Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani hit the campaign trail in Illinois today for Gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady and Senate candidate Mark Kirk. Giuliani met with Brady this morning in Brady’s home town of Bloomington and stumps for Kirk this afternoon in Chicago. Republicans hope to use Giuliani’s “tough on crime” status and 9/11 credentials to boost support in an already close electioral race. Aides for Kirk said the two men would endorse legislation providing $20 million for a national anti-gang task force. more ›

Today's the big day. Along with 24 other states, we're voting in Super Duper Tuesday. Up for grabs are 1688 pledged Democratic delegates, and 900 Republican delegates. Delegate-heavy states such as California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois and Georgia could play a deciding role in the outcome of both races. But with polling showing a tight Democratic race, and Obama working overtime to split votes in odd-numbered districts, tonight's results won't produce a nominee for the Democrats. more ›

John McCain changed careers last night, from the candidate who was almost out of money (and the race) last summer to quite possibly the Republican presidential nominee. He's now the man to beat. The close but critical win in Florida gave him 57 delegates and a solid lead going into Super Duper Tuesday, (there are no superdelegates at the Republican National Convention). Hillary Clinton won the non-binding Florida race, a largely symbolic victory that featured virtually no campaigning and earned her no delegates to the convention. more ›

The Tribune Editorial Board released its list of endorsements in the upcoming Illinois primaries on February 5. Among the list are 3rd District Congressman Dan Lipinski (striking a blow to challenger and progressive blog champion Mark Pera) and tenacious ice cream magnate Jim Oberweis -- running for Congress in the 14th District -- who is determined to get himself elected to some office, somewhere, some time (we hear Sugar Grove is looking for a new mayor, perhaps he should start there). They also endorse Senator Dick Durbin's challenger, Steve Sauerberg, who has about as much chance of unseating Durbin as Spanky the Clown. more ›

Michigan defied the conventional wisdom yesterday, giving Mitt Romney 30 delegates to the national convention and his second primary win. more ›

So the Sun-Times is laying off reporters, but it still has the money to run a moronic article about presidential candidates' sexiness? John Edwards is "not exactly wet-T-shirt sexy, but it still sets a few hearts aflutter," Rudy Giuliani is "now rather frigid," John McCain is "a far cry from a sexy man in uniform," Hillary Clinton has "stripped herself of the trappings of sexuality and femininity," Mike Huckabee "Preacher. Moving right along...," Mitt Romney's "tendency to flip-flop on certain issues belies his discomfort with sexuality," and Barack Obama "exudes the most sex appeal of the bunch." [S-T] more ›

The big news from the campaign trail yesterday evening was an emotional moment with Hillary Clinton and a group of sympathetic, yet undecided, New Hampshire voters. When asked "how do you do it? How do you keep up ... and who does your hair?", Hillary Clinton choked up as she responded, tears welling up in her eyes. Less widely reported, however, was an incident of two men who heckled her in Salem, NH, holding signs that read "Iron My Shirt", and chanting the same slogan. As the hecklers were removed, Clinton responded "ah, the remnants of sexism" to cheers from the crowd. “I’m also running to break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling,” she told the audience. more ›

The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits... more ›

File this one under "Color Us Surprised": Obama was interested in girls, drank alcohol and experimented with drugs in high school. Obama made a campaign stop at a study hall in Manchester New Hampshire yesterday and answered students' questions. Prior to meeting with the students, Obama unveiled an $18 billion plan that would expand public education from pre-school through 12th grade. He also criticized No Child Left Behind. To their credit, the high schoolers had... more ›

Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar is expected to endorse Rudy Giuliani's presidential candidacy today, according to the Chicago Tribune. The endorsement comes as Giuliani makes several fundraising stops in Illinois. Besides Edgar, he has the backing of former governor Jim Thompson and Illinois Republican House Leader Tom Cross. With the Illinois GOP divided ideologically and Republicans desperately seeking Ronald Reagan, the Giuliani campaign is hoping that an endorsement by Edgar will help shore up his... more ›

In probably his most bizarre comment to date, Rudy Giuliani paid Barack Obama a big compliment yesterday. In a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Giuliani cited Obama's statement that he would engage leaders of renegade nations, including meeting with leaders of Iran, Cuba and North Korea, without precondition. "Then he went on to explain that Ronald Reagan negotiated with the communists," Giuliani told the audience. "I say this most respectfully: You're not Ronald Reagan,... more ›

Issues, shmissues. The real story is that the terrorist madrassa-taught, non-black, freedom-hating Barack Hussein Obama doesn't wear an American-flag lapel pin. We were startled when last night's TV news tag line said, "Why is Obama's patriotism in question? Tonight at 9." Though we have been suckered into watching the news based on these tag lines before, we were again let down when it was all about a pin. Those awe-inspiring pins are a standard among... more ›

One day after Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson stopped by Chicago for a fundraiser, Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani visited Chicago for a fundraiser. Conventional wisdom holds that Giuliani is the man to beat for the GOP nomination, but Fred Thompson has his supporters too. "I think he has a homespun quality that is appealing.... [H]e comes across as a guy that is very comfortable in his own skin and I think he has a... more ›

Londonist are starting to think their city is getting just a little bit too expensive, when even Christian Slater can't afford to go out there. And there's no escaping, as local singer Lily Allen discovered when she was barred entry to the US. The British mapping agency caused further bad karma, by blocking a 3-D representation of London in Google Earth. But the smiles returned to Londonist's faces as they interviewed Baroness von Reichardt,... more ›

- "Fast Eddie's Last Race:" Vrdolyak pleads not guilty to bribery charges. - More goodness from Tony Rezko. - Rudy Giuliani's teenage daughter is an Obama girl. - The art of the deal: Mayor Daley reaches labor peace, brokering a 10-year deal with city trade unions that may help attract the 2016 Summer Olympics. - Don't get used to it: Steve Stone fills in for Darrin Jackson (who's in Arizona waiting for his wife... more ›

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried... more ›

Were you aware that our state is the 2nd largest corn producer in the United States? According to Chicago Public Radio, the price of corn has doubled since this time last year and Illinois farmers are taking full advantage of it. Chris Gould, an Illinois farmer profiled in the story, said that normally during harvest season the price starts to drop and farmers are paid to hang on to the corn until the buyers need... more ›

Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and we here across the Gothamist network wanted to express would like to tell you, in the spirit of the holiday, just how much we love you, our readers. Don't let it get to your heads, though. There are plenty of things we love, you included. Just be glad you're not amongst the things we hate. SFist saw their beloved mayor enter rehab, and they loved the... more ›

Yesterday we gave you a preview of who might be running for president in the Democratic camp. Today we turn our focus to the right, looking at the Republican side of the primaries. Since Dick Cheney isn't going to seek the presidency this time around, the field is wide open for any Republican to join the fray, hoping that his agenda is the one that will resonate most with conservative voters. And not unlike the... more ›

Although President Bush has only a 35 percent approval rating in the U.S., the restaurant industry seems to have a much higher opinion. In the course of his one-hour speech at the National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place, Bush received several enthusiastic cheers and standing ovations. Chicagoist has attended the Restaurant Show for several years. The event draws some big-name speakers (Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, Ted Koppel), but no speaker has been as high-profile... more ›

Whee! Chicagoist just loves Cook County government! Between all the hospitals, and jails, and courts, and property taxes, there's just so much to love! That's why we're excited to read that Republican Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica is throwing down the gauntlet and holding a rally this Saturday to announce that he's running for County Board President. Sure it's been thirty-seven years since a Republican was County Board President. And of course current Democratic President... more ›