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03 Nov 2011 23:27

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Culture: Wait, is Chicago some kind of holy city and nobody bothered to tell us?

On April 26, the Dalai Lama is planning a second trip to Chicago in a year, because let’s face it, the Windy City is a happening place for spiritual leaders. source

25 Oct 2011 00:04

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U.S.: Occupy Chicago: Nurses union protests controversial Grant Park arrests

  • cause Early Sunday, police arrested two members of National Nurses United who cared for protesters at Occupy Chicago, in the process ignoring Grant Park’s closing time of 11 pm. They were among 100 people arrested.
  • reaction After getting out of jail on Monday morning, the nurses were joined by more than two dozen fellow union members outside of Mayor Emanuel’s office on the fifth floor of Chicago’s City Hall, causing a bit of an emotional scene. source
  • » Hiding a story from the media? The nurses arrested suggest that police were trying to hide an awkward scene from the cameras. “We were among the last protesters released, for no good reason that we can tell, except for they clearly knew when the media cameras had left,” said Jan Rodolfo, the Midwest director for NNU. “We were tearful and exhausted and shell shocked.” Rodolfo was among those arrested; her court date has been set for November 15.

09 Oct 2011 11:01

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Music: Former Weezer bassist dies of suspected drug overdose

Mikey Welsh, the bassist for the band during their comeback period (1998-2001), was found dead in a Chicago hotel room. Welsh left the band after having a nervous breakdown, and later became a painter. source

14 Sep 2011 10:39

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U.S.: A win for transparency: Chicago throws its crime records online

  • OK, this isn’t nearly as sexy as, say, EveryBlock or the Sunlight Foundation. But throwing records of the past decade of crimes online represents a new era of transparency for a famously-guarded city. Or as Brett Goldstein, the city’s chief data officer and former police officer, puts it: “It’s a whole new era of openness and transparency. You determine your own analysis.” And on top of that, EveryBlock could totally plug into this database if they wanted to. Some have been a bit critical of what isn’t in the data — race, for example — but many analysts note that this is more than a lot of cities offer. You done good, Rahm! source

03 Aug 2011 22:23

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Politics: Happy birthday, Obama. Here’s Romney’s gift. Aww, he shouldn’t have.

  • We’d like to see the gift receipt, please: Centering around a critique of the unemployment rate in Chicago, this ad (“Obama Isn’t Working”) was released the day before President Obama visited his hometown on Wednesday. As Obama will be celebrating his 50th birthday on Thursday, could this be a “present” from Team Romney? source

04 Apr 2011 21:59

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Culture: Sheen’s live show improves in Chicago after disastrous opening

  • detroit The premier of Charlie Sheen’s one-man show did not go well. After, amongst other things, setting fire to a shirt and insulting the city in which he was performing, Sheen was booed off the stage.
  • chicago Sheen shook things up the show’s second night, opting for a talk show-esque format instead of…well, whatever the hell it was he did the first night. Apparently it worked; this time, Sheen received a standing ovation. source

22 Feb 2011 21:25

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U.S.: The Rahminator is DA GUY in Chicago: Rahm wins Mayoral race

  • $12M shoved into the race by Rahm’s campaign – way more than anyone else
  • 86% of precincts counted in today’s vote so far (so, like almost all of them)
  • 55% Rahm’s share of the vote, which means he faces no runoff source
 

01 Feb 2011 10:26

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U.S.: Mother Nature hates Americans: Chicago gets snowy, NYC gets icy

  • number of feet of snow expected in the Chicago area this week
  • 0.3˝number of inches of ice –  ICE! – expected in NYC this week
  • 3,897 number of flights that have been cancelled so far source

29 Jan 2011 01:15

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U.S.: Anyone want some Rahm-less Chicago mayoral ballots?

  • There are reportedly 280,000 of these things that got printed off between Monday (when an appeals court said Rahm Emanuel wasn’t eligible to run for Chicago mayor) and Tuesday (when the Illinois Supreme court stepped in), lacking Rahm Emanuel’s presidentially-boosted name, and now they’re going to have to find something to do with them. Our suggestion? Turn them into mulch for Rahm to bury his opponents’ electoral chances in. Oh yeah, why did these idiots start printing out these ballots on the day of the decision to appeal? Everyone with a brain could tell this case was going to go to the Illinois Supreme Court. A huge waste of taxpayer money. source

27 Jan 2011 19:04

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U.S.: Does Rahm Emanuel get to stay on the Chicago mayoral ballot?

  • YES so step off Rahm-en Boy’s back, hataz source