Oak Park wants to do something to decrease the number of people panhandling on their streets, but they don't want to be mean about it. more ›

Fourteen-year-old Kelli O'Laughlin's parents found her dead in their home on Thursday afternoon after she apparently walked in on a burglary. more ›

Naperville is planning something huge for its 2010 holiday card. The suburb has invited all of its 145,000 of its residents to mass up at the town's Municipal Center for a 2 p.m. next Friday to shoot the cover for the card. more ›

It wouldn't be beyond Sherman to be targeting Sirabian just to piss off an old lady. more ›

• The City Council Transportation Committee O.K.'d a plan to allow companies to display holiday-themed displays on bridge houses even if specifics like the actual size of the displays haven't yet been determined.
• Cocaine and PCP were found in the bloodstream of a local one-year-old boy after he apparently chewed on a piece of tinfoil laced with the drugs.
• While flooding clean-up continues here, our neighbors to the north in Milwaukee are facing their own post-flooding hardships.

After the suburbs raised holy hell about a new red light camera ordinance the Cook County Board passed last week, the Board is now backing down on the new ordinance. The Parking Ticket Geek reports that the Board voted 9-4 (with three presents and one absence) to allow the municipalities to opt out of having the red light cameras placed at intersections. Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Wilmette, and Bartlett were among the 'burbs who were none-too-pleased about the ordinance. Commissioner Tony Periaca, who voted against the original ordinance, said, “It’s an overreach and an encroachment on their sovereignty and sets a dangerous precedence. It’s a way to separate taxpayers from their money. It’s not about safety it’s about revenue.” Commisioner Patricia Murphy, who voted present, didn't exactly rebut Peraica when she expressed concern over that revenue: “If they opt out in great numbers how does it effect our budget. I’m worried what this means to the budget if municipalities choose to opt out. If they opt out you’re not going to have anything left." more ›

The erstwhile anniversary celebrators over at Chicago Magazine, the folks who brought you that movie list that ranked Barbershop ahead of Blues Brothers, is back with another list, this time detailing the top 20 Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs (10 each). Roscoe Village (pictured above) made the cut, as did Bridgeport, Beverly, and Holstein Park. It's a pretty small list, considering the number of neighborhoods the city has, and it's sure to generate a lot of discussion. Swing by to scope out the entire list as well as check out the list's qualifiers. [h/t Gapers Block] more ›

Police in Aurora are investigating the death of an area man who died after a physical altercation with his roommate in an area nursing home, Chicago Breaking News reports. Randy Moons, 57, was pronounced dead "on Thursday at about 6:14 p.m.at Provena Mercy Medical Center" after the fight with his 55-year-old roommate, the report said. The roommate was questioned and released; an autopsy to determine the cause of death and whether criminal charges will be filed is pending. more ›

A single-engine plane crashed at the Sandwich Airport in DeKalb County yesterday afternoon, killing two. According to the Chicago Tribune, Randy Hougham was taking friends for rides in his vintage 1946 Ercoupe 415-C. Two flights went well, but the third ended in disaster. The plane crashed and caught fire shortly before 2 p.m., killing Houghham, 53, and his passenger, recent Bradley University graduate Lauren Hamilton, 22. Hougham's brother-in-law, Bruce Burlingame, said, "He was a great guy, a good family man, a good dad. He was just a normal guy who did construction work and had a plane." more ›

Keeping a day job in the northern suburbs has re-acquainted us with many of the charms of growing up on the North and Northwest sides. That includes exploring the "border" suburbs when we want to get our nosh on. A co-worker who keeps asking us for restaurant advice (but never heeds it) offered to make a run to a long-forgotten hot dog stand a few weeks back. He brought us back an Italian beef sandwich from Herm's Hot Dog Palace in Skokie (3406 Dempster St., 847-673-9757). As a teenager, we used to bike — or take the Skokie Swift — to visit "Big Herm's" and grab this delicious sammich. more ›

A controversial deal that would allow Canadian National Railway to create a bypass loop for freight trains around Chicago and direct them through suburbs on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway has been given federal approval. Supporters say the new bypass will raise $60 million for the local economy and relieve congestion in the city. Opposition comes from those living in the suburbs that would be affected, including Joliet, Aurora, and Elgin, where there are fears that their traffic congestion will now increase. more ›

Today’s forecast calls for more thunderstorms. Hopefully, though, not as severe as last evening’s storm, which brought multiple tornadoes to Cook, Will and Lake Counties in Illinois, parts of Wisconson and Northwest Indiana. This morning there are reports of six people injured by the storm system that many are saying caught them by surprise. Joe Rodawold of Wilmington told the S-T: more ›

Naperville Central's principal has officially lost his job after plagiarizing a speech. District Superintendent Alan Leis announced today that Principal Jim Caudill, who has been with the school district for 34 years, won't be returning as principal in the fall. more ›

It wasn't all about roasting pigs out in the 'burbs this week: more ›

If you’re lucky, your toddler will be asleep, blissfully unaware when the last minutes of 2007 tick by. An earlier bed time doesn’t mean that he or she has to miss out on the festivities, though; a handful of places in and around Chicago are hosting New Year’s Eve parties for the little ones, with dancing, snacks and party favors at an earlier countdown. more ›

The first storm of the winter season has passed. Here’s how it came down, by the numbers: About 400 flights canceled at O’Hare and Midway; those not canceled delayed 40 to 60 minutes. Wind gusts up to 45 m.p.h. Up to a quarter-inch of ice in some places. One death reported in Wisconsin, in a weather-related traffic accident. 100,000 customers without power across northern Illinois, mostly in the west and northwest suburbs. About 15,000 are... more ›

The Reader's Guide to Late Night Dining is now online, and there's the expected eclectic mix of diners, hot dog stands, taco joints, upscale pub grub, and places where only the fearless dare enter. Even better is that the range of offerings encompasses a wide stretch of the city and connecting suburbs (big love for Gene & Jude's Red Hots in River Grove!). If you're at the stage in life where "I'll sleep when... more ›

We don't think much of eating food a couple of days past its sell-by date. To us, those little numbers are an approximation, not a hard and fast rule. Glencoe residents Ross Marks and Charles Farinella also followed this logic, but on a much larger scale. They bought 1.6 million bottles of Henri's salad dressing that were about to expire, re-labeled them with a new expiration date, and tried to re-sell them. Not surprisingly, they... more ›

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... more ›

Before we turn the controls to this lean, mean rocket over to the Tims this weekend, here are some other items in the news. A new law aimed at helping teenagers become better drivers allows their parents to review their driving records online. Two 911 operators who royally screwed up a call for police help during a July brawl at Durkin Park on the Southwest Side have been suspended without pay. A new program... more ›

Before we teleported up into the great nightclub in outer space, Chicagoist took a few hours to walk around Grant Park this weekend and have a friendly chit-chat with some of the many fine folks who came to Lolla this weekend. Some of them came from nearby - North Side, South Side and the suburbs. Others came from farther away, places like New Jersey. Still others came to visit us from other countries, like Ireland.... more ›

While the other families we know hightail it out to the greener grassed suburbs, we here at the Chicagoist have found more and more to love about the city. Our most recent crush is on the Art of Play. We initially thought the Art of Play was a tourism gimmick, as it is sponsored by the city and state Tourism bureau, as well as the Mayor's Office of Special Events and other Chicago cultural organizations.... more ›

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a... more ›

If a wine shop has its own in-house chef — a Charlie Trotter-trained one at that — odds are it’s going to offer quite a different experience than those warehouse-sized ones you’re used to. And that’s just fine with the people behind Knightsbridge Wine Shoppe & Epicurean Centre. Open since 1986, this cozy Northbrook store takes buying a bottle of wine up a couple notches (the British spellings of its name and the fact that Knightsbridge, an area in London, is home to many of the world’s richest people are definite tip offs). more ›

Where Do I Take Mom? more ›

In one of his rare stops in the US, Spanish-born Parisian Latin folk singer cum punk rocker Manu Chao played to a sold-out crowd at the Aragon Ballroom last night. Wildly popular in both Europe and Latin America, Manu Chao has had less mainstream success in the US, although his fan base here is large and loyal. Heavily influenced by the UK punk scene during his formative years in the suburbs of Paris, Manu Chao's... more ›

Just yesterday, we told you that the cicadas were terrorizing the suburbs. Funny that, because some people haven't seen a one. We're in that camp, and lord-a-mighty, we are so happy. We were talking about these babies way back in April, and they were actually making it sort of okay when the temperatures would dip back down into winter mode, because we thought it would delay the onslaught of the plague. more ›

For those of you who work in the suburbs, this Chicagoist writer shares your pain. For those of you downtown, you might find this enlightening. Amusing, even. more ›

It's summer in Chicago, so it's not rare to leave your house on a weekend and find yourself in a sea of tourists from the suburbs and beyond. With all of the street festivals, the clean (looking) beaches and all the other jazz, we really can't blame anyone who'd want to come to the city for a few days. We just didn't realize there were 44 million of them. more ›

Did everyone have a great time at our birthday party last night? It sure is great to be three! There are a lot of great shows going on sale this weekend. We decided to focus on shows that are happening in venues one might not normally associate with music. more ›