Property tax rates for the Chicago area were announced yesterday, and the fight over how much to raise taxes flared up again. While Todd Stroger tried to make his proposed increases more palatable by offering to rebate any leftover cash from a tax hike that hasn't yet been approved, Mayor Daley took a different approach, sending Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey to a city budget hearing yesterday to shill for higher property taxes. Predictably, county commissioners... more ›

The U.S. Women's National Team for soccer is in town this weekend for a World Cup tune-up match with New Zealand on Sunday at Soldier Field. The United States comes in to Sunday's match on a 45-game unbeaten streak; this will be their second to last friendly before they travel to China for the 2007 World Cup. Chicagoist sat down with former national team representative and two-time World Cup Champion Brandi Chastain to talk soccer... more ›

Take a walk down 18th Street in Pilsen and you won’t go far without passing a carnitas shop, pizza joint, hot dog stand or Mexican grill. It’s a varied mix of cheap (read: affordable) and cheap (read: not very good). For tablecloth dining options in the neighborhood, diners are often limited to May Street Café or Picante Grill, two places both given the Chicagoist review treatment. The former closes down when convenient (e.g the previous... more ›

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried... more ›

All hail the start of Green Market season! Chicagoist loves the green markets, cooks love the markets, and even professional chefs are getting into them. A quick perusal of the official Green Market guide reveals that most are starting up between the middle of May and the middle of June, and most are running through October. Since it seems like this year local is the new organic (see: The Omnivore's Dilemma), Chicago Localvores, a... more ›

It's official: The Red Eye is the Wave of the Future (TM)! For all the yada yadas about selling the Trib, reporters having to beg for food on street corners, and the inarguable lack of print news readers, the Red Eye seems to be doing OK — the paper will soon have a Saturday edition. more ›

• The local film DIMENSION is screening tomorrow at the prestigious Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose. In the film, three lonely residents of a Chicago neighborhood are divinely granted a wish. But it comes with a condition: they can only change exactly three inches about themselves. The movie was shot in Chicago during the summer of 2005, and it's one of only fourteen movies in competition in the festival's Maverick Narrative Category. Let's hope a Chicago screening is on the horizon.
• On Saturday, the really cool Intuit Center concludes their ELUSIVE Evidence series of film screenings about extraterrestrials with John Carpenter's cult classic They Live. And 80's WWF wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper plays a drifter who stumbles upon a weird set of sunglasses; when he dons them he's able to see the truth: evil aliens have disguised themselves as businessmen and politicians, keeping the earth's population docile through the use of subliminal messages. This flick has always been a favorite of ours, fondly remembered from countless Saturday afternoon showings on a local low-powered UHF channel. The Intuit Gallery is at 756 N. Milwaukee Ave.; the show begins at 2 p.m., and admission is free (donation suggested).
• Saturday night at Chicago Filmmakers you can see what Dick's Staff Shot. (Get your minds out of the gutter!) "The Nixon White House Staff Super-8 Films" consists of ultrarare "home movies" from the Nixon Administration! The footage was shot by Tricky Dick's staffers between 1969 and 1974 and later confiscated from John Erlichman's office by the FBI. Included are scenes from a performance of the musical 1776; Nixon visiting a Washington Redskins football practice; and appearances by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Indira Ghandi, Bob Hope, and Pat Boone. Admission is $8; more info at the Chicago Filmmakers site.

Anyone who's seen The Neo-Futurists’ weekly show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind knows the purveyors of this evening of rapid-fire entertainment regularly rely on the audience for seriocomic inspiration. We've seen these performers take up a collection for a poor college kid, treat random ticket holders to ice cream treats, start an impromptu dance party, and enlist the entire room in silent protest against the invasion of Iraq. The Neos also produce... more ›

Chicagoist used to think the mumps was one of those quaint diseases like scurvy that only pirates and characters on House get, but apparently it's alive and kicking. Thirteen students at Wheaton College have come down with the mumps recently, and several other cases are being investigated. Even though most people are vaccinated against the disease, it only works 80 to 90 percent of the time. College students are especially susceptible because they live in such quarters and frequently "hook up," as the kids say. The mumps are about as contagious as the flu, so students are urged to take typical precautions like washing hands, covering their mouths when they sneeze, not sharing utensils, and asking potential mates to sign 14-part, legally-binding disclosures before they go out on dates. more ›

Remember that new kid in school who seemed hell-bent on not fitting in? You know, the one who didn’t seem to care about making friends and wanted everyone to know what a badass s/he was, right off the bat. Yeah, looks like Macy’s is that kind of new kid. more ›

Chicagoist is feeling kind of irritable and grumpy this morning. And we’re blaming it on this weekend’s slate of films in wide release: the Garfield sequel, the Fast and the Furious sequel, Nacho Libre and The Lake House. Seriously, we’re feeling dumber just looking at that list. We know we’re supposed to be excited about Nacho Libre. Jack Black + director of Napoleon Dynamite x Mexican wrestling outfits = Comedy Gold, right? And yet…meh. One... more ›

Mayor Daley and Le Old Ball & Chain, Maggie, are gonna stay put in their 3-bedroom home in the South Loop. At least for now. .. The Daleys were considering buying a "new luxury home" overlooking Daley's precious Millennium Park, but say that now that it's not a priority and that they aren't planning on moving. more ›

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) with the help of a million bucks from the MetLife Foundation is creating and renovating parks and playgrounds in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Miami, New York City, San Francisco and one other city, not yet selected. more ›