It's Friday so everyone is gearing up for the weekend but there's already a lot going on that's going to make things hard to get around town today. A lot of folks will be streaming in to downtown for this morning's Blackhawks victory parade and rally, scheduled to start at Washington and Wacker at 10:30 a.m. There are lots of bus reroutes in effect, some street closures have already gone into effect in the Loop and even more will kick in by 10:15. Not to mention the large number of people due to be downtown for the parade. more ›

It's Memorial Day weekend, the start of the traditional summer traveling season, as well as a three-day holiday weekend for lots of folks. And that also means traffic. Throw in a visit from the President, all that construction, and a new report about truck bottlenecks and you've got yourself a recipe for lots of traffic news. IDOT Communications Manager Josh Kauffman told The Expired Meter, “Plan on the whole weekend being very busy. I think it’s something that needs to be taken into consideration.” And expect traffic to start getting worse this afternoon as people head out early for an even longer weekend. Joe Collins, WBBM Newsradio 780’s traffic reporter, told the Meter, "People try to avoid Friday’s traffic by taking an extra day off and leaving Thursday." Adding to the congestion will be plenty of construction projects, including the ongoing Eisenhower resurfacing. Oh, and with it being a holiday weekend, expect a few DUI checkpoints as well as a step up in the enforcement of the state's Click It Or Ticket campaign. more ›

The expected traffic snarl on the Eisenhower that was to begin this morning and last until October didn't happen as expected, but commuters be warned: it's still coming. The resurfacing of 27 miles of the Eisenhower from Thorndale to the Loop - and the repair of 37 bridges - was delayed because a contractor is still finishing work on Interstate Highway 355. So instead of kicking off this morning, the resurfacing project will instead begin after 8 p.m. tonight. more ›

• Our thoughts and prayers to the family of local National Guard soldier Derwin Williams who was killed by a road-side bomb in Afghanistan.
• With Madigan's exit from both the governor's and senate race, it looks like Republican state senator Mark Kirk is taking his aim at U.S. Sen. Burris' seat.
• Meanwhile, the Republican side of the governor's race keeps growing.