“Adventures in Baby Sitting,” or “The Blues Brothers?” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” or “The Untouchables?” Which movie filmed in Chicago is your favorite?
And if you have a story about a movie being filmed on your block, tell us more:
Chicago's city seal says, “Urbs in Horto.” It means “City in a Garden.”
It might not say that for long if Mayor Daley has his way. How do the latin words, “Urbs of Liberi” sound?
“I'm passionate about children. We put too many other things above our children. Children, to me, should be what we stand for here in the city of Chicago,” the mayor said.
“We’re the city of flowers. We’re the city of trees and gardens and all that. I’d like to maybe change that motto to, ‘City of Children.’ I really believe that.”
If you could rewrite Chicago’s motto — City in a Garden — what would you make it?
I think Cubs fans could use some reminding,
That this cloud has a silvery lining,
You might lose the name,
And most of your games,
But you'll have an excuse to keep whining!
-- Sara Gadola
(Konkol note: Sara Gadola is a former Daily Southtown reporter who smartly sold out to become a lawyer years before journalists started getting axed like firewood.)
Since March is Red Cross Month we are having our annual CPR Training Days. The event has been hugely successful in the past years and we would like to extend that even more this year! I would love to have you include it in your neighborhoods section and have it reach the lovely people who read your blog everyday. It’s an extremely useful training session that benefits people every day and reduces the risk of dying of cardiac arrest by half. We all know life doesn’t have a price on it and the training only costs $5. Also, it’s a pretty neat way to meet people that early on a Saturday! Here’s a little more info for you which you can switch up any way you’d like! I also included two little graphics for you that were from last year’s event.
The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago invites you to get certified in Adult CPR for only $5! Learn how to save a life at the region's largest CPR training event. Acquire the knowledge and skills you need to better protect yourself, your family and your community and be prepared for a medical emergency.
Space is limited. Register today!
English and Spanish sessions available.
To register or find out more information, visit http://www.chicagoredcross.org or call 312.729.6132.
UIC, Physical Education Building
901 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL
Cubs fans: Wrigley name change is inevitable — Get over it.
Make no mistake, Sox fans like me couldn't care less if Wrigley Field gets renamed Starbucks Stadium or Old Style Park. The Friggin' Confines at Clark and Addison by any other name would smell just as rank to us.
Still, we can empathize with fans cursing a Cubbie blue streak -- like Tribune boss Sam Zell at a newsroom meeting -- over the billionaire's plan to hawk Wrigley Field naming rights.
Real Chicago — Interactive version (Read the story, click to see Real Chicago)
So you say you know Chicago. Your kind of town, eh.
But do you know Real Chicago and all its tiny tucked away jewels that define our city more than a mirrored bean, glorious skyline or ancient ball park ever could?
I’m talking about places that simply feel like Chicago as soon as you encounter them — a stunning view, a friendly spot, a hidden piece of history or a joint with the best grub a neighborhood can offer.
If you’ve ever lived here, there’s probably a place that’s a must when you want to impress your out-of-town pals when they visit — and it’s probably not some tourist trap with a view like the bar on 95th Floor of the Hancock. Though, that’s nice, too.
More likely, you’ll find Real Chicago deep in the neighborhoods and off the main road — a canoe ride on an industrial leg of the river, a West Side music shop run or the mystical beauty of our city’s hidden lake.
That’s where folks who really know our kind of town — Chicago historian Tim Samuelson, architectural know-it-all Lee Bey, muralist Jose Guerrero and gallery owner Carrie Secrist — say you can find the soul of our city.
Just listening to them is like a guided tour of what it means to be a Chicagoan. So, let’s take a stroll.
Turns out, Darvia Munoz can't raffle her Chicago home.
The West Beverly woman was informed by the city and Illinois Attorney General that it's illegal, even for a charity, to raffle off a prize in Chicago that's worth more than $200,000.
So her house raffle was cancelled and everyone who bought a ticket was refunded their money, Darvia says.
Darvia, who's house was facing foreclosure, says she has found a possible buyer for her home. to save her from loosing it to the bank. But she hasn't given up on raising cash for women in need. She's running a new charity raffle — with prizes outside the city limits.
"I'm now raising money for non-profit organizations. I want to reach out and help other people who are going through trying times as well," Darvia says.
t's been 40 years since Mike Royko suggested Chicago take on a new motto, Ubi Est Mea -- "Where's mine?"
Still, loads of city politicians continue to live up to Royko's maxim by making sure any good they do for the city also benefits a buddy, crony, lackey, lover or blood relative.
Take the fancy new brick homes springing from the old iron plant on the wrong side of the tracks at 105th and Vincennes in Ald. Howard Brookins Jr.'s 21st Ward.
Tell me about a place in your neighborhood where folks can have an authentic Chicago experience — a special that captures your idea of the essence of our city.
I'll pull together the best of the bunch for a future neighborhoods spread on Real Chicago.
So rather than leave you cheated of your Friday neighborhood fix, I posted a tale about how to haggle for a Christmas tree, complete with a warning about tree salesmen and a map of every licensed seasonal tree lot in the city. If your tree lot isn't on the list, you might want to use that information to get a better deal on a tree.
There's also an excellent illustration by Sun-Times in-house artist Guillermo Munro, you just have to see.
So take a read, and post your Christmas shopping (for trees or otherwise) here. It will keep us in the holiday spirit.
That's what they were chanting outside Ald. Gene Schulter's 47th Ward office Wednesday night, an impromptu protest of Lincoln Square redevelopment plans.
If you're looking for details about how Lincoln Square commercial strip might change ...
It's not just Chicago's poor neighborhoods that are getting hammered by a growing increase in mortgage foreclosures. Wealthy and solidly middle-class neighborhoods — Lincoln Square, Portage Park and Lincoln Park among them —are taking a hit as well.
