The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Theater Pegasus Players and Live Bait Theater are the co-producers behind Steven Simoncic's "Heat Wave." Based on the book of the same name, this play takes a look at the heat wave of 1995 which took the lives of 739 Chicagoans and asks if the deaths could have been prevented and what went wrong. 1145......

Way back before she became Avrilized, Chicago musician Liz Phair wowed the indie music scene with her stunning full-length debut, Exile in Guyville, an alleged song-for-song response to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. Fifteen years after Exile on Guyville's release, Phair finds herself listed as one of the greatest female guitarists by Venus Zine. The Chicago-based "leading source for coverage of women in music, art, film, fashion, and DIY culture" recently released a......

Photo by johnsadowskiii You know winter has fully set its icy claws into your heart when you hear "35 degrees" and think "hey, I'll take it!" So run outside now to soak up some rays while they last. It's supposed to get cloudy this afternoon and snow a little tonight, with temperatures dropping the rest of the week and into the weekend. Speaking of the weather, mark your calendars for April 5 when WGN......

The Chicago Rush will kick off their eighth season in the Arena Football League with a primetime Monday Night Football match-up with the San Jose Sabercats. The League picked a great match-up for the first Monday Night Football game of the year. The game features the last two Arena Bowl Champions as the Sabercats took the title in 2007 and the Rush earned the title in 2006. The AFL "pre-season power poll" ranks San Jose......

Gearing up for the Chiditarod on Saturday? The Chicago Methods Reporter wants to hear from you. They're hosting a "24-hour journalism party"--and trust us, there ain't no party like a journalism party--after the race to encourage participants to document their experiences and assemble a "definitive collection" of Chiditarod accounts. The CMR will have video, audio and photo-editing software for your pleasure, and a $5 buy-in gets you pizza and beer. Mush!......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Music The Riverboat Gamblers fucking slay, there's no debate there. Lead singer Mike Wiebe channels Iggy Pop's figuratively red-headed step-child as he thrashes and throws himself across the stage belting out hook-filled punk rawk anthems. No song breaks the 3-minute mark because there's no point in pushing the riffs any further than they need to......

Photo by Calexico Former Bears linebacker Jim Schwantz is running for mayor of Palatine. [Trib] In today's installment of "things that haunt me..." Louis Farrakhan endorsed Barack Obama yesterday at a convention for members of the Nation of Islam. [Trib] L.L. Bean is opening a store in the burbs. [press release] The Chicago Architecture Foundation will be looking for some new digs come 2011. That's sooner than you think! [Crain's] Trailer for the upcoming......

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has just announced its 2008 / 2009 season. Tickets are already on sale, so here are a few Chicagoist recommendations to keep in mind: Peter and the Wolf May 3, 2008 This orchestrated children’s story, complete with narration, is perfectly suitable for adults as well. You may already be familiar with the music; the “wolf” musical theme with three French horns is also used for Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story.......

AP Photo The Chicago Blackhawks honored the NIU victims last night with above decal, which they'll wear on their helmets again tomorrow night in St. Louis and Wednesday night here against Minnesota. And Ozzie Guillen and co. were wearing NIU hats at spring training. [Blackhawks, Uniwatch] Jessica Baty, Steve Kazmierczak's girlfriend, gave an interview to CNN in which she describes him as a nice, sweet guy. She says he was on Prozac to treat......

According to a new study released by Chicago Urban League Wednesday, Chicago must expand education, business and economic opportunities for African-Americans in order to become and remain globally competitive. Cook County is the most densely black populated county in the nation with 1.4 million blacks, 1.1 million of whom live in the city. Funded by a $6.2 million grant from the BP Foundation, the Urban League is warning that the region's black middle class could......

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......

The Chicago Auto Show opens to the public tomorrow ($10 admission), and while the extent of our car knowledge--well, my car knowledge--comes from accidentally listening to a few minutes of Car Talk here and there, there is one vehicle that's currently blowing our minds: Ford's Alton F-650 XUV. That mofo has six wheels. Images via Autoblog's gallery, which is truly staggering. Christ, that car is ugly. But which Alton is more badass, that "XUV"? Or......

Photo by SFMoe After the Trib ran a story about Wheeling's Amante Enad roasting pigs in his back yard in traditional Filipino fashion, the village issued him a citation barring the practice and asking him to fork over (hay-oh!) his roasting equipment. [Trib] Moto-X at Soldier Field? Hell yes. The Chicago Park District is accepting proposals for events at Soldier Field. [S-T] Adding another odd twist to our city's transit saga, the City Council......

Photo by Joe M 500 Were the mother and son who were shot in Gary the victims of a car-jacking--or a domestic dispute? The marathon's official name is now the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Hover bacon. (makes noise) Conrad Black has to report to prison on March 3. The Chicago Defender is going to be a weekly. Don't Clinton and Obama have to be polite to each other at tonight's debate...because one of......

It seems like it was just a few weeks ago we informed you Radiohead was coming to town. Now another alt-rock behemoth has announced they'll be making their way to our little hamlet this summer. Just today, R.E.M. announced dates for their upcoming tour in support of their new record, Accelerate, due out on Warner Bros. Records on April 1. We've always been big fans of the boys from Athens, GA. At the same time......

There are no shortage of opportunities to see a theater performance in Chicago, and that certainly applies to children’s theater or theater based on children’s literature. A number of of these productions have enjoyed some popular success as well. This goes to show that these performances are not attended only by dutiful schoolchildren, but are considered to be viable options in the Chicago theater scene, due to the effort and imagination that goes into adapting......

The race for Cook County state's attorney has been hot and heavy in the past few weeks, with candidates taking plenty of shots at each other in a debate last week. (You can watch the debate here.) The race has also split up local democrats, as endorsements abound. Lt Governor Pat Quinn is supporting Anita Alvarez, saying "she happens to be a woman. She happens to be Hispanic. And she also happens to be the......

Born on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King would have been 79 this year. In 1984 an act of Congress made the third Monday of this month Martin Luther King Day. With most government offices closed today, there are a plethora of events honoring his memory. The Chicago Park District is holding a series of events dedicated to his legacy. The University of Chicago is hosting panels and speakers all week, with a series of......

The Chicago 2016 Olympic "applicant file" is now available to the public and it's gosh-darn gorgeous. It's like getting your eyeballs massaged by angel feathers--visually, it's fabulous. Content-wise...well... what are you, new here? A few highlights: ++ The bidding process alone is budgeted at $49.3 million ++ Forecast revenues from the "domestic marketing program" are $2.5 billion ++ 81 percent of the venues—22 of 27—are existing or temporary. ++ "Athletes, teams, the IOC, NOC......

$15 million buys a nice apartment, especially in the future. Shelbourne Development has officially open a sales office for the 1,194 residences in the Spire, the upcoming architectural marvel and source of an absolutely endless number of wiener jokes. Units—zing!—are priced at around $1,400 per square foot; according to the Trib, most luxury condos in Chicago cost between $750 and $1,100 per square foot. And...our eyeballs just turned to dollar signs. Every unit in......

The biggest cultural stories of 2008 are likely less predictable than this week’s Rose Bowl. Every year we see our share of breakout artists and surprising storefront gems, and 2008 promises to be no different. But 2007 left some unfinished business and we’re eager to see how these stories play out: Stingy in Springfield Blago’s veto of the FY08 State budget reduced Illinois Arts Council funding by 30%. And a trickle-down economics of pain proceeds:......

Now that we have a day job and commute to work every morning, we have ample opportunity to sit on the train and get our fifty cents worth reading the Sun-Times. We're huge fans of Tom McNamee's "The Chicago Way" column, as it's one of the few regular features in any of the city's newspapers that successfully reflects on the city's rich past in a way that engages present-day readers. McNamee's most recent column, on......

Bin 36 hosted their annual Bubbles Bash last night where 450 revelers ate and drank, then drank ome more, to their heart’s delight. Champagne, cava, prosecco, sekt, and sparklers from a full range of countries flowed for hours making a dark and drizzly Wednesday night into a scintillating celebration of friends, flavors, and holiday festivities. It’s amazing what a little CO2 can do! Buy it. Sip it. Gift it. Make chocolate champagne truffles out of......

The new Connoisseur Wine Co. at 1041 W. Grand is ready for its close-up. They're celebrating by offering customers who RSVP this weekend complimentary champagne, appetizers, and classic martinis. Efrain Cuevas' last dinner of 2007 features the waterfowl organ delicacy whose name we dare not speak within the city limits. Get on the list if you want to find out more. The Chicago Cultural Center is the setting for "A Winter's Song Madrigal Dinner,"......

The Chicago City Council held off on voting on a controversial ban on urban chickens yesterday. Since urban chickens are all the rage, it seems like a perfect time to ban them, right? Southwest Side Alderman Lona Lane (18th), who proposed the ban, said she didn't know why the vote on the ban was held up. Maybe it is, as the Sun-TImes suggests, because Mayor Daley has a thing for urban poultry: "Let's be realistic,"......

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Jim Oberweis campaign will be announcing “a major endorsement” today, and that that endorsement will be from Dennis Hastert. Oberweis is running for the 14th Congressional District seat that was vacated when former Speaker of the House resigned earlier this year. Although Hastert endorsed Oberweis for US Senator in the 2002 Republican primary, Jack Ryan won that race, later withdrawing after his (sexy) divorce files were unsealed. An......

Movie attendance is down 10% this year. Bad word of mouth when it comes to this year's mainstream releases perhaps? Moviemaking competitions are a great way to put our money where our mouths are, and here are some worth shooting for: -- In surely the first competition of its kind (outside of some obscure William Gibson story maybe), this January filmmakers will converge in Second Life for the 48 Hour Film Project. It's an abstract......

The Chicago Fire have confirmed that Head Coach Juan Carlos Osorio has resigned and is headed to the New York Red Bulls for the 2008 season. Osorio, who joined the Fire mid-season last year, was just the third head coach in the franchise history. Osorio cited "personal, family reasons" that led to his decision to depart the Fire before his contract ended. It had been rumored that his wife was unhappy in Chicago and prefers......

The Chicago Blackhawks suffered only their second back-to back loss of the season on Wednesday and the first one in over a month. Something Blackhawks fans are not used to. The Blackhawks' 3-2 loss to the Canucks came in the first of a four-game home stand that continues tonight versus the Anaheim Ducks. Eight of the next ten Blackhawks games are at home, which is good news. They could use some home-ice advantage to help......

Mayor Daley has finally announced his pick for new police superintendent: J.P. “Jody” Weis, an FBI agent who was most recently the head of the Philadelphia field office. The City Council still has to approve the appointment, but given that Ald. Isaac Carothers, chairman of the City Council's police committee, says "maybe going to the outside might bring a fresh look — a guy who knows no one and owes no one,” is anyone worried?......