Groupon’s Initial Public Offering Friday exceeded expectations, but they need a rising stock price to put more shares on the market within the next few months. The price is flagging slightly at the moment. more ›

The online daily deal pioneer raised $700 million in its Initial Public Offering. The IPO helped value the company at $12.76 billion, making Groupon the largest IPO by an American Internet company since Google raised $1.7 billion with its 2007 IPO. more ›

So how's are stock markets reacting to the debt ceiling compromise? not so well. more ›

With the health care bill struggling to get passed and two wars still ongoing, President Obama today outsourced the country's economy to the Galactic Empire. more ›

Watching the Dow rise and fall in recent weeks has been like riding a roller coaster with a bad case of stomach flu. It sank like a stone last week after Congress approved a $850 billion bailout and the credit markets remained frozen. This week, upon news that the Federal government will be partially nationalizing the nation's major banks, the Dow saw its biggest one-day increase ever. In a year in which we've seen skyrocketing grocery prices in relation to increased oil costs, the thought of paying even more for provisions crossed us more than once. more ›

Last week, it was announced that one of the U of C Law School’s biggest superstars, Cass Sunstein, will be leaving for Harvard in the fall. Sunstein attended Harvard as an undergrad and for law school, and he later clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall. He’s been on faculty at the U of C for 27 years, and during that time he has written and edited at least a dozen books. Now, he's going to Harvard to "head a new program at Harvard on risk regulation," according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. more ›

Saturday is the ninth annual "Open That Bottle Night," an event decreed by Wall Street Journal wine column writers Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. Typically scheduled for the last Saturday in February, Brecher and Gaiter created "OTBN" as a column device, basically. They asked readers to open a bottle of wine they found symbolically significant, and then send in the stories related to that choice. Over the years we've opened up everything from splits of Van Duzer pinot noir to magnums of G.H. Mumm Extra Dry champagne, usually in celebration of something. more ›

senator Barack Obama some unsolicited advice on how to beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. When that didn't work, you took him to task in an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal. more ›

If you're looking to add a little mystery to your holiday repertoire, this month's local author night at the Book Cellar is mysterious. The writers will be on hand after to sign books for last-minute presents and answer questions. more ›

The Audit Bureau of Circulation released its Fas Fax data today, giving newspaper ombudsmen everywhere a topic for tomorrow's column. Too bad everyone's going to write largely the same story: Newspaper circulation is down. Circulation is down 2.6 percent across all major US daily newspapers, with the Trib faring worse than other papers, falling 2.9 percent over the last six months to a paid weekday circulation of 559,404. That makes the Trib the eighth biggest... more ›

It's hard not to stumble across a food blog while browsing the web. Two recent newspaper articles shine a light on the positive and negative aspects of the rise of food blogging. The front page of the Sun-Times' food section this morning is all about LTHForum, from the origins of their formation, their wide coverage of neighborhood and off-the-beaten path eats, the immediate response that can make or break a restaurant, and their overall influence... more ›

Howard Dean proved candidates could use the internet to raise funds and get people talking ... if not to come and vote for you. But a Wall Street Journal article published today focuses on how the internet is pulling money in for smaller, local campaigns. Daniel Biss, a 30-year-old math professor running for the Illinois state legislature, almost surpassed John Edwards as one of the top money-raisers on ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising website. Of course,... more ›

In a report published Monday, the Chicago Reporter found that Chicago is the the nation's capital for "high-cost" home loans. The study, looking at three years' worth of federal home-loan data, showed that in 2006, "the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metropolitan statistical area, which includes Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, McHenry and Will counties" led the nation, with 88,315 “high-cost” mortgages. "High-cost" mortgages are defined as first-lien home loans that are at least three percentage points above... more ›

Here’s what we missed as we considered an Obama/Keyes rematch: Breathe a sigh of relief. In the eleventh hour, the Chicago Symphony and the Chicago Federation of Musicians reached a new multiyear contract. We can’t tell you more than that until the official announcement on Thursday. The Wall Street Journal’s Terry Teachout considers recent controversies involving Chicago theater critics reviewing (or not reviewing) “developmental” productions and wonders whether critics can or should be kept away... more ›

SHOOTING: Two homeless men shot in a 24 hour span in Uptown -- they appear to be unrelated. In more shooting news (why is there so much?!): Police have two "persons of interest" in custody Sunday morning after two teenagers were shot in a playlot on the South Side in the Woodlawn neighborhood, blocks from the University of Chicago campus. TRAINS: Our dear friend warns us: This is why you NEVER put headphones in... more ›

We're used to the Reader throwing out a curve ball now and then and rubbing some people the wrong way, but nevertheless we raised our eyebrows after reading its four-star review of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. If nothing else, it takes a certain amount of chutzpah to put a Cartoon Network-derived feature right up there with A Woman Under the Influence or even A History of Violence. Despite the controversy... more ›

You think your family's got problems? Have any relatives ever ratted you out to the police? If so, you too could be sent away for a long, long time courtesy of your own mother. Terrance L. Miller landed in jail in 1997 for armed robbery. Less than two months after being released in 2001, he bungled another robbery and ended up killing 25-year-old Ezra Harvey in Woodridge. The murder went unsolved until November 2004, when... more ›

One provision of President Bush's proposed budget could affect Chicagoans and city-dwellers all over the country. Bush is proposing a "congestion initiative" that would award federal grants to cities and states for building toll systems that charge drivers new or increased tolls for traveling in and out of cities during peak times. Congestion pricing could take the form of "cordon tolls," charges to enter the city proper, or monthly/annual fees for using High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)... more ›

We always like it when stories that are only moderately interesting are set up for an amusing headline. Take, for example, Wall Street Sours on Whole Foods, or Whole Foods Ripe For A Change? more ›

The latest Wall Street Journal/Zogby poll has Governor Rod Blagojevitch (which is apparently Zogby for Blagojevich) ahead of Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka, 43% to 37%, despite having a low approval rating. Of course, other recent polls by Rasmussen Reports and Glengariff Group show Topinka ahead by a slight margin, so take it for what it's worth. To Carol Marin, it's not worth much. Today she reminds us that November is still a long way away. more ›

Douglas Pensack, Illinois Tenants Union more ›

We’re not one to brag on ourselves…oh who are we kidding? We totally are. more ›

In case some readers think that we fine folks at Chicagoist have been going overboard with the Macy Field's coverage the past two days, for your perusal today here is a gaggle of news from Hamburger U that has nothing to do with the nutritional quality of its food or its CEO suddenly dropping dead: - Helping those affected by Hurricane Katrina will take years. The possibility of Rita hitting the Gulf Coast would... more ›

Yesterday conservative Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak swore and stormed off the set of CNN's "Inside Politics" during a discussion with political consultant and CNN contributor James Carville about Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL), looking downright hot in the B-roll by the way, possibly running for Senate. You can watch video of the incident here. Novak says, "She might get elected." Then starts the stutter-fest. Carville interrupts (now James, interrupting isn't cool even when a democrat does... more ›

You can be sure that every pol in Illinois is talking about Time Magazine naming Mayor Richard M. Daley as one of the top five mayors in the nation. Much like a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed about Daley a couple of months ago, Time Magazine brushes aside the numerous recent city government scandals and entirely focuses on how good Daley is at the mechanics of providing city services. Naturally the Tribune and Sun Times grouse... more ›

The last page of this month’s Chicago magazine contains a list of lesser-known disasters in the city. Fires might get all the ink in history books but the Rush Street bridge collapse, the Winged Foot Express dirigible disaster, and the crapping of the Little Lady boat tour are the stories that will be told on porches for years to come. But it seems that Dave isn’t the only Matthews to soil Chicago’s good name. Longtime Chicago radio personality Kevin Matthews appears to be taking the blame/credit for a joke that’s gotten totally out of hand. more ›

Imagine, you're caught in an extramarital affair and it becomes public. Urk! Then, because your company's code of conduct bars that sort of behavior, you lose your job. D'oh! And finally, because you run one of the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers, the whole thing is front page news across the world -- including a front-page Wall Street Journal stipple-drawing. Ack! That's the kind of day Harry Stonecipher is having today. Not that he didn't get... more ›

A couple days ago Chicagoist noted how horribly wrong national columnists can go when talking about us folks in the Middle-West. Yesterday two more national publications took a swipe at defining Illinois politics, and this time they seemed to have gotten it a little more right -- just a little. more ›

Today's the day Chicagoist has been waiting all season for! The first game between the Cubs and White Sox begins this afternoon at 3:05pm at U.S. Cellular Field. Mark Prior faces off against Jon Garland in the first of three games between the two clubs this weekend. The Cubs' and Sox's success on the field again has fans dreaming of a Red Line World Series. Will it happen? If history is any indication probably... more ›