't seek another term, the focus of the show changed to a satirical farewell. Curator Peter Kepha told ArtSlant's Abraham Ritchie what a lot of us have been thinking, "Good or bad, the man still made a pretty good city." more ›

Parents in the Pilsen neighborhood have ended a stand-off with Chicago Public School officials that saw a 40 day sit-in at a fieldhouse that was condemned to be demolished. CPS officials originally intended to demolish the fieldhouse and replace it with a soccer field that nearby Cristo Rey Jesuit high school would use. more ›

The air is getting crisper, the leaves are turning, and the fall art scene is kicking into gear. Here’s a few contemporary exhibits we think you won’t want to miss: more ›

The Chicago Public School System and the parents who've been protesting the proposed razing of the Whittier Elementary School fieldhouse in Pilsen have agreed in principle to a deal that could end the sit-in. more ›

According to the study the plants cause more than $127 million in 2010 dollars in health damages yearly, based on 2005 emissions. Particulate matter released into the air causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, heart attacks, premature death and more. A spokeswoman for Midwest Generation told WBEZ that there is no tie between the plants and public health, putting the blame on traffic instead. The ELPC supports the Chicago Clean Power ordinance, which would require Midwest Generation to reduce PM pollution within 4 years. Howard Learner, executive director for the ELPC said via press release “Soot and smog from Chicago coal plants is making us sick and costing us millions. Cleaning them up is the right thing to do for our health, our environment and our economy.” more ›

It's sort of hard to believe but Christmas shopping ads have already made their way into our living rooms; thanks for that Macy's! As the holiday season looms large over us here at the Chicagoist offices we have all made a pact this year not to leave all of our shopping until that midnight super-sale on Christmas Eve night. One way we've decided to combat our penchant for procrastination is to make the rounds at all of the independent, DIY, handmade artist shows that grace the streets of Chicago throughout the autumn. more ›

The sit-in by parents at the Whittier Elementary School fieldhouse has entered its sixth day. At issue is what to do with the structure. Chicago Public Schools want to put in a soccer field while parents say they want a library to go on the site instead. Police tried to remove the demonstrators from the fieldhouse on Friday but gave up after scores more of parents - and students - joined the cause after school let out. more ›

• Parents of students at Whittier Elementary School in Pilsen held a sit-in to protest the proposed demolition of the school's field house.
• A South Side man was shot twice today and survived both times.
• Shareholders for both Continental and United Airlines approved the airlines' proposed merger.

Pilsen's annual ¡Buen Provecho! restaurant tour is fast approaching. Slated for September 16, which also marks the Mexican Bicentennial, the $25 tour of 20 Pilsen restaurants, hosted by the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation, is one of the more thorough neighborhood food tours in the city, and one of the more popular. more ›

It is Street Fest season. And with the Taste giving way to a patchwork of neighborhood festivals and block parties throughout the summer, the Trib’s architecture writer Blair Kamin is waxing poetic on the positives of street closures. Can you blame him? Sure, the shifting weekend barriers are yet another driving irritation, but who doesn’t love the respite from traffic, parking, and noise when the fest is in your hood? Why not make those happy feelings permanent in places throughout the city? more ›

May is the month of mothers, of spring, of new beginnings. It's also the month when the Catholic Church celebrates Mary, so we overcame our Catholic Guilt at not having been to Mass in the better part of a decade to bring you this gallery of Pilsen virgins. more ›

Pilsen is gaining traction in Chicago as an arty neighborhood, with popular events like the 2nd Fridays Gallery Night (next one is April 9!). But the neighborhood itself is practically an outdoor museum, concrete and brick walls splashed with paint everywhere you look - and some places you might not think to look. With Spring upon us, we thought we'd make some suggestions on how to spend an afternoon in this colorful neighborhood. (And don't forget to bring your camera and add your photos to the Chicagoist Flickr Pool). more ›

Restaurants, from white tablecloth concepts to McDonad's, have varied cycles of life. Pilsen's De Colores is currently capitalizing on the restaurant boom in that neighborhood in a way the restaurant that preceded it, Picante Grill, could not. Now a BYOB, simple taqueria using the family recipes of owners Sergio and Priscilla Reyes, the food at De Colores can be a hit or miss affair. more ›

More people are moving south to Pilsen and Bridgeport in search of cheap housing and rents, and that's led to a slow but steady increase in dining options for our part of town; we'll have a review of Nana Friday. 18th Street in Pilsen has even seen some diversity with the recent openings of Ristorante al Teatro and Ciao Amore, and Honky Tonk BBQ before that. more ›

Chicagoist Flickr Pool contributor Curtis Locke (a.k.a. Find a City To Live In) captured and shared some great shots of street art in the city's Lower West Side. more ›

This weekend was the annual Fiesta del Sol celebration in Pilsen and it was a fine weekend to get out and have fun. You can check out even more photos from this weekend's festivities at the festival's website. more ›

Back in 1989 urban planners proposed a plan to develop the South Loop into an arts community that would provide fixed affordable housing for artists alongside studios, galleries, and performance spaces. At the time, a decline in manufacturing and warehousing business in the area north and west of the Chicago River had opened up an abundance of cheap loft space that seemed suited for working artists and galleries. more ›

We firmly believe in the open door policy of art walks—the chance to spy on someone’s live/work space where the chaotic hocus pocus of creation happens. Whether it’s meticulously mounted Polaroids hung from floor to ceiling or ten cats eating Meow Mix from paper plates on a painter’s floor tarp (true story), the studio is a unique, inspiring detour through an artist’s mind. more ›

News that Nightwood (2119 S. Halsted, 312-526-3385) opened last night spread like widlfire throughout twitter feeds and other blogs almost as soon as Jason Hammel announced it on his Facebook page. Since it's only a bridge over the south fork of the Chicago River away from home, we decided to check it out. more ›