A few months back, we mentioned that U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley was aiming to get a Lakeview Post Office named after singer-songwriter Steve Goodman, most widely known for his song "City of New Orleans" but best known locally in these parts as the man behind the "Go, Cubs, Go" song that the team plays after wins (which hasn't been very often this season) and the (sadly) more realistic, "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request." Today, President Obama signed that proposal, paving the way for the post office at 1343 W. Irving Park to be named after him. Goodman studied at the Old Town School of Folk Music along with other folk heavy hitters like Roger McGuinn and John Prine. Goodman died in 1984 from leukemia. In a statement, Rep. Quigley said: more ›

As if you don't have enough reminders, today is April 15 aka Tax Day. And, protests aside, the big concern today for all you last-minute filers is the post office, right? Lucky for you, as always, some local post offices will be open 'til midnight to ensure you get your taxes postmarked on time. The U.S. Postal Service answers a few questions you may have about mailing off your tax returns and three area post offices will be open late to help you out: more ›

Last Fall, we took a look at some of the communities and abandonments on the far South side and in Northwest Indiana. While the weather hasn't been amenable to walking the City of the Century, David Tribby has shared some of his photography of Gary with us. This week, we'll be looking at some of the notable abandoned buildings there. For a more in depth look at the architecture of the once-great city, check out his book, Gary Indiana, a City's Ruins. more ›

A British developer will not buy the massive $40 million Chicago post office he won the rights to purchase, Chicago Breaking News reports. more ›

• The White House responded today to the video footage of the brawl in which 16-year-old Derrion Albert was killed.
• The New York Times has announced plans for a local edition in Chicago.
• The investor who bought the city's large old main post office has missed a deadline, putting the deal in jeopardy.

• Police have arrested a teenager in connection with the stabbing death of his mother's boyfriend; the mother and boyfriend had been fighting and the teen allegedly stabbed the man to protect his mother.
• What not to do when protesting a traffic ticket: threaten authorities with a BB gun.
• Thomas J. Thibeault, executive director for the Chicago Newspaper Guild, has reported that there appears to be a second bidder interested in purchasing the Sun-Times Media Group.

Attention, 60622 and 60610 residents: You may be getting a new zipcode. If you live in 60610 on West Chicago or south of it, starting July 1 you'll be in 60654. And if you live in 60622 on Ashland or east of it, your new digits are 60642. more ›

Oh man, we almost forgot about the Children's Museum debate! Luckily, Alderman Brendan Reilly wants to keep it front and center, which is why he sent the Museum a list of 24 possible places it could relocate that aren't Grant Park: more ›

Ugh, Chicago's post office is the worst. No, literally, it's still the worst in America when it comes to in-town deliveries and one-day service. At least we're improving? more ›

Drew Peterson is saying his wife, missing Bolingbrook woman Stacy Peterson, left him. The Post Office lost a bunch of state unemployment checks. D'oh! A luxury movie theater will be going in a Block 37. Earl Hughes, 24, was shot and killed early Tuesday morning on the 5300 block of West Wabansia. Hughes's younger brother Robert is a running back for Notre Dame. Have a happy, safe, fun Halloween night, everybody! Holiday wishes from... more ›

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness - we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts... more ›

Hell may freeze over yet. After all of daddy John’s efforts to demolish old Cook County General Hospital, Todd Stroger’s leading the charge to renovate the beast. The Toddler plans to make it an agenda at next week’s County Board meeting. Preservation and renovation carry a price tag of roughly $140 million. For now, the plan is to turn the 93-year-old structure into medical office space, libraries, a day-care center and, if there’s any space... more ›

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. We were so busy between scouring the Printer’s Row Book Fair and lounging at the Chicago Blues Fest that we almost forgot to pick just one book for this month, in fact, we couldn’t and had to let fate, otherwise known as the Post Office, decide. You guys had some pretty awesome suggestions and we almost thought there would be a throw down over whose author was more prestigious... more ›

The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival movies have been announced. Also, while we were on the City's crappy events site we noticed that the Chicago Jazz Fest and the Chicago Blues Fest schedules are available now, too. LA says that if they get the Olympics they'll make about $2.7 billion. Chicago isn't sayin' shit! On police brutality: Remember that case where the cops fired into a car with 11 youths in it during the 1998... more ›

To help keep Lincoln Park Zoo free, they will sell beer and wine this summer. You can enjoy a buzz to help you forget the ambivalence you feel while seeing cool animals ... locked up. The suspect arrested today who is accused of being "The Bishop," a man who sent threatening letters and mail bombs ... used to be a mail carrier. Dear Lord. What's up with the Post Office? Animals are crapping in... more ›

As everyone in Chicago should know by now (if only due to reading Chicagoist), the Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, started filming here last week. In the course of preparation, crews turned the old Post Office on Harrison into a Gotham-ready edifice. Planners and conservationists have wondered what to do with the hulking 1920s relic ever since it was vacated in 1996, but we doubt any of them wanted to set it on fire.... more ›

At Chicagoist we sometimes go by the motto "Why do today what we can do tomorrow?" So while some other blogs told you about free and discounted food and drink you can get on tax day yesterday, celebrating tax day is nothing if not celebrating the spirit of procrastination, right? After all, the post office is open until midnight tonight, and they aren't doing that for all the motivated folks who filed their taxes in... more ›

Chicagoist is all about your on-the-street reporting, so when we received news of a coyote running through downtown this afternoon, we had to pass it along. more ›

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like... more ›

This photo shows what you do not want to see when you look out the CTA train's window. There was a "small track fire" on the Brown Line tonight. More» more ›

It seems the mail at our abode goes through phases, occasionally we get everything in a timely manner and other times we receive our last three issues of The Week all at one time. Our mail is delivered by a sweet lady, so we tend to let things slide, even though our entire building has to sort out the mail that isn't theirs and drop it in front of doors. If anything, the post office... more ›

We're torn. On the one hand, every time we hear that the Post Office is about to raise its rates again, we think, "Are you kidding me? You just raised rates, what? Two years ago? C'mon!" Cause we hate it when anything goes up in price, and it seems like when we were kids, the raising of the price of a stamp happened every ten years, and it seemed like such a monumental milestone. Of... more ›

While we like to think of ourselves as culturally aware, we have to admit that we are pretty unaware when it comes to Kwanzaa. Aside from seeing a small exhibit about the holiday at the DuSable Museum of African-American History, and hearing a woman at the post office wishing a clerk a “Happy Kwanzaa!” (the first we’d ever heard it said, mind you), our encounters with the celebration have been few and far between. more ›

Fed up with all you fancy pants online bill-payers, the U.S. Postal Service is removing hundreds of street-corner mailboxes from Chicago. They conduct quarterly surveys of mailbox use, and remove those that collect fewer than 25 pieces of mail each day. They blame the internet, with email and online bill pay replacing the need for most first-class mail, and also cite security concerns for removing boxes near potential terrorist targets like the Sears Tower. more ›

You might not have noticed it, what with you having to be at work and all, but today is a holiday. That means that you won't be getting mail, and you don't have to go to court -- city, state, or federal (we're looking at you, Patrick Fitzgerald). Beside the Post Office and government offices, public and most private elementary, middle, and high schools are closed today as well, but not the colleges and universities... more ›

Oh the schemes people can hatch when left to their own devices. Whether it's a novel way to get even with your neighbor, planning ahead so you can deposit that money you stole on the way home, a scam to rip off an amusement park, or just an excuse to go get a sandwich, there was no limit to creativity in this week's chronicle of stupidity. more ›

Everyone's heard now, the guy who ran over the cabbie with his own cab - he got 15 years in prison. Hey, Quinn, way to piss off the Post Office with your tea bag protest! John Ronan wants to turn the old abandoned post office in the Loop into the largest municipal cemetery in the world. Lyric Opera Radio. "Sculpting" via Blank Campbell. The Photographer notes that the description of the sculpture explained that... more ›

Chicagoist hopes you’re busy celebrating Labor Day the way most folks do: by sitting around on your fat ass and drinking some beer (BBQ called on account of rain). Admit it: you deserve a break. Even though Federal, state, city and county offices will be closed along with banks and the post office, many people are spending the day working in our fair city, so it’s only right that we take a brief look at... more ›

This week was a little light on the stupid, but we know it’s just because you’re saving it all up for the big holiday weekend. Grills, beer, fireworks – the possibilities are endless. No, seriously, we want you to be safe and commit no crazy crimes. Really, we do. more ›

It’s just an address—2851 North Halsted—that a few Lakeview condo owners will soon call home. The post office, utility companies, and most of Chicago are fairly indifferent to the new construction and what it displaced. But dedicated theatergoers and Chicago history buffs will need a moment to compose themselves as the wrecking ball meets the building once home to the Steppenwolf Theatre, the Organic Touchstone, and the St. Nicholas Players (the launching pad for some kid named David Mamet). Steppenwolf has moved on and current tenant ComedySportz will transfer to nifty new facilities, but that doesn’t diminish the spiritual importance of this scruffy Lakeview space. more ›