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The List
(page 3 of 7)
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GOING OUT
Chi.FlavorPill.net suggests local happenings that hip, arty types would like in a well-culled calendar of art, film, music, theatre, and book events——including many free ones. Event pages carry short, informative write-ups and buttons to e-mail the listing or send it to a mobile device.
If you're looking for free (or almost free) drinks, Chi.MyOpenBar.com irreverently describes three or four daily specials—more on weekends. Events are rated from one to five martini glasses, with five being so can't-miss you should be ready to write off the next morning.
Check out Chicago.Going.com for a hipster, Evite-style site that helps you find people with similar interests and let them know where you'll be. Tickets to concerts, art openings, and clubs are sold on the site, which also sends weekly newsletters with weekend event picks and party photos.
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The repository of going-out info at CenterstageChicago.com supplements an ever-growing collection of articles slicing up the scene in creative ways. Recommended events and perfor-mances are easy to find and clearly presented.
The big-tent approach practiced at Metromix.com means almost every going-out destination you can think of scores its own page, complete with a short summary, vital information, and a map. The downside is that such a huge amount of information can be overwhelming. It's perfect when you want to look up a specific place or you already have an inkling of what you want to do.
GOVERNMENT
The 20-year-old independent Chicago Recycling Coalition takes the fight online at ChicagoRecycling.org, with resources and how-tos on disposing of everything from computer monitors to shoes in an earth-happy way. Check out the organization's online crusade against the city's notorious blue bag program.
BetterGov.org, an anticorruption organization founded during the Capone era, offers news and online tools to keep tabs on public officials.
At ChiCityClerk.com, you can watch live video of Chicago City Council meetings, get a city sticker, renew a passport or a business license, and more.
Property research and tax assessment information, searchable and mappable (with satellite photos!), is at CookCountyAssessor.com.
CookCountyTreasurer.com allows you to pay your property tax, check on refunds, download forms, and get more information on the subject all county residents want to know about: how much the new Cook County budget will cost them.
If one reader can avoid the excruciating trip to the Secretary of State's office to renew a driver's license or license plates, which you can do at CyberDriveIllinois.com, this whole article will have been worth it.
HEALTH
The Tribune's Julie Deardorff gives alternative and mainstream health advice at Julie's Health Club (featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/ features_julieshealthclub). Topics range from advice on healthy eating to announcements of Chicago-area studies and seminars.
You can get healthy by staring at a computer screen. The Chicago Department of Public Health's site (go to egov.cityofchicago.org; then click on "City Departments," then "Health") carries helpful information on where to get a flu shot, restaurant inspections, food recalls, and local public health initiatives.
HISTORY
The entire text of the Encyclopedia of Chicago is at Encyclopedia.ChicagoHistory.org, along with online-only zoomable historical maps, photos, video, news articles, and much more—all searchable and free.
The Chicago architecture reference at Ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/ supplies an updated, searchable database of more than 250 designated landmarks, from the Tribune Tower to Hull-House, detailing each structure's history and architectural distinction.
Chicago's haunted hot spots are described at ChicagoHauntings.com, with spooky local legends such as the vanishing hitchhiker and ghosts of the Prairie Avenue massacre.
Curious histories of streets, parks, and buildings in Chicago that you pass by every day without a thought are published sporadically with moody photography at ForgottenChicago.com.
HOME
Chicago.apartmenttherapy.com, a blog about urban living, homelife, and design, offers 15 daily posts. Visitors can view Chicago home tour videos and get suggestions on how to organize, beautify, and make homes more environmentally friendly.
MOVIES
The archive of reviews available at RogerEbert.com dates back to 1967. Every week, Ebert reviews all the major new releases (and most of the minor ones, too), writes a new "Answer Man" column, and identifies a new movie cliché, usually suggested by one of his readers. A showtime search tool rounds out the site.
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Comments are moderated. We review them in an effort to remove offensive language, commercial messages, and irrelevancies.
Reader Comments:
Congrats on the accolades! It's nice to be recognized for putting something together that has a good scope, relevant to the people around you, and features lots of cool links and pics to check out!
A great website that should go under Arts & Culture is the Chicago-based video magazine www.getfreshcut.com. They do interviews with up-and-coming artists, musicians and filmmakers and their blog covers all sorts of new media stories.
Another great Chicago-based website that didn't make the list is http://www.NeighborHuddle.com. This site connects Chicago area homeowner and condo associations internally and with eachother. Developers can also simplify the turnover of their projects to the associations using the website. It's great!
http://www.daviddalka.com/createvalue/ The best technology, search engine and advertising blog in Chicago
Another emerging startup out of Chicago is the corporate social networking website Offiscion (www.offiscion.com). Offiscion allows peers in organizations to connect, communicate, and collaborate with one another.
Great Chicago TV Museum site: www.FuzzyMemories.TV
If you ever make a list like this again, you need to include Hockeenight, which is the first place I go after a Blackhawks game.
www.csac.biz is a great Chicago resource for sports fans and collectors looking to meet their favotrie pro athletes.
I have just read your article on the 171 best websites in Chicago, and unfortunatly you listed rogersparkbench.blogspot.com as one of your picks under the neighborhoods category.
On that website today Tom Mannis writes about the News-Star and Booster being sold. There is nothing factual in his writing,NOTHING. None of the statements he makes there are true. The Readers article about it is true. Tom is just a bitter man because he was told his freelance services were no longer wanted at those papers. Unfortunately, this is the method of operation for his blog, flying of the handle "journalism", without checking facts he constantly finds himself with his foot in his mouth. You should have listed this site under "fictional entertainment" for it certainly is not news.
For intense details about corruption among government officials and their staff see:
http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/
http://cookcountyjudges.wordpress.com/