Oh, Trib. We get what you were going for in Steve Johnson's article about the Obama girls' new Nintendo Wii. Sasha and Malia got the entertainment console for Christmas, which had Steve guessing what Obama's Mii - the self-created avatar each Wii user makes of themselves - looks like. It looks nothing like Obama. more ›

Hey, dad, can you give me a ride? Oh, you want to be a brief media sensation? Then yeah, a ride in your plane is cool, too. more ›

The Trib unveiled its new website today, and Crain's redesign went live yesterday. more ›

The Trib and Sun-Times are reporting that police have arrested a suspect in the Tinley Park murders, but the Tinley Park PD says no arrests have been made. more ›

Joseph Pannell was 19 years old when he shot a Chicago police officer in 1969. And then he skipped bail. And skipped bail again in 1974, this time fleeing to Canada, where he changed his name to Douglas Gary Freeman and lived under that identity for almost 40 years. But in 2004, Chicago's cold case squad tracked him down and started extradition proceedings, which Parnell fought....until this week. more ›

Oh Steve. Steve, Steve, Steve. We had really hoped that with the new year you might finally catch up to current trends and we could put this column to rest. But, alas, your foot once again finds your mouth. more ›

In an attempt to save $50 million this year, the company is eliminating 40 newsroom jobs at the Sun-Times, 11 newsroom jobs at Pioneer Press papers throughout the suburbs, a three Northwest side Pioneer Press papers all together (the Jefferson Park/Portage Park/Belmont-Cragin Times, the Harlem-Irving Times, and the Edgebrook-Sauganash Times). more ›

If you've tried to make travel arrangements to Europe lately, you know first hand that the U.S. dollar is sucking wind compared to the Euro -- as of today's exchange rate the Euro is worth a whopping 47% more than the dollar. And don't think Europeans haven't noticed -- they're bringing that "free money" and empty suitcases to the Mag Mile and loading them up with Burberry and Hershey's chocolate. The Tribune reports that international tourists are flocking to Chicago: the number of overseas visitors rose by 8% in 2007, compared to no increase in 2006. So if you find yourself pushing your way through even more camera and shopping bag toting throngs along Michigan Avenue, that's why. And forget about getting a table at The Cheesecake Factory. Can't say we blame them -- we would be shipping our asses off to the ru du Faubourg Saint-Honore if the situation were reversed. more ›

Smokers, meet Winter. Winter, smokers. Timed perfectly with a bone-chilling cold, Illinois's smoking ban went into effect at midnight, Jan. 1. more ›

It's time to stop the madness of the Red Eye. The Trib is getting more expensive while its circulation shrinks, the Reader has fired its best writers, the Sun-Times is laying off a quarter of its workforce...so guess what? It's time to hold a widely circulated, widely read daily newspaper to a higher standard. more ›

You know that thing you never do? Now it will cost another 25 cents if you start to do it. Yes, the Tribune is increasing its newsstand price to 75 cents for Monday-Saturday editions, but the Sunday edition remains $1.79. The memo sent out from Tony Hunter, the Trib's senior vice president of circulation and operations, said: more ›

Every time we think the state's government can't get any worse, they somehow find a way to surprise us. Unable to reach a deal that'll adequately fund the CTA and its crumbling infrastructure, they think they want to buy yet another fixer-upper piece of property. The State of Illinois is supposedly interested in buying Wrigley Field, which is for sale along with the Cubs following billionaire Sam Zell's takeover of the Tribune Co. The Illinois... more ›

The Trib rolled out Part II of its damning investigation of Chicago police officers shooting civilians, and it's just as intensive as Part I--plus it's accompanied by a harsh, determined editorial. God, agreeing with the Trib's editorial board...this is a whole new feeling. Today's report focuses on Officer Phyllis Clinkscales, who shot and killed 17-year-old Robert Washington in June 2000, which sets up an analysis of how thoroughly police shootings are investigated. Guess what?... more ›

"Law enforcement officials at all levels, from the detectives who investigate cases to the superintendent, as well as the state's attorney's office, have failed to properly police the police." Wow. The Trib goes all out today with a massive story about police shootings, and it's extremely critical of the CPD. According to the story, "More than 100 people have been killed in the last decade; 250 others have been injured. But only a tiny... more ›

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Harold Washington. The Chicago of 1983 was very different from the Chicago of 2007: factories were shutting down, and white middle-class homeowners were leaving the city in droves, taking their property taxes and urban stability with them. An alarming upswing in crime and drugs, coupled with escalating racial tensions left many Chicagoans nervous about the future. Richard J. Daley had been dead for seven years, and... more ›

George Ryan starts his prison sentence today, and the Sun-Times and Trib have helpfully chronicled every move the former governor has made since last night. You know what that means: time for a Ryan Round Up! Olé! Yesterday, the 73-year-old released this statement to the public, again claiming innocence and thanking his family and legal team. At 5:50 this morning, Ryan left his home in Kankakee in a van driven by his son, George Ryan... more ›

Want to go to a play--but you don't know how? The Trib has you covered. This "Theater 101" article is full of such helpful tips as "If the show starts at 8:00, get there at 7:50." Honest to God, we can't tell if the item "Applause: When the play ends, there's a blackout, then the lights come back on and all the actors come on stage to take a bow. This is when you should... more ›

Joining Current Conditions in its "new regular feature" designation is Quick Bites, a weekly wrap-up of some of the interesting topics debated and discussed in Chicago's food media. The Time Out Chicago blog scooped Dish on Marcus Samuelsson news; the Ethiopian-born chef will be opening a new restaurant, C-House, in the Affinia Chicago Hotel in early 2008. Samuelsson is known for his work at New York's Riingo and Aquavit. If you've been feeling a little... more ›

Fans can expect another busy offseason for the Cubs. And while last winter was spent courting the likes of Alfonso Soriano and Ted Lilly, this year's focus is going to be the ownership of the team. The Tribune Co., the current owners, has been dragging its feet on the sale, as it tries to maximize the overall price. While officially the desire is to close the sale during the fourth quarter, it's likely a deal... more ›

There are two big happenings tonight in Chicago. One involves Chicagoist's mild obsession, Top Chef, whose finale will be shot live tonight at an undisclosed location. (We'll be live-blogging it.) The other involves one of our esteemed city's baseball clubs ... you've heard of them, right? But since food and sports are both on the mind right now, we would be remiss in not mentioning the culinary wager made between Daley and Phoenix Mayor Phil... more ›

Yesterday's Trib had a big article about Barack Obama's ability to appeal to "beer-track voters," and today Media Matters posts a smack down, saying the Trib could just have easily focused on different anecdotes that support the opposite point. Is this a typical conservative paper vs. liberal blog fracas? Well ... maybe. But it's fun anyway! Beer, wine, poker, Obama — sounds like a party. The story sets up the difference between "beer-track" and "wine-track"... more ›

Here's what happened while a punk rock choir distracted us from Doomsday: Fall arts season preview season is here. If you didn’t pick up a Reader over the weekend, you can still bookmark their A & E preview online. The Trib’s writers chose their 10 most promising in theater, art, dance, music (rock and otherwise), comedy and architecture. The Bright One previews Broadway in Chicago and upcoming rock concerts and CDs (remember those?). New City... more ›

Here’s what you missed while you were gawking at fallen trees and the troubled lives of Michael Vick and Owen Wilson: The first signs that fall’s on the way: cooler temps, fading leaves and university gallery art openings. Two shows open today at Columbia College’s Glass Curtain Gallery and C33, and a new exhibit of Carol Jackson’s ‘signatureless’ work opens at UIC’s Gallery 400 tomorrow. When Thursday’s storms cut power to Belmont Avenue businesses, Bailiwick... more ›

The dropping temperature and pouring rain didn't stop us from getting excited when we read that three new frozen yogurt places will be opening up in Chicago in the near future. Frozen yogurt? Like TCBY? Yes, but better. This isn't just any fro-yo, as Chicagoist likes to call it. We're talking about Pinkberry (A.K.A Crackberry), which is either the best thing since sliced bread, or a huge crock of marketing shit. Our coastal friends... more ›

Here's what happened while you were chasing The King: The Trib’s Chris Jones profiles local playwright Marisa Wegryzn, whose latest show Killing Women opens Friday night, and addresses larger concerns about whether young talent is being properly nurtured and how the economics of Chicago theater tend to drive talented playwrights to the coasts. A booth filled with Jack Nixon’s “super-realist” penciled renderings of Chicago landmarks was the most unexpected sight at Northhalsted Market Days (and... more ›

With the Bears opening training camp on Friday, it's time to dust off the blue and orange, refresh our memories of last year's Super Bowl XLI appearance, and then start figuring out what to fret about come Week One. The Tribune points out their five areas of concern, while the Sun-Times gives us their ten things to watch for. 1. At the top of both lists is the quarterback situation. Can Rex Grossman be the... more ›

Schanna Gayden, a thirteen-year-old honors student and innocent bystander, was killed yesterday as she bought watermelon at a vendor's cart in a park just blocks from her home. This morning, charges are pending against a 19-year-old gang member likely from either the Imperial Gangsters and Spanish Cobras, the two gangs that have previously sparred over the turf in Logan Square As a press conference yesterday, a visibly upset Mayor Daley said yesterday, "Parents have to... more ›

Former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa on Wednesday night became only the fifth major leaguer to reach the 600 home run plateau. Maybe it wasn't quite rain on his wedding day, but Sosa's historic home run came not just against his old team, but even against his old jersey — Sosa's 600th came off the Cubs' Jason Marquis, who now wears the "21" that Sosa wore during his tenure with the Northsiders. Chicagoist noted to a... more ›

We Chicago sports fans sure didn't have very long to mourn the end of the Bulls season. Barely 12 hours later, the trash talking is reaching a fever pitch, as the Cubs and White Sox face off for the first time in 2007. Wrigley Field hosts the first installment of the city's annual crosstown showdown, beginning with Friday's matinee. The teams enter this weekend's series on opposite trajectories, with the Sox having won eight of... more ›