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June 2009
- Blago to Appear in Rod Supersta r Spoof
  
  Chicago Tribune | Jun 10, 09 1:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Second City revue's harshly critical musical send-up of Rod Blagojevich's rise and fall will have a special guest onstage Saturday: Rod Blagojevich. Producers of Rod Blagojevich Superstar say the impeached former Illinois governor will be on hand to announce the hit spoof's extension through August, and will join the improv session afterward, reports the Chicago Tribune . More »
- US to Return $10M Stolen Art Stash to Italy
  
  Chicago Sun-Times | Jun 9, 09 1:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A huge stash of stolen artifacts found in a Chicago home will be returned to Italy by US authorities, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The artifacts—including letters written by kings and popes, and Etruscan works thousands of years old—were discovered by the homeowner's heirs after his death, and are believed to have been looted from private Italian collections. More »
- Lenders, Not Zell, May Run Tribune Co.
  
  Chicago Tribune | Jun 8, 09 1:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The bankrupt Tribune Company could emerge from protection with its top creditors—and not chairman Sam Zell—in charge, the Chicago Tribune reports. Zell exerts control based on $90 million he spent to secure the option of buying 40% of the company for $500 million, and a $250 million loan. Those numbers pale in comparison to the $8.6 billion Tribune owes lenders with first dibs on assets. More »
- Blues Queen Koko Taylor Dead at 80
  
  Associated Press | Jun 4, 09 6:34 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Koko Taylor, a sharecropper's daughter whose regal bearing and powerful voice earned her the sobriquet "'Queen of the Blues," has died after complications from surgery, the AP reports. She was 80. The Memphis-born singer died at a Chicago hospital about two weeks after surgery for a gastrointestinal bleed, said a spokesman for her record label. More »
May 2009
- 'Bueller? Bueller?' Film House Hits Market
  
  Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill.) | May 26, 09 2:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Chicago-area house immortalized in a glass-breaking, Ferrari-plunging shot from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is for sale, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reports. “It’s spectacular inside,” said the realtor offering the glass-walled modern home at $2.3 million. “It’s like living in a tree house.” The house is decorated with pictures from the shoot. Director John Hughes has been notified of the sale, but has yet to express interest. No word on Cameron, either. More »
- Waterboarded Shock Jock Mancow: 'Absolutely Torture'
  
  NBC Chicago | May 22, 09 4:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Chicago radio host submitted himself to a waterboarding demonstration to prove it isn’t torture, but it didn’t work out that way, NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV reports. “Way worse than I thought it would be, and that’s no joke,” Erich “Mancow” Muller said. “I don’t want to say this: absolutely torture.” The Marine who administered the technique said the average person lasts 14 seconds. Mancow lasted 6. More »
- Buyer Wants Belushi, Cusack, Murray In on Cubs Deal
  
  Chicago Tribune | May 19, 09 10:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Would-be Cubs buyer Tom Ricketts has approached a bunch of baseball-loving celebrities, including Bill Murray, Jim Belushi, and John Cusack, about going in with him on the team, the Chicago Tribune reports. Ricketts is asking each to pitch in $25 million, say sources—who add that Ricketts doesn’t need the money to close the deal with the Tribune Company. More »
- Ayers, Rev. Wright Team Up for Middle East Peace
  
  Chicago Tribune | May 18, 09 10:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two of the toughest thorns in Barack Obama's side during the presidential campaign joined together in Chicago yesterday for the first time, the Tribune reports. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers shared a stage at a kickoff rally for a march for Mideast peace. It was their work on the issue, not their lightning-rod status, that got them invited to the event, organizers said. “We can't be squelching viewpoints because they are unpopular or because someone has a reputation through Fox News,” said one. More »
- K9 Who Bolted Thunder Rumble Is Reunited With Partner
  
  Chicago Tribune | May 18, 09 4:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Chicago police dog is back home after disappearing four days ago amid a thunderstorm, the Chicago Tribune reports. A man spotted Bear, dirty but unharmed, near a cemetery yesterday. The 2-year-old German shepherd was likely hunting small animals in nearby woods, said his relieved partner, who has been chasing leads since Bear jumped a 5-foot fence and vanished after being startled by thunder. More »
- Modern Meets Classical in Chicago Museum Wing
  
  New York Times | May 15, 09 8:05 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - This weekend the Art Institute of Chicago opens a mammoth new modern wing designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. Nicolai Ouroussof praises Piano's mix of "Modern and classical themes," and "towering glass-and-steel facade, with its floating roof and excruciatingly slender columns" straddling gritty railroad tracks. The New York Times ' critic calls the building one of Piano's best, "the closest he has come in at least a decade to achieving his near-classical ideal." More »
- Ill. Sheriff: New Craigslist an Improvement
  
  Chicago Tribune | May 14, 09 9:26 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Illinois sheriff who pushed Craigslist to dump its “erotic services” section says the replacement, now called “adult services,” is a step in the right direction, the Chicago Tribune reports. “The postings are definitely toned down a lot. My goal was to get the over-the-top stuff off,” Cook County's Tom Dart said. “They've done that.” Explicit photos, he said, are “the big thing,” and the latest ones seem more appropriate. More »
- Motivational Speaker, 3 Feet Tall and Rising
  
  Chicago Tribune | May 5, 09 5:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sean Stephenson is 30 years old, 3 feet tall, and can’t walk without help. And that’s why he is a successful motivational speaker, psychologist, and former Bill Clinton staffer, the Chicago Tribune reports. When he broke his leg at age 10—his condition, osteogenesis imperfecta, makes him vulnerable to fracture—his mother asked him a pointed question. “Is this going to be a gift or a burden?” More »
April 2009
- Obama Brings Game to DC Politics
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 29, 09 1:44 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Whether shooting hoops or lobbying the IOC, Barack Obama is fast becoming the nation's sports fan-in-chief. In his first 100 days, the president hosted a Super Bowl party, sat courtside at a Bulls-Wizards game, and shot around with Connecticut's women's basketball team, the Wall Street Journal reports. He's also proposed a national college football championship, scolded A-Rod for using steroids, and backed Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. More »
- New Museum Wing Tests Cash-Strapped Modern Days
  
  Chicago Tribune | Apr 27, 09 1:13 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Art Institute of Chicago's new $283 million modern art wing isn't just expensive—it's also expensive to visit, reports the Tribune . The museum plans to bump its ticket prices from $12 to $18 a week after the 264,000-square-foot wing's May opening, a move that has recession-minded critics crying foul. "Who's going to be able to go to it?" asked one museum member. More »
- Chicago Plans Day to 'Talk Like Shakespeare'
  
  Chicago Sun-Times | Apr 20, 09 7:59 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow"—exactly 3 days from now—Chicago will celebrate the Bard's 445th birthday with "Talk Like Shakespeare Day," the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Mayor Richard Daley unveiled the plan, saying Chicagoans can "bring the spoken words of Shakespeare into their daily lives." For help translating lines into Bardish or finding Shakespeare's "Twitter feed," turn to TalkLikeShakespeare.org. More »
- Cubs Manager Shrugged Off Blago's Lineup Advice
  
  Chicago Tribune | Apr 17, 09 2:07 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Rod Blagojevich sought to extend his influence beyond politics and media during his tenure as Illinois governor, the Chicago Tribune reports, sending Cubs manager Lou Piniella lineup suggestions in 2007. “I’ve talked to him, baseball-wise,” Piniella said of a note from Blagojevich during a rough patch. “He’s a big Cubs fan. Obviously we didn’t heed his advice.” More »
- Library Rules: No Loud Yells, No Bad Smells
  
  Chicago Tribune | Apr 13, 09 9:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Even if you haven’t been to a public library in a while you probably know the major rules: no shouting, no running, no food or drink near the books. But a rash of complaints from patrons have driven some Chicago-area libraries to institute a new prohibition: no offensive body odors. Predictably, some people are indignant, the Tribune reports. More »
- Democratic Reformer Wins Emanuel's House Seat
  
  Chicago Tribune | Apr 8, 09 7:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mike Quigley has cruised to victory in the special election for Rahm Emanuel's old seat in Congress, the Chicago Tribune reports. The reform-minded Democrat had 70% of the vote in Illinois' 5th congressional district, a heavily Democratic area on Chicago's north side, with 94% of precincts reporting. Quigley plans to head to Washington as soon as tomorrow to prepare to take office. More »
- Chicago Is Better Off Without 2016 Olympics
  
  Reason Magazine | Apr 6, 09 3:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - International Olympic Committee representatives are currently visiting Chicago, one of four cities vying to host the 2016 Summer Games. But Chicagoans should hope the honor goes elsewhere, writes Steve Chapman for Reason . The Olympics tend to be a huge cost and hassle with little benefit. Does Chicago, home state of the most powerful man in the world, need any more exposure? More »
March 2009
- Chicago Mob Snitch Gets 12 Years for 14 Murders
  
  Chicago Tribune | Mar 27, 09 10:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Former Chicago mob hit man Nicholas Calabrese was sentenced to 12 years in prison yesterday, enraging family members of victims who wanted him jailed for life, the Tribune reports. Calabrese admitted to whacking 14 people, but his testimony in the so-called “Family Secrets” trial put away three top mob leaders. At word of the light sentence, one victim’s widow collapsed, and had to be carried out on a stretcher. More »