The late January fire that crisped up the 47th Street Marketplace was a shot in the gut for Bronzeville residents. For many, the building at 47th and Martin Luther King Drive had come to symbolize the slow rebirth of Chicago’s oldest and most prominent black neighborhood. The blaze was not only a symbolic hit, but it also robbed the area of its only upscale restaurant in Blu 47, a burgeoning art gallery, and the oddly oft-closed Spoken Word Café (not to mention a double hit to Jamaicans with the loss of that country’s consulate and the prospect of another Uncle Joe’s Jerk Chicken restaurant that was due to open soon after the fire). more ›

Today's exercise in plausible deniability comes courtesy of Will County Associate Judge Robert Livas. Last year Livas sentenced 24-year-old Darrius Logan to 100 hours of community service stemming from misdemeanor battery and criminal trespass charges in Joliet. In August Logan told Livas he completed the terms of his sentencing by working 100 unpaid hours at Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken — their three locations at 8211 S. Cottage Grove, 8601 S. Stony Island and 10210 S. Vincennes, for those interested. more ›