Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Roper thinks the James R. Thompson at Clark and Randolph would be the perfect location for a casino in Chicago. more ›

So much about a September timetable to fix the Clark/Lake Blue Line escalator. Use it with abandon, people. more ›

CTA is waiting for parts to fix the fercockt escalator at Clark/Lake. Really, that's what they told us. more ›

The Thompson Center was in no way prepared for the estimated 600 people in line on Friday morning that were there to claim their winnings for the Illinois Lottery's "Pick Four" game, in what may be the highest payout ever for the game. The winners will share about $8.4 million before taxes, said Tracy Owens, a lottery representative, to the Chicago Sun-Times. There were so many people in line that Owens did not think the staff of four would be able to process all the winners. "There's a great possibility that people will be coming back on Monday or Tuesday," Owens said. Winners can also pick up their checks at Lottery offices in Des Plaines, Rockford, Springfield and Fairview Heights. more ›

• A First Amendment battle is brewing in Buffalo Grove where a village trustee is trying to track down an internet commenter who said something nasty about her teenage son.
• Alleged mobster Rudolph C. "Rudy" Fratto pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
• Chicago-based United Airlines is facing a fine of almost $4 million for a safety violation; specifically, "operating one of its Boeing 737 aircraft on more than 200 flights with shop towels covering openings near where oil collects in the bottom of the engine instead of using protective caps required by the carrier's maintenance procedures." Damn.

Chicago Calling, a collaborative festival linking Chicago-based artists with international friends and counterparts, continues tonight and Saturday, the exclamation point to Chicago Artists Month 2007. The festival as exchange program is perfect for an age where Skype, Google Talk, and unlimited wireless plans have dissolving the distance between us and our European, African, and Asian friends. If you’re commuting through the Thompson Center tonight, stop by the front plaza to hear Jennifer Karmin’s “Beast Poem,”... more ›

Former WKQX-FM 101.1 radio host Erich "Mancow" Muller filed a lawsuit Tuesday against his former employer, saying radio officials disparaged his show and blocked him from getting other work. We are getting pretty sick of the cell phone drivers, but we are always amazed at the cell phone bikers (not in a good way). Yesterday, an 19-year-old woman who was struck and killed by a garbage truck on the Northwest Side, was apparently talking... more ›

After six months of construction, the CTA Brown Line's Kedzie and Rockwell stations should have reopened this morning at 4:45 AM (if they didn't someone tell us). The CTA is still adding a few finishing touches like signage, more fencing, and ooh, a compass rose. The spiffy new stations feature glass station houses, new platforms, better lighting, and those nifty blue rubber edges that remind you to back up lest you get decapitated by a... more ›

to change the world. Chicago-based companies Alpha Baking Co., bun bakers, and Vienna Beef, wiener producers, will sign "The Great Piece Treaty" at 11:45 a.m. The treaty is a promise by both companies to produce their hotdog products in packages of eight until the end of time. more ›

Today is "Day of Silence," a youth-led day of silent protest to draw attention to anti-gay violence in schools. Partipants go without speaking throughout the day and then all meet up tonight in a "Night of Noise" at the Thompson Center. more ›

Last night's tree-lighting ceremony (guh?) at the Thompson Center didn't quite go as planned. Governor Blagojevich, who looks more like a game-show host every damn day, was present to make everything festive and official. more ›

Helmut Jahn is speaking at the Art Institute tonight as the guest of the Architecture & Design Society. Yeah, it's a steep $15, you cheap-o bastard, but it's worth it: the guy's a living legend. Jahn's work is all over town—IIT student housing, the United terminal at O'Hare, the Thompson Center, and a handful of other structures were all "archi-neer[ed]" by Jahn. Tofutti break. more ›

Helmut Jahn is now going to be designing environmentally friendly housing for the poor in Chicago. Scheduled to be built next year on a vacant lot near Cabrini-Green, Jahn's building is environmentally friendly and made of stainless steel and glass. Its shape will be like a Twinkie, very similar to the Illinois Institute of Technology dorms he designed (pictured at the left). It will have rooftop wind turbines and solar panels, as well as a recycling system that collects rainwater and uses it to flush the toilets. more ›

You still have time to register for Chicago's 16th annual L.A.T.E. Ride, which takes place Sat. July 10th/Sun. July 11th. Join 10,000 cyclists for a 25 mile ride through Greek Town, the Loop, Old Town, Lincoln Park and along Chicago's lakefront path. The ride itself begins at 1:30am in Grant Park and finishes up around dawn at Buckingham Fountain. more ›