It looks like President Barack Obama is a card carrying member of the iPhone nation now, because the hippest leader of the free world joined the Instagram photo sharing service this week. The service boast over 15 million users and has taken the art of taking cell phone photos and adding a layer of nostalgia via various filters, thus allowing even the crappiest photographer to create something slightly less crappy. Ah, sentimentality, your powers are strong. more ›

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) decided to take a swipe at Chicago during his criticism of President Obama and the National Labor Relations Board's lawsuit against aerospace company Boeing. more ›

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama flew into Chicago today to tape an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. (An appearance that became much more interesting with the release of his birth certificate.) To clear the Presidential motorcade's trip from Lake Shore Drive to the HARPO studios, Lake Shote Drive was closed in both directions between Soldier Field and 31st Street this morning. So were portions of the Kennedy, Dan Ryan and Stevenson Expressways where they feed into LSD. more ›

While the nation is trying to overcome unemployment, Illinois alone battling with one of the highest tax rates, the concern is how the NFL is going to dish out their $9 billion per year… really? Yes. But don't expect President Obama to drop everything and 'save the day'. more ›

• Tom Dart still isn't saying anything about a mayoral run even as a Rahmbo run becomes more likely.
• Today in "What is wrong with people?" - President Obama is still having to defend his faith.
• Downtown traffic was temporarily disrupted today by a suspicious package.

File this one under: "hot topics that have nothing to do with the U.S. Senate race in Illinois." Yet that didn't keep either Dem candidate Alexi Giannoulias or GOP candidate Mark Kirk from weighing in on the controversy over the proposed community center and mosque blocks from Ground Zero in New York City that would share the same "hallowed ground" as a strip club, an OTB, and a Vitamin Shoppe. According to an Associated Press report, Alexi has come out in support of the mosque: "He says while he sympathizes with those who lost loved ones, Americans must stand up for freedom of religion even when it's difficult." It maintains the same line of support President Obama has expressed for the community center/mosque. more ›

Over the weekend, President Obama, back in Washington, D.C. after a stop-over here in Chicago last week, assembled a team of basketball stars and legends for a special charity for game for wounded troops. Among the players - which included Bill Russell and Magic Johnson - were current Bulls Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. Media were barred from the game meaning we'll likely never see any kind of epic dunk Carmelo Anthony slammed over our Commander-in-Chief or if Obama was able to break Magic's ankles on a sweet cross-over. All we know is the above photo the White House released in which we assume Noah and Rose are laughing him. more ›

Wars, oil spill, and Tea Partiers. 2010 has been pretty rough on our Commander-in-Chief which is why we can't begrudge him a little cake and even a quick cat nap in his own bed when he returns to Chicago today for a whirlwind trip (look for him to fly over Chicago around 5 p.m.) involving a trio of fundraisers and a visit to the South Side's Ford plant. He's also doing it alone as the Obama ladies are all off on other business. And while Obama will apparently have Rahmbo by his side, that's still no way to spend your birthday. So we've compiled a list of gifts we're getting him in the hopes that material things will cheer him up when Sarah Palin posts an admonishment on her Facebook page for him not eating apple pie for his birthday instead. more ›

• Fallen Chicago Police Officer Michael Bailey, the third officer killed in two months, was laid to rest today.
• Plans for the city's third Wal-Mart are moving along quickly.
• President Obama is throwing a fundraiser for his birthday right here in Chicago in early August but tickets are $30,000 a pop, which is just slightly more than you'll spend getting into Lollapalooza.

Maybe Alexi Giannoulias isn't political kryptonite after all. President Obama will return to Chicago on August 5th to fundraise for Giannoulias in the race to fill Obama’s old Senate seat (aka "The Race No One Seems To Want To Win"). According to the Giannoulias campaign, Obama’s support comes at a critical time, as Mark Kirk’s campaign has nearly $4 million compared to Giannoulias’s $1 million. Campaign Manager Michael Redina said “ The President's visit will reinforce the importance of the clear choice Illinois voters face between Alexi, who supports helping the President move America forward, and career Congressman Mark Kirk, who wants to go back to the same failed Bush policies that got us into this mess” in a statement on the campaign website. more ›

Because you weren't doing anything at work this afternoon anyways, try your hand at captioning this shot from the White House Photostream. Taken at Tacky Jacks, President Obama is refreshing his palate with an iced tea during his 4th trip to the Gulf of Mexico to assess the BP oil spill situation. more ›

Last night, President Obama made the first Oval Office address of his presidency, using the speech to discuss the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as well as the ongoing recovery efforts along the coast (read a full transcript here). Calling the spill "the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced," Obama claimed that within two to three weeks, a cap could be in place that would contain as much as 90 percent of the oil gushing into the Gulf. He also discussed the "recklessness" of BP and talked of a compensation fund provided by BP but controlled by a third party. Obama also used the speech as a platform for energy reform, pushing for less dependence on oil. Following the speech, BP issued a statement, saying, "We share the president's goal of shutting off the well as quickly as possible, cleaning up the oil and mitigating the impact on the people and environment of the Gulf Coast. We look forward to meeting with President Obama tomorrow for a constructive discussion about how best to achieve these mutual goals." more ›

No, that's not a headline from The Onion. That's a real question being considered by CBS 2 this morning. Apparently, President Obama's use of the word "ass" has some folks tittering that he needs sit quietly with a bar of soap in his mouth. The best part? While CBS 2 censors the word in the story, they were kind enough to keep it in the url. But, seriously...who cares? With the Gulf of Mexico filling up with oil, a former governor on trial for corruption and a former city police commander on trial for torture perjury, the President's use of a word you hear on any number of primetime network tv shows and songs on the radio and t-shirts and God knows where else warrants this much attention? The people who are concerned about the language he uses are probably the same people who got upset with his "beer summit" last year (as opposed to, say, a Snapple summit). At least he can correctly pronounce the words he uses. And it's not his word choice that we're concerned with, it's the substance of the words and his ability to back them up. In that theme, we'll try to even this out with the following video exploring the words of another person who's been in the news lately: BP CEO Tony Hayward. more ›

Some are beginning to question just how much longer Rahm Emanuel will be occupying the office of Chief of Staff for President Obama. Which, of course, leads to a couple other questions - who gets the seat next, and what would Rahmbo do afterwards? He's already expressed an interest in taking the mayor's office, he's long desired to be Speaker of the House and the head of the Democratic National Convention, and then there are those pesky "placeholder" rumors about his initial appointment to his current position. Couple all this with the growing drumbeats about the unnamed "administration official" who might have, sorta, accidentally, illegally offered Joe Sestak a gig to drop out of the race with Arlen Specter. So what's the deal? more ›

With all this talk of BP locally in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, you might want to check this out, live video from the oil gush in the Gulf. Today, BP will attempt a "top kill," a technique meant to clog the damaged well and stop the flow of oil. However, BP claims it won't broadcast the procedure itself, scheduled to start sometime this morning. President Obama is scheduled to visit the Gulf Coast on Friday, his second trip there since the spill amidst reports that even his usually cool demeanor is beginning to heat up with the ongoing catastrophe. more ›

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor at a church the Obamas attended and the source of much consternation for Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, has lashed out. In a letter to Africa 6000 International when the group was raising money for Haiti relief and obtained by the Associated Press (dated February 18, 2010) Wright says: more ›

If the kitchens of Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and Xoco seem strangely devoid of Rick Bayless in the coming weeks, you can blame President Obama. Bayless has been tapped by Obama to head the kitchen for the upcoming state dinner with El Presidente of Mexico, Felipe Calderón. The New York Times reports that the celebrity chef will be helming the kitchen on May 19th, the second celebrity chef to run a state dinner menu. Marcus Samuellson, currently receiving the arrogant-jerk-edit on this season's Top Chef Masters, cooked for the Indian Prime Minister back in November. more ›

Calling her "one of the nation's foremost legal minds," President Obama has nominated Solicitor General and former University of Chicago law school professor Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court. Kagan will replace the retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, who will step down this summer. Kagan also worked under the Clinton administration and served as dean of Harvard Law School. If she is confirmed, it will mark the first time that the SCOTUS would have three sitting female justices. Of course, with any nomination, there will be partisan scrutiny and while Kagan is said to be a good pick because of her ability to appeal across the political spectrum, there are still some issues that opponents will go after. The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy and Kagan's brief ban of military recruiters from Harvard Law School's campus while she was dean will be a topic of conversation, even though Kagan did so within the law and the policy was no different than that of several other schools. Kagan will also face questions about her experience, specifically her lack of judicial experience. Per the New York Times: more ›

The judge presiding over former governor Rod Blagojevich's trial has ruled against allowing Blago to subpoena President Obama. more ›

With the video of Champaign mayor Jerry Schweighart expressing his skepticism regarding President Obama's citizenship status making the rounds this weekend, reactions are starting to roll in. Champaign-Urbana's Smiling Politely caught up with John O'Connor, the University of Illinois grad student who shot the controversial video and claimed he hadn't set out to bait Schweighart into saying anything controversial. more ›

Amidst the usual claims at Tea Party rallies on Thursday that President Obama was both a Socialist and a Marxist, the Birther conspiracy raised its ugly head once again. In an interview conducted during a Tax Day Tea Party and posted on the internet, Champaign mayor Jerry Schweighart expressed doubt about President Obama's citizenship, saying, "I don't think he's American, personally." more ›

After weeks of rumors and conjecture, Supreme Court Justice (and Chicago native) John Paul Stevens announced he will retire this summer, in late June or early July. Stevens is the oldest member of the SCOTUS - he turns 90 in less than two weeks - and leads the liberal group of SCOTUS justices, so his departure and subsequent replacement will not likely change the current conservative-liberal balance of the SCOTUS. Stevens' timing will mean the Obama administration will be able to name a replacement and hold confirmation hearings before the November mid-term elections. It'll be the second SCOTUS appointment for President Obama after appointing Sonia Sotomayor last year to replace David Souter. more ›

President Obama recently sat down with the "Today" show's Matt Lauer. While most of the interview was typical fluff (basketball, his faith), we did take some interest in the below segment addressing partisanship and the Tea Party movement. Obama is, unsurprisingly, very pragmatic in his answers but in the wake of the battle over health care reform, it's interesting to see him address the group, including the birther accusations. more ›

The Tribune has obtained a recording of a speech Illinois Senate Candidate Mark Kirk gave to a GOP audience in Winnetka late last week where he promised to lead the fight to repeal the newly passed health care reform bill. “I’m Mark Kirk and I can’t wait to vote against the health care bill next week,” Kirk said, after saying that the GOP was on its way to making Barack Obama a "one-termer." When asked what he would do if the bill passed, Kirk told the audience member that he would lead the charge to repeal it. “There is one thing about the bill not commonly known: All of the pain of the bill is upfront and all of the gain is later. What do I mean? The bill includes 10 new federal taxes, and dramatic cuts for senior health care under Medicare between 2010 and 2014,” Kirk said. “The actual benefit of the bill doesn’t start until 2014. In between this time and then, is a presidential election. If we can win in the White House -- and we’re on the way to making this guy a one termer -- then if we move to repeal this bill in 2013, all you’re doing is removing the pain and not a single American would have benefited from it yet. And so, as your senator, I would lead the effort, if it passes, to repeal this bill.” more ›

By now, we all know that the U.S. House voted to pass the Senate's version of the health care reform bill by a 219-212 vote. House Dems saw a small splintering as 219 voted yes and 34 voted no; the GOP voted a straight 178-0 against the bill. After voting down a GOP motion to recommit the bill, the House then passed a reconciliation bill that will make changes to the approved legislation by a 220-211 vote; that bill now heads to the Senate. As for the main health care reform bill, here's how area reps voted on the bill: more ›

The House vote on the Senate version of President Obama's health care reform bill approaches this afternoon even as House Democrat leaders scramble to make sure they have the 216 votes necessary to pass the bill. The New York Times reported that as of yesterday afternoon, "Ms. Pelosi appeared to be within 8 votes of the 216 she needed to approve the bill, with 19 Democrats still uncommitted." This morning, Dem leaders reported that they have the 216 votes but that it was still "in flux." Republicans will oppose the bill across the board; Rep. Anh Cao (LA-R) was the lone Republican who voted for the first version of the bill last fall said he would oppose this bill because of this version's “expansion of abortion, an absolute moral evil.” The difference in language pertaining to abortion between this Senate version and the original version the House passed last fall has been at the center of debate. more ›

Speaking to a crowd of 20,000 followers at the United Center yesterday, Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan warned of a "white right" conspiracy against President Obama. The event, commemorating Saviours' Day, featured a four-hour speech from Farrakhan in which he predicted trouble for President Obama. Farrakhan, who claims he can foretell certain events ("The word 'prophet' is too cheap a word. I am a light in the midst of darkness."), warned President Obama of a conspiracy against him from conservatives. From the Associated Press: more ›

After multiple promises, President Obama has finally started the process for the repeal of the controversial, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Sec. Robert Gates made the call before the Senate Armed Services Committee today. Gates said that such a repeal, which will require an act of Congress, could take up to a year. In the meantime, Gates said the current policy would be enforced “in a fairer manner." But it won't be an easy road: besides deeper issues within the military - including benefits, housing, and misconduct, according to Gates - there's certainly a bipartisan element. Per the New York Times: more ›

Last night, President Obama delivered his first official State of the Union speech to a joint session of U.S. Congress. The President focused largely on the economy before moving on the social issues such as health care reform and promising to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. He also further addressed national security issues and partisanship within Congress. You can view the entire speech above and read the text here. Virginia governor Robert McDonnell delivered the GOP response which you can view here and read here. more ›

This week, we're counting down the top 9 stories of 2009 according to the Chicagoist staff. more ›