There is nothing normal about tomorrow's election in Wisconsin. more ›

Calling it "over the counter napalm," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has started a campaign to have all gel fuels banned. 37 people nationwide have been burned by gel fuel, and 4 of them were in Illinois, leading Madigan to demand their recall. We're sure that caterers everywhere cried at the news - gel fuels are most commonly used for keeping chafing dishes hot during service. more ›

Another recall - not a great week for Illinois food producers. The Tribune reports that Walnut Cheese Company, based in Bureau County, IL, is recalling some batches of its mozzarella products because they may be contaminated with antibiotic residues. Yummy. According the the Illinois Department of Public Health, eating the contaminated cheese may cause "anaphylaxis, cardiac arrhythmia, endocrine abnormalities, and cutaneous eruptions," but no illnesses have been reported. more ›

Belgian Style Ale, based on a letter from brewmaster Brett Porter sent yesterday. Unlike most recalls, which are filled with fear, coverups and blame avoidance, this one is suprisingly honest - the batches being recalled simply fell "outside of our desired taste profile," according to Porter. The beer is completely safe to drink, but it's not quite what they want it to be. more ›

Krunchers Inc. announced this weekend, via the Chicago Sun-Times, that it has recalled 18 cases of Jays Original Potato Chips because they include seasoning that has a milk allergen, which is not mentioned on the package's label. The Jeffersonville, Indiana company has notified its customers and is pulling chips from all the states it distributes to, including Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The product can be identified by a code in the upper right hand corner of the bag, which reads: JAN16CA542011, the company said. They are working with the Food and Drug Administration to carry out the recall. So far, no illnesses were reported and Krunchers--which is owned by Snyder's of Hanover Inc.--has stated that its other snack products were not affected. more ›

RC2 Corporation, the Oak Brook-based maker and marketer of Thomas & Friends wooden train toys, has agreed to pay a $1.25 million civil penalty in a settlement reached Monday with the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. The CPSC charged that RC2 had "knowingly" imported and sold Chinese-made toys with paints and surface coatings that contained excessive lead levels in violation of the federal lead paint ban. While the CPSC said it was the second largest penalty even imposed against a toymaker, RC2 denied that it had knowingly violated the federal lead paint ban. "All similar products that RC2 markets today meet or exceed not only safety standards set by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, but toy safety standards worldwide," the company said in a statement. "Toy safety is our top priority at RC2, and we have a comprehensive testing program in place that creates a strong protective barrier to provide parents added comfort and assure continued full compliance with product safety standards around the globe." more ›

• A Chicago Public Schools student has been arrested for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old.
• State legislators approved a plan to place a constitutional amendment that allows for the recall of the governor on next year's ballot.
• GQ has put together their list of D.C.'s most powerful people and Rahmbo comes in at Number One.

• The most updated swine flu er, H1N1 influenza A tally for Illinois stands at 20, give or take.
• If Judge Clayton Crane has his way, former Chicago police commander Jon Burge will have to testify in the torture case against him.
• Governor Quinn's reform commission panel stands by their decision to advise against a recall amendment.

At a press conference yesterday, Gov. Quinn mentioned that he still supports a recall amendment and hopes to get state lawmakers to consider a proposal when they return from their current break. Then-governor Rod Blagojevich was able to (barely) block the last proposal in the state assembly last May, but Quinn remains cautiously optimistic about his chances of getting a recall amendment approved. Said Quinn, “When we get back…[it's] one of my goals—to try just as quickly as we can to put this before the people of Illinois...I think it’s the ultimate way to get ethics in government-- if the voters and taxpayers feel the incumbent is failing them and betraying the public trust." Quinn says his proposal would be limited to only elected officials instead of the last proposal, which included a wider scope of public officials. [WGN 720 AM] more ›

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is warning drivers that they may have defective license plates stemming from the issue that "the plastic coating (referred to as reflective sheeting) on some of the state's new license plates is separating from the steel and has an appearance of bubbling around the identification numbers and letters." If you're license plate meets the standards, it can be replaced free of charge. The main concern is that the defect could cause problems for police identifying plates. Plates made since March 2004 don't qualify for replacement as they're made of aluminum and therefore aren't susceptible to the defect. more ›

Just when you thought we might get a break from the feuding downstate, the drama gets weirder. A bill passed the Illinois House yesterday, 80-25, that would give voters the right to recall elected officials including the governor, a la California. (.pdf of the bill here.) The recall election would work much like California's recall provision, asking voters if the office holder should be recalled while voting on a successor at the same time. more ›

People sure seem grumpy today. Maybe you just need a cookie. A homemade treat based on the Girl Scout cookie Samoas. We have heard people argue that Thin Mints are the best Girl Scout cookie, but that is hilariously wrong. Samoas are the best. more ›

Well, it wouldn't be a real week if we didn't have a least one troubling post about the state of the CTA, so here goes: One-fourth of the buses are 16 years old, and one-fifth of the tracks are "slow-zones." And it would cost $6 billion to fix this. Recall that the CTA budget has two sections: Capital and Operating. Most of the Doomsday talk is about operating costs, which means we've all been... more ›