“The Spindle,” sometimes known as the Car-Kabob, a giant sculpture in the parking lot of the Cermak Plaza strip mall in Berwyn, Illinois, is set to be destroyed as part of a strip mall reconstruction. Instead, drugstore megachain Walgreens, apparently not content with its near-complete saturation of the Chicagoland landscape, will replace the legendary sculpture. Goodbye, quirky art, hello, homogeneity! (You might remember the 1989 sculpture by artist Dustin Shuler from the movie “Wayne’s World.”) But fans of the art and the citizens of the Chicago suburb of Berwyn aren’t sitting still: The website SaveTheSpindle.com has launched, and there’s a resolution in the Illinois House decrying the teardown. Will the sculpture survive? Hit the supporters’ site and show ’em your love.
chicago
Stay Out Of Our Comments, PR Douchebags
Regarding this morning’s “Bank Of America Wins, Buys Chicago’s LaSalle Bank,” commenter “Stankwell,” whose first and only comment went up today, wrote:
LaSalle customers should be happy. Among other things, they’re gaining access to world-class online banking and a coast-to-coast branch and ATM network.
Over 500 People Ill After Taste Of Chicago
The Taste of Chicago is the world’s largest food festival, and for more 500 festival goers, it’s also the cause of some serious digestive distress. 17 people have been hospitalized and 529 are reporting symptoms of food poisoning, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Fifty cases have been confirmed as salmonellosis. Of the 50, 36 have been identified as salmonella heidelberg, one of the more common forms of salmonella poisoning in the United States, the release said.
Chicago Woman Calls 911, Hears Hysterical Laughter Then Is Hung Up On
A Chicago woman called 311 (non-emergency police services) to report illegal and dangerous fireworks exploding over her home. She was transferred to 911 where she was greeted by hysterical laughter.
Man Locked Out Of Hotel Room, Expedia Agrees To Completely Refund, Then Changes Mind
“A week ago, I had the opportunity to go to Chicago to teach a class. As I normally do, I booked the trip through Expedia.com. I took one of their package deals – hotel, car, airfare. Since I had never been to Chicago before, I simply selected the first hotel that came up on their rankings for the suburb in which I was staying.
Coming Soon: The Oprah Store!
Oprah has announced the inevitable opening of an “Oprah store” next to her studio in Chicago where one can purchase items such as an Oprah “iPod cover” and “African-designed baskets and bead art, apparel, and DVDs.”
Wendy's Breakfast Attacks Unsuspecting Nation
The myth, the legend… that is Wendy’s breakfast is expanding, according to the Daily Southtown. The breakfast will consist of items such as ” a biscuit sandwich, a steak and egg sandwich on a Kaiser roll and a breakfast burrito. Some stores will sell chicken biscuit sandwiches and sausage, gravy and biscuits.” Wendy’s is expanding the number of stores that carry the breakfast menu to 650 nationwide.
United Blames Human Error For Computer Failure
“It was human error during routine testing,” United Chief Operating Officer Pete McDonald told airline employees on a recorded call. “An employee made a mistake and caused the failure of both Unimatic and our backup system.”
News Footage Of The United Airlines O'Hare Traffic Jam
Airplanes were still allowed to land at O’Hare even though there were no available jetways at the United terminal. Wow, this looks like fun! —MEGHANN MARCO
Billboard Diagramming Female Flaws Causes Backlash
A billboard depicting a model wearing little more than a shirt has drawn the ire of the women of Glenview, IL. From the Chicago Tribune:
The 10-foot-by-36-foot sign along Willow Road near Patriot Boulevard depicts a model lying on the beach with lines pointing to “problem” areas on her body, such as facial lines and wrinkles, and corresponding “solutions,” including Botox.
UPDATE: RCN Sales Harasser Actually A Known Rapist?
UPDATE: We just called the Lakeview PD and they said that this story, “wasn’t true. If it was, we would’ve heard about it.”
Has RCN Been Harassing You At The Gas Station?
Have you been approached at a gas station or other public place by someone who claims to be with RCN? Reader Lenka writes in to share an odd encounter she had with a guy in an RCN polo who approached her as she was pumping gas:
I was pumping gas into my car at a Shell station at the intersection of Broadway and Hollywood in Chicago (a very busy intersection, off the north end of Lake Shore Drive) when I was approached at my car by a man wearing a blue RCN polo, carrying a clipboard. He says, “How are you this evening, ma’am? I’m here to see if we can get you signed up for RCN cable tonight.” I find this odd, and I’m annoyed at being accosted while pumping gas (this does happen occasionally at gas stations in town, but usually by homeless people asking for change) and I respond, “I don’t have cable, and I’m not interested.”
Your Red Snapper Sushi Is Likely Fake
Do you like to order delicious red snapper sushi? Joke’s on you, it’s probably fake. The Chicago Sun-Times had, literally, nothing to do, so it ordered 14 pieces of “red snapper” sushi and then had DNA tests done on this fish. Guess what? None of it was red snapper.
Bank Of America Threatens $220 Billion Lawsuit If It Doesn't Get LaSalle Bank
In what would be the largest lawsuit in the history of mankind, Bank of America has threated to sue LaSalle Bank’s parent company if it fails to acquire the Chicago bank. Bank of America had a deal in place to buy LaSalle from its parent company ABN Amro, when a group of European bankers lead by the Royal Bank of Scotland stepped in with a hostile bid for the entire company. Just for some perspective on how ridiculously huge a $220 billion lawsuit is:
Bank of America May Not Get LaSalle Bank After All
Now, however, a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland aims to upset that deal with an uninvited $98.6 billion takeover offer. The Scottish bank would keep LaSalle, while a couple of partners would carve up the remaining ABN Amro operations around the world (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/26/07, “The Making of a Monolith”).
Bank of America Buys LaSalle Bank, Becomes Biggest Bank In Chicago
Bank of America’s takeover of LaSalle will vault it ahead of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Chicago, increase earnings and satisfy a goal of Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis to gain market share in the third-largest U.S. city. While Bank of America has been opening branches there since 2003, Chicago remained one of the few major U.S. financial centers where it didn’t rank among the top five lenders by deposits.
You can never escape! Bank of America will find you no matter where you go. It will shut down your coffee shop and it will open a branch. Ha, ha, ha! If you try to use a local bank, it will buy your local bank. It will find you.—MEGHANN MARCO
Illinois: We Want To Cancel With No ETF If Our Phone Breaks 3 Times
According to the Chicago Tribune, Rep. Susana Mendoza, a Chicago Democrat is fed up with her lemon cell phone. That’s why she’s sponsoring legislation in Illinois that would :
allow the state’s 8.5 million wireless customers to cancel their contracts without paying early termination fees if a phone must be replaced or repaired at least three times within a contract period.
Above And Beyond: Southwest Melts Customer's Heart After Deicing Snafu
Dan’s family changed planes in snowy Chicago while on their way to sunny Orlando. Before taking off, their Southwest flight spent three hours awaiting deicing on the tarmac. Dan’s family took the delay in stride.
The pilot kept us informed (he even said at time he would pull back into the gate if we were there much longer) and the flight crew were very helpful and understanding. No one got upset, we all just tried to make the best of it.
After returning from Orlando, Dan did not complain about the delay to Southwest. That did not stop Southwest from apologizing…
