Photo by Señor CodoToday's snowfall might not have seen much accumulation, but it was enough to slick up the streets and cause a few accidents.United Electrical Workers, the union that represented striking factory workers at Republic Windows and Doors have filed suit against the company claiming the removal of equipment from the factory violated labor laws and will prevent work from revving up if a new company buys the factory.More red light cameras are on their way after the 7th Circuit U.S. Cou

Take a look at the President Elect on Check, Please! circa 2001. What are the chances we'll get him to stop by metromix???...

Years ago, before Obama was Obama, the up-and-coming State Senator appeared on an up-and-coming public TV show, WTTW's "Check, Please!" As the story goes, if I remember correctly, Obama was so erudite and eloquent that ... well, it didn't...

President-Elect Barack Obama wasn't the only one choked up Sunday when he locked the door on his empty Kenwood home and headed to Washington. Sadly, for those of us left at home, Chicago's moment in the sun is officially over....

by Frank James President-elect Barack Obama has reportedly decided on Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon who serves as CNN's chief medical correspondent, for his surgeon general, according to a report on Washingtonpost.com. (Photo of Dr. Sanjay Gupta: AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)...

Joe Biden was denied a seat a the movie theater as we blogged below, while Roland Burris was also denied a seat at a different theater, "The Theater of The Absurd", also known as the US Senate. As most now know, 71 year old Illinois career politician Roland "Monument" Burris was injected into the spotlight this past week by accepting the racially motivated offer of Obama's tainted Senate seat from scandal drowning Hot Rod Blagojevich. In my opinion it's a senate seat that's been tainted ever sin

by Frank James President-elect Barack Obama's planned pre-inauguration train trip to Washington via Philadelphia, Wilmington, Del. and Baltimore has stoked concerns among some that he could be at risk from a terrorist attack on caustic industrial chemicals near the rail...

UPDATE: Roland Burris added to roll of shame, Friends of Blago, by the Illinois GOP:Mr. Burris, like many before him, stood silent as myriad federal investigations swarmed the Governor. In fact, when asked about Blagojevich's performance as Governor, Burris responded that he was doing, "a helluva job."“Roland Burris is emblematic of the problems facing Illinois and now believes he should represent us in the United States Senate,” said IL GOP Chairman And McKenna. “Mr. Burris’ attempted appointmen

If many these high profile people didn't have 50 people around them all the time they wouldn't attract the attention they yearn for as most people don't know who the he** many of these politicians even are, just listen to Sean Hannity when he does the man on the street segments when 3/4 of the people can't even name the vice president or speaker of the house among other one would think common knowledge people in government.Case in point; Joe Biden at a local, that's HIS own hometown theater, who

Amazing. A skeptic of global warming at Huffpo. Harold Ambler, "Mr. Gore, Apology Accepted":You are probably wondering whether President-elect Obama owes the world an apology for his actions regarding global warming. The answer is, not yet. There is one person, however, who does. You have probably guessed his name: Al Gore. Mr. Gore has stated, regarding climate change, that "the science is in." Well, he is absolutely right about that, except for one tiny thing. It is the biggest whopper ever s

by Mark Silva The private fundraising for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration -- $27 million and counting - is nearing the $40 million raised for each of President Bush's two big shows. And some of the biggest donors are no strangers:...

by Frank James As one of those who felt badly for President-elect Barack Obama that he was going to be made to give up his Blackberry, I have to say yesterday's report that his Twitter account was compromised seemed to...

Old Footage Surfaces Fews days ago news emerged that a then low-profile State Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama filmed an episode of the local show Check ,Please! Here's a little teaser in the form of a Youtube clip. A...

Ta-Nehisi Coates writes about "the radical normalcy of Michelle Obama."...

by Mark Silva We don't often see the president-elect of the United States doing restaurant reviews. And we only now are seeing this one, taped in 2001. The producers of Chicago station WTTW's Check, Please! had been scouting for amateur...

Just as the nation prepares to swear in a new president, the Chicago Cubs could learn the identity of their new owner by the time Obama sets up his personal radio in the Oval Office. Or, the Tribune Company might just pull the team off the market altogether. Such is the process of selling a major sports franchise. A "source" tells the Trib that the winning bidder could be announced within the next seven to ten days. However, the Cubs may not be sold at all. Another "source" "cautioned that the pr

The "lost" Barack Obama episode of the local restaurant review show "Check, Please!" is up on YouTube -- well, about 2-1/2 minutes of it are. The story behind the 2001 episode, which never aired because then state Sen. Obama was too good, executive producer David Manilow said, is here; the clips are below. The full show, which Manilow says the clips provide a representative sample of, will air on WTTW-Ch. 11 on Jan. 16.

Outrage! Dictatorial and slimy, in Chicago and now DC, it's the backroom Democrats. Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tosses out the reforms instituted in the 1994 GOP-run Contract with America Congress to term limit committee chairmen and protect the rights of the minority--opting instead for one-party backroom dealing, business as usual. Over on the Senate side Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, along with his No. 2, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois is maneuvering to deny the vote

Although Monday was President-elect Barack Obama's first full day in Washington, D.C., planning and preparation for the inauguration has been going on for at least a year. Here's a preview of the work that goes into building the infrastructure for the inauguration.There is an image gallery to this entry which you can view at Chicagoist

Roland of opportunity: Sympathy for Barack

by Frank James Reports that President-elect Barack Obama intends to make Leon Panetta director of the Central Intelligence Agency not only surprised some key Capitol Hill Democrats but left them questioning the former congressman and Clinton Administration official's bona fides...

Last week, we told you about an old "lost" episode of WTTW's Check, Please which featured a young state Senator and law professor from Hyde Park named Barack Obama talking about Dixie Kitchen. Now, we have our first glimpse of what that episode will look like thanks to the following clip which has leaked. Don't forget to check out the full episode on January 16 at 8:00 p.m. [via Menu Pages]

Good morning, Congress will swear in its newest members today. Among those seeking entry to the Senate: Roland Burris, former attorney general for the state of Illinois, appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to replace President-elect Barack Obama as the junior...

by James Oliphant and Christi Parsons Barack Obama insists America has only one president at a time. But for the next two weeks, this city shows all signs of hosting two - working a mile apart along Pennsylvania Avenue. On...

If Sasha Obama thought bringing her Uglydoll along on her first day of school would win points with her classmates, she was probably right: kids think they're cool. The creatures were born in 2001, when illustrator David Horvath wrote his girlfriend in South Korea a love letter, ending it with a sketch of an orange, snaggle-toothed blob wearing an apron.

President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package would provide businesses with billions of dollars in refunds on taxes they paid several years ago. The refunds are popular among business groups and could increase pressure on Republicans to support Obama's massive stimulus package, even though most of them are wary of government spending increases that could send its total cost to $800 billion or more.

Nice pick Barack:New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract. Richardson's withdrawal was the first disruption of Obama's Cabinet process and the second "pay-to-play" investigation that has touched Obama's transition to the presidency. The president-elect has remained above the fray in both the c

OK, I'll grant this much. Symbolism as substance. "The Upside of Obama: Will he end white liberal guilt?" Mark Goldblatt, NRO: Ironies abound. The most bitter is that a disproportionate number of foreclosures have affected black homeowners, because they were riskier buyers to begin with. But the most profound is that the fiscal crisis precipitated decades ago by the Community Reinvestment Act has contributed decisively to the election of the first black president, Barack Obama.Many conservatives

Quick, name the great secretaries of commerce. Anyone?

Quick, name the great secretaries of commerce. Anyone?

Robert Kaplan explains why.

Some cracks in the simpering adulation and conformity of the MSM as AP's Ron Fournier welcomes the Barackstar to Washington. "Analysis: Barack Obama tested by stimulus, scandal":The next president of the United States understands that the power of his office has its limits, even in crisis. He knows, too, how weary voters are of the seamy, transactional side of politics as outlined in the cases involving Richardson and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — the latter a "pay for play" scandal that may ye

(AP Photo/Jim Cole) by John McCormick Former Chicago Tribune photographer Pete Souza will be the top official photographer in Barack Obama's White House, a transition aide confirmed this morning. Souza, 54, was also a White House photographer during President...

A 2001 "lost" episode has been found. Barack Obama, restaurant reviewer. What a folksy guy. The Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop. Catchy name, hmm? Reminds me of a Tank n' Tummy where they sold the worms next to the candy bars. Mm mm good. It's in Hyde Park, by the way. Actually, I think he's being a good sport. We'll cut him some slack here. P.S. The leftie fat nazis will probably be appalled though.

Barack Obama is taking another Chicagoan with him to the White House and this one happens to be his wife's former boss.

(photo by Lynn Sweet)...

UPDATE: Event: Pro-Israel Rally "Because they need all the help they can get"What: RallyHost: I support Israel against Gaza!Start Time: Tomorrow, January 6 at 12:30pmEnd Time: Tomorrow, January 6 at 3:30pmWhere: Israeli Embassy, Washington, DC***Support Israel, break Hamas. David Warren:An organization that persistently declares Israel has no right to exist, and persistently acts upon this premise, cannot be negotiated with. The Israelis have the material means to destroy Hamas, and therefore the

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he plans to stay out of the 5th Congressional District race this spring. That's the special election to replace former U.S. Congressman Rahm Emanuel. Daley Tuesday said he doubts he'll endorse anyone for the seat. State Representative and congressional candidate Sara Feigenholtz says that could be a good thing.FEIGENHOLTZ: You know he, I believe, has a very open mind. I think that that's good. I think it's good for the Democratic process. And I think that it will

NEW YORK : Maria Pinto isn't particularly interested in coattails, considering the Chicago-based designer hasn't campaigned to become a household name despite being a fashion favorite of soon-to-be first lady ...

By John McCormick Barack Obama is taking another Chicagoan with him to the White House and this one happens to be his wife's former boss. A transition aide said this afternoon that Susan Sher will be named associate counsel to...

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is breathing a sigh of relief this afternoon after U.S. Chief District Court Judge James Holderman granted Fitzy's request to extend the deadline for indicting Gov. Rod Blagojevich until April 7. The original deadline was, uh, this Wednesday. Fitzy had filed the request last week, claiming the case's complex nature was the reason more time was needed. The government charged Blagojevich in a criminal complaint, citing the need for speed to keep him from allegedly m

WASHINGTON--Another Chicagoan is being tapped for the White House; Susan Sher, the vice president for Legal and Governmental Affairs and General Counsel at the University of Chicago Medical Center will be an associate counsel to President elect Barack Obama. Sher...

The Village Voice scans the righty blogosphere on the Blago imbroglio, suggesting I am making casual associations between Rod and Barack.Well, I would suggest a few notable connections.Along with Rahmbo, Barack Obama ran the strategy for Governor Blagojevich's election campaign. (Does this sound familiar?):During the primary, state Senator Barack Obama backed former Attorney General Burris, but supported Blagojevich after he won the primary at Burris' suggestion,[22] serving as a "top adviser" fo

From MSNBC.com Obama appeared on Chicago's popular public television show "Check Please!" in August, 2001 when he was an Illinois state senator but the episode was never broadcast. Now, WTTW-television officials say they've found the episode and it will be...

Scientology prevents (or at least it's tenents of faith forbid) pharmaceutical and even medical intervention when a person practicing is felled with certain diseases and ailments which I myself find kind of witch "doctorish" myself along with the entire cult, particularly as a man with Multiple Sclerosis who takes the medication daily that likely may have saved this young man's life in the eyes of many, including me. That would be anti seizure medications that include dilantin, phenobarbital and

(Photo provided by the Obama Transition Office shows President-elect Barack Obama and wife Michelle Obama getting their daughters Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, ready for their first day of school in Washington, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Obama Transition...

by Mark Silva President-elect Barack Obama, meeting with congressional leaders today, voiced a sense of urgency in his first of many sessions -- with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "The reason we are here today is because the people can't wait,''...

Barack Obama and Roland Burris are both leaving Chicago and headed for D.C. One may be back a lot sooner than the other....

WASHINGTON--President elect Barack Obama and wife Michelle--based in their temporary home in the Hay Adams hotel--sent daughters Malia and Sasha off to their new school on Monday. While Obama headed t Capitol Hill to meet with congressional leaders, Michelle took...

The incomparable Michael Jordan did amazing things when he first reached the NBA. Even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ve probably seen the videos. But even Michael Jordan didn’t win an NBA championship until he had a team that provided him with the support to take his game to the next level.My point is simply this: Achieving success that makes a lasting, unmistakable impact can’t be accomplished by one person, even if that person is amazingly gifted.President-elect Obama is blessed with the v

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Republicans say the special election to fill an empty congressional seat is a chance to replace a U.S. senator too.Gov. Rod Blagojevich has set an April 7 special election to replace Rahm Emanuel, who left the House to become President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff.GOP party chairman Andy McKenna says that's the date Illinoisans should choose a Senate successor for Obama too.Democrats initially backed a special vote for senator after Blagojevich was arrest

(Obama Transition Office)...

President-elect Barack Obama continues to push the technological envelope for politicans. He will throw the "first-ever" Neighborhood Inaugural Ball on the eve of his inauguration. According to organizers, "a...

by Frank James As his inauguration to be the nation's 44th president draws closer, President-elect Barack Obama is gaining the trappings of the Oval Office occupant. There was the hard-to-miss presidential seal on the door of the aircraft that carried...

by Frank James President-elect Barack Obama apparently plans on including more than $300 billion in tax cuts in his expected mega stimulus bill of at least $775 billion over two years, according to news reports. The move is meant to...

Woulda' been nice if Barack Obama would've solved some problems while an Illinois State Senator then later as absentee senator the liberals of this state sent to Washington, who never even sat down there long enough to warm his skinny ass up in the empty seat he left there while running for president for an unprecedented 2 1/2 years.This rancid and miserable house of squalor in a neighborhood of blight featured below is the typical kind of crap Obama has left in his wake back here in Chicago, Ame

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama is heading to Capitol Hill to push for quick action on a broad economic stimulus package that congressional leaders are saying won't be ready until mid-February at the earliest — almost a month later than the president-elect wanted.

Illinois Republican PartyStatement from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna on April 7th Election Date set for 5th Congressional District:"Once again, Illinois Democrats have another reason to support a special election for Barack Obama's senate seat."The special election for the 5th Congressional District will coincide with the already established municipal elections in Chicago and Cook County."If Democrats in the General Assembly do not act quickly to pass a special election in tim

Good morning, President-elect Barack Obama meets with congressional leaders in Washington today. Roland Burris, appointed to Obama's Senate seat by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, arrives to prepare for the swearing-in of senators on Tuesday -- a ceremony which Democratic leaders...

by Frank James My first thought on hearing that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had asked President-elect Obama to drop his nomination as Commerce Secretary because of a federal probe into possible pay to play activity in Richardson's office was...

Jill Lawrence, USA TODAYWASHINGTON — Republicans plunge into another election campaign today, this one a six-way race for party chairman that has erupted into an argument over how to recover from an unpopular presidency and crushing defeats at the polls.Half of the candidates to lead the Republican National Committee (RNC) are Southerners: current Chairman Robert "Mike" Duncan of Kentucky, South Carolina Chairman Katon Dawson and former Tennessee chairman Chip Saltsman.Former Ohio secretary of S

Caution has returned to Wall Street as investors collected some profits after last week's huge rally even as they find encouragement from President-elect Barack Obama's calls for an economic stimulus package.

WASHINGTON---- President-elect Barack Obama, commencing face to face consultations with congressional leaders Monday, is embracing an unexpectedly large tax cut of up to $300 billion. Obama said the country faces an "extraordinary economic challenge."

The social networking site "Twitter" was hit with a hacker attack Monday with several popular accounts -- including President-elect Barack Obama, CNN's Rick Sanzchez, The Huffington Post and Bill O'Reilly -- according to several reports.

J. Taylor Rushing, The HillSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated Sunday that there is a chance that controversial Illinois Senate appointee Roland Burris could be seated in the upper chamber.Reid, who appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said the Senate has the legal authority to deny Burris a seat in the chamber because of the corruption charges facing Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) over allegedly trying to auction off the opening created by Obama’s departure. “We’re going to d

Nedra Pickler, Associated PressWASHINGTON — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Sunday announced that he was withdrawing his nomination to be President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.Richardson's withdrawal was the first disruption of Obama's Cabinet process and the second "pay-to-play" investigation that has touched Obama's transition to the presidency. The president-elect has remained a

Journal GazetteCHICAGO - Congressman Mark Kirk says embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's career is coming to an end.The Republican says lawmakers should impeach Blagojevich so Illinois can move on. That includes allowing Lt. Gov Pat Quinn to appoint a replacement for President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.Blagojevich faces corruption charges that accuse him of trying to sell Obama's seat for money or favors. He's denied wrongdoing. Last week, he appointed former Illinois Attorney General Roland

Okay, I've had enough. No more sitting on the circus sidelines for me. We need a special election to fill Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Obviously, Rod Blagojevich doesn't get it....

Editorial, Chicago TribuneWe know what Roland Burris wants: a U.S. Senate seat he thinks he's earned by riding shotgun to an accused felon.We know what Rod Blagojevich wants: to share the humiliation that has doomed his own big dreams by now humiliating as many other public figures as he can. We know what Dick Durbin and Pat Quinn want—or wanted—because they told us early in this fiasco: a special election to fill Illinois' vacant Senate seat. Durbin and Quinn have since lost their voices on thi

That would be the show formerly known as Meet The Press that of coarse the late Tim Russert used to host u9ntil his untimely death,which has now been handed over to David Gregory, leftward loon Bush hater hence the new title "Meet The Moron".Last week Filthy Harry Reid came to the news forefront when he pulled his own race cards in the Blago Senate derby when a claim of a letter sent by Reid to Blago surfaced that makes Reid look like quite the racist. In it he supposedly gives Blago a couple of

Holy Smokes...No electrical fences, no barbed wire, no guns allowed, nothing to hurt those "poor wittle cwiminals " we certainly don't wanna see that tragedy occur now would we, or not?!I can certainly understand aesthetically wanting to eliminate barbed wire in city and urban settings, officials not wanting their cities to resemble warzones or Nazi death camps as is apparently the case in NJ according to the posted story below. However, when all other alternatives of safeguarding their vulnerab

WASHINGTON—An emotional President-elect Barack Obama left his Chicago home and took up temporary residence in a grand Washington hotel on Sunday, his administration-in-waiting already burdened by scandal, war and congressional controversy.

Goal is to foster a peaceful resolution to Middle East conflict Seeking to amplify mainline Protestant influence on Middle East affairs during the Obama administration, more than half of the nation's Lutheran bishops will launch an unprecedented tour of the war-torn Holy Land on Tuesday.

Appointee Roland Burris declares himself the state's newest senator U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Gov. Rod Blagojevich "corrupt" Sunday and accused him of trying to divert attention from his criminal case by falsely alleging Reid opposed African-American candidates seeking Illinois' Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama .

What does it mean to be authentically black?

by Mike Dorning President-elect Barack Obama suffered the first blow to his Cabinet today as Commerce Secretary-designate Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew from consideration, citing an investigation of a company's business dealings with the state government he leads. The New Mexico...

Joining protests in citieshere and around the world, often violent, pro-Hamas protesters downtown and in Chicago's Hyde Park, Barack Obama's Midwestern White House to be.This is Jakarta--a scene from a hate rally. Via Powerline. It looks kind of like this picture, doesn't it.This is the Netherlands, "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas".At last, a big counter-rally in Paris.Stand with

That's one down and many to go as Billy backs out of the Obama appointment drowning in Pay for Play scandal like an illegal in the Rio Grande who can't swim too well (which is rare), and similar to the same scandal Obama himsefl will be drowning in shortly, the infamous and notorious Blago sago picking up steam quietly here in "Illi Noise" as many of the leftward ignorant pronounce the Land of Lincoln state.THE S IS SILENT FOLKS!!!!!!!!! , you were supposed to have learned that in grade school in

By Mark Silva Barack Obama returned to Washington tonight for his second tour of duty. The former junior senator from Illinois, returning tonight as president-elect of the United States, joined his family at the Hay-Adams Hotel a block from the...

WASHINGTON--Saying goodbye to Chicago, President elect Barack Obama landed at Andrews Air Force Base near 7 p.m., flying in a government plane for the first time since the election. "I gotta say I choked up a little bit leaving my...

by Mark Silva ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Tim Kaine, Democratic governor of one of the long-red states that gave President-elect Barack Obama his electoral college landslide, will serve as chairman of a Democratic National Committee attempting to build upon Obama's success....

Audio AvailableA federal judge is giving prosecutors more time to indict Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich faces corruption charges for influence peddling and for allegedly attempting to sell the senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Candidates looking to fill the seat of former Congressman Rahm Emanuel have a busy few months ahead of them. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has called a special election in the Fifth Congressional District on April 7. Charlie Wheelan is a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago and a Democratic candidate for that seat.WHEELAN: Usually you've got years or at least months to build a war chest, decide how you want to spend it, strategize. We've got to do what you would normally do in about t

President-elect Barack Obama met with Congressional leaders today about his economic recovery plan.

WASHINGTON--Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia are here getting ready for the first day of school at Sidwell Friends on Monday. I'm told by a pal whose kids go to Sidwell that the parents were sent word just to...

Bill Richardson withdraws from the Obama team., "citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state."Charlie Rangel and Chris Dodd are still there. Roland Burris is on his way.The Democrat culture of corruption reeks. The Chicago Swamp meets the DC Swamp.UPDATE: The Politico on the Dems tough spot. Heh: “He's exercising his constitutional responsibilities and authority,” Burris said of Blagojevich in an interview on PBS on Friday. “One other example is with my goo

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name as Secretary of Commerce in Obama's cabinet after it was revealed that he was involved with a business that is under federal investigation....

Chris Muir cartoon.Presumably those thrown off the campaign plane are on their own.P.S. Carol Marin tempting fate:The press corps, most of us, don't even bother raising our hands any more to ask questions because Obama always has before him a list of correspondents who've been advised they will be called upon that day.We reporters have earned our own membership in the Bizarro universe.Who are we, after all? The ones rapid-firing at Rod Blagojevich with tough questions until we drive him from the

Right, then!  So