Speaking to the Sun-Times, Emanuel said he believed "the point had been made" about how divisive the alleged plan by Joe Ricketts to interject race into anti-Obama attack ads would be, and that he does plan to speak to Tom Ricketts eventually. more ›

Looks like the Ricketts Family paid a premium to turn a parking lot into a possible Paradise. more ›

A Notre Dame graduate shares his plans for Wrigley Field renovation and how he came to working with the Chicago Cubs on the project before it was placed on hold. more ›

Would Tom Ricketts be willing to hire Ryne Sandberg as the team's next manager, even as it becomes more obvious the team is in a rebuilding mode? more ›

Hendry helped put together three NL Central champions, but he's been widely perceived to have had a horseshoe up his ass in recent years. more ›

The Cubs aren't saying why they're one of nine teams in violation of Major League Baseball's debt service rules. But there's plenty of speculation. more ›

While most of Chicago's sports fans were too preoccupied with Bears playoff mania to think about baseball, the Cubs hosted their annual convention at the Hilton Chicago last weekend. As in past years, Cubs fans had a chance to mingle, meet players and attend panels with the team's players and management. Fans also got a chance to check out the newest high profile additions, like first baseman Carlos Pena and starting pitcher Matt Garza, and hear from newly appointed manager Mike Quade. more ›

The Cubs have proposed a "Caribbean Classic" against the Cuban national baseball team, in a letter from Tom Ricketts delivered to Havana's vice-mayor. 14th Ward Alderman Ed Burke, traveling in Cuba with his wife on a trip organized by the American Bar Association, delivered the challenge. No details have been given about when the game or games might be played, nor the location. more ›

It seems that the proposal from Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts to fund renovations for Wrigley Field that would have allowed the Cubs to keep all marginal growth in amusement tax collection on Cubs tickets is DOA after the Illinois Legislature failed to address the issue during its fall veto session. more ›

Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts continued to plead his case on Monday, telling the Tribune's editorial board that there is no Plan B to funding Wrigley modernization. He reiterated that the tax revenue would come exclusively from Cubs fans, while again failing to mention that the forgone tax dollars will mean shortfalls wherever those dollars currently go. While Ricketts claimed it would create 1000 jobs, the loss of revenue flowing to the schools, police and parks mean these city entities would probably have to cut 1000 employees. more ›

Both Mayor Daley and Governor Quinn rejected the Ricketts family's proposal to renovate Wrigley Field using up to 35 years' worth of amusement tax growth in a bond offering. And it looked like both took very different approaches to do so. more ›

The Ricketts family has asked the state of Illinois to borrow up to $300 million in a bond offering that will fund a major to Wrigley Field, the beloved but 96-year old ballpark of their recently purchased Chicago Cubs. more ›

As the Cubs continue their tradition of losing, it’s the businesses centered around them that are hurting the most with this year’s dismal record. Wrigley attendance is down 3.6 percent from last year and the rooftop clubs are slashing prices for the first time trying to make ends meet. “There’s a lot of money going out and only some coming in,” the managing partner of Skybox rooftop told the Tribune. more ›

The path to getting the lighted Toyota sign put up in the left field stands at Wrigley Field has cleared another hurdle, getting the green light from the City Council’s Buildings Committee. Perhaps more important, though, is the reversal by Ald. Tom Tunney who had, until now, opposed the sign. Tunney has agreed to support it so long as the Cubs issue a moratorium on similar sign for the next four years. Estimates for total revenue generated by the sign stand at around $2.5 million a year. more ›

The owners of the Chicago Cubs, the Ricketts family, recently invested in the rooftop seating space across Sheffield Avenue from Wrigley Field. Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for the family, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the investment will permit a rooftop business to reopen at 3621 N. Sheffield. more ›

The City's Landmarks Commission gave Cubs owner Tom Ricketts the OK for that proposed Toyota sign to go up in left field at Wrigley Field. Ricketts had pulled out the big guns for the presentation, bringing along Cubs legend Ernie Banks to appeal to the Commission in favor of the sign. Said Mr. Cub, "It is important to have this sign to keep this wonderful place alive . . . for another 100 years." By "keep this...place alive," Banks meant provide a few million dollars in extra revenue for the team. Because even though they have some of the best attendance numbers along with the most expensive tickets in baseball, signing players like Alfonso Soriano and Milton Bradley to bloated, awful contracts is no way to balance the checkbook. more ›

That controversial Toyota sign that Cubs owner Tom Ricketts wants to put up in left field at Wrigley Field is one step closer to becoming reality after the city's Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning approved slightly altered plans of the sign, according to the Tribune's Blair Kamin. According to new plans, the sign will rise from within the stadium and even allow for a walkway along the top of the bleachers behind it and the color of the sign has been altered as well. more ›

If you attended yesterday's Cubs home opener or at least walked by Wrigley during the game, you might have noticed several dozen protesters decked out in bright yellow shirts protesting the proposed Toyota sign that team owner Tom Ricketts wants to put up in left field. Well, as Time Out Chicago notes, it turns out those protesters weren't there just out of the goodness of their heart, but because they were paid. Jake Malooley quizzed a few of the protesters, who were paid $25 for two hours of "work." more ›

Don't look for that Toyota sign to be towering above Wrigley Field anytime soon. The city's Department of Zoning has come back to the Cubs with some demands they want met before they clear the way for the lighted sign to go up. The move confirms that the sign won't be in place before the Cubs' home opener on April 12. Among the demands is moving the sign closer to home plate, meaning it will rise from inside the stadium behind bleacher seats as opposed to Wrigley's exterior wall. In addition, according to the Sun-Times: more ›

New Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has gone on the defensive over the proposed Toyota ad at Wrigley Field and suggestions the City will shoot down the idea. Speaking to the City Club of Chicago, Ricketts said, "It doesn't affect anyone looking in. I can't imagine this isn't something we can work on." The proposed sign, a lighted, 16-by-22 foot Toyota logo, would extend from the left field bleachers and only partially obscure the Horseshoe Casino rooftop ad, not affecting any rooftop seats. Even once the deal is done, though, the team will need approval from the city's Department of Zoning and Land-use Planning and Commission on Chicago Landmarks. But Ricketts at least had a sense of humor about it the ordeal. more ›

Like when we sell a Pitchfork ticket on Craigslist, the Tribune Company has lined up a second party to whom they can sell the Cubs (and the additional assets) should the current deal fall through. It's not really a shock; after all, crazier shit has happened in business and it's certainly one way of strong-arming the Ricketts into completing the deal that has dragged on for a bit. According to the Tribune report: more ›

With his bid to buy the Chicago Cubs lagging a bit, Tom Ricketts has apparently appealed to some folks with more star wattage as potential partners to buy the franchise. According to the Tribune, Ricketts has met with such local luminaries as Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, and John Cusack. It's part of Ricketts' attempt to pull in private investors willing to chip in $25 million each to help raise capital to finalize the purchase. While it doesn't seem as if the bid is in jeopardy, indications are that there is some finagling going on with the broadcast aspect of the bid and the Ricketts family may lower it somewhat. more ›

Following a search that has taken almost two years, the Cubs may finally have their new owners. The Tribune Co. selected the bid from the Ricketts family as their favored bid yesterday. It's by no means a done deal, however, as the Ricketts will have to secure financing and pass hurdles with MLB and other team owners. But hopes are to have the deal closed by Opening Day. more ›

Coinciding with the start of 2007 baseball season began, Sam Zell purchased the Tribune Co. and announced that he was putting the Cubs up for sale to help pay down the company's debt. Two full seasons later, the team remains part of his now bankrupt media empire. But this seemingly endless process of determining the winning bidder may be over soon. From an initial pool of at least 10 interested parties, the Cubs have asked three bidders to polish up their bids as the team decides which to accept. The three finalists are: Tom Ricketts, Marc Utay and Hersch Klaff. more ›