Maybe he hasn't made Keith Olbermann's nightly list yet, but Sam Zell is quickly cementing his place among the "Worst People in Chicago" as he continues to antagonize Chicagoans since his takeover of the Tribune Co. Not content simply wanting to replace actual news with "profitable" features and celebrity news, Zell is working overtime to squeeze every last nickel out of the Cubs before he sells off the team. This week, he reiterated on CNBC's......

After a week of following the Green City Market Localvore Challenge, Chicagoist is feeling pretty good. OK, we admit that yesterday’s brunch at Prairie Grass Café made up of local products (chicken from Country Cottage Farm, braised greens from Kinnikinnick Farms, corn, roasted peppers, mashed potatoes, Wisconsin cheese, grilled pears, grapes, raspberry ice cream) definitely ended things on a high note. But even before we got to try co-chefs/owners Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris’ flavorful......

Remember "Cheers," with Sam hanging out behind the bar, often leaving his post to do some classic, cheesy sitcom activity with Cliff and Norm? Paddy Mac's offers its own take on Sam with Brian at the bar. Walk in this old-school Chicago corner establishment, and within three beers you'll be treated as if you've been holding the bar down forever. Paddy Mac's has the requisite flat screen HDTVs (usually tuned to sports or the Game......

A+D Gallery's "Pass It On" DIY Exhibit Curators...

While Chicagoist was vacationing out west this long holiday weekend, our thoughts turned back briefly to our favorite obsession, politics. When we were hanging out around one of our favorite coffee shops west of the Mississippi, we picked up a copy of the local rag, and read up on all the important news facing readers of that other -Ist. But one story caught our eye, one that has both local and national significance. The Los......

Chicagoist isn’t a big fan of getting up earlier than we have to, so we tend to watch the weather at night. We don’t like to wake up with a surprise blizzard going on outside our window. And we’re one of those nerds who decides what we’re going to wear the night before. But we realize that we only represent a portion of the population with our beliefs, so for this week’s version of the......

While Chicagoist has had some experience with Deep Throat before, we've never had such a personal experience as we had recently. We stalled putting up our original post about the Pure Entertainment bust because we wanted to speak with the clubs that had the most contact with Pure, but we are still awaiting comment. Pure also owns UR Chicago, so we tried to reach someone there for comment as well, but are still waiting to......

In case you missed it, two important filings of candidacies took place this week: Mayor Daley's stalking horse, Dorothy Brown, is now officially running for mayor, and Sandi Jackson threw her hat in the ring to take on William Beavers' daughter, Darcel Beavers, for 7th Ward Alderman. While Brown's announcement is significant only becuase she is a pawn of Daley, the Beavers/Jackson race is sure to be a headline grabber this season. While Chicagoist has......

On Friday afternoon, Miguel Del Valle was sworn in as Chicago's newest city clerk. He's also the first Latino to serve in that position. Del Valle has a history of championing the political empowerment of the Latin community in Chicago, and a reputation for being able to work with many different groups, including those that are at odds with him. What makes his acceptance of Daley's offer to replace convicted former city clerk James Laski......

With a team that lost 6 of 7 on their recently concluded "circus trip," shouldn't Bulls management worry about issues of greater importance than headwear? Yet Ben Wallace, the Bulls' prized free agent signing, has been feuding with coach Scott Skiles and GM John Paxon over a number of team rules -- including a rule banning headbands. During Saturday's game in New York, Skiles yanked Wallace from the game when he realized Wallace was wearing......

Chicagoist wants to know exactly what was Rex thinking? How the hell could he think a pass like that was a good idea? With the way he'd been passing? With that much time on the clock? Or was this play called by offensive coordinator Ron Turner? Either way, it was a bone-headed call and might have cost the Bears the game. The Bears looked like they were going to find a way to win yet......

While Chicagoist was busy stuffing our faces with traditional Thanksgiving fare, another tradition of sorts was taking place here in our fair city. Taking her lead from the recent coronation of Todd Stroger as the the replacement of his father on the Cook County Board, interim President Bobby Steele announced that she wants her son, Robert, to take her place on the Board when she retires in early December. This is more than just a......

Seriously, is there anybody in this town's upper tax bracket who hasn't thrown their hat into the ring of interested buyers, should the beleagured Tribune Company decide to sell the Cubs as part of their fire sale? Even before the Trib's latest troubles, some notable bidders went on record expressing interest in buying the team — including the likes of Ernie Banks, Mark Cuban and Donald Trump. While Chicagoist would be all for a Cuban......

Here at the Chicagoist offices, we have an entire staff dedicated to gathering all the news and information about elections for you. In all of the craziness of this election season, we want to remind you that going out to vote is more than just a right, it's your civic responsibility. Selecting who will make all the big decisions that will affect your life for the next few years is really important. And if you......

Chicagoist found this bizarre video today: Yes, yes, the video is juvenile, disjointed, mildly delusional, and most likely from someone that has no affiliation whatsoever to the fellow that is challenging 46th Ward Alderman Helen Shiller this winter. But if you add it up with some other tidbits, you can see that Shiller is going to have to run a campaign this year to hold on to her office. Besides this bit of weirdness, there......

Chicagoist doesn't ususually go in for the rough talk. We like it smooth. Easy. Gentle, baby. But we've had enough of this shit. Not only is Bill "I think I'm the Godfather" Beavers trying to extort Blagojevich for $100,000 in campaign money by threatening him with the black vote, he's also gone ahead and built up a little slush fund for him and his buddies to use. The Governor basically told the Toddler to shove......

As we alluded to the other day, the Bears open their training camp today at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Unlike last year's opening of camp, there will be little controversy this year. All of the Bears' draft picks have signed and will be in camp. All the veterans are expected to report on time, even those -- like Lance Briggs -- who have expressed the desire for new deals. So no holdouts to......

It seems as though not a week goes by without an alderman doing or saying something that makes Chicago look like just another parochial, hick town. If they're not banning foie gras, or passing a smoking ban that allows bars a time frame for compliance that more resembles an exit strategy from Iraq, then they're feuding with each other on the Council floor, passing salary increases for themselves, and getting caught in the occasional compromising......

While Chicagoist plans on spending 24 of the 48 hours this weekend out at Intonation, allow us to put forth the hypothesis that this might be the perfect weekend for the live show novice to hit up a local club or two. We’ve gotten all Miss Manners on the subject of Live Show Jackasses before, but we’re also advocates of the Show No Fear mentality. All those clubs you’re intimidated by, be they of the......

It certainly pains Chicagoist to see the White Sox suffer 4 losses in their last 5 games, but we tend to agree with Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen on his decision to keep slugger Jim Thome out of the lineup through the weekend. After being scratched from Friday's lineup for a pulled groin, Guillen initially said that Thome would return to the lineup on Saturday. But he sat Saturday and Sunday, as Guillen chose to rest......

March Madness resumes tonight with half the Sweet 16 teams in action. The game that's likely to garner the most local attention pits the Bradley Braves against the Memphis Tigers. Can Bradley, a 13th seed, take on #1 seed Memphis and continue the unexpected run through the NCAA Tournament? Or will tonight end a magical run by a team few expected to win even one game in the tourney. At this point, there shouldn't be......

While Chicagoist awaits the imminent opening of Eleven City Diner and breaking in the on-duty soda jerk they're promising we decided to walk two blocks south to a place that's been serving up affordable food for over two years. Nestled in the middle of a packed block for dining that includes the trendy Opera, Gioco, and Zapatista, proprietor Howard "Howie" Stein advertises his eponymous restaurant as "the South Loop's neighborhood joint." While Howie's doesn't have......

Tomorrow is the bid day for college basketball fans, and even many who don't necessarily follow the sport the rest of the season. The NCAA Tournament kicks off with the first 16 games, running from late morning to nearly midnight. With those 12 hours of non-stop basketball overlapping a good part of the workday, it comes as little surprise that the tourament impacts workplace productivity. Supposedly $3.8 billion in lost as a result of March......

Chicagoist remembers thinking things got a bit testy last off-season when a war of word erupted between White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and recently departed slugger Magglio Ordonez. But that was an all-out lovefest compared to the war of words going on between recently departed slugger Frank Thomas and Sox GM Kenny Williams. In an interview that ran in Sunday's Southtown, Frank continued to criticize the organization. He contended that he'd have re-signed with the......

Lately, we’ve been seeing a lot of items on the technological aspects of moviegoing. Does this happen to other art forms? Does Painters Monthly feature the latest innovations in canvases, for example? Though he repeats the already discredited stat about the 2005 drop in movie ticket sales, the Trib’s Michael Phillips makes some excellent points in this article on how multiplatform movie releases and massive home theater systems might affect the industry. Exhibitors will lose......

Mancow sidekick Cowboy Ray Hoffstatter died last night from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident on South Archer in November. The driver, described as a woman who appeared to be drag racing a black Honda Civic, still hasn't been found. The crew on Mancow's Morning Madhouse on Q101 mostly had fun at Ray's expense because he was mentally handicapped, but he was often the funniest part of the show. After the accident, Mancow offered $5,000......

Rarely do World Champion teams have as few candidates for major post-season awards as the White Sox. Mark Buehrle and Jon Garland finished 5th and 6th in the voting for Cy Young. Paul Konerko is unlikely to break the top 5 in MVP voting. That just goes to show how the White Sox won as a team rather than riding some superstar's coattails. Of course, it takes a top caliber manager to extract that kind......

So, what's a World Series worth? Both Crain's Chicago Business and Forbes have tried to place a value on the White Sox post-World Championship. Crain's pegs their current valuation at $327 million, while Forbes lists the team at $300 million. Just last April, Forbes valued them at $262 million, but states the anticipated increases in TV rights, higher sponsorship fees and better ticket sales as reasons for the increased value. Perhaps, then, Jerry Reinsdorf and......

Yesterday Mayor Daley dedicated a new Little Village High School on the Southwest side and took the opportunity to say that he thinks it's only a matter of time before Chicago's public schools switch to a year-round schedule. The only thing right now is that they don't have the money to extend the school year. Daley doesn't have a timetable or a plan to extend the school year yet, but says that American high schools......

Looks like Charlie Trotter is staying put here in Chicago. Two years ago, when it was announced that the food court at the Time Warner Center in New York City would feature the crème de la crème of the culinary world, Trotter's simply named "Charlie Trotter's Seafood Restaurant" was to be the final jewel in a crown of restaurants that includes Thomas Keller's Per Se and Masa Takayama's MASA. Alas, the dream is over. Citing......