The Chicago River has flooded the north-side neighborhood Albany Park. As a result, the Chicago Fire Department has evacuated several families. At the corner of Avers and West Carmen Avenue, water was up to 2-feet deep, and vehicles were moving slowly through the flooded area. The water had reached all the way up to nearby homes, mostly 2-story, brick townhouses. The entire area near Avers and Carmen had been closed off to anyone other than......

According to a report released today by the Metropolitan Planning Commission, congestion costs the Chicago region billions of dollars a year. Those numbers are always kinda debatable, but agreed: Traffic = not fun. "Moving at the Speed of Congestion" says "Chicago and its six surrounding counties...squander an estimated $7.3 billion a year...due to excess traffic congestion on its expressways and arterials." That estimate includes a $5.1 billion "cost of wasted commuting time due to congestion."......

Photo by Stuck in Customs Trib says four, Sun-Times says three people were taken to area hospitals when when a car driven by an elderly woman plowed into a West Rogers Park Starbucks. There is no evidence the driver of the car was intoxicated, or hyped up on cafinated beverages. [S-T, Trib] Get this, a male skeleton -- in full clothing -- has been found near the water processing plant near Stickney. [Trib] Chicago......

Chicago has the third worst traffic in the country, according to a new study. Only LA and New York out-congest us. Bee-beeep! The report says that our local roadways were 2.1 percent more congested in 2006 than in 2007, the most traffic-heavy rush hour to travel in Chicago is Friday from 5-6pm, and the lightest rush hour is Friday from 9–10am. Chicago-area bottlenecks account for 21 of the top-100 worst jams in America, with the......

The CPD has issued 101 warnings in two hours today to drivers who failed to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk. An undercover officer tried to cross at Belmont and Lawndale in a sting operation to bust folks who don't yield to those of us on foot. The law requires drivers stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, even when there's no stop sign or traffic light, but not everyone is so into following that rule. The......

Not only are local gas prices awful (averaging $4.19 per gallon), but apparently so are our drivers. In a recent national survey by GMAC insurance, Illinois ranked 32 of the 50 states, which is up 13 spots from last year. The survey tested drivers' knowledge of what to do when approaching a yellow light, how to drive in inclement weather, and proper following distance. GMAC estimates that if given a written driving test today, 33......

The City of Chicago announced today that we're getting a $153 million government grant to try traffic-busting transit plans. On the to-do list? A special "bus rapid transit" subsystem and pricier downtown parking to make public transportation more attractive and driving drastically less so. From the USDOT press release: [U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E.] Peters explained the federal funds will be used to support Chicago’s creation of four pilot routes of a new Bus......

Sorry, cheeky mayor of Oak Lawn. Your cheesy stop signs that say "In the Name of Love" and "Right There Pilgrim" under the traditional "STOP" are apparently a violation of federal rules about road signs. The Federal Highway Administration and the Illinois Department of Transportation laid the smack down on Mayor Dave Heilmann's attempt to get drivers' attention, saying his joke signs violate the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is a surprisingly interesting......

Popular Mechanics unveiled its 10 pieces if "US infrastructure we must fix now," and Chicago is home to two of them--and we're the only city to appear twice on the list! Go us! Apparently, both the Circle Interchange (#1) and O'Hare (#10) are clusterfucks on a national scale. On the circle interchange (which is where 90/94 and 290 meet): Photo by Michael DaKidd One parkway and three expressways meet here, and close to 300,000 vehicles......

The Kennedy is has just reopened west of downtown after police successfully rescued a woman who was threatening to jump from the Hubbard Street overpass. Traffic is pretty jammed, though, after an hour of the highway being closed in both directions. [Trib, CBS]......

[Ed note: We're going to break from our usual style here. Take it away, Mark!] A few days ago, I wrote about the new red light cameras that'll be coming to a street corner near you. With a false sense of security, I jokingly referred to them as "money makers," thinking that I was somehow beyond their panoptic gaze. Big mistake. Two days later, I was slapped with a hundred dollar ticket of my own.......

Mayor Daley sure is busy. Or at least chatty. Yesterday Mayor Daley said he asked the Cook County Board of Review to reopen the appeals process for a special two-week period, March 17-31, for homeowners who feel that their property tax has been assessed too high as a result of the downturn in the housing market. The City has given the board of review data about which areas have seen declining home values, and it......

Chicago took another step towards fulfilling Mayor Daley’s vow that by 2016, we’ll have cameras on “almost every block.” It was announced yesterday that new red light cameras will be installed at 220 intersections, in addition to the 69 red light cameras that are currently in operation, and a ticket for burning a red light will cost you $100 (up from $90 last year). Along with the increased network of red light cameras, cameras will......

The City is running low on de-snowing dollars. We've already plowed through over $14 million of an $18 million budget. [S-T] Can someone please manufacture and buy us this striped Barracuda from what appears to be the magnificent past? Thank you. A Joliet man robbed the same Chase bank twice. He's been apprehended. [Trib] Com Ed busts ass to keep Hugo's Frog Bar, Tavern on Rush, Lux Bar and Gibsons open yesterday. [S-T] Traffic is......

Photo by JoeM500 Mayor Daley introduced a new ordinance today that would fine motorists whose reckless behind-the-wheel antics endanger cyclists. Fines from $150-$500 could be levied against drivers who turn in front of someone on a bike, pass with less than three feet of space between car and bike, or door someone. "When someone opens a door -- that's why you have to be very, very alert on a bike," Daley said. "Yes, it's......

A truck hauling chocolate overturned on the northbound Skyway this morning, spilling diesel fuel but none of its precious cargo. The semi, carrying 4,000 gallons of liquid chocolate, crashed near 71st Street. Three people suffered minor injuries, and we're left to fantasize about the nastiest, biggest fondue party that could have been. We're still trying to figure out why chocolate would be transported in its liquid state and where exactly it was headed. Want to......

After months of anticipation, the $21,400,000 suspension bridge that's gradually been taking form at North Avenue appears to be nearing completion. This morning, for the first time since construction began in mid-2006, traffic is actually passing over the bridge, instead of being diverted to the temporary bridge that sits just to the south. For those that haven't been following the process, construction began in June of 2006 on the new hybrid suspension/cable-stayed bridge, which......

Wow, Alderman Tom Tunney has been having an interesting couple of months. First he gets a ticket for talking on his cell phone while driving and may have received special favors from the police department, then he makes a sweet deal and moves his flagship Ann Sather's, and now it's being reported that Tunney was the victim of an attempted holdup yesterday afternoon just a block from his 44th ward office. Five teenagers, who apparently......

After a week of having holiday music stuck in our head, we need to laugh. Luckily, there are plenty of comedy shows this weekend... The Bicycle Men are back in Chicago, presenting a loving tribute to “le bicyclette” and a tribute of sorts to all things French. Dan Castellaneta joins the cast as American tourist Steve, lost in a sea of nutty Frenchmen performing dirty puppet shows and an “unauthorized” talent show, among other things.......

Ah, O'Hare. First your flight gets delayed, then there's a stinky but nontoxic cleaning agent used in the terminal, then your plane almost runs into another plane. Indeed, ye olde ORD has the second-highest number of near-collisions of any US airport. And according to a report from the GAO, O'Hare has six runways that don't meet the FAA's "runway safety area standards," and the airport had four "serious incursions," which is when two planes......

The first storm of the winter season has passed. Here’s how it came down, by the numbers: About 400 flights canceled at O’Hare and Midway; those not canceled delayed 40 to 60 minutes. Wind gusts up to 45 m.p.h. Up to a quarter-inch of ice in some places. One death reported in Wisconsin, in a weather-related traffic accident. 100,000 customers without power across northern Illinois, mostly in the west and northwest suburbs. About 15,000 are......

After cooking our Thanksgiving dinner from scratch while holding our toddler, we’d like to never see the inside of a kitchen again. Thankfully, Chicago is rife with take-out deliciousness. Our new favorite is Ta Tong, a local Thai and sushi dive in Lakeview. Most Chicago neighborhoods have one: a hole-in-the-wall place that serves up some awesome Asian food. Ta Tong makes one of the best Pad Kee Mao ($6.95) dishes we’ve eaten in Chicago. We......

Wonder where "celebrities" shop in Chicago? Expensive places. Ask Ellie gives some tough-love advice on how to get over a work crush. "This is getting beyond a crush to an unhealthy obsession." Burn, lady! How about something a little nicer? Sheesh. If you've been working on writing an episode of CSI or Bones (which...is secretly great), have we got a mystery-solving method for you: A Canadian scientist uses isotope analysis on teeth and bones......

An investigation is underway in death of 34-year-old Freddie "Latee" Wilson, whom police shot and killed Tuesday night. It's the newly-formed (well, newly named at least) Independent Police Review Authority's first case, so Ilana Rosenzweig and her agency are under a lot of pressure to handle this appropriately--and quickly. Should...be....easy? Wilson's family and friends say he was "getting his life together" after a few stints in prison and was now a role model and mentor......

A little while ago, we told you about Granny Ball, a basketball league for cougars. Well, attention ladies over 50: There's another round of tryouts tomorrow for the newly formed Granny All-Star League. More than 250 people submitted adoption applications for the 41 horses that survived that truck crash. Wonder where we can see a bunch of local news promos....oh. Right here. Donda West's doctor confirms that she had plastic surgery but denies any......

Oh, look, it's time for another sensationalist story about the internet. Let's see... sexual predators on the web? Nah, that's too played out. We know: Hate speech! Let's get to it. Trib says: "It might come as a surprise to the soldiers who defeated fascism in World War II, but the United States has become a refuge for Nazism and other brands of extremism over the last decade. On the Internet, that is." We say:......

Mayor Daley and the FAA got in a bit of a pissing match over the weekend, with the FAA cooling their jets after a Tribune article published Saturday cited the FAA as stating a 2004 cap on flights would not be lifted after the new runway opened at O’Hare. Flight restrictions were imposed in an effort to help ease flight delays and cancellations, and the two parties came to realize they had different expectations of......

The Lake County Sheriff says the crash that killed 14 horses was "completely avoidable and inexcusable." The driver, James E. Anderson, 34 of North Dakota, was hauling 59 Belgian draft horses in a double-decker semi truck. He's been charged with disobeying a traffic control device and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, and he may face additional charges. Apparently 59 horses is way too many to pack in one truck; according to one......

With the ongoing and impending budget crisis at CTA on the brink of exploding, it nearly slipped our minds that the full Dan Ryan expressway re-opened for business, after nearly two years of construction. The project was completed ahead of schedule, but the cost of the project nearly doubled (it is the Chicago Way, after all). The project added an extra local lane between 47th and 67th Streets, and an additional lane each way from......

It's hard to believe it's taken the universe this long to combine parades, insane traffic and the ability to punch the living shit out of stuff. But that combo has arrived. Downtown. Today. Yes, at 4pm this afternoon, around 700 boxers, here to punchasize your face for the the AIBA World Boxing Championship, will walk from the Palmer House Hilton to the Chicago Theater in a 4-block parade. State Street between Adams and Wacker will......