A woman in Chicago has spent the last 9 months attempting to have someone — anyone — remove the braces from her son’s teeth. See, the dentist that put them on refused to take them off because the dentist was convinced she hadn’t paid her bill in full. The dentist also called the police on her when she tried to dispute the issue in person. [More]
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McDonald's Makes Hot Chocolate Hot, Gets Sued When It Spills
By 8.26.10
Almost 16 years to the day after a jury ordered McDonald’s to pay a customer $2 million in the infamous hot coffee lawsuit, it’s deja vu all over again for the fast food giant. A Chicago-area woman has filed a lawsuit against the Golden Arches over a spilled hot beverage; the difference this time is that it’s hot chocolate. [More]
Self-Styled Robin Hood Banker Pleads Guilty
By 8.16.10
An ex-vp at a bank plead guilty last week to modifying over 100 loans to make it look like the customers were still current on their loans instead of overdue. This was not a money-making scheme, he was trying to help them. Nevertheless, it was fraud, and he could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. [More]
Ritz-Carlton: Sorry, We Meant $580, Not $58
By 8.10.10
Over at Christopher Elliott’s blog there’s a story of a guy who booked a great deal at Travelocity. A little too great — it was a typo. Someone forgot to add a zero on the end of the room rate. [More]
Subway Manager Fined $75 For Asking Pakistani Customer If He Was A Terrorist
By 8.8.10
Four days after the attempted Times Square bombing, a 64-year-old Indian-born Subway manager in North Chicago walked up to a 29-year-old Pakistani-born customer and said: “I heard you guys were recruiting more terrorists in New York. Are you one of them?” [More]
Liquor Could Soon Be Flowing 24/7 At Chicago Airports
By 7.28.10
Last month, we wrote about Chicago mayor Richard Daley’s proposal to allow airport restaurants to sell booze from push carts in the terminals. But now, as that edges closer to becoming a reality, the proposal has expanded to also permit 24/7 booze sales at these establishments. [More]
Countrywide Sued For Discriminating Against Black And Latino Mortgage Buyers
By 7.2.10
The Illinois AG filed a lawsuit this week against Countrywide, alleging that the now imploded mortgage lender steered blacks and Latinos into riskier subprime loans more often than whites, even when they qualified for safer mortgages. [More]
Chicago Provides City Vehicle Stickers That Lack One Important Feature
By 6.30.10
First New York’s vehicle inspection stickers lacked enough stickiness to actually stay stuck and now the disease has infected Chicago. Yes, it’s the same company making the stickers. I know. We’re shocked too. Who could have predicted this? [More]
Mayor Daley Wants Liquor Carts At Chicago Airports
By 6.30.10
Ever been sitting at the airport and wanting some booze, but too bogged down with bags — or pesky kids — to belly up to the bar? Well, for travelers passing through Chicago’s two airports, the Windy City’s inimitable mayor Richard Daley has the solution — pushcarts full of booze. [More]
Chicago's 28-Year-Old Handgun Ban Struck Down By Supreme Court
By 6.28.10
The Supreme Court has decided 5-4 in favor of firearm owners, ruling that Chicago’s 28-year-old gun ban is unconstitutional. [More]
Walmart Defeats Chicago, Plans To Open Up To 21 Stores
By 6.26.10
Like a big city pimp waiting to pick you up off the ground when times get tough, Walmart was able to establish its first stores in Chicago through guile, perseverance, and a few meaningless reassurances. Smaller stores! $0.50 pay raise! Union-built! These are the meager concessions that led Chicago to sell-out their local retailers. [More]
Walmart Announces Intention To Open Dozens Of Stores In Chicago
By 6.22.10
Chicago, despite having Targets galore, only has a single Walmart store on the west side. The big box giant has faced serious resistance from labor unions who claim that the company doesn’t pay enough and doesn’t provide adequate benefits. Now Walmart says they have a plan called the “Chicago Community Investment Partnership.” [More]
CVS Employee Strangles Shoplifter
By 5.10.10
A CVS employee in Chicago chased a 35-year-old shoplifter out of his store and held him in a chokehold for “several minutes” on Saturday morning until police came. The thief–who had stolen tubes of toothpaste–was taken to a hospital and initially described as in “fair-to-serious” condition, but then declared dead about 45 minutes later, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The death is being ruled an accidental homicide, and the police aren’t going to press charges against the employee. [More]
Murder Suicide At Downtown Chicago Old Navy
By 5.7.10
The Chicago Tribune reports that a man walked into the Old Navy store at State and Washington in Chicago’s Loop and shot his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself, sending panicked shoppers flooding out of the store. [More]
White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen: Comcast Sucks
By 4.21.10
For anyone who has ever thought that they were being singled out by Comcast’s cruddy customer service, or that wealthy and famous people somehow managed to get non-cruddy service from the Kabletown folks, World Series-winning manager of the Chicago White Sox wants you to know that just isn’t so. [More]
Who Needs Retirement When You Can Rob A Bank?
By 4.10.10
Just call this bit of news A Fish Called Wanda 2: Older & Bolder: Three senior citizens were arrested Thursday night after the FBI says they were planning on robbing a suburban bank near Chicago. Two of the suspects spent 13 years in a British jail for their involvement in a gem heist 30 years ago. [More]
How Many Comcast Techs Does It Take To Hook Up A TiVo?
By 4.8.10
Riddle me this, Batman. How many Comcast cable techs does it take to install a TiVo? We’d love to give you an answer, but we can’t because reader Lynn still hasn’t got a working TiVo after 3 appointments. Whoooops. [More]
Chase Hassles Woman For $45K In Payments For Home She No Longer Owns
By 3.26.10
In Oct. 2008, a mother of four in Illinois needed to unload her house or face foreclosure. So she worked with Chase Home Financial and got them to agree to a short sale. Unfortunately, more than a year later not everyone at Chase knows the house was sold, because they’re telling the former homeowner she owes almost $45,000 in late payments. [More]
