Since two new laws went into effect banning talking on cell phones while driving through construction and school zones, and texting while driving, the Illinois State Police has pulled over nearly 7,800 motorists for violating the two laws. more ›

If you plan on taking your Black Friday shopping skills to the safari that are our area shopping malls, be warned. Police will be out en masse tomorrow to ticket anyone illegally parking in handicap-reserved spots. more ›

Say what you will about Wrigley Field's bleachers or people scromping in the bathrooms at The Cell, at least the food vendors at the city's four major sport stadiums (NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB) apparently get a gold star in terms of (lack of) health code violations. Of the four major stadiums - Wrigley Field, U.S. Cellular Field, United Center, and Soldier Field - only Soldier Field reported any critical violations. According to the report put together by ESPN, 12 percent of vendors at Soldier Field were cited but, "Almost all violations were due to a lack of hot water." The Cell, Wrigley, and UC reported zero percent of vendors as having critical violations. Compare these to, say, the violations found at Florida stadiums, like this one at Sun Life Stadium where the Miami Dolphins play: more ›

In almost two years, most Chicagoans have become accustomed to the smoking ban. When heading just across the border to Indiana, it even feels weird to be indoors while some folks light up. While some bars in the area have either found ways to skirt the ban or ignored it, most Cook County establishments have done their best to comply with the law. The Southtown Star reports that smoking violation complaints have dropped from 682 last year to 270 this year. more ›

According to the Tribune, there's been a jump in tickets issued - up 26 percent in January through August 2009 over the same time period last year - and an increase of revenue. But CBS 2 points out that the jump in revenue may have more to do with the parking ticket amnesty that was offered early this year than the new tickets actually being paid. more ›

The Federal Aviation Administration discovered a litany of safety violations in a recent routine inspection of O'Hare International Airport, the Tribune reports today. The FAA sent a "letter of notice" to O'Hare officials which also called out the Chicago Department of Aviation. According to the Trib: more ›

Ukrainian Village residents are going to have to get their tacos from somewhere else today. The City Department of Public Health shut down Tecalitlan (1814 W. Chicago Ave.) after a spot inspection found four coolers at temperatures ranging from 48-62 degrees. the Health department also made Tecalitlan throw out 400 pounds of meat, eggs and other ingredients. more ›

Want to know how detailed a city health inspection of Our Town's restaurants can become? Tribune reporter Monica Eng recently followed two Public Health Inspectors around as they scared the hell out of unsuspecting restaurant owners with spot inspections. How detailed are the inspectors? more ›

The City Health Department, acting on a 311 tip of no running water, shut down Hearty Boys Catering today after finding a list of violations, including no hot or cold running water on the premises, a broken walk-in cooler that was failing to hold food at 40 degrees or colder — the cooler was no colder than 57 degrees — and food in the cooler at similarly unsafe temperatures (including cooked pasta, hot dogs and other food). We've placed a call to Hearty Boys co-founder Dan Smith for comment and will update if and when he returns the call. more ›

That last tidbit we wrote in our earlier post about Fulton's on the River being open for lunch tomorrow? We were wrong. They're open for dinner right now. The Health Department gave Fulton's the go-ahead to re-open, saying the restaurant passed its re-inspection "with not even a minor food safety violation noted." more ›

It's understandable that those puke phosphorescent green "license suspended" stickers the city Health Department plasters across the doors of restaurants and stores that fail inspections can be unsightly, not to mention bad for business if enough regular customers catch sight of them. more ›

First it was the advanced civilization found in O'Hare Airport. Then the North Avenue Whole Foods was shut down because of them, sending shoppers into a mild panic and showing that some of Our Town's better newspaper columnists has as loose a grasp on the definition of "irony" as Alanis Morissette. more ›

The City Health Department shut down the Whole Foods at 1000 W. North Ave. today after finding evidence of a rodent infestation throughout the store, including a glue trap and over 100 droppings in a walk-in cooler. The store will remain closed until it passes reinspection; make sure to shop at one of the 400 other Whole Foods in the city. more ›