At the risk of feeding the hype machine, we still have to offer a congratulations to Mr. Kanye West for pulling in some Grammy gold last night. While we still don't buy the Grammys as an accurate barometer of the music industry and what's actually, you know, good in music these days, it's still the industry's main award show so there's something to be said for coming away with multiple trophies. While the night's big winner was Amy Winehouse, Kanye still managed to pull in four awards, as well as one of the night's most memorable acceptance speeches (surprise!) when he gave producers the verbal smack-down for trying to run him off in the middle of a tribute to his mother. more ›

We had a nice spit take while drinking our morning coffee and reading the front-page headline of the Sun-Times. The headline accompanying Fran Spielman's story about His Elective Majesty's advice to Senator Barack Obama in the wake of his win in the Iowa Caucuses was to "always be the underdog." more ›

So you think Chicagoist is sometimes too critical of the way Mayor Daley runs the city? Wait until the Reverend Al Sharpton gets settled in his new digs. The boisterous Gotham-based minister, with the pompadour that's fading away like a Neil Young lyric, is opening a Chicago chapter of his National Action Network this week, in part to add pressure to His Elective Majesty and Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine to react faster to... more ›

By now it comes as no surprise to followers of politics that one of the most valuable assets in Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign is his wife Michelle. Her demeanor, accessibility and professional pedigree are invaluable to her husband's aspirations. As the Senator's campaign has shifted into higher gear, Mrs. Obama has gradually trained her energies on helping her husband win the Democratic nomination next year. She's taken a leave of absence from her job as Vice President for Community and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals. But it was her resignation from the board of directors at Treehouse Foods yesterday that may help her husband further in the campaign. more ›

After careful thought and consideration about whether he will run for President in 2008, Senator Barack Obama announced today that he will begin even more serious thought and consideration today. more ›

No matter what you think of him, Barack Obama is an interesting study. So we’re excited to read his new book “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream”. We’ll do a longer book review once we’ve read it, but we wanted to let you all know that Mr. Obama will be signing copies of his book tomorrow morning at 57th Street Books. We’re including the quip 57th Street posted about his visit, so if you’re all going, read carefully -- there are a few rules to follow. more ›

Last month the March for Immigrant Rights brought around 100,000 people downtown to protest the unfair treatment of illegal immigrants. Officials are expecting at least three times as many people at this Monday's march due to growing support and the participation of a wider range of immigrant groups, which is making conservatives cringe. more ›

This past Saturday the Gridiron Club, a group of Washington journalists, held its 121st annual dinner roasting politicians. Senator Barack Obama got in on the fun and sang a parody of “If I Only Had a Brain” with the refrain of “If I Only Had McCain,” a reference to his earlier ethics tiff with Republican Arizona Senator John McCain. Those attending seemed to be impressed by his “velvet voice.” Maybe he was just trying for... more ›

Sometimes Chicagoist likes to venture out to the burbs and remind ourselves that politics outside the city limits is just as exciting as it is the Land of Daley. more ›

When Chicagoist thinks about the possibility of senators going at each other's throats, we usually daydream about Ted Kennedy bitchslapping Rick Santorum. So imagine our surprise when the latest political tiff appears to be between Arizona Senator John McCain and our very own Senator Barack Obama. more ›

In light of the Jack Abramoff scandal in Washington, politicians are having an ethics-off, with both Republicans and Democrats denouncing the other party and vowing to pass their own ethics plans. more ›

Senator Barack Obama and other Midwestern senators spent this past weekend in Iraq visiting troops and US and Iraqi officials. It’s not really Chicagoist’s idea of a weekend getaway—we’re more into relaxing on a beach or drinking in a ski lodge, or just plain drinking, which is probably why we will never be senator. more ›

Nominations for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards were announced today and thank God Kanye West was nominated several times or we would never hear the end of it. As expected, West’s “Gold Digger” picked up nods for Record of the Year and Best Rap Solo Performance while Late Registration was tapped for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album (“Diamonds In Sierra Leone” pulled a songwriting nod for Best Rap Song). Common, another member... more ›

Set your TiVo or tune into The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight at 10 PM on Comedy Central to catch Stewart interview Senator Barack Obama. more ›

As Hurricane Rita gains steam and takes aim at Texas, the Bush administration is still reeling from the criticisms of its failures and slow action in the tragedy that is Hurricane Katrina. Last night Senator Barack Obama addressed the 35th annual legislative conference of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and condemned the President’s response to Katrina and his efforts, or lack thereof, to deal with poverty honestly in this country. In response to Bush’s... more ›

It’s a bad sign when even watching the news makes you miserable. While the flood waters have started to recede along the Gulf Coast and positive stories are emerging about Katrina survivors reunited with their families, the 24/7 aftermath coverage and Oprah’s inspired but rather graphic reporting have worn us down. As we approach the anniversary of another tragedy, we will set aside time to reflect but still plan to get on with our weekend.... more ›

Just a couple of weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama, in light of the ongoing City Hall scandals, expressed reservations about putting his support behind Mayor Daley’s possible reelection bid. Considering Obama’s enormous popularity and appeal, this could be bad news for the administration, and good news for any candidate who wants to unseat Daley and is able to win over Obama. Just when it looked like Daley might be starting to lose political support from... more ›

O'Hare is one of the world's busiest airport, and Midway is undoubtably the world's most penned in airport. So what's a growing city gonna do? Build what could be the nation's biggest and most expensive public works program in the middle of Southwest suburban farm country, in the form of an airport. more ›

At a press conference today, Police Superintendent Philip J. Cline released a report saying that of 244,309 traffic stops made by Chicago police in 2004, 176,500 of the individuals pulled over were minorities compared to 67,809 that were not minorities. That means that of all drivers Chicago police pulled over in 2004, 72% of them were minorities. Seems a bit unbalanced no? Chicago police officers participated in the traffic-stop survey to comply with legislation sponsored... more ›

A month ago Chicagoist took a look at the rash of new blogs launched by Illinois politicians. We concluded that while the blogs were interesting, we withheld judgement since successful blogs tend to have regular posts over time. Let's check back to see if things have gotten any better. In our review we looked at three new blogs launched in April, one from new U.S. Senator Barack Obama, CTA Chair Carole Brown and Republican Cook... more ›

A couple days ago Chicagoist noted how horribly wrong national columnists can go when talking about us folks in the Middle-West. Yesterday two more national publications took a swipe at defining Illinois politics, and this time they seemed to have gotten it a little more right -- just a little. more ›

Yesterday Chicagoist wondered how organizations like the Hispanic Democratic Organization might play into Mayor Richard M. Daley's new campaign contribution restrictions. The Chicago Tribune learned the answer: HDO and other political committees will face no limitations. The upshot is that while city contractors will now be limited from making direct contributions to the mayor's campaign committee, contractors now have a green light to make contributions to Daley sponsored political committees like HDO, the Coalition for... more ›

When travelling in other states, it can be shocking for Illinois residents to open a newspaper and find no mention of Senator Barack Obama! But the Chicago media is doing its best to track his every movement, and thankfully Senator-Elect Obama will be sworn-in as Senator Obama today in Washington, D.C. more ›