Maxwell House's Drops of Good Project is currently holding a competition for a $50,000 renovation grant - and Chicago's own Austin Town Hall Park is not doing well. A community center on the West Side, Austin focuses on arts education and programming for residents, providing training in dance, music and theater as well as child daycare and senior care services. Want to help? All you have to do is click. more ›

As of 5 a.m. early Saturday, nearly 100 firefighters are in "defensive mode" responding to an extra-alarm fire and a hazardous materials situation at a near West Side factory in the 2100 block of West Fulton Street. Fire Media Affairs spokesman Richard Rosado said that "ninety-nine firefighters and 39 pieces of equipment are in defensive mode battling the blaze at the two-story, 50 foot by 125 foot commercial structure," via the Chicago Sun-Times. A Level I HazMat alarm has also been called for the incident, Rosado said. Emergency crews were notified about the blaze around 4 a.m. and will be there for awhile battling to put it out. more ›

Mike Fourcher, former Chicagoisto and publisher of the Center Square Journal and the Roscoe View Journal, shared with us some of the photos his father took of the neighborhood that once stood where the Illinois Medical District is now. Taken as part of a project sponsored by University of Illinois-Chicago's Valley Project, which included a health clinic, Lou Fourcher's photography of Chicago's near West side is more than a glimpse into a part of the city that no longer exists. They're a look at a specific time and place in our city's history, as well. more ›

An 82-year-old woman was killed on the West Side after a hit-and-run driver struck her Friday evening, Chicago Breaking News reports. The victim, Vivian Parker, was hit just outside her home at around 6 p.m. and was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 6:25 p.m., the report said. Neither a description of the vehicle nor the name of a suspect was available as of Friday. more ›

An extra-alarm fire and a hostage situation both broke out at a three-story courtyard apartment building in the 3000 block of West 19th Street on Friday night. The fire started while the standoff was still going on. The standoff left three people injured, including the suspect, his victim, and a Chicago police officer, who accidentally shot himself in the foot. It's still unclear if the two and a half hour standoff and the fire were related, however police said the fire was intentionally set. more ›

Chicago police broke up what they say was an illegal party on the West side over the weekend - in a former industrial building in the Lawndale neighborhood. Unlike the typical underground party the cops in Chicago break up, this one featured "an elaborate, club-style entry to the building," industrial spotlights, a sign and velvet ropes. The Harrison Police District commander tells the Tribune that he’s been focusing on cracking down on illegal parties in that area due to the shootings and violence that often accompanies them. more ›

Around 2:06 a.m. this morning in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood on the west side, a 2-alarm fire broke out on the 2000 block of West 23rd Street in a 2-story frame apartment building, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Chief Kevin MacGregor. Two 2-story frame buildings adjacent to the building where the fire originated also caught on fire but only sustained minor damage, MacGregor said. By 2:20 a.m., the fire was struck out and officials began conducting a search of the building around 3 a.m., MacGregor said. more ›

Jayla Ray, a two-year-old of the 1100 block of San Francisco Avenue, died of smoke inhalation after a fire on Friday night in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side, officials reported to the Chicago Tribune. more ›

Some Chicagoans are uneasy about a hot dog stand that will be opening at the corner of Jackson and Western mid-next month. But it's not because the eatery will employ ex-offenders. It's the name that has some people riled up: Felony Franks. more ›

• Federal investigators on the Jon Burge torture case have widened their scope to include several of Burge's former colleagues.
• A new police unit on the West Side, led by commander James Roussell, has seen dramatic improvements in violent crime statistics. Roussell credits using a similar strategy he used against insurgents when fighting in Iraq as a Marine Reserve officer.
• State Representative Cynthia Soto is asking for a one-year moratorium on the closing and reorganizing of several Chicago-area schools.

The body of a boy was found in a vehicle on the West Side this morning. Police are investigating whether or not the body is that of missing 7-year-old Julian King. The body was discovered in the 1300 block of S. Kolin at around 8:00 a.m. Yesterday, actress and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson, whose mother and brother were shot to death on the South Side Friday, offered a $100,000 reward for finding Julian. Police still have suspect William Balfour in custody. more ›

We've all probably witnessed cars that drive recklessly around CTA buses, especially the classic move of darting in front of one at a red light. (Hell, many of us are guilty of doing it ourselves.) So it's not a big surprise to hear that there was an accident between a CTA bus and a car on the West Side -- except in this case, the car was parked. The accident took place on Pulaski just north of Lake Street, and wound up sending the driver and 9 passengers to the hospital. Four were reporter to be in serious condition. We're sure several other passengers will experience "mysterious neck pain" within the next few days -- most likely at their personal injury attorney's office. [Trib] more ›

Remember the thrill of warming up the car for your parents before you were old enough to drive? It's exciting just to sit behind the wheel, cranking the heat and cursing the cold. You know. Unless you get carjacked. more ›

The Red Line is going to be jacked this weekend. Southbound trains will be running on the elevated tracks between Cermack and Fullerton stops.[CTA] more ›

What kinds of cars do Chicagoans drive? more ›

An Austin man was killed in a car crash Wednesday, just hours before his home and business went up in flames. James Phillips called 911 yesterday morning from behind the wheel, saying he was having an asthma attack. Around 10:30, he lost control of his Escalade, crashed into a pole and died. Then nine hours later, his barbecue restaurant and catering business Phillips Ribs and his home above the restaurant on 5048 W Chicago Ave on caught fire. more ›

The New No. 2 found this heap of books and papers in an abandoned school on the West Side. Wow. more ›

There are precious few days left for your last-minute holiday shopping. If you're out to get a jump on the crowds, consider catching an early breakfast and shopping through the lunch rush by hitting one of these Near West Side joints. more ›

...than Ed Smith's video blog? As alderman of the West Side's 28th Ward, Smith has a reputation as (sort of) an independent. Coming into office with Harold Washington in 1983, Smith was behind the smoking ban, has pushed for federal prosecution of former police commander Jon Burge, and generally annoys Mayor Daley. Now he wants to be Cook County Recorder of Deeds. As The Reader's Mick Dumke pointed out, this election may be the Year... more ›

Wow, it's been hours since Al Sharpton was in the news, so here we are today with a new round of Sharpton headlines. He held a press conference outside the Mayor's office this morning demanding that the City effectively treat its police brutality issues--or Sharpton will campaign against Chicago's Olympic bid. He also urged aldermen to reject Daley's nominee for police superintendent Jody Weis's because Daley selected Weis without input from the black community. Psst,... more ›

Metra officials voted today to raise fares 10 percent in January, and again in Jan 2009 and '10. But Sunday service is safe. Osyp "Joe" Firishchak, an 87-year-old Chicago resident, is being deported to the Ukraine for aiding the Nazis during World War II. Firishchak, who has lived in the United States since 1949, has until December 10 to appeal. Holy crap, that's a lot of people: 47 people were arrested for a high school... more ›

A little while ago, we told you about Granny Ball, a basketball league for cougars. Well, attention ladies over 50: There's another round of tryouts tomorrow for the newly formed Granny All-Star League. More than 250 people submitted adoption applications for the 41 horses that survived that truck crash. Wonder where we can see a bunch of local news promos....oh. Right here. Donda West's doctor confirms that she had plastic surgery but denies any... more ›

Mary Mitchell goes to town today with an article about Chicago police officers Tasing an 82-year-old woman. The Illinois Department of Aging (who knew?) received an anonymous tip that Lillian Fletcher, alone in her West Side home, needed help; they dispatched the police to do well-being check. When police got to Fletcher's door, she refused to let them in, and when they pushed their way in, she got a hammer. Police spokeswoman Monique Bond tells... more ›

Enjoy that mindfuck, by Mark Bachara and Michael McGrath, and other such gems at tonight's Chicago Short Film Brigade show at the Hideout (8:30pm, $8). Local filmmakers showing off their shorts include Micah Barber, showing his West Side–set Winter Is Outside, animator Lisa Barcy's "Mermaid," and Julie Fab and Heather Marie's "Puss in Boots," an experimental foot-fetish film. You can watch an excerpt here: click on the picture, then click "videos" on the bottom... more ›

Add to the preparations plan for future marathons: Hand out more maps and make sure emergency personnel use them. more ›

Yesterday's big storm? Well, not as big as we had thought it would be. But 2,300 ComEd customers are without power on the South Side, there was some property damage downstate, and an 11-year-old on the West Side was struck by lightning. He's listed as being in good condition. Maybe they should take him to UIC's Lightning Injury Lab? We cannot recommend this reading list highly enough. What happens when people are struck by lightning?... more ›

At a press conference yesterday, West Side religious leaders praised interim police superintendent Dana Starks's decision to disband the SOS unit of the CPD. And Mayor Daley said Starks proves the police department can clean itself up, no outsider necessary, although he has yet to name an official superintendent. Stark has been on the job since August, when his predecessor Phil Cline resigned. Daley claimed that "in all professions, there's always a code of silence,"... more ›

Patrick Ivuti of Kenya won today's running of the Chicago Marathon in a photo finish over Moroccan Jaouad Gharib. Both runners crossed the finish line at the same time, but Ivuti crossed 5/100th of a second before Gharib. But Ivuti's win, and Ethiopian Berhane Adere's defense of her women's title, were secondary stories to the decision by race officials to cut short the race due to the dangers they posed to participants by unseasonably warm... more ›

It almost plays like a plot from a trifling summer movie: The Illinois Medical District wants to build a new biotech building on the Near West Side. The kicker is, they want to build it in the same spot as a current Little League baseball field. In a letter dated Sept. 25, Medical District counsel states that the Chicago Park District must remove all improvements from Livingston Park, at Lexington and Leavitt, so that construction... more ›