Word to the wise: try to keep from talking to yourself, sweating excessively or hyperventilating the next time you pass through security at O'Hare. [Ed. note: You might want to avoid those things, oh, all the time.] In light of this fall's news that TSA screeners had missed about 60 % of hidden bomb materials that were sneaked through security by tiger teams at O'Hare, the TSA is upgrading its strategy and employing new......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

First bottled water was cool and tap water was out. Then bottled water was bad (eek! pollution!) and tap water was the name of the game. And now... we say stick with beer, as some scary news has emerged about the people guarding Chicago's H2O. Honor Guard Security was hired in December to secure several of Chicago's water filtration plans, pumping stations and other facilities. The $13 million contract was supposed to expire in 2011,......

Issues, shmissues. The real story is that the terrorist madrassa-taught, non-black, freedom-hating Barack Hussein Obama doesn't wear an American-flag lapel pin. We were startled when last night's TV news tag line said, "Why is Obama's patriotism in question? Tonight at 9." Though we have been suckered into watching the news based on these tag lines before, we were again let down when it was all about a pin. Those awe-inspiring pins are a standard among......

Say you're a candidate for president. The crux of your campaign is not only that you never voted to authorize a war in Iraq, but you knew it was wrong from the get-go. So what do you do, hotshot, when a carpetbag Senator from New York calls you naive and irresponsible when it comes to foreign policy decisions? If you're Barack Obama, you respond by threatening to start another war. In a speech today at......

It's no secret that Chicagoist is interested in global politics. In the wold-wide checkerboard of cities, we love knowing that our little City by the Lake is quickly becoming a global destination, for business, people, education, and life. That's why our ears perk up a little bit when some national or international figure pays us a visit; even more so when Chicago is used as a platform for some sort of important announcement or drama.......

Chicagoist recently learned that June is National Candy Month. While this sounds a lot like a Hallmark-invented celebration, who doesn't want an excuse to eat lots of candy? It turns out Chicago is a major hub in the candy industry. Between Fannie May, Ferrara Pan, M&M Mars, Affy Tapple, Jelly Belly, World's Finest Chocolate and now Frango returning to Chicago, it's almost shocking that the American Dental Association hasn't singled out our city as a......

In a press conference earlier this morning, Daley announced that Cortez Trotter has resigned. The first and only disaster chief has been in place for just 14 months, but is now leaving for a job in the private sector. The position was created as a response to a lot of things, including the fatal 2003 fire at 69 W. Washington St., the abominable response to Hurricane Katrina and the threat of biological warfare or an......

After touring the world for the past year in support of their breakout album Witching Hour, the members of U.K. dance-rock heavies Ladytron prove there's no rest for the wicked. The group's DJs, Reuben Wu and Mira Aroyo, are currently traipsing the U.S. under the Filter mag and Microsoft Zune banners, and Chicagoist was fortunate enough to snag Reuben for a few questions. Chicagoist: This tour is co-sponsored by Zune … do you happen to......

We're not sure what to dedicate this week's round up to: Rudy Guiliani salivating as he was "asked" about a fictional terrorist attack in last night's debate, Tom Tancredo's vow to double the size of Guantanamo Bay if elected, or Tommy Thompson's large ears and no neck. Ah screw it, this one is dedicated to Rod Blagojevich's hair. Here we go: Mayor Daley Is a Funny Guy. No, really, he is. Go read Mick Dumke's......

Would you pay $950 for a seat at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics if they come to Chicago? A janitor at a police station on the Northwest Side got a parking ticket and then it was discovered that he was on the federal terrorist watch list. Yes, he got fired. Tinley Park police are looking for 4 suspects after there were 2 attempted kidnappings in 3 days. "The Cruise" via pantagrapher.......

We can only imagine that a person threatening to jump off of a crane in the middle of rush hour ranks up there with bank robbery hostage situations and Jack Bauer-style terrorist demands on a list of a police negotiator’s dream day at work.   This morning around 7 a.m. a jumper closed down most of State Street in the north Loop. The man was threatening to jump off of a crane at the construction......

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. First up, SFist, who saw their little 'ole site be the center of what was a nice little scandal (even getting their editor on TV) only to find their scandal dwarfed by the even bigger scandal caused by their Mayor boffing one of his aides' wife. We're not......

Oh those crazy marketers, what will they think of next? First causing a ruckus in Boston, where they were thought to be some sort of terrorist ploy, the LCD packages turned out to be nothing more than an "ingenious" marketing ploy by Adult Swim's Aqua Teen Hunger Force. And now, of course, they are causing a smaller ruckus in Chicago. In a press conference today at Navy Pier, Police Superintendent Philip Cline said the......

IBM is officially in charge of setting up wireless cameras on busses and train platforms in a CTA pilot program to improve the CTA’s response to terrorist attacks. As previously noted, the plan is to add wireless transmitters to existing cameras in 40 buses, several rail stations, and two garages. After six months they program will most likely be expanded “throughout the city.” It would be quite a different season of CTA commentary at Chicagoist......

Traveling during the holiday season is bad, but this season airports are possibly the worst. Pouring out containers of your much-needed contact solution, fancy au-de-toilettes, and 12-year scotch because you forgot the size and description of liquids allowed on planes (you terrorist) just adds to the frustration for travel-weary crowds who don't like to take off their shoes and/or be delayed. Well, the Chicago Department of Aviation peeps all got together and decided on something......

One of our favorite things about the end of the year, besides pretty lights on houses, presents and actually having a date for New Years, is all the end of the year “best of” lists. Yesterday, the Tribune named the best books of 2006. You can check these out after the jump. There were a couple of books we agreed with and a couple we didn’t. We loved Sarah Gruen's Water for Elephants, even with......

Christopher Durang is still Christopher Durang, more or less. A generation after skewering religious hypocrisy (Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You), theatrical pretensions (The Actor’s Nightmare), and pop psychology (Beyond Therapy), Durang brings his wacky situational humor tinged with the dark and surreal to Miss Witherspoon, a reincarnation fairy tale now playing at the Next Theatre. Durang fans may be relived to know the playwright is still feeding his inner 16-year-old drama geek:......

Fed up with all you fancy pants online bill-payers, the U.S. Postal Service is removing hundreds of street-corner mailboxes from Chicago. They conduct quarterly surveys of mailbox use, and remove those that collect fewer than 25 pieces of mail each day. They blame the internet, with email and online bill pay replacing the need for most first-class mail, and also cite security concerns for removing boxes near potential terrorist targets like the Sears Tower. This......

The Coast Guard is planning to create 34 live-fire training zones in the Great Lakes that could discharge over 400,000 lead and copper bullets into the waters. This would amount to more lead dumped in the water than the entire state of Michigan dumps in a year, even after the gunfire from Detroit celebrating the Tigers reaching the World Series. The Coast Guard says it needs to fire real weapons with real bullets off real......

Yesterday, Gothamist provided Chicagoist with frequent updates on the tragic accident that killed Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle, and his certified flight instructor, Tyler Stranger. Surely everyone's stomach churned when we first heard the news that a plane had crashed into a building in NYC, and memories of September 11 shot to our minds. But not long after the accident, it was apparent this was thankfully no more than a general aviation accident. Unfortunately, as a......

Mayor Daley must long for the halcyon days of 2003. Back then, he didn’t have to exert himself by exercising a veto, he just got the City Council to do what he wanted with a wave of his hand. And when he wanted to close an airport, he just sent a coupla guys out ‘dere to bulldoze the t’ing. But this is 2006. And not only does he have vetos to levy and Jesse Jackson......

Of course by now you know all about how the Brits foiled a terrorist plot to blow up airplanes flying to America with liquid explosives. The news caused absolute chaos at airports yesterday as passengers had to dispose of all liquids, gels, creams, and lotions, and subject themselves to more intense searches. Add to that the simultaneous freakout that occurs at the mere mention of terrorism near an airport these days, and you have an......

In the last 2 days, 7 people in Miami were arrested in connection with the early stages of a plot to attack the Sears Tower and a federal building in Miami. An informant says that those taken into custody were "conspiring to conduct jihad in the United States." Also, the suspects thought they were dealing with the international al Qaeda group, but they had been infiltrated by a US informant. Officials say that there......

Our search for fine British plays continued on the North Side where we took in a timely neighborhood drama and a comic slice of life. Osama the Hero, Dog & Pony Theatre “We do what we’re told, told to do.” – Peter Gabriel A community on edge from a terrorist threat and a fear mongering media goes ballistic when a bomb detonates in Mark’s (Brian Rickel) garage, killing his wife. Gary (Jarrett Sleeper), an awkward......

The Tribune reports that police and federal investigators are looking into an "incident" in which three men, "got out of their car and appeared to be studying the 110-story building and taking photographs." The horror! We can't imagine why anyone would ever take pictures of the Sears Tower other than to plan a terrorist attack. The article goes on to mention that the car the men were driving had been rented under a fictitious name,......

We've all had jittery, nervous moments of vulnerability in the few years since terrorism entered our lives. And though - as our red line train passes beneath the river or we ride the elevetor to the highest floors of our office buildings - we've no doubt counted the ways they could get us, Chicago has rarely (if ever) been mentioned with New York or L.A. as a specific terrorist target. All that changed on Tuesday,......

A day after Londoners celebrated the news that they would be hosting the Olympics in 2012, a series of coordinated bombings spread throughout the London transit system in a terrorist attack likely timed to coincide with the G8 summit. Three explosions occurred in the Tube, London’s subway system, and a fourth explosion ripped apart a double-decker bus during the morning rush hour. The death toll stands at 40 right now though it is expected to......

A Muslim American, Syed Abbas, filed suit Monday against AFI Industries Inc claiming he was fired because he complained about harassment on the job. Abbas worked at an AFI factory in suburban Chicago for nine years and was fired in March 2003. In the suit Abbas alleges co-workers repeatedly called him a terrorist and asked him about his "cousin" Osama Bin Laden. The suit also alleges that one supervisor drew a caricature of Abbas and......