Reporting back from Chicago and more... finally.

I'm back from
- the Chicago Trip
- a CTA Train Tour
- the old Carson Pirie Scott store
- John Hancock Center Signature Lounge
- the original Pizzeria Uno
- More Train Tour
- UIC
- More Carson's
- Macy's formerly Marshall Field's
- Cheezborger cheezborger cheezborger
- IIT and Crown Hall
- Train and Bus tour
- United Center: Blackhawks vs. Predators
- Organ Tour with Frank Pellico
- Steppin' Out Friday Night with yet another Train Tour
- Checking out the Wrigleyville
- Train Tour back to the Hotel
- Go to the ACE No Coaster Con, and drive there...
- But only after, you guessed it. Train tour.
- Arrive at the Con. A/V Problems, what did you expect.
- John Robinson threw stuff at us again
- Maureen Kaiser freed from the Paramount shackles.
- Pizza fun at Giordano's
- Some drinks with coaster friends at the hotel
- Breakfast then, heading back home?
- Naw, ANOTHER TRAIN TOUR!!
- This time, Sears Tower!
- Low visibility, but gets better.
- Train tour back to the car
- Leave Chicago, but only before a snowstorm in northern Indiana
- Back home, tired as hell
- CACE February dinner at O'Charley's (already?!)
- Jason Aldean at Whiskey Dick's. Finally a reason to leave Chicago.

Post-Hiatus, yet again.

Sorry for the disappearance again, but I am here, alive and well.

First big announcement, I will be traveling to Chicago on Thursday, to see the sights, take a train tour, visit some architecture schools, see some great hockey, and, of course, hear people talk for hours about roller coasters and amusement parks. I'll be back Sunday evening, with a full report later on.

Also, I can say that I am a happy football fan. The Indianapolis Colts defeated the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship at RCA Dome on Sunday, and are off to Super Bowl XLI in Miami to face... the Chicago Bears. Peyton Manning gets his big chance, but big Brian Urlacher wants to make it hard... WOW!

Viral Video: Barack Obama on MNF

Tonight on ESPN Monday Night Football, it's a big game that just about everyone I know will be watching - Colts vs. Bengals at RCA Dome.

But last week, it was the Rams vs. Bears, and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) had an important announcement prior to the broadcast. Let's say that some western Illinois constituents weren't too happy with his message...

Chicago's Big Box ordinance vetoed, rejected

Chicago Sun-Times

The living wage ordinance, which targeted big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, is dead. After a veto by Mayor Richard Daley, as well as some aldermen, who first supported the ordinance but decided to reverse, because of the adverse economic effects caused by not having such stores in the city.

A South Side alderman with an expansion promise from Wal-Mart and two of Mayor Daley's closest Hispanic supporters said Monday they will provide the crossover votes Daley needs to sustain his veto of an ordinance requiring "big-box" retailers to pay their employees at least $13 an hour in wages and benefits by 2010.

"I understand and share a desire to ensure that everyone who works in ... Chicago earns a decent wage. But, I do not believe that this ordinance, well-intentioned as it may be, would achieve that end," Daley said in his first-ever veto message.

"Rather, I believe it would drive jobs and businesses from our city, penalizing neighborhoods that need additional economic activity the most. In light of this, I believe it is my duty to veto this ordinance."

Even after Daley's veto, the aldermen had the option of overriding the mayor's decision. However, those who supported the ordinance would ultimately lose after some of the council members decided to cross-over and oppose the law. They, among others, have realized that many shoppers leave the city to shop at these discount stores - why not keep the dollars within the Chicago city limits?

While some activists and union/labor leaders won't truly claim defeat, this shows that
"progressive" policy has actually hurt the inner cities and their residents, forcing retailers to build new stores in farmland and greenfields, rather than on brownfields and urban vacant sites that deserve it more - and for residents who need job opportunities and more choices.