Any fans of Food Network's 24 Hour Restaurant Battle? Well, next Friday you can have the chance to join the show, as Food Network will be casting in Chicago! 24 Hour Restaurant Battle is the reality show wherein contestants have to take an empty space and turn it into a serving restaurant, with a budget of only $5000. Do you have what it takes? Do you want to find out? If you make it on the show and win, you will get $10,000 to invest in your own restaurant concept - plus the fame and fortune of reality stardom and a chance to meet all of the celebrity judges. more ›

Twitter just keeps causing problems for the Guillen clan. It was only a few weeks ago that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen began tweeting and immediately drew the ire of team management. And while Sox GM Kenny Williams may have been worried about what Oz could say in under 140 characters, it's instead his middle son Oney who's caused the latest Twitter firestorm. more ›

It's been an eventful end of the week for the Blagojevich family. First, Patti returned from the wilds of Costa Rica after being voted off the reality show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here. Husband Rod, daughters Amy and Annie, and sister State Rep. Deb Mell were at O'Hare to greet Patti upon her return. When asked about the experience, Patti said, "It was nice to go down there and meet people that didn't have an agenda with me, that became my friends and it helped restore my faith in people." Rod added, "She's a heckuva lot more popular [than him]." more ›

• Members of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid team were to hold a secret meeting this afternoon with aldermen to allay their fears about putting taxpayers on the hook for the cost.
• The amazing story of Ald. Don Parrillo.
• State lawmakers are taking a break from working on the budget and will reconvene Monday to pick the problem back up.

With a trip to Costa Rica and an appearance on an NBC reality game show in her very near future, Patti Balgojevich is making all the necessary plans for someone that's going to be in the jungle. According to the AP (via WLS), Patti "has gotten the necessary travel vaccinations and has attended yoga classes inside a room heated to more than 100 degrees to help her acclimate to Costa Rica's hot weather." She'll also get to take one luxury item with her and she told WVON this week that she's thinking about taking her pillow. No word on whether or not her husband's hair is considered a "luxury item." more ›

From the dangerous jungle of Springfield to the literal jungles of Costa Rica. This morning comes confirmation of what we pretty much knew was going to happen all along: Patti Blagojevich will be on the NBC show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Outta Here." WBEZ has the press release which has all the details, including the fact that the ex-governor will also somehow be involved in the show "in other ways which will be a surprise." more ›

Since her husband can't leave the state to participate in the reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Outta Here," it looks like Patti Blagojevich will step up to the plate and take one for Team Blago. The Sun-Times Natasha Korecki is reporting that Patti and NBC are in discussions to put her on the show in her husbands place. Well, we suppose she could use a job... more ›

The Blagojevich Circus had a tent taken down today as U.S. District Judge James Zagel told former governor Rod Blagojevich he would not be allowed to leave the country and travel to Costa Rica to participate in the reality show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. With the show paying $80,000 an episode, Blago told reporters before his hearing it was for the children: "I have to do it for my kids." Judge Zagel had other ideas, telling Blago, "I don't think this defendant in all honesty ... fully understands the position he finds himself in." Maybe Blago can sweet talk himself into a reality show a little closer to home; we've got plenty of suggestions. Our favorite update of Blago's court appearance today comes from the S-T's Natasha Korecki: "blago emerges from dunkin donuts. giant grin on face. pace bus almost runs over media." [Sun-Times] more ›