Results tagged “richardj”

“I miss the beat,” says Bill Cameron. “But hopefully I'll be able to get back to it sooner rather than later.” Cameron is no longer on that beat because he was let go by his employers, WLS Radio, a couple Fridays back in what's being called the Leap Day Massacre. So, seeing as how he had some extra time on his hands, we decided to get in touch with him and talk about nearly 40 years of experience covering Chicago politics. [Full disclosure: Your humble author used to work with Cameron at WLS.]

The crowd at Bernice's Tavern was separated into smaller groups. They were huddled together, studying a board containing ten photographs of church steeples and facades.

We got an e-mail today from a national travel magazine fact-checker wondering about local lingo. Some of the terms are definitely things we're familiar with, but..."the prairie"? Huh. Let 'er rip, cats and kittens. Would you agree that while the term "Chi-Town" means "Chicago," it's rarely spoken by a resident? Does the term "dees and doze guy" refer to a working class local who speaks with a Chicago accent? Does the term "dragged through...

Two weeks ago, in what was considered a rare act of humility, Japanese Emperor Akihito apologized to his countrymen, taking responsibility for a bluegill infestation that's wreaked havoc on Japan's ecosystem by bringing home a pair of the fish from a trip to the States nearly fifty years ago. "Bluegills are the ones I brought back from the U.S. some 50 years ago and donated to a Fisheries Agency research institute", Akihito said. "In those...

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Harold Washington. The Chicago of 1983 was very different from the Chicago of 2007: factories were shutting down, and white middle-class homeowners were leaving the city in droves, taking their property taxes and urban stability with them. An alarming upswing in crime and drugs, coupled with escalating racial tensions left many Chicagoans nervous about the future. Richard J. Daley had been dead for seven years, and...

By all accounts, Park Grill in Millennium Park has been doing wonderful business. It's not surprising, given its location. They also have a sweetheart deal with the Park District. Instead of leasing their digs, Park Grill has a 20-year concession contract with the Park District, with a 10-year option. They also don't have to pay for water, gas, or garbage collection. Lowers the overhead for running the restaurant just a little bit, wouldn't you agree?

What's 50 feet tall, weighs 162 tons, was forged in Gary, Indiana and has no name? No, that's not the start of a really bad joke, it's a description of the statue that Pablo Picasso gave to Chicago in 1967. Many of us local yokels know it as The Picasso. And it just turned 40.

When we were kids, we used to swim in a lake near our house. However, as the years went by, algae began to over take the water, and soon, the once fun summer spot became nothing more than a marshy swamp-like area of water riddled with insects.

Didn't someone yesterday just say it's a good thing Papa Daley never built the fabled Crosstown Expressway? Well, Mike Madigan must have been reading, and he disagrees. The Illinois House Speaker brought up the idea again yesterday to the surprise of many, including Governor Rod. Madigan's version of the Crosstown Expressway would be a toll road running from the Kennedy/Edens junction in the north, along Cicero Avenue to 75th Street, then cutting east to the...

You may not realize it, but 30 years ago today, Richard J. Daley died, leaving the city without the mayor it had known for nearly a generation, and setting the stage for three terms of political infighting, drama, and chaos in City Hall. The Sun-Times has reprinted the report it published that day in 1976, as well as Mike Royko's column about the man, and the myth. We here at Chicagoist have taken our jabs...

For the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, the answer is simple: put down the blowtorch. This year, two high-profile historic buildings have been destroyed by torch-related accidents. The Pilgrim Baptist Church, a centenarian Adler and Sullivan beauty, smoldered in January, and just a few weeks ago, scrap workers accidentally torched the Wirt Dexter Building using the same tool. The LPC calls for new laws restricting such cutting and welding operations at historic sites. Beyond these...

Chicago residents with any sort of institutional memory shouldn't be surprised by the news, but it still upsetting to hear, officially, that this city beats out New York AND L.A. for the highest rate of police shootings. It's not the kind of list we want to be topping.

After more than two months of being totally out of commission and out of the public eye it seems John Stroger and his wife are selling their South Side home. The $289,000 home in Pill Hill, which Stroger has lived in since 1968, already has interested buyers. That’s all well and good. But while the politicians who are still actually reporting to their elected offices debate about whether it is disrespectful to debate about whether...

A favorite theory of many JFK assassination buffs is that the mob, led by Chicago boss Sam Giancana (pictured right), ordered a hit on the president as payback for double-crossing them after they helped him win the 1960 presidential election. When Kennedy won Illinois, many Richard Nixon supporters claimed that then-Mayor Richard J. Daley's political machine in Chicago had fixed the city election, thus helping Kennedy carry the state. But others, most notably investigative reporter...

Last night we had a dream (or maybe a night[da]mare). In the dream, a parade of Chicagoans marched to city hall (torches and pitchforks in hand), up 5 floors and through the doors of Daley's office. Ron Huberman tried to stop them, but somebody kicked him in the nuts, and the mob plowed past. They grabbed the squealing Daley, tied him up and headed outside with him in tow on a rope. They headed to the Richard J. Daley Center's plaza singing "Ding dong! The Boss go'n' be dead. Which old boss? The second one!"

To prevent any possible damage during the construction of a 230,000 square-foot wing designed by architect Renzo Piano, Marc Chagall's "American Windows" will be removed temporarily from the Art Institute of Chicago on May 2, 2005. If you anticipate wanting to see the piece in the next four years, you'd better get down to the museum in the next week-and-a-half. The new wing isn't expected to be completed until 2009.

We all watch enough (especially SVU) to know that if you whack off at a library once, you've probably done it before. Police said anyone who has witnessed similar behavior should call detectives at 630-305-5276 or the Naperville CrimeStoppers Hotline at 630-420-6006.