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March 2011

	04/01/11 Jeanne Gang Talks Architecture at Stop Smiling The local starchtect discusses "Reveal," the new monograph about Studio Gang, as the Gang-designed Ford Calumet Environmental Center hangs in the balance. Alternately, Lisa Madigan appears on the Interview Show tonight at the Hideout. Posted at 1:36 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/31/11 This Week In Beer: Beyond Goose Island The sale of Goose Island to Anheuser-Busch InBev dominated headlines this week and drew the attention of the city's boozehounds. But two pieces of legislation--one on the state level, one on the national level--promise to impact big beer, small beer, and beer drinkers in Illinois and throughout the country. Posted at 6:20 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/30/11 A Cabrini-Green Omnibus Cabrini-Green passes into history today, bringing the project to an end, but not its story. As the Plan for Transformation continues and with it a new era of public policy, here are a few leaves from Cabrini-Green's history. Posted at 6:34 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)
	03/30/11 Alinea, the Art of Food, and Food As Art As Grant Achatz prepares to return to the roots of his trade with Next's first incarnation, molecular gastronomy is under attack. Not everyone enjoys it, but maybe that's not even the point. Posted at 4:13 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/29/11 Leonard Weinglass, Chicago Seven Lawyer, Dead at 77 Weinstein, er, Steinglass, that is, Weinglass for the Defense: the "workhorse" of the Chicago Seven's team, and later an attorney for Angela Davis, Daniel Ellsburg, and Amy Carter, passes away. Posted at 2:48 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/29/11 To: Anheuser-Busch InBev Re: Goose Island and Design Beer snobs are worried that Goose Island's sale to the massive booze borg will mean the disappearance of craft. As a design snob, I'm more concerned about what the bottles will look like. Posted at 2:22 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (4)
	03/29/11 The Saga of Chicago's Coyotes Continues Canis latrans remains a fascination as sightings and rescues continue in the city. After years of unsuccessfully trying to rid ourselves of coyotes, we're learning to live with them, and them with us. Posted at 12:43 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	03/29/11 The Last Oprah Winfrey Show: As Secretive As the Star The Queen of Media was social media before Facebook ever existed, giving us permission to be our authentic selves before we had even realized we weren't being either authentic or ourselves. But as her show ends after 27 years, we have to ask: will we ever know who Oprah Winfrey is? Posted at 10:59 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/28/11 What Beer Nerds Are Saying About Goose Island and Anheuser-Busch The Belgium-based beer giant took over the beloved Chicago beer institution today. Lots of people are skeptical that it spells the end of a local company that balanced quality and quantity, but there's reason to hope. And if that doesn't work out, there are plenty of other craft bottles in the cooler. Posted at 6:32 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (5)
03/28/11 Indiana Political Stalemate Ends With Meta-Unionizing While the Wisconsin collective-bargaining bill winds its way through the courts, Indiana Democrats return from Urbana to their state after having won substantial concessions from the state GOP. Posted at 5:11 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
03/28/11 Fantasy Baseball Doesn't Favor the Cubs' Odds If you look at where fantasy baseball managers are drafting Cubs players, the wisdom of the crowds suggests they're in for a rough year. But it's not all bad news: the zeitgeist is pretty high on youngsters Starlin Castro, Geovany Soto, and Carlos Marmol. Posted at 3:18 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
03/25/11 Wisconsin: It Only Gets Weirder Our neighbors to the north remain embroiled in political controversy, and after a couple months it's just starting to get strange: FOIA fun, false-flag operations, and the aptly named Randy Hopper Posted at 3:31 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
03/25/11 Friday Favorites A giant model of the Mississippi, in which Chicago plays a resonant role; an essay on infantile anorexia, or what happens when you are born without hunger; and more. Posted at 10:59 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/24/11 How Do You Rehabilitate an Urban Coyote? Another Chicago coyote was rescued this week, this one from Lincoln Park, and it's bound for Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation. What happens when wild animals go to rehab? Posted at 10:22 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (3)
	03/23/11 Illinois Teacher Pensions: Always in Distress Mode Today the Tribune reported that the Teachers Retirement System, the pension fund that encompasses the state's public school teachers outside of Chicago, is facing its "deepest financial hole in 20 years." But when it comes to pensions, there's no simple measure for "deep" and no good definition of "hole." Here's a look at the TRS and its long history of crisis. Posted at 3:49 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (7)
	03/22/11 Why Do Drivers Hate Cyclists? Practically any mention of bikes versus cars on the internet incites a flamewar. It's a curious phenomenon, particularly given the minor threat bikes pose to cars. Nonetheless, I'm convinced that drivers are more afraid of bicyclists than vice versa. Posted at 8:20 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (25)
	03/22/11 The Word "Hipster" Shall Always Be With Us A prehistory of Chicago hipsters, in which we meet Harry "The Hipster" Gibson and Lord Buckley, discuss the important difference between "beat" and "beatnik," and scare the cool kids away from our less-than-fair city with Aristotle and crappy weather. Posted at 1:35 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (5)
	03/22/11 No Shining Moment: One Tournament, 64 Teams, 7 Deadly Sins For all its promise, the NCAA basketball tournament, like Tootsie Rolls and every Wes Anderson film after Rushmore, can only disappoint. It’s not just the brackets—the goddamn brackets—whose untold drama and fury on Thursday morning are a red-penned clusterfuck on Monday. It’s what the brackets represent: The annual reminder you’re not half as smart or crafty as you believed yourself, all your inadequacies and unforgivable sins spelled out on one handy 64-team grid... Posted at 12:09 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
03/21/11 Youth Violence, Public Schools, and Public Health NPR is the latest outlet to focus on "what some call an epidemic of youth violence in Chicago." It's likely to be an issue as Rahm Emanuel selects new heads for CPS and the CPD. But research suggests that youth violence is as much a matter of public health as anything else. Posted at 6:59 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/18/11 School Lunches: The Other School Reform As public educational reform has become a hot topic via elections, protests, and even the cineplex, a similar movement is happening with the food served at public schools. Both present similar difficulties. Posted at 7:04 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/18/11 Who's on Rahm Emanuel's Short List For Chicago Public Schools Chief? A look at rumored candidates to run CPS: two reform stars (Baltimore's Andres Alonso and Charlotte's Peter Gorman), a career superintendent (Maryland's Jerry Weast), a young up-and-comer (NYC's John White), and a member of Emanuel's transition team (Timothy Knowles) Posted at 3:32 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
03/17/11 Chicago Public Schools and the Illinois Budget: The Battles Soon to Come Compared to our Great Lakes neighbors, things have been pretty quiet in city and state politics, probably because Daley's on his way out and power didn't shift too much after the midterms. But our politics will heat up with the weather. Posted at 7:24 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/17/11 Mayor Daley Goes To China For His O'Hare Express Train The mayor heads to China (again) to pitch investors on his Block 37-airport express train (again). Could Chicago get its own version of London's Heathrow Express? Posted at 3:32 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)
	03/16/11 Mayor Daley Proposes TIF Subsidies for Vacant Home Purchases It's not the Sweet Home Chicago ordinance, which has been pushed by affordable housing advocates. And it's only for home buyers, not renters. But that doesn't mean it's bad, either. Posted at 7:24 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	03/16/11 Radiation Roundup: Good Sources and Stories on the Fukushima Crisis Putting the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan in context with the latest reports on safety, containment, and risk, including a new look at earthquake risks to nuclear power plants in the U.S. Posted at 1:28 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/15/11 5 Things You Should Know About Radiation, Because They Are Interesting Where the first nuke was buried in Chicagoland; the first radiation poisoning, or at least the first lawsuit about radiation poisoning; police forensics, circa 1898; the early history of the stop snitchin' code; and more Posted at 7:07 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/15/11 Dining, Table Tennis, and Western Wear on Chicago Avenue Check out our recommendations for restaurants and stores in the heart of West Town and Noble Square... and these deep cuts to go along with them. Posted at 2:47 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/15/11 Michigan's Rick Snyder is the New Scott Walker While the political and fiscal news in Illinois remains relatively quiet, our Midwestern neighbors are taking dramatic and controversial steps to repair their budgets. Posted at 12:12 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/14/11 After the Japanese Nuclear Disaster, Should You Be Worried About Illinois Power Plants? Could a partial meltdown occur at a Great Lakes nuclear power plant? One already has, and there's even a song about it. Here's a look at some risks for Midwestern plants, including tornadoes, people, and not being a nuclear power plant. Posted at 8:39 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	03/14/11 Americans Embracing Austerity: Plurality Wants More Spending Cuts (A Little Bit) Last week the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago released its 27th General Social Survey, which measures Americans' government-spending priorities. The austerity fad seems to have changed our priorities a bit, but a plurality of us still wants to spend money on most government functions, especially on education. Posted at 2:58 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/13/11 1990-91 Bulls Reunite for 20th Anniversary of First Championship Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Horace Grant were among those who attended the March 12th homecoming celebration, during halftime at the Bulls-Jazz game on Saturday. Posted at 10:28 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/11/11 Illinois's Amazon Tax: Companies Cry Foul on Main Street Fairness Act Pat Quinn just signed a bill that forces online retailers like Amazon to pay state sales taxes in states where they have affiliates... and in response Amazon is cutting off its affiliates. What's this all got to do with affiliates if it's Amazon that we want the money from? It all has to do with the Commerce Clause. Posted at 6:33 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)
	03/11/11 Beautiful Chicagoans of the Past and the Invention of Fashion Photography Beatrice Tonnensen, "Chicago's woman photographer," pioneered one of the most groundbreaking and influential ideas in American media and culture: taking photographs of attractive women and using them in ads. Posted at 1:37 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	03/10/11 What You Need to Know About What's Going On In Wisconsin Last night Wisconsin Republicans made another advance in their attempt to strip Wisconsin public unions of their collective-bargaining rights. For what's next, we have to look at how the sausage is made... or how the ingredients for the sausage are made, or even the regulations under which the ingredients are concocted. Posted at 1:34 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (3)
	03/09/11 Scott Walker's America Big news out of Wisconsin as the legislature prepares to ditch the budget repair bill and go straight to the collective bargaining at the heart of the past month's controversy. But Scott Walker isn't the only governor taking huge political risks--new Republican leaders in Florida and Pennsylvania are pushing dramatic budget cuts. Meanwhile, things are quiet in Illinois... too quiet? Posted at 6:27 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (3)
	03/09/11 Pat Quinn Abolishes Illinois Death Penalty The governor ended an eight-year moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, signing a bill sponsored by Karen Yarbrough (D-Maywood). Compelling arguments for capital punishment remain, but they can't outweigh the state's shameful record. Posted at 1:19 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/08/11 Gas Prices: Should You Blame Libya, Wall Street Speculators, or the Day of Rage? Gas prices are high. (OK, well, gas prices are always high by vernacular measures.) Why? No one really knows. But we do know a lot about how much we don't really know. Here's a quick tour through the exciting world of oil pricing. Posted at 5:24 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)
	03/08/11 Fat Tuesday Options for the Paczki Day Skeptics Thanks to Chicago's Polish population, Paczki Day has become a holiday to celebrate our transplanted brethren perhaps second only to St. Patrick's Day. But back in the day paczki weren't the only game in town. Posted at 12:51 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
03/07/11 Meet Rahm Emanuel's Education Transition Team Today Rahm Emanuel announced two of his transition teams, including his education team. Since the Chicago Public Schools, teacher contracts, charter schools, and school turnarounds will all be major issues for the new mayor, here's a look at the people he's appointed to help him. Posted at 6:21 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)
	03/04/11 The 5 Ways Scott Walker Screwed Up Republicans in New Jersey, Indiana, and Ohio are all fighting unions, but it's the public-sector unions in Wisconsin that have captured the nation's attention. Here's what the governor did wrong... and one thing he's been widely blamed for that's not his fault. Posted at 5:45 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (8)
	03/04/11 Northwestern's Sex Toy Story, or, Why I Read Feminist Blogs J. Michael Bailey stirred the hornet's nest with a live sex demonstration after a session of his Human Sexuality class. The incident has been lousy with coverage, but reasoned discussion has been hard to find. Here's where to go to find it. Posted at 1:16 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
03/03/11 Mayor Daley's Speaking Career Will Apparently Not Include Motivational Speaking In a speech at Wheaton College, the lame-duck mayor (that feels really weird to say) blasts our country of whiners for its incivility. Posted at 7:54 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/03/11 What Does the For a Better Chicago PAC Want From Rahm Emanuel, Aldermen, and Us? One of the big political players in the aldermanic races, and the runoffs to come, is a political action committee with virtually no public donors and only a handful of specific policy preferences. Is it progressive? Centrist? Conservative? Or do we even have the right framework to describe it? Posted at 2:44 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)
	03/03/11 Maria Pinto Returns to the Fashion Industry with a Mark Shale Gig After closing her boutique in 2010, the Geoffrey Beene-trained designer--who's dressed both Oprah and Michelle Obama--is back as a creative director for the 80-year-old Chicago-based retailer. Posted at 1:42 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/02/11 Desirée Rogers Gets Another High Profile Gig, This Time with Rahm Emanuel The CEO of Johnson Publishing (and recent profile subject) returns to the political party scene as a member of the mayor-elect's inaugural committee, well after the Obama drama subsided... Posted at 4:45 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/02/11 Jody Weis Leaves the Chicago Police Department: What Happened? Jody Weis's stormy tenure as CPD superintendent ended abruptly yesterday; he'll be replaced by former superintendent Terry Hillard. Weis arguably made a number of mistakes, but he wasn't the first outsider to run into trouble as the CPD's leader... Posted at 4:22 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/01/11 Will Pat Quinn Abolish Illinois’ Death Penalty for Good? After a decade-long moratorium, it seems almost as if Illinois has forgotten it still has the death penalty. That may change next week, but there hasn't been a great deal of attention--which might be a good thing... Posted at 2:54 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)
	03/01/11 @MayorEmanuel is Dan Sinker Rahm Emanuel's Twitter doppleganger is a Columbia College prof and former editor of the late, great Punk Planet, who gave us a great lesson in digital storytelling... Posted at 11:50 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

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