Trade shows always seem strange to an outsider - and the National Restaurant Association show, held in Chicago over the past weekend, was no exception. Most of these signs made some sense in context (though, the "vibrate your fat away" signs might not have) but for a member of the public, it looked like someone had gone mildly crazy. Our full impressions of the NRA show, including dining trends for the next year and a discussion of the new field of electronic menus and ordering systems, will be coming soon. But for now, enjoy the silly signs. more ›

According to a CBS2 article, "someone is organizing some street beggars [in Chicago], giving them ready-made signs at the start of the day, then taking a cut of the take at the end." The advance in homeless person strategy appears to have been caused by a city ordinance against panhandlers using aggressive tactics. The crackdown on vocal solicitation led to an increase in the use, and, subsequently, the value, of signs. more ›

Yesterday we took a look at the progress of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, opinions of which predictably split along party lines. Illinois’ Republican Congressman Aaron Schock has a new bone to pick with the stimulus - signage. According to the Chicago Tribune, a spokesman for IDOT reported that about 950 signs have been posted along roadways to inform people that the roadwork was funded by the stimulus bill. Calling it “propaganda” and an “unnecessary overhead expense,” Schock introduced a bill titled "End the Stimulus Advertisement Act” to put an end to the signs. more ›

Reader Pasquale snapped this photo of a "Free to Park!" bike sign someone's putting up on parking meters around the Wicker Park area. We assume they're meant as a joke, commenting on the increasing parking meter rates but if you have more info, let us know! more ›

As Chicago heads out to vote in today's primaries, here's a look at campaign signs and election miscellanea around one of our neighborhoods. more ›

• President Obama will apparently never have a Commerce Secretary: Republican Sen. Judd Gregg (NH) has withdrawn his name because of a difference of opinion over the stimulus package.
• Lawmakers are considering banning future governors from emblazoning their name on signs a la Blago and the Tollway.
• That's not the only sign issue in the state: now there's a fuss over the county road markers that the Cook County Board approved earlier this week, a fight that's being led by a pair of Board commissioners.

It didn't take long for it to happen: less than 24 hours after Rod Blagojevich was removed from office and Pat Quinn was sworn in as governor, workers are already erasing signs of Blagojevich's reign. Literally. In 2004, $480,000 was spent to put up 32 signs across the states tollways, each sign saying, "Open Road Tolling--Rod R. Blagojevich Governor." Now those signs are being replaced, though the cost of taking them down is much, much lower: $15,000. Most of the signs will be replaced at night so as not to interfere too much with traffic. more ›

It's understandable that those puke phosphorescent green "license suspended" stickers the city Health Department plasters across the doors of restaurants and stores that fail inspections can be unsightly, not to mention bad for business if enough regular customers catch sight of them. more ›

Sometimes it pays to look up and have a camera on you. We ate breakfast yesterday at this greasy spoons called MiLady Soul Food on 55th and Halsted (short review: do avoid unless you're just looking for some grease to fight back the hair of the dog). On the way out we noticed the marquee. Even today, MiLady is still known to many locals as Le Meck's. Le Meck's, back in the day, was a steakhouse that one person said had "lots of Edwardianesque () atmosphere, high prices and crummy food." Reminds us of some of the steakhouses that used to populate the Loop around Gallery 37. more ›

Yesterday marked the first full day of the month of Ramadan the holiest of the four holy months in the Islamic Lunar calender. After the sighting of the new moon, all physically mature and healthy Muslims are obliged to abstain from food, drink, gum chewing and tobacco use, as well as sexual contact, between dawn and sunset. For many Muslims, this is a private time of year; a time to quiet the soul and open the heart for reflection and contemplation. It is also meant to be a time spent in community with each other, a time to come together as one people and share in the spiritual joy of the word of God revealed. more ›

Remember when Bears linebacker Lance Briggs threatened to hold out — at least for the first ten games — because he took exception with the Bears tagging him with their "franchise" tag? Briggs was upset that the team's move prevented him from signing a long-term contract elsewhere after he and the Bears were unable to agree on long-term deal. Never mind that the franchise tag also guaranteed he'd make $7.2 million in 2007. Unable to... more ›

Some time before Chicagoist was a Chicagoan, we were a resident of the great American Southwest. We grew up in the wonderful state of New Mexico, and we absorbed much of the local culture: cowboys, chilis, and lowriders. more ›

After Wired ran a story documenting the GoogleCenter of the United States a bunch of ists jumped on the opportunity to figure out their own middle. Gothamist, Chicagoist, Bostonist and Seattlest all zoomed in on their creamy GoogleCenters. A crack cartography team is hard at work determining the GoogleCenter of the Ist-a-verse as you read this... Austinist read a book about Olympian Bode Miller and liked it. They also took a few pictures of the... more ›

The off season remains a busy period for Chicago's two baseball teams as they continue to lock in their rosters for 2006 and beyond. The Cubs officially said goodbye this week to Nomar Garciaparra, who agreed to a 1-year deal with the L.A. Dodgers. With the Dodgers, Nomar will move over to first base. Nomar's injury-plagued season and a half were nothing like Cubs fans expected from the former All Star shortstop. He played just... more ›

Try to imagine if you will a Chicago without any Irish-themed bars. more ›

Today is "Day of Silence," a youth-led day of silent protest to draw attention to anti-gay violence in schools. Partipants go without speaking throughout the day and then all meet up tonight in a "Night of Noise" at the Thompson Center. more ›

Chicagoist was in Vegas this weekend, so the Bears doubly hurt us yesterday. Not only did our team lose to the Detroit Lions 20-16, but in doing so failed to cover the 2.5 point spread and cost us the $20 we put down in the sports book. Who'd have thought Detroit would choose this week to win a their first road game since the 2000 season? more ›