Remember CNBC's Rick Santelli's now-legendary rant against President Obama's stimulus package? It called for a Chicago Tea Party in July. Never ones to sit on their haunches, however, those agreeing with Santelli got an early jump on a protest, demonstrating back in February and have already scheduled another protest for tomorrow's more appropriate tax deadline. While there will be many protests held throughout the state, the Chicago protest will happen tomorrow at high noon at the Kluczynski Federal Building Plaza - conveniently right next to the post office where you can mail your taxes! more ›

It wasn't that long ago that CNBC's Rick Santelli gave his memorable rant from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade and asked for a Chicago Tea Party. In his rant, he called for the tea party in July, which makes sense as it's the sanest time of the year to go to the lake. But supporters of Santelli's position had another idea and last Friday gathered at the Federal Plaza downtown to protest the new economic stimulus package recently passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Obama. The divisive package has struck a nerve, particularly in terms of those opposed to the bail-out for mortgages. The protest, which happened this past Friday, was one of many across the nation including St. Louis, Atlanta, and Washington D.C. Below is video from Chicago's Tea Party. more ›

Last October, we took a look at the possibility of Chicago becoming the center of a nine-state high-speed Amtrak network. With the passage of President Obama's stimulus package, though, this could be much closer to reality. Among the bill's provisions is $8 billion for high-speed transit lines, now seemingly up for grabs. It hasn't yet been decided how much money will be spent and where, but there's already controversy over which proposed line will get the money and even over one of the lines itself, one GOP'ers have taken to calling "The Sin Express," which would connect San Diego to Anaheim and then Las Vegas. more ›

Cartoon for Chicagoist by Tim Daly more ›

We know some folks have an issue with President Obama's new stimulus package, but damn, Rick. CNBC analyst Rick Santelli, reporting from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, went on an epic rant regarding the stimulus package saying, "The government is promoting bad behavior," before turning to the traders on the floor and whipping them up into a frenzy. He also calls for a Chicago Tea Party in July, saying - at the 2:10 mark - "All you capitalists that wanna show up to Lake Michigan, I'm gonna start organizing it...I'll be dumping in some derivative securities..." more ›

So now that President Obama has signed the controversial stimulus package, just how big will Illinois's piece of the pie be? The AP reports our take will be $1.58 billion, good enough for fifth place overall amongst the 50 states. Lawmakers now have to decide how that money will be spent. According to the AP, "The law also requires that half the money be spent on projects that have been vetted by the federal government and deemed "ready to go" in 120 days, as a way to jolt the economy and create jobs." more ›

• Legendary Chicago architect John Holabird passed away yesterday at the age of 88.
• Our pal Justin Kaufmann over at WBEZ's blog has a copy of Cook County Clerk David Orr's alleged open letter to Sen. Burris calling for Burris to resign.
• Like it or not, President Obama signed off on the $787 billion stimulus package today.

Congress yesterday passed President Obama's controversial new stimulus package and in the process, the House tacked on an extra $3 billion for transit funds to the package ($12 billion for transit funding overall), bringing the total value of the package to around $825 billion. $1.5 billion of that extra money goes straight to the states. It seems the state of Illinois is in line to receive a fair chunk of that change: $105 million. Of that money, the Chicago area will see about $76 million and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Chicago), one of the co-sponsors, is claiming victory. more ›

At a press conference today, President-Elect Barack Obama presented what is being called his "money team," his economic advisers who will attempt to help him turn the economy around once he takes office in January. At the presser, his second since his November 4 election win, he announced the following members of his economic team: more ›