Fantasy sports has made me a cold, hard judge of my favorite teams. But they've also made me more empathetic—a necessity, as the crippled Bears slouch towards a disappointing end. Read more
Evidence of progress from the annals of airline crash statistics. Plus: why Alec Baldwin should have put his cell phone away, and why reading about airline disasters or pretending that I'm in a Galaxie 500 video makes me feel safer. Read more
To head off a second Days of Rage when the G-8 and NATO come to town in 2011, Rahm Emanuel proposes to hike protest fees... just like the first Mayor Daley did. But at 1968 prices, $1000 is practically a bargain. Read more
In 2009, a Chicago dentist went to prison after pleading guilty to laundering money for a Detroit pimp who used Kimmel's apartment, cars, and dental office. The pimp was put away for 25 years. Dr. Gary Kimmel is out, and wants his old job back. Read more
Some things are timeless, like cars with chrome and fins and mayors named "Daley." Somethings are timeless and just so subtly eerie, like clowns and Dick Clark. Read more
The Bears' receiver and special-teams captain faces a maximum of 40 years and a $5 million fine if he's convicted of drug trafficking. But if his football predecessors in the drug trade are any indication, expect a lighter sentence. Read more
A new Tribune report on Illinois's underfunded pension systems shines a light on how it got so bad—it took a long time, and a lot of bad legislation—and offers a different way of looking at the crisis. Read more
What Rahm Emanuel's ties to big business, and aldermanic ties to local gangs, tell us about the evolution of the Chicago Machine from Hinky Dink to the present day—and what the Machine of the Future might look like. Read more
An ambitious show in a singularly unambitious era, it was Chicago Hope plus Chicago Code... plus half an hour. Then it disappeared from existence. Read more
The Feds and the state get impatient with Deep Tunnel, forcing the state into an agreement to get it done on time—by 2029. Here's how it's (sort of) responsible for the Asian carp crisis, and why it might be inadequate for a future of climate change. Read more
