Articles

Nov. 20, 2008 - On a chilly autumn morning at the corner of 31st Street and Kostner Avenue, young athletes competed for gold medals. Teams of three fought through the coal dig and leapt over the coal hurdle before sprinting to the bus dash, ending their journey at a cardboard cutout signifying a downtown museum.

No, this wasn't the Olympics, but instead the second running of the Coalympics, a competition in the Little Village neighborhood aimed at raising awareness of two nearby coal-fired power plants that pollute the city's skies.

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Nov. 19, 2008 - Jose Quintero remembers clutching his mother's hand on the tarmac of an airport in Havana, Cuba, on August 12, 1960. Soon Quintero would be in America, away from the rising Communist regime of Fidel Castro.

Thirty-four years later, Juan Carlos Subiza, Quintero's cousin, would make the same decision to leave his homeland, but would take a much more dangerous route. Subiza, along with 13 others, made a raft and set sail for America, praying the Cuban Coast Guard would not pick them up.

Hundreds of thousands of people have left Cuba since Castro took control by force in 1959.

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Nov. 18, 2008 - Elle Quintana, booking agent at Reggie's Music Joint in the South Loop, says whenever she considers booking a new band, she looks at the band's Web site, listens to about 30 seconds of the group's music and "checks out the pictures; see if they look cool."

She adds, "Then, I'll write their name down, check the calendar and see if I can put them on a show."

Quintana is not alone. The Internet has become increasingly important for bands when promoting themselves and finding bookings. It's not enough to have an innovative sound, be eager to tour and have a fresh look on stage. Bands have to be tech-savvy to survive.

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Nov. 17, 2008 - Pilsen resident Omar Vega expects to save thousands of dollars in property taxes over the next 12 years in exchange for renovating his historic four flat on West 17th Street.

Vega is among the first in his neighborhood to qualify for a property tax freeze since Pilsen was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Property owners within the Pilsen Historic District -- which stretches between Halsted Street and Western Avenue, from 16th Street to Cermak Avenue -- can earn tax benefits for renovations that preserve their buildings' historic value.

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Nov. 14, 2008 - Student writers and supporters of Youth Communication Chicago (YCC) will rally at noon on Saturday, November 15, in front of the group's Columbia College office at 619 S. Wabash, to call attention to the organization's financial crisis.

After 32 years of publishing New Expressions as a vehicle for young Chicago writers, YCC suspended operations early this month, said executive director Phil Costello.

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Nov. 13, 2008 - When the Chicago City Council considered an ordinance banning chickens from the city late last year, the folks at the Angelic Organics Learning Center in Woodlawn e-mailed fellow urban agriculture supporters. The ordinance was tabled, but the center heard back from several Chicago chicken owners and many others who were interested in learning more.

It's illegal to slaughter chickens (or any animal) at your home in Chicago, but it's legal to raise them for pets -- or for eggs, said Martha Boyd of Angelic Organic's urban initiative.

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Nov. 12, 2008 - Residents living in the Grant Park area gathered to express their concerns and offer suggestions regarding a proposed 10-year contract extension with the organizers of the Lollapalooza festival on Monday night.

The last-minute Grant Park Advisory Council meeting was held at the Daley Fieldhouse to discuss the contract, which would keep Lollapalooza in Grant Park until 2018, before the Park District Board votes on matter Nov. 12.

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Nov. 11, 2008 - To help combat the growing lending crisis and the rise of foreclosures in Chicago, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is investing $68 million in grants and low-interest loans in foreclosure prevention and mitigation efforts in local neighborhoods.

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Nov. 10, 2008 - With Chicago still in the running to host the 2016 Olympics, some officials say the success of Tuesday night's election rally in Grant Park offers more evidence that the city could successfully host the international event.

Despite some fears over crowd control leading up to the event, Chicago Police officer Daniel O'Brien said the department had no reported incidents of any kind at Grant Park.

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Nov. 7, 2008 - Imagine seeing a life-size statue of a man with his liver hanging outside his body, numerous stones where bodies were sacrificed to the gods, and tools used for both ancient warfare and agriculture.

"There are a lot of really eye-catching pieces in this exhibit," said Gary Feinman, a curator of the Aztec World exhibit at the Field Museum. 

Eye-catching may be an understatement.  

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Nov. 6, 2008 - Gentrification affects different neighborhoods in different ways, and Uptown's experience is certainly unique.  While many residents around Chicago watch their cost of living increase as public housing is demolished to make way for luxury developments, Uptown is embracing a different strategy.

Wilson Yard, the large piece of vacant land on Broadway that sits between Montrose and Wilson, will combine low-income housing with senior living and a sizeable commercial space that will house a Target and several other stores.  But not everyone's happy.

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For over a week, crews had been preparing Grant Park for what some have called "Obamapalooza," Barack Obama's election night celebration. By the morning of Nov. 4, the stage was set, tents were lifted, big-screens monitors were in place and Chicago was poised for the tens of thousands of supporters expected to attend.

Read more and see Election Day pictures...