While Uber claims to have recently bolstered its security and safety policies, reports of drivers allegedly assaulting passengers continue to make headlines. [More]
chicago
Wells Fargo Sued In Illinois For Allegedly Pushing Mortgages On Borrowers Who Couldn’t Repay
By 12.1.14
Five years on from the nadir of the housing crisis and the lawsuits against the few remaining big banks continue to be filed. This time, it’s Wells Fargo being sued by prosecutors in Cook County, IL (home to Chicago), alleging that the bank deliberately issued “predatory” high-interest, subprime loans to borrowers — primarily minority — who may not have been able to pay back those loans. [More]
Hundreds Of Flight Cancellations, Delays Expected For Days To Come After Fire At Illinois Radar Facility
By 9.29.14
If you thought those poor souls lined up for all eternity at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Friday were the only people who’d have to deal with the aftermath of a fire that torched an air traffic control center, I have some very bad news for you: Hundreds more flights are expected to be canceled in the coming weeks, and there will be plenty of delays as well, while officials scramble to fix the damage to the system. [More]
This :34 Clip Of The Line At O’Hare Airport Will Make You Glad You’re Not Flying Today
By 9.26.14
As you might have heard, a fire — apparently set by a disgruntled employee — at an Illinois air traffic control center early this morning has resulted in more than 1,300 flights being canceled in and out of Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports. If you want to get a sense of how badly this screwed up everyone’s day, this short video will do that for you. [More]
Uber Infiltrates Chicago Airports Thanks To Partnership With United Airlines
By 8.20.14
Airports have long been the domain of taxi cabs, limos, and licensed car services. Ride-sharing services haven’t really been able to break that stronghold, though some have tried. But travelers to one of America’s busiest airports may soon have new options as a result of a new arrangement between United Airlines and Uber. [More]
Hancock Tower’s Tilting Window Escalates Chicago’s Freaky Skyscraper Window Arms Race
By 5.9.14
After years of friendly coexistence as tall-ass Chicago buildings with top-floor viewing areas that attracted tourists looking to test their acrophobia, the Willis (nee Sears) Tower threw down the gauntlet at its crosstown rival the Hancock Tower (technically, the John Hancock Center) by adding “The Ledge” — transparent boxes that jut out several feet from the building’s Skydeck, giving the visitor a truly knee-weakening experience. So what could the Hancock folks do to out-thrill the Willis’s boxes in the sky? How about a window that actually tilts you out over the Windy City’s streets? [More]
Chicago To Join Growing List Of “No Plastic Shopping Bag” Cities
By 4.30.14
Grocery shoppers of Chicago should start getting used to the notion of bringing their own, reusable bags to the supermarket and other stores; the city’s aldermen passed a resolution earlier today that will ban plastic shopping bags in many stores by Aug. 2015, and almost all stores one year after that. [More]
What’s In A $100 Grilled Cheese Sandwich?
By 4.10.14
I have a hard time justifying paying $3.50 to my corner deli for a grilled cheese sandwich when I’ve got all the makings of the comfort food classic in my fridge. So I’m having some difficulty imagining what it would take to get me to fork over $100 (plus tax and tip, etc.) for any sandwich, let alone a grilled cheese. [More]
Old Man Marley’s House From ‘Home Alone’ Can Be Yours For $3.1 Million
By 1.24.14
A day after the happy news that Cameron’s house from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off had finally sold after five years on the market comes word that another Chicago-area piece of film history is on sale. This time, it’s the house where scary/friendly Old Man Marley lived in the 1990 classic Home Alone. [More]
After 5 Years On The Market, Someone Is Finally Buying Cameron’s House From ‘Ferris Bueller’
By 1.23.14
By the time we started covering the attempted sale of the Highland Park, IL, house made famous as the site of where Cameron kills his dad’s Ferrari in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off it had already been on sale for two years. That was in 2011. In those years, the price has dropped by more than a million dollars, but no one seemed interested in picking up this piece of ’80s cinema history, until now. [More]
Sears Closing Flagship Chicago Store
By 1.22.14
Along with McDonald’s, Sears is one of the biggest national brands most associated with the city of Chicago. Many people still refer to the soaring Willis Tower as the Sears Tower, even though the company fled the building for the suburbs nearly 20 years ago and gave up the naming rights in 2009. Now the once-great retailer is set to distance itself further from the Loop with news that it will shutter a flagship store in the city it once called home. [More]
Baby Allowed Inside Fanciest Restaurant In Chicago, Cries
By 1.14.14
Alinea in Chicago is an expensive molecular gastronomy restaurant. It is so exclusive and fancy that most adults probably imagine that they aren’t allowed inside. Apparently the question of “can I bring my infant?” has never come up…until this weekend. [More]
Price Drops Again On Cameron’s House From ‘Ferris Bueller’
August 8, 2013
If you’ve ever dreamed of living out your ’80s movie fantasy of rolling a Ferrari through the glass wall of a very expensive home, that dream just got less expensive. Two years after dropping the price on the A. James Speyer-designed home (best known as Cameron’s house in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) from $2.3 million to $1.65 million, the sellers have dropped the asking price again to a mere $1.5 million. It’s a steal! [via AVclub.com] [More]
Sears Sells Cabinets Full Of Sensitive Employee Info At Office Liquidation Sale, Tells Buyer To Leave Files On Loading Dock
By 8.1.13
For some of us who buy used furniture, there’s always the hope that you’ll uncover a copy of the Colonel’s Secret Recipe, the original Coca-Cola formula, or maybe a print of the director’s cut of Highlander 2: The Quickening. One Chicago man recently purchased some old file cabinets from Sears and discovered something not quite exotic, but very sensitive, when he discovered hundreds of employee records inside. Complicating matters, no one at Sears seemed to care. [More]
Chicago Tickets Man In June For Shoveling Snow Into Street In March
By 6.10.13
It’s one thing if the city immediately gives you a ticket for improperly shoveling your snow into the street; you could take photos to challenge the citation and document your side of the story. But when that ticket comes in June, what are you supposed to do? [More]
Chicago Transit Prepaid Debit Cards Also Fully Loaded With Fees
By 3.21.13
Yesterday we told you about the sky-high fees associated with the combination photo ID/prepaid debit card being issued by the city of Oakland. Now comes a report that Chicago-area residents who choose to opt in to the prepaid debit option on their transit cards will also see their cash eroded by fees. [More]
Beware Of Expensive Venue-Specific Add-Ons When Buying Tickets Online
By 3.11.13
Consumerist reader Ben recently went on Ticketmaster to buy six tickets to catch the Book of Mormon at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago. The tickets alone were pricey enough (around $90/each) and of course there were more than $10/ticket in fees. But when he looked at the receipt, he saw he’d been hit with another $245.10 above what he’d expected to pay. [More]
United, American Airlines Accused Of Using Sham Businesses To Avoid Millions In Taxes
By 1.14.13
Somewhere in Sycamore, IL, about an hour west of Chicago, both United and American Airlines have offices for subsidiary businesses. But some say these offices are nothing more than tax-dodges that help the carriers avoid millions of dollars in taxes each year. [More]
