Oil prices freeze the Illinois fracking boom
By Holly LaFon Illinois may have missed the fracking boom, as oil prices simmer near $50 a barrel. But a heated drama to reclaim the gold rush is playing out downstate with a cast of environmental activists, big oil, farmers, politicians and Saudi Arabians. Only one company, Strata-X signed up to apply for a permit […]
New Chicago Steel coach learns on the job
By Ryan Lund Dan Boeser had a lot to think about during the nearly nine-hour bus ride between Bensenville, Ill. and Lincoln, Neb. A former assistant coach with the United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel, Boeser was named the team’s head coach and general manager on Feb. 11, after former coach Scott McConnell and the […]
Obama still ‘optimistic’ as judge delays expansion of immigrant orders
By Christine Smith President Barack Obama expressed optimism–shared by some immigration experts–that a Texas judge’s ruling to delay the expansion of the president’s executive order that would grant children of undocumented immigrants a temporary reprieve from deportation will be eventually be overturned. Although Texas U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen issued a preliminary injunction Feb. 16 […]
Islamic poet takes audience on journey through death, afterlife
By Meghan Tribe Boonaa Mohammed took the stage on Wednesday night at Loyola University Chicago alongside a wooden coffin covered in a clean white sheet. He rhymed and rapped, ushering the crowded auditorium from “the bugs and maggots” of their graves to 50,000 years of celestial trial for their deeds and, ultimately, through the gates […]
VIDEO: Citizen Scientists Catch Clues about Star Formation
By Lizz Giordano Citizen scientists are leading astronomers to new clues about star formation. Citizen scientist volunteers discovered the more than 900 mysterious bright yellow objects that became the subject of recent paper in the Astrophysical Journal.
Chicago minority business creating surge in job growth
By Yinmeng Liu The doorbell rang as customers buried under woolly overcoats shuffled in. Chicago’s chilly February air swept into the bakery with them, instantly diluted by the warm smells of sweet potato pudding and fresh-baked hardough breads. Michael Hume regarded the newcomers quietly through thin silver spectacles. He is an American-born Jamaican of medium built with a gentle […]
McDonald’s Corp. experiments with touch screen menus
By Andrew Fowler and Alysha Khan Across the country, McDonald’s Corp. is rolling out Create Your Taste, the chain’s new way to customize your burger with a touch screen. Executives say the new initiative could potentially lift sales and bring in more customers.
Evanston Sophomore Guard Draws Offers from Top Schools
By Tim Penman Clarification: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized Nojel Eastern as the last Evanston player since Everette Stephens in 1984 to get offers from NCAA Division I schools. Stephens should have been described as the last player to garner so much attention from Division I schools. Until the age of eight, Nojel […]
VIDEO: First large-scale green roof in Chicago
By Adriana Cargill Chicago’s first permitted large-scale commercial green roof farm is set to open in the West Loop this summer. The two Chicago companies behind the project will begin planting in mid to late April. They hope this will be the start of something big. According to City of Chicago Data from 2010, there […]
Chicago day cares, parents tighten measles precautions
By Meg Anderson Young moms chatted between cloth diaper displays, with wide-eyed babies dangling and cooing in carriers. But amid the heady odor of lotion samples and soiled diapers, the threat of measles loomed in many minds at MommyCon, a natural parenting convention. “Honestly, it pisses me off that we have to worry about it,” […]