You might say Al Gore is compensating for something. A former Vice President, Nobel Peace prize winner, Academy Award winner, New York Times bestseller, Chairman of Emmy award winning independent TV network Current TV, inventor of the Internet and expert kisser, he can also add a recent book deal and Chicago Theatre speaking engagement to his long list of accolades. more ›

With the Democratic National Convention less than a week away, those whispers about Obama picking a running mate have turned into a buzz and will soon turn into a roar. Reports are stating that Obama has picked his running mate and will announce it as soon as tomorrow. Earlier this summer, Obama's campaign rolled out an option for those on the Obama email list to register so that could receive first notice of the Veep decision. Speculation has focused on Delaware Senator Joe Biden and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh as the lead candidates. more ›

We reported in yesterday’s Extra, Extra, that top cop Jody Weis -- a buff body builder married to a personal trainer -- wants to modify the current incentive for officers to stay healthy and fit. Instead of the $250 bonus payment for officers to run a timed 1.5 miles and meeting sit-up and bench-press requirements, Weis wants a program that offers a more holistic approach with good health being the ultimate incentive. more ›

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Barack Obama might not be Ronald Reagan (thank God for small blessings?), but he and Dick Cheney share something: A common ancestor. Yes, our junior senator and the good old face-shooter are distant cousins. Freaking out! Oh wait, no we're not: The Sun Times reported this over a month ago. Obama definitely has presidential timber in his family tree: He's distantly related to three U.S. presidents — Harry S Truman, George W. Bush and George... more ›

About 17,000 union members, along with their friends and their families, filled the south end of Soldier Field for a debate, hosted by the AFL-CIO, among the Democratic contenders. A sweaty sea of union members in colored T-shirts, representing everyone from the Service Employees International Union to the United Steelworkers, from the AFSCME to the IUPAT, drank cold bottles of water and listened to Democrats talk about how their administration would work for working families,... more ›

Everyone is to blame for album sales being down except the actual industry itself. Who gets the spotlight for bringing down the sales this time? It’s the media and those promo copies they receive in order to review albums before they hit the street. Everyone remembers the Jack White/Q101 fiasco a few weeks back after Electra played Icky Thump in its entirety and then (surprise!) the album showed up on file sharing sites three weeks... more ›

After we saw an anonymous tip on our sidebar saying that WLUW (88.7 FM) would no longer exist in its current form, we were filled with a sense of dread. How? Why? More importantly, was this really true? We called Shawn Campbell, Program Director, to see what was up. She confirmed that the gist of the tip was true, but told us that the information had been leaked to Feder before WLUW and WBEZ had... more ›

Take a quick look through Flickr, and you'll see that the CTA is one of the most popular subjects for photographers' lenses. Interesting architecture, intriguing people, and a nice dose of urban decay all beg to be photographed. We were similarly inspired last weekend while waiting for a brown line train at the Belmont "L" stop. After taking a photo of the view toward the end of the platform, and two snapshots of a glimpse... more ›

This is not a fun time to be a baseball fan in Chicago. Whether a White Sox or Cubs fan, you no doubt have that sinking feeling about your team's prospects for the postseason after they were swept this week. The Cubs lost 9-0 to the Florida Marlins on Wednesday, following a day full of meetings. The players held one. So did management. Didn't help, at least on Wednesday. The players felt they needed to... more ›

By now it comes as no surprise to followers of politics that one of the most valuable assets in Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign is his wife Michelle. Her demeanor, accessibility and professional pedigree are invaluable to her husband's aspirations. As the Senator's campaign has shifted into higher gear, Mrs. Obama has gradually trained her energies on helping her husband win the Democratic nomination next year. She's taken a leave of absence from her job as Vice President for Community and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals. But it was her resignation from the board of directors at Treehouse Foods yesterday that may help her husband further in the campaign. more ›

Here's yet another twist to the "Jimbo's is closing" timeline. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sheldon Garber, who only last week gave owners Jimbo and Joyce Levato until the end of the month to clear out of their location at 33rd and Princeton, agreed to lift his order while the Levatos file an appeal of his ruling. The appeal filing allows Jimbo's to stay open this season, and possibly longer, depending on how backed up the court's dockets might be. more ›

Two years ago, we had the pleasure of meeting Bob Lempinen, an executive Vice President at Distinguished Brands International. Distinguished Brands imports O'Hara's Irish Stout in the U.S. Lempinen insisted that O'Hara's was better than Guinness. We thought it was nothing more than him pushing his portfolio hard - he said that about all the beers he carried - and went along our way. Months passed, at a friend's birthday party we had the opportunity... more ›

We'll admit to sitting through an episode or two of "Wild Chicago" for soccer moms "190 North," largely because we created this game where we try to guess Janet Davies' age by studying her neck. It's kinda hard, because she's keeps the gullet covered a lot these days; our age guesses range from late-40's to "undead." more ›

Chicago's river is not the only thing that turns green around St. Patrick's Day. Many of Chicago's sports franchises are celebrating St. Patrick's Day by donning green uniforms. more ›

That cold wind that took over the Chicago area yesterday afternoon? It was none other than Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney was in the suburbs yesterday to raise money for Peter Roskam, the 6th District Republican candidate for Congress. Roskam will face either Tammy Duckworth, Christine Cegelis, or Lindy Scott in the November election. The Democratic battle has been hard fought and well publicized nationwide, while Roskam is running unopposed in the Republican primary. The... more ›

First Governor Blagojevich irritated his political opponents with his All Kids Insurance program, and now he is back at it with his Preschool for All program, which would allow all three and four year olds in the state to attend state-funded preschools. Blago estimates Preschool for All will cost $135 million over the next three years and would enroll around 140,000 students. Blago estimates closing corporate tax loopholes and money from Illinois’ special purpose... more ›

After much speculation, former Chicago alderman Edwin Eisendrath has decided to challenge Governor Blagojevich in the Democratic primary this coming spring. Edwin currently serves as Vice President of Academic Affairs for Kendall College. Prior to that he served as alderman for the 43rd ward from 1987 to 1993 and headed the Chicago regional office for the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1995 to 1997 under President Clinton. Eisendrath lost a 1990 bid... more ›

Chicagoist's Bridgeport Correspondent earns his keep as a bartender. When we're on the clock we adopt the motto of "bizarro-world" Nick from "It's A Wonderful Life": "We serve hard drinks here for folks who wanna get drunk fast. And we ain't got room for 'characters' who give the joint 'atmosphere'." Actually, we've loosened up a bit over the years as we discovered the hard way that those same "characters" tend to tip very, very, very,... more ›

It will be discourse not fisticuffs tonight, however, who knows with Alan "The Gentleman" Keyes (can't get enough of that picture). The second debate between Barack Obama and Alan Keyes, candidates for U.S. Senate in Illinois, is tonight from 7 to 8 p.m. on ABC 7. The debate is sponsored by both ABC 7 Chicago and the League of Women Voters of Illinois. The national League of Women Voters used to sponsor the presidential debates... more ›

Well, at least he picked Chicagoist's favorite swear word as ammo! A Chicago lawyer has received worldwide notoriety for his foul mouthes tirade left on a colleague's voicemail at another law firm. more ›

Ex-President Bill Clinton kicked off the book tour for his new book, "My Life", yesterday at BookExpo America, the annual booksellers convention. Of his 900 page (!) tome, Clinton says, "I don't settle a lot of scores in this book," which causes us to wonder, then why would a political personality write a book at all? more ›

At $2.02, gasoline prices have hit an all-time record in Illinois. The average price in Chicagoland is $2.10, which is four cents short of the record set in June 2000. Alaron Trading Senior Vice President and market analyst Phil Flynn said he expects prices to increase an additional 15 to 20 cents a gallon by Memorial Day, drop a bit, and then surge again around the Fourth of July. The Illinois average price is seven cents higher than the national average of $1.95 a gallon. more ›