Whoever our next mayor will be, he or she has pretty big shoes to fill. Meigs Field and parking meters snafus aside, there’s no doubt that Daley had a ginormous role to play in much of Chicago’s success. In his new book Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Use Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier, Harvard Economist Edward Glaeser takes a detailed look at what makes some cities great and others not so great. He writes about the whole spectrum of city economics, from how improved public transportation increases poverty, to how urban environments are better for the well-being of both people and nature, to his research against investing huge amounts of infrastructure to climbing cities. Glaeser has been researching, studying and writing about the economics of cities for 20 years, and Triumph of the City blends much of that research with anecdotes and history across 10 chapters, which are further subdivided in easy-to-digest subchapters. more ›

more ›

more ›

President Bush is in town today to celebrate the anniversary of No Child Left Behind, hobnob with Mayor Daley to talk Olympics, and give a speech about the economy to the Union League Club. And the Sun-Times makes him feel welcome with a front-page smackdown of NCLB. more ›

Paris in the Springtime in Chicago? more ›

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is holding its annual Cookbook Expo this weekend in Chicago. And, for the first time, they're opening it up to the public. This is your chance to hobnob with some of your favorite cookbook authors and chefs, who will be on hand to sell and sign their latest books. The event runs from 5-6 p.m. tomorrow at the Hilton Chicago. Even though it's free, reservations are required; e-mail... more ›

Louisa Chu over at Movable Feast announced on her site that renowned French physicist Hervé This, one of the godfathers of the molecular gastronomy (or "science food") movement, will be in town this weekend to lead a seminar on the movement, the first such seminar ever held in the United States. A quick e-mail to Ms. Chu confirmed that the seminar is free!! more ›

After a brief jaunt out west, Chicagoist is back at the homestead, making camp here on the prairie that is sweet home Chicago. But just because we took a long weekend doesn't mean that our elected officials did. Here's a look back at what's been newsworthy so far this week: Illinois junior senator Barack Obama has a huge lead — in MySpace friends! Outpacing Hillary Clinton's "friends" by some 20,000, he's clearly in the lead,... more ›

You remember that poll in the Sun-Times yesterday? Yeah, that one. Well the race for Cook County Board President got a little, well, hot yesterday. In a noon debate at Chicago's Union League Club, the once and future king of Cook County took shots at Peraica, trying to paint him as both a right-winger and a crook associated with disgraced (and convicted) former Cicero town president Betty Loren-Maltese; Peraica accused Stroger of being absent for... more ›

Opera fans and diva fanatics rejoice: megastar Renée Fleming is scheduled to land for a meet, greet & dine on Monday, Dec. 13, at the Union League Club. Sponsored by the ULC Authors Group, America’s Favorite Soprano (we trust Ohio didn’t tally the votes on that one) will be on hand to promote her new autobiography “The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer.” (We’d like to subtitle that subtitle with “And She’s Not Kidding”; this slim volume is deep on technique and way shallow on tantrums. You’ll have to try the new Pavarotti bio for bad behavior and backstage dirt.) more ›

Today�s Trib Loop info is called �Curiosities,� but it seems more like a leftovers. Start off the fun with a quiz, which we�ll admit kind of kicked our ass. Good thing they didn�t ask us about the property at 22 East Jackson, the former Pickwick Lane. There�s still a 19 x 19 stable house there, and it might be up for sale as an �office building with character or even as an office/residence.� Let�s see�it�s 361 square feet, built in 1857 with a third story added in 1907, and no one can find it on the first try? Think it�s already wired? more ›