So that's how they do it. Photo by Icarusthebright A father of five was killed yesterday when he tried to stop his minivan from being carjacked. Eric Holmes, 36, grabbed onto the van's luggage rack and was killed when the car jacker ran into a concrete barrier. [Trib] The police have 30 days to give Drew Peterson his stuff back. [AP] An A+ missed connection: "Would I really accidentally park my car in a......

Blago and Mrs. Blago raked in $267,490 last year — $19,000 less than the year before. Still, that's about six times the median household income for Illinois. Todd Stroger told the Trib he'd "make the hard decisions," when it comes to his insane budget. Hard decisions like trying to raise the sales tax in Chicago to 11 percent. Speaking of people who want more of your money, ComEd wants to raise prices, too. And......

Good news, women of Illinois: We're in good company! Four of the top ten most powerful women in business are based here (or run companies that are). Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, comes in at number 5, thanks to acquiring a $7.2 billion "global biscuit business." Pat Woertz, chairman, CEO, and president of Decatur–based agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland, follows her at 6 because she brought in $44 billion in revenue. Number......

SHOOTING: Two homeless men shot in a 24 hour span in Uptown -- they appear to be unrelated. In more shooting news (why is there so much?!): Police have two "persons of interest" in custody Sunday morning after two teenagers were shot in a playlot on the South Side in the Woodlawn neighborhood, blocks from the University of Chicago campus. TRAINS: Our dear friend warns us: This is why you NEVER put headphones in......

Here are some other news items of note while we're at Millennium Park enjoying Muhal Richard Abrams and Reginald Robinson: The U.S. attorney's office has joined an ongoing Cook County probe into the rogue actions of an elite squad of the Chicago Police Department . Blue Line passengers can expect (more) delays starting this weekend. The sculptor who created Berwyn's spindle claims that the shopping plaza where it sits is "prostituting" the sculpture under......

- Y'all know we were under a flood watch today? Could've fooled us. - The Chicago Police department unsuccessfully tried to fire an officer for punching an elderly man in the face during a fender bender. Now that same officer is accused of doing nothing while fellow officers beat up patrons at Carol's Pub in January. - All those "It's Gonna Happen" t-shirts, hats, and wristbands being sold at Cubs games are the brainchild......

Another innovation previewed at the National Restaurant Association's trade show this past weekend was Sara Lee's new coffee and dessert pairing tool. The pairing tool, which Sara Lee unveiled two weeks ago, is a response to the increasing diversity of coffee options in restaurants these days. It also takes the guesswork out of finding the right dessert to go with your decaf. We've always believed that the best way to pair beverages and food is......

We know that it's not easy to find a job, depending on the availability, your skill set and your hygeine, but what if you just lost one? What becomes of those broken-hearted? We only bring this up because 14,916 workers in the greater Chicago area (including Northwest Indiana) were laid off in late 2006 — the highest number of mass layoffs in the nation for the last three months of 2006. Most of these hungry......

Two sad deaths to report. Sidney Sheldon, who was born in Chicago, has passed away. Also, old-school Chicago newspaper legend Ed Rooney died from complications with a stroke he had in December. Both men were in their 80s and will be missed. The Bears' NFC title trophy is on display at city hall, if anyone wants to see it. There have been 3 new casinos proposed for the area. Dr. Aida Giachello, a suburban......

Yesterday was a busy day for three of Chicagoland's most prominent food corporations: Wrigley's jumped into the chocolate market, Sara Lee announced a new research and development plan and Kraft sold the Cream of Wheat brand to B&G Foods Inc. Wrigley's moved yesterday to acquire an 80 percent stake in premium Russian chocolate brand A. Korkunov, for a cool $300 million. Four years ago, Wrigley's tried — and failed — to acquire Hershey's chocolate. A.......

From Jimmy Dean microwaveable breakfast bowls to Hillshire Farm entree salads, Sara Lee will introduce 20 new food and beverage products this fiscal year, a record for its North American food and beverage business. Aldermen Burke and Carothers are proposing a gun offender registry. Teachers might strike in the Northwest suburbs. Part of the Michigan Avenue bridge fell off and injured a Wendella Boat employee. A police memorial for fallen officers was dedicated last......

Forbes’ 2006 list of “100 most powerful women” includes five Chicago-area names. The most powerful woman in Chicago? Sara Lee Chairman and CEO Brenda Barnes, who came in at No. 9. Cause nobody doesn't like Sara Lee. Irene Rosenfeld, the new CEO of Northfield-based Kraft Foods is No. 11. Both women beat out Oprah, who is ranked 14th. No. 27 is Renetta McCann, CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group, and No. 80 is Christie Hefner, chairman......

There's a 4-day immigration march here this weekend. A pipe bomb exploded in a Metra station today. No one was hurt. One day he's a superstar, the next day, eh, not so much... Obama lost his 'favorite son' status in Kenya after making statements critical of Kenya's corruption and ethnic divisions. Dorothy Brown is running for mayor. A study was released on Wednesday that found dangerous mercury levels at 10 top Chicago-area sushi restaurant.......

We can't remember the last time we drank a cup of Superior Coffee, that ubiquitous coffee found in greasy spoons throughout the city. All we remember is that it always tasted slightly salty- or maybe that was the pure goodness of Arabica beans. Or maybe we were drunk and can't tell good coffee under the influence. Anyhoo, Sara Lee- Superior Coffee's parent company- announced Monday that it is closing down Superior's roasting plant at 2278......

That's the natural progression, right? But not with this Sara Lee. This Sara Lee has steamy sex scandals then bolts outta town. This summer Sara Lee is moving its corporate headquarters from the Loop to suburban Downers Grove. Not sure if you remember it, but in February they announced they'd be moving their bakery and packaged meats businesses from St. Louis and Cincinnati to Chicago.. so they want to have space for the execs from......

Joffrey Ballet: The Nutcracker Christmas without the Joffrey and “The Nutcracker” would be like fruitcake without the fruit. This production didn’t travel the country and sell out the Kennedy Center for nothing, and now here it is, right in your very own backyard. Go. See. Repeat. Auditorium Theatre Tickets: $15–$90 Through Dec. 26 Branford Marsalis and the CSO The CSO goes all saxophone with Branford Marsalis and works by those three stooges Shostakovich, Glazunov,......

Every year Chicago Magazine chooses a handful of people who they believe have made our city a better place. This year they've chosen 6 people to honor as Chicagoans of the Year: John H. Bryanis the former chairman of Sara Lee and current board director of General Motors, Goldman Sachs, and BP who helped get the funds to build Millennium Park. He also rescued Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House when it was about to......

Steven McMillan, chairman of Chicago-headquartered Sara Lee, has been accused of offering a Dallas woman a high-paying promotion in exchange for sex. In a lawsuit filed last week, Brenda Jarvis says McMillan offered her a $140,000 marketing position and said that he made it clear that he expected sex in exchange. Apparently they got it on, but when Jarvis broke off the relationship a few weeks later McMillan withdrew the job offer. Sara Lee acknowledges......