Comedy is apparently a booming market again in Chicago. Last week came the news that The Lakeshore Theatre was being turned into a traditional comedy club by legendary Los Angeles comedy club, the Laugh Factory. Today comes news that the Second City has plans to renovate the space formerly occupied by Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding into a 280-seat theater for comedy-cabarets and stand-up performances. more ›

After a cost of $530 million, you would expect some of the wood used for the renovated Brown Line stations to last longer than they have. But they've already spent $300,000 since August 2008 replacing rotting wood at nine of the stations. more ›

Here’s an idea for the Chicago Fire Department to help fill that huge City budget gap---home renovations. Bear with us on this one. Local home sales numbers remain mired in the dumps, so people are going to need more work done on their houses. Apparently, some firehouses are filling the downtime between blazes with training to address that need. more ›

Remember last month when the Chicago transit Authority, beaming at the results of the North/Clybourn station renovation, said that they would open up naming rights to anything they owned to the highest bidder? more ›

Both Mayor Daley and Governor Quinn rejected the Ricketts family's proposal to renovate Wrigley Field using up to 35 years' worth of amusement tax growth in a bond offering. And it looked like both took very different approaches to do so. more ›

Actually, not a whole heck of a lot, for now. It seems that the new owners of Wrigley Field, as well as the Cubs (pending MLB owners' approval), have plans but they're a ways off. Which is understandable, given the boat-load of money they just dropped to buy the stadium and team (and a 25 percent stake in Comcast Sports Net Chicago). Sources familiar with the plans tell Crain's that any work to the stadium won't happen for four or five years and that even then the undertaking won't be as massive as the Tribune Company's renovation plans for the ballpark were; the Ricketts are aiming to spend around $250 million as opposed to the TribCo's $450 million-$600 million range. more ›

This summer, the University of Chicago approved the renovations of the reading rooms in Harper Memorial Library and Stuart Hall. John Boyer, Dean of the College, said, “Our goal is to restore this beautiful space to its deserved splendor. There will be new lighting, new furniture, new carpet, better technology—everything needed to make the space as useable, contemporary and welcoming as possible, while ensuring the history remains intact.” The renovated reading rooms, closed in June, will reopen in September. Chicagoist reader/Flickr pool contributor Avi Schwab got a peek earlier this summer at the beginning of the renovations and shared his gorgeous shots with us. more ›

Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park is open again, turned on last Friday evening in time for the IOC Committee. The fountain was dedicated August 26, 1927, over 80 years ago, and just underwent a $12 million facelift. Included in the renovation was new landscaping and replacement of the loose gravel that surrounds the fountain with permeable pavers. more ›

Sun-Times sports reporter Roman Modrowski wrote over at his Full Court Press blog yesterday about the Cubs opening a new sports bar inside the park at the start of the season. The bar, located at the Addison/Sheffield corner of the ballpark by the Harry Caray "I am Borg" statue, will be open year round, seat 491 patrons, managed by the fine folks behind Harry Caray's (who's Wrigleyville location at the former Hi-Tops space is kitty corner from the new bar), and not have a view of the field. Patrons holding tickets to Cubs games will be able to enter the park proper via a turnstyle in the bar. more ›