March 11, 2010 BY FRANK MAIN Staff Reporter On Wednesday, the Chicago Police Department showed reporters how they intend to train thousands of officers on the use of the Taser. It was part of an announcement that 380 more Tasers are hitting the streets. For the first time, an officer …

It was one of those small fires that firefighters face every day. But even the smallest blaze can turn on you — as shown on a newly surfaced video of a backdraft that injured four Chicago firefighters last month. The video, shot by a neighbor through a window, will now …

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE A man rescued Tuesday night from “Bubbly Creek” after jumping into the South Side waters to avoid police has died. Jason Kitchekeg, 26, was pronounced dead at 8:06 p.m. at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Police …

Back in November, we added a dark new dimension — a number somewhere “north of $7,000” — to the discussion of how badly your state lawmakers have buried this state’s pension system in debt. That 7 grand is the amount of unfunded pension liabilities that may confront you and every …

By PAUL DAILING We all know the major cultural touchstones of Aurora, from the Tomcats-Blackhawks rivalry to “Wayne’s World,” but the feather in the municipal cap is its position as the second-largest city in Illinois. With 171,782 residents, according to the most recent Census Bureau estimates, Aurora beats out every …

Just last week the National Telecommunications and Information Administration — the portion of the Commerce Department that has long overseen the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers — said it was time for it to revoke its hands-off-the-internet policy. That’s according to a February 24 speech by Assistant Commerce …

March 4, 2010 BY DAVID ROEDER Sun-Times Columnist Chicago-based Prime Group Realty Trust, an owner of office buildings, said it sold a downtown tower and has defaulted on one of the largest complexes in the suburbs. Prime Group said it sold 180 N. LaSalle for $72.25 million. The buyer of …

The following is a call-out to any who could contribute ideas, contacts, or even material support to an event hoping to bring anarchy and empowerment to the kids of Chicago. Likewise, it’s an invitation to anyone in the area who would like to help more directly. It’s time we started …

This is Otis McDonald, the face of the gun-lobby lawsuit now before the U.S. Supreme Court that will likely overturn Chicago’s handgun ban. I spent an afternoon with him to hear exactly why a black, liberal Democrat would side with the gun lobby. I expected the 76-year-old grandfather to spew …

What’s missed in all this is the history of Chicago’s handgun ban. Owning a handgun is an important check on tyranny. A critical figure in getting the Chicago ordinance passed had his own ties to the forces of corruption and tyranny. via American Thinker Blog: Chicago’s Handgun Ban and RICO.

Monday, 01 March 2010 Fifteen thousand unemployed workers in Illinois will lose their unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies at midnight tonight due to a Republican filibuster of legislation that would extend the benefits for 30 days, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin D-IL said today at a news conference with unemployed workers …

March 1, 2010 BY SANDRA GUY Staff Reporter ComEd is getting into the solar business. Later this year, the Chicago utility company will mount solar panels on the roofs of 100 homes in the near west suburbs and possibly the city’s Near West Side. The utility will outfit 50 of …

I love Westminster….but our own Chicago dog show is even better….We get pretty much the same quality of dogs as the famed NY show – but there's so much more for patrons to do in Chicago (and the giant pretzels don't cost as much). You can watch agility competition, both …

Cityscapes: A high-speed rail station proposal from Helmut Jahn: Not perfect, but it gets the civic debate on the right track. Chicago architect Helmut Jahn has a promising but imperfect plan for a high-speed rail station in Chicago. It’s not much more than a sketch, certainly not a finished blueprint. …

Posted By John Myers On Thursday, February 25, 2010 In an unusual effort to solicit public input on the budget, Gov. Pat Quinn yesterday proposed $2 billion in cuts to education along with grim revenue estimates for a state awash in $13 billion of red ink. Notably missing from revenues …