Chef Giuseppe Tentori is annoyed that some jerk destroyed "Little Giuseppe," the snowman outside of GT Fish and Oyster. more ›

Bricks were thrown into the home of longtime anti-abortion activist Joseph Scheidler early Thursday morning, smashing his windows and leaving behind an angry note. Scheidler, who heads the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, confirmed that the bricks broke the dining room and living room windows of his North Leroy Avenue home. Although he and his wife, Ann, heard noises around 2 a.m., they did not discover the damage until they woke up later that morning. more ›

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica has scheduled a 1 p.m. press conference at Daley Plaza to address his weekend arrest in suburban McCook for allegedly tearing down campaign signs of his opponent in tomorrow's election, McCook Mayor Jeffrey Tobolski. more ›

We received some news via both the Chicagoist and our personal twitter feeds that the Puppet Bike was vandalized this morning. We have requests for comment in to the Puppet Bike owners as well as the person who sent out the tweet. We'll keep you updated on any response. Until, then, enjoy the pleasures of the puppet bike. more ›

As if team Blago didn't have enough to worry about between the upcoming trial and the ruckus over that Santiago proffer, some teens decided it would be fun to do physical damage to the Blago home by throwing a bottle through a window. The family was at home at the time of the incident and called police; no one was hurt. Police caught two teens a short while later who will be charged with criminal damage to property and sent to Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. Say what you will about the ex-gov, but a bottle through a window? Stupid. more ›

If you walked by the Art Institute’s Modern Wing earlier this week, you might have wondered if they were promoting a new exhibit on street art. Bright graffiti stretched for 50 feet along a light stone wall, bookended by the words “Modern Art” and “made you look.” While Chicagoist in no way condones illegal activity of any sort, we have to admit that this graffiti raises some interesting questions about the accessibility of art. It’s unlikely the tagging was gang-related, and it seems to be a pre-meditated, self-referential joke about art. more ›

We don't know what it is - the short days, the cold, cabin fever, whatever - but our neighbors up in suburban Deerfield are scratching their heads at some random acts of vandalism. Last week a giant inflatable snowman was slashed, resulting in the homeowner requesting an additional police patrol in the neighborhood. Maybe there is an extra patrol there but someone needs to get back to the Deerfield Public Library where one thief has been stealing cans of soda to the tune of six cans a day. more ›

Not only are the city's parking meter payboxes finding themselves in a deep freeze, but they're taking a beating, too. Literally. The Chicago News Coop mentioned in yesterday's New York Times that from April to August 2009, there were 579 cases of vandalism against the payboxes. more ›

Some people seem to have taken the "blow stuff up" aspect of the holiday a bit too far. Chicago Police are still looking for the person who used explosives to blow up a porta potty at the Lakefront yesterday morning before the crowds showed up. Police say no one was injured and only the toilet was damaged. [WBBM] more ›

The rebellion against the city's parking meters continues even as the Mayor, City Council, and private company running the meters continue to all tussle over the issue. Last night, a group of 50 parking meters stretching across the neighborhoods of Andersonville, Edgewater and Uptown were vandalized. From Chicago Breaking News: more ›

Yesterday was Earth Day, so to demonstrate the need for more clean energy, some people from Greenpeace attached 16-foot mini stationary windmills to the railing on the west side of the Michigan Avenue bridge. They were put up around 9:00 a.m., and they were taken down by 11:00 a.m. because the organization did not have a city permit. Also, CDOT spokesperson Brian Steele said that the windmills were a danger to pedestrians and to the movable bridge's delicate weight balance. (Uh, just how delicate? Should we be worried?) more ›

A North Side home has been searched by federal agents in connection with a series of attacks on area synagogues. Agents were seen carrying items such as a computer from the residence, located on the 6000 block of North Artesian Avenue, and a pair of vehicles were also confiscated by agents. No arrest has been made in connection with the attacks. Four synagogues in the area have been vandalized since the beginning of the year. more ›

A Bridgeport church was vandalized and had two fires set nearby overnight and officials are calling at least one of the fires an arson. The incident happened at All Saints St. Anthony's Church very early this morning. One of the fires damaged a stained-glass window. In addition to the fires, the phrases "GOD IS A LIE," "RAPE," and "IT HAPPENED HERE" were displayed across the doors of the church in red duct tape. The church's pastor, Rev. John Parker, said earlier today, "We didn't receive any warnings or threats or anything of that nature...I'm trying to figure out what the message means and what it means to the person who did it." more ›

Is there no decency in the world? With Mayor Daley the enemy of graffiti artists everywhere, the kids these days have gone to new lengths to deface the city's property. Sometime in the last day or so, someone scratched the name "Peters" (or "Peter S") on The Bean (proper name "The Cloud Gate"). The name was six inches long by one inch tall and was found "on the northeast quarter of the sculpture on the outside facade, about 3 feet off the ground." A park security officer discovered the vandalism yesterday afternoon and police are currently investigating the incident. So remember, children: bulldozing giant X's on a runway = okay, but scratching your name on an iconic work of art = bad. more ›

Last summer, we talked about Timur Serebrykov, the now-former guard at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum who slashed the Vija Celmins painting "Night Sky #2", on loan from our own Art Institute and valued at around $1.2 million. Now, we at least have closure. Timur pleaded guilty yesterday to institutional vandalism for the act and is due to be sentenced April 7. His lawyer said he was suffering from mental stress and Timur himself told police at the time he slashed the painting because, "I didn't like the painting.'' The painting has been returned to Chicago and, in spite of efforts to repair it, the painting has lost almost a quarter-million dollars in value. We have a few Pittsburghers on staff who are now no longer allowed near any precious works of art, at least until the Steelers win the Super Bowl. more ›

Sammy Sosa's boom box. Dugout electrical fans. Now we can add "Dodgers plumbing" to the list of things that frustrated Cubs players have taken out their aggressions on. Who broke the water pipe that caused the dugout to flood? No one's fessing up - and Cubs GM Jim Hendry doesn't give a rat's ass. He told the Trib: more ›

Barrington Community Unit School District 220 canceled its classes today because its fleet of school buses were vandalized. Unknown culprits slashed the tires on "24 to 26 large buses and 15 to 17 smaller ones," apparently with an ice pick. School bus tires cost about $200, which means someone's on the hook for a lot of damage. A note from the district's superintendent says about 7,000 of Barrington's 9,200 K-12 students take a school bus... more ›