Chicago – News Stories About Chicago - Page 57

Hotel Tell-All Book Muzzled
Before Release

Mar 21, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Hotel Tell-All Book Muzzled Before Release

Four Seasons acts to keep ex-concierges' celeb dish off shelves

(Newser) - A book by ex-concierges at Chicago’s Four Seasons Hotel has been dumped just before the celebrity tell-all was go on sale, the Chicago Tribune reports. The hotel complained that confidentiality agreements made the tales of "celebrity bad behavior" in Great Reservations off-limits. Despite a publicity blitz ahead of...

Midwest Flood Death Toll at 16

Mar 21, 2008 4:20 PM CDT

Midwest Flood Death Toll at 16

Flood crests expected over weekend; snow blasts Minnesota, Chicago

(Newser) - Storms that caused flooding across the country's midsection have killed 16 people, and bad weather remains a threat, the AP reports. A snowstorm battering Minnesota and Illinois grounded hundreds of flights, and forecasters predicted a 9-inch total. Thousands were forced into shelters as rivers continued to swell; in many states,...

Star Chicago Chef's Mouth Cancer in Remission

Mar 18, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Star Chicago Chef's Mouth Cancer in Remission

Achatz's sense of taste impaired but returning

(Newser) - Chicago chef Grant Achatz’s oral cancer is in remission, the Chicago Tribune reports. The culinary star endured nearly 6 months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and says he is “happy to say I've had a clean biopsy.” Foodies can now find Achatz back at Alinea, his award-winning...

Obama: Rezko Raised
$250K, Asked No Favors

Mar 15, 2008 5:13 AM CDT

Obama: Rezko Raised $250K, Asked No Favors

Candidate gives the lowdown on his dealings with Chicago tycoon

(Newser) - Barack Obama, hoping to head off future controversy, has given newspapers an extensive account of his dealings with indicted Chicago tycoon Tony Rezko. Obama told the Chicago Tribune that Rezko, his first big political donor, raised as much as $250,000 for his campaigns over the years—$90,000 more...

Icy Roads?
Beet Juice Just the Right Tonic

Mar 14, 2008 6:46 PM CDT

Icy Roads? Beet Juice Just the Right Tonic

New mixture cuts salt, works colder, but side effects still unknown

(Newser) - Road workers in the Chicago area are shaking up their winter ice-busting cocktail with an odd new mixer: beet juice. Sanitation officials are pleased with the combination, which reduces the necessary rock salt (harmful to plants and water supplies) by up to 30% and is effective at temperatures far lower...

Man Kills Stranger, Fakes Own Death

Mar 7, 2008 5:00 PM CST

Man Kills Stranger, Fakes Own Death

Suspect commits suicide as cops close in; wife under scrutiny

(Newser) - A Chicago-area construction boss trying to work a life-insurance scam killed another man, used the body to fake his own death, then killed himself as police converged, the Chicago Tribune reports. Authorities are now looking at whether the killer and his wife, who had email contact after his “death,...

Rezko Corruption Trial Begins

Mar 3, 2008 9:19 AM CST

Rezko Corruption Trial Begins

Jury selection gets under way for accused Chicago businessman with ties to governor, Obama

(Newser) - With jury selection beginning for the corruption trial of Chicago businessman and political fundraiser Tony Rezko, the Chicago Sun-Times offers some background on the key facets of the case. Rezko, a Syrian-born real estate and fast-food tycoon who established footholds in the Illinois governor's circles, is accused of pocketing illegal...

Swindler Black Ordered to Jail

Feb 29, 2008 4:00 AM CST

Swindler Black Ordered to Jail

Court rules tycoon must spend appeal process in prison

(Newser) - Former media tycoon Conrad Black, convicted of swindling millions from his newspaper empire, will be behind bars by Monday night, reports the Chicago Sun-Tribune. A Chicago court ruled that he couldn't remain free on bail while awaiting a decision on his appeal. Black has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in...

The Cool Kids Take Hip-Hop Back to the '80s

Feb 27, 2008 3:54 PM CST

The Cool Kids Take Hip-Hop Back to the '80s

Miss the days of LL Cool J? Give this Chicago duo a listen

(Newser) - Hip-hop sensation the Cool Kids might come off as too, ahem, cool for school, catapulting from an online hit to Pitchfork Music Festival performer and MIA's fall tour opener—without ever releasing an album. But Chicago Magazine paints Antoine Reed, 20, and Evan Ingersoll, 23, as two inexperienced Chicagolanders whose...

Hotel Pays Staff to Sniff Out Smoking Guests

Feb 25, 2008 7:20 PM CST

Hotel Pays Staff to Sniff Out Smoking Guests

Chicago's Swissotel turns its housekeepers into detectives

(Newser) - That chocolate on your pillow may be a bit of a Judas kiss: Chicago's Swissotel isn't the first hotel to fine sneaky smokers who break its puff-free policy, but it is the nation's first to pay staff to sniff out offending guests, reports the Chicago Tribune. Spraying air freshener won't...

Mickey D's Risks Big
in Java War

Feb 24, 2008 5:58 AM CST

Mickey D's Risks Big in Java War

New coffee line is risky business for Golden Arches, Tribune says

(Newser) - McDonald’s may have Egg McMuffin on its face if it can't out-grind Starbucks with a new line of premium coffees, the Chicago Tribune reports. The new coffee rollout, threatened by a shaky economy, marks one of the company’s riskiest launches ever, according to analysts. As food and labor...

Cities Ready Protest Blackout

Feb 20, 2008 10:21 AM CST

Cities Ready Protest Blackout

World 'Earth Hour' aims to raise awareness about global warming

(Newser) - An hour of darkness will descend on cities from Australia to Denmark on March 29 as homes and business turn out the lights to raise awareness about global warming. The event began last year in Sydney, where 2.2 million people shut off the lights, AFP reports. Two dozen cities...

NIU Shooting Victims Profiled

Feb 16, 2008 2:08 PM CST

NIU Shooting Victims Profiled

Loved ones remember young lives cut short

(Newser) - An Army Corps of Engineers vet who wanted to be a first grade teacher. A violinist who knit for fun. A rugby player and frat man who worked for the student newspaper. The Chicago Tribune profiles the five students gunned down in their oceanography class Thursday at North Illinois University,...

Gunman Was
Known as 'Gentle, Even,' 'Best in Class'

Feb 15, 2008 5:54 PM CST

Gunman Was Known as 'Gentle, Even,' 'Best in Class'

NIU sociology profs, students are stunned

(Newser) - Northern Illinois University profs and students who knew Stephen Kazmierczak said today they were stunned by his transformation into a killer: “I knew him as a warm, sensitive, very bright student,” one professor said in disbelief. "I have had him in my home." A mentor told...

NIU Gunman Had Stopped Taking Meds

UPDATED

Feb 15, 2008 10:38 AM CST

NIU Gunman Had Stopped Taking Meds

Honor student's behavior 'somewhat erratic' before shooting

(Newser) - The gunman who killed five and wounded 15 in a Northern Illinois University lecture hall yesterday was identified this morning as Steven Kazmierczak, an ex-NIU grad student who had won top sociology department honors, the Chicago Tribune reports. "There were no red flags," said the campus police chief....

Obama Camp Wields Steely Secret Weapon: Mrs. O

Feb 14, 2008 11:00 AM CST

Obama Camp Wields Steely Secret Weapon: Mrs. O

Michelle Obama seen as campaign 'closer'

(Newser) - Outspoken and gutsy but sometimes sarcastic and condescending, Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, is playing a central role in his campaign as it builds toward a final showdown. Known as "The Closer" behind the scenes, the 44-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer puts steel into the campaign while Obama stays above the fray,...

Clinton: No Nomination, No Tax Returns

Feb 9, 2008 9:01 AM CST

Clinton: No Nomination, No Tax Returns

Obama campaign blasts Hillary as not 'fully vetted'

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton’s campaign said yesterday that it will not release the Democratic candidate’s tax returns unless she wins the party’s nod, the Swamp reports. Obama’s campaign attacked Clinton for the move. "Why should Democratic voters have to wait until after the primary campaign is over...

Chicago Gets Olympic Makeover

Feb 4, 2008 4:17 PM CST

Chicago Gets Olympic Makeover

Critics ponder price as plans for bid move forward

(Newser) - Chicago is serious about hosting the 2016 Olympics, and the city is doing everything possible to land the event, the Washington Post reports. The buzzword is "global": Chicago is entertaining foreign dignities, teaching new languages in its schools, and erecting public sculptures and buildings. But for the Windy City’...

Chicago Cops Seek Killer of 5

UPDATED

Feb 2, 2008 2:00 PM CST

Chicago Cops Seek Killer of 5

Alleged killer fled after robbing Lane Bryant store

(Newser) - Police are searching for a stocky black man who reportedly shot five women dead in a Chicago mall burglary this morning, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Police surrounded the Tinley Park mall after shots were reported at a Lane Bryant store just before 11 a.m. “There is no question...

Killer Storm Heads Northeast

Feb 1, 2008 12:15 PM CST

Killer Storm Heads Northeast

Up to a foot of snow expected by this afternoon

(Newser) - The massive snowstorm blowing across the US has blanketed much of the Midwest and is now taking aim at the Northeast, the AP reports. The storm has killed at least six, tangled traffic from Texas to the Great Lakes, and snarled flights at the crucial Chicago hub. "By no...