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Matt Damon will headline Chicago performance

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:46:00 +0000

Matt Damon will headline a benefit performance of dramatic readings at the Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., on Jan. 31. The Hollywood actor will be joined by the Steppenwolf Theatre ‘s Robert Breuler and Alana Arenas, various local poets and the Tribune’s Rick Kogan, among others.

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Matt Damon will headline Chicago performance

Modern Wing Gets Green Certification

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:20:00 +0000

Photo by rjseg1 A year after its opening, the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago has received the environmental certification it was seeking. The U.S. Green Building Council awarded the building with LEED Silver last week, says the Tribune’s architecture critic Blair Kamin. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and the silver level is below platinum and gold as the third-highest rating. The certification governs five areas of a building’s construction and existence: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. In the video below, Meredith Mack, deputy director of the Art institute explains in more detail the Modern Wing’s green features . They include a “flying carpet,” which filters the daylight entering the gallery, adjustable lighting, and efficient heating and cooling.

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Modern Wing Gets Green Certification

State Dem Leaders Pick Simon For Lt. Gov Slot

Rickhouse — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Simon (left) with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (right); Photo via Madigan’s website Though any suspense was taken away when Gov. Quinn made clear his desire for her to be the pick, the Democratic State Central Committee still went through the formal process yesterday and officially nominated Sheila Simon to be the party’s Lt. Governor nominee for the fall general election. Simon is the daughter of the late U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Paul Simon. Said Quinn after Simon’s official nomination: “Sheila Simon is someone who I think is a very special person for our state, committed to reform, a person who understands what it is to live from paycheck to paycheck, to be a strong advocate for working men and women all over our state…I think we have an excellent ticket, and we look forward to campaigning across Illinois. Both of us want to be strong voices for all of Illinois, especially Downstate Illinois.” Simon clinched the nomination on the first round of voting yesterday. Per the Tribune : Simon won on the first ballot, receiving the support of central committee members representing 57 percent of all the votes cast in the state’s 19 congressional districts in the primary, while Turner got 30 percent. Two other finalists got a total of 4 percent while House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state Democratic chairman, did not cast his 8 percent share of the vote from his Chicago Southwest Side and suburban district. Simon’s nomination came in spite of a strong bid from State Rep. Art Turner (Chicago) who finished second behind Scott Lee Cohen in the February primary. Cohen later dropped out due to controversy over his sordid past. But who knows what shadows lurk in Simon’s dark past of… tepid local bluegrass jamming ? (via the Sun-Times)

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State Dem Leaders Pick Simon For Lt. Gov Slot

Man Donates Kidney To Cahsier

Rickhouse — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:15:00 +0000

An Evanston Jewel-Osco cashier found a kidney donor in an unlikely spot – a regular customer of hers. Dan Coyne often chose Myra de la Vega’s checkout line because she was friendly. Coyne, 52, started to notice Vega, 49, looking sick when she started dialysis for kidney failure. She was hoping her sister from the Philippines would be a kidney donor match, but the matching tests failed. After researching organ donation and completing compatibility tests, Coyne offered Vega his kidney. “If we can be friends and our families support each other, fine,” Coyne told the Chicago Tribune , “but I want her to know she is in no way obligated to continue a relationship with me after she gets the kidney. It’s a gift.” In Illinois 3,840 people are on the waiting list for kidney donation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . There are several factors that must be completed in organ donation: degree of medical emergency, length of time on the waiting list, tissue match and blood type, according to Transplant Living . The day-long organ transplant took place at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Friday. After the two recover they want to help find living donors for the some of the 84,000 people suffering from kidney failure, the Tribune reported. Post by: Sean Stillmaker

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Man Donates Kidney To Cahsier

An Eco-Friendly Tire Fire?

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:40:05 +0000

It’s amazing what five little words can do. An amendment to Illinois HB1470 would allow a tire incinerator in Ford Heights to receive green energy credits. The Tribune reports the bill would add the words “incineration or burning of tires,” giving tire burning the same status as wind and solar power, even though the practice releases plenty of toxic chemicals into the air such as carbon monoxide, butadiene, sulfur dioxide and styrene. The bill, sponsored until recently by Rep. David Miller, would benefit the incinerator which has been under scrutiny from the EPA and located in one of the poorest communities in the nation. Green energy credits act like commodities that can be traded by financial markets and are intended to allow an organization to “ protect the environment when green power products are not locally available .” The facility has been sited four times in four years for violating environmental standards. Several environmental justice groups are lobbying to block the bill from passing through the House. Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center said in an interview with the Tribune “This is the sort of cynical legislative maneuvering that makes people question the credibility of our elected officials.” We couldn’t agree more.

Timing The Yellow Lights

Rickhouse — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:40:00 +0000

Earlier this week , the Tribune investigated the lengths of yellow lights at intersections with red light cameras. The Trib has also offered up this visual aid to help understand the timing of those lights. [ via ]

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Timing The Yellow Lights

Ricketts On Defensive Over Toyota Ad At Wrigley

The Huffington Post News Team — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 22:00:00 +0000

A rendering of the proposed Toyota sign at Wrigley Field; Photo courtesy the Cubs, via the Tribune New Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has gone on the defensive over the proposed Toyota ad at Wrigley Field and suggestions the City will shoot down the idea. Speaking to the City Club of Chicago, Ricketts said, “It doesn’t affect anyone looking in. I can’t imagine this isn’t something we can work on.” The proposed sign, a lighted, 16-by-22 foot Toyota logo, would extend from the left field bleachers and only partially obscure the Horseshoe Casino rooftop ad, not affecting any rooftop seats. Even once the deal is done, though, the team will need approval from the city’s Department of Zoning and Land-use Planning and Commission on Chicago Landmarks. But Ricketts at least had a sense of humor about it the ordeal. [Event emcee Paul] Green asked whether Ricketts had read Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin’s Sunday column blasting the proposed sign as “a really bad idea” and “out of tune” with Wrigley Field. “Blair’s my neighbor,” said Ricketts, who lives in Wilmette. “I read it. I don’t agree. And I told my wife, ‘I’m going to go over and tell Blair I don’t like his new copper gutters.’”

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Ricketts On Defensive Over Toyota Ad At Wrigley

Quigley Sets Out To Honor "Go Cubs Go" Songwriter

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:20:00 +0000

Congressman Mike Quigley introduced a bill today to honor Steve Goodman, folk musician and songwriter of “Go Cubs Go” – the song Cubs fans sing “Go Cubs Go” after every home win – by renaming the Lakeview Post Office located at 1343 W. Irving Park Rd. for Goodman. Quigley told WBBM radio that Goodman’s was a “short but tremendous life.” The Grammy-winning , native Chicagoan died of leukemia in 1984 at age 36 and his ashes were scattered at Wrigley Field. According to the Tribune : The lawmaker said the bill is supported by the entire Illinois congressional delegation, the Old Town School of Folk Music and musicians including John Prine, Bonnie Koloc and Corky Siegel. An aide to Quigley said if all goes smoothly, a renaming ceremony could take place with a musical salute at the post office by late spring or early summer. We just hope the team holds up their end and let fans sing the song more this season than they did last year.

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Quigley Sets Out To Honor "Go Cubs Go" Songwriter

The Morning After: Eight Not So Great For Bulls

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Chicago Bulls forward Hakim Warrick (21) chases down a loose ball against Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo, right, and forward Rudy Gay, back, during the second half; AP Photo/Lance Murphey Bulls Fall To Grizz For Eighth Straight Loss With their top four players out of the lineup, the Bulls fell to Memphis 104-97 , their eighth-straight loss. The Bulls were still missing the injured Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah, as well as the suspended Kirk Hinrich , so the likes of Acie Law and Ronald Murray started instead. But both played well, Murray leading the team with 25 and Law scoring 18 while Hakim Warrick scored 22 off the bench. While the Bulls got out to an early lead with a three-guard lineup and kept things close through most of the first half, the Grizzlies extended their lead out to 25 points late in the third quarter. And, yet, the short-handed Bulls managed to fight back, outscoring the Grizzlies 34-9 and cut the lead to just 4 with 3:39 left in the game. But from there the comeback fell short as Memphis held off the Chicago rally and held on for the win. The Bulls, who were the sixth seed in the East when the losing streak started, are now ninth in the conference, on the outside of the playoffs looking in. It won’t get any easier for the Bulls, who travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks tonight (7:30 p.m., CSN). Spring Training Carlos Silva pitched a sharp four innings (!!!!) to lead the Cubs (9-5) past the Rangers 4-1 . The Sox (5-7) got a solid three inning outing from Freddy Garcia as they eased past the Rockies 6-1 .

St. Patrick’s Day Diversion

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:40:00 +0000

In which Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas gets a St. Patrick’s Day spin.

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St. Patrick’s Day Diversion