Barack Obama might not be Ronald Reagan (thank God for small blessings?), but he and Dick Cheney share something: A common ancestor. Yes, our junior senator and the good old face-shooter are distant cousins. Freaking out! Oh wait, no we're not: The Sun Times reported this over a month ago. Obama definitely has presidential timber in his family tree: He's distantly related to three U.S. presidents — Harry S Truman, George W. Bush and George... more ›

Good news, women of Illinois: We're in good company! Four of the top ten most powerful women in business are based here (or run companies that are). Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, comes in at number 5, thanks to acquiring a $7.2 billion "global biscuit business." Pat Woertz, chairman, CEO, and president of Decatur–based agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland, follows her at 6 because she brought in $44 billion in revenue. Number... more ›

In one of his first acts as the new 2nd Ward Alderman, Bob Fioretti threatened to stall the second phase of a $750 million plan to raze the CHA's ABLA Homes, part of their multi-billion dollar "Plan for Transformation." After learning that $31 million dollars in expiring tax credits might be lost, he approved $15 million in tax-increment financing, but he vowed that a series of side letters would dictate three things: minority participation at... more ›

Best Life magazine, a.k.a. Men’s Health for the thinking man, has anointed Evanston’s own Jeremy Piven as this month’s sophisticated man’s man. Growing up a theatrical rugrat in a theater-crazy town has paid off, as Piven’s string of supporting roles landed him the testosteroney lead in the HBO series "Entourage." After years of riffing with Ellen, the Cusacks, and the Justice League, Piven is coming into his own. Most of the piece treads well-worn territory.... more ›

As we get closer to the Holiday season we are seeing more and more stories on crime in the area. One jeweler on the North Side decided to do something about it. more ›

Suburban Elmwood Park bills itself as a “great place to live, shop, work and play.” They might want to change that to a great place to live, shop, work and play, unless you’re a teenage immigrant. Specifically, a 14-year-old Ecuadorian girl here on a temporary B-2 visa. Then, not so much. Elmwood Park School District 401 refused to allow the girl to enroll in classes citing federal immigration law. They say the feds have been... more ›

The Blagojevich hiring scandal seems to get weirder by the day, and Chicagoist can practically picture Dick Mell reading the latest headlines and laughing. The Sun Times is reporting that a Blago official wore a wire as part of the federal investigation looking into the governor’s hiring practices. It is unknown which insider wore the recording device, or exactly who and what was recorded. A source also confirms federal investigators have interviewed several potential... more ›

The Chicago Department of Transportation has a program in which they will evenly split the cost to replace sidewalks in front of commercial or residential properties with the owners of the property. more ›

Now and then a Chicago newspaper runs an article detailing gynormous sums of money coursing through the bank account of a campaign fund connected to a powerful city official. The story is usually structured: "Big sum of money -> little-known ward organization -> powerful official connected to it -> city contractors contribute to fund". The implication, with no direct facts, is usually that the powerful official directs city contractors to their favored ward organization, and in return the contractor gets a job. more ›

A lot of people like to bash the Sun-Times. It's the poorer little sister of the two big city papers, and it seems that the stewardship of former owner David Black and Hollinger International didn't help very much. A report filed yesterday with U.S. District Court and authored by former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden accuses Black and his associates of "self-righteous and aggressive looting" of the Sun Times and its other holdings. more ›

Chicagoist is sick of having all of these post it notes all over our desk with URLS of Chicago food related sites written on them, so we decided to compile them into a list.. and are asking you to add on any that you know of. So far we have: more ›

Through July, 15 giant, 700 lb. statues of Mickey Mouse will be on display on State Street "Cows on Parade"-stye. The 6-foot-tall mice were created to celebrate Mickey's 75th birthday. The statues debuted in Orlando in November, which was the 75th anniversary of the release of the Mickey Mouse short, Steamboat Willie. They will head to Washington D.C. and then go to New York City before being auctioned for charity. Mickey Mouse's creator, Walt Disney, was born in Chicago in 1901 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts here. more ›