Taste of Chicago announces its 2012 restaurant lineup

Some familiar faces will be missing from Taste of Chicago this year, as the annual food and entertainment festival downsizes in the face of declining revenues.

Taste in 2012 will be five days shorter (five days, down from 10 in previous years) and considerably smaller. Thursday, the city released the names of this year's restaurants; there will be 37 full-time participants this year, down from 57 a year ago. Which means 20 restaurants that had participated in the 2011 Taste won’t be around this summer.

Guey Lon, which had been in every Taste of Chicago since the event was created in 1980, won't be in Grant Park this summer. Vermilion, which has been a Taste participant for four straight years, also will be gone. Others missing in action are Adobo Grill, Harry Caray’s and Polka Sausage and Deli.

Several restaurant owners say they dropped out voluntarily.

“A lot of people lost money last year, us included,” said Guey Lon owner Jean Lee. “We’re a small restaurant; we have to at least break even to do (Taste). This year, with only five days, it’s very iffy; if it rains one day, you’ve had it. I wish the restaurants this year good luck and good weather.”

Rohini Dey, owner of Vermilion and its sister property, At Vermilion in New York, said she dropped out for workload reasons.

“Putting together a staff for Taste is not a small thing,” she said. “Between here and New York, I’m strapped.”

Of the 37 remaining participants, all but one have been at Taste before. The sole newcomer is Pazzo’s, a Loop restaurant that will be serving chicken vesuvio sandwiches and tiramisu at Taste.

Eli’s Cheesecake, the only remaining restaurant to have participated in every Taste of Chicago, will be back. So will Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, which has been at every Taste of Chicago but the very first one.

In addition, 15 first-time participants will be at Taste for one day each. These so-called Pop-Up restaurants, including Arun’s and West Town Tavern, are by definition joining Taste for the first time. There will be three Pop-Up booths at Taste each day.

Taste of Chicago will run July 11-15 in Grant Park.

The lineup:

Abbey Pub

Bacino’s

Billy Goat Tavern & Grill

BJ’s Market & Bakery

Bobak Sausage Company

Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill

Churro Factory

Connie’s Pizza

State legislature to pass saggy pants law

The state of Illinois is in session trying to pass the City of Chicago ordinance saggy pants law and make it a class c misdeminor for peolpe that can not wear there pants at their waist

Stupid fuck robber stick up a student infront of the cop shop seriously

Three men abandoned their weekend robbery attempt when the Northwestern University student they had confronted pointed out that they were standing in front of the university police station.

The incident began about 10:40 p.m. Sunday as the student walked east in the 500 block of Clark Street, according to a university alert. The student passed a large group of men walking toward him on the south side of the street, and as he passed, one person in the group yelled "yo" at him, the alert states.

The student did not respond and kept walking, turning north on the east side of Hinman Avenue. Three men approached him and demanded his money.

"Empty your pockets or we'll shoot you," the alert quotes one of the would-be robbers. The men did not display a weapon, the alert notes.

The student told the three men that he didn't think it was a good idea to rob him while they were standing in front of the university police station, according to the alert.

The three men fled south on Hinman and west on Clark. The student was unable to provide police with a detailed description of the men, and neither Evanston police officers nor university police were able to locate them.

Anyone with information about the incident should contact Evanston police at 847-866-5000.

Illinois lawmakers approve $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase



I Patrick Quinn do solemly swear that I will wipe my ass with the Constitution and rob people of their money so help me God

SPRINGFIELD --- Illinois lawmakers today approved a $1-a-pack cigarette tax hike to generate more money for health care for low-income people.

The Senate voted 31-27 in favor, sending the measure to Gov. Pat Quinn, who has said he supports it.

The state cigarette tax would rise from 98 cents a pack to $1.98 a pack.

If it passes, the state would generate $350 million and use it to leverage another $350 million from the federal government.

Another provision would put in place a new tax on the state's hospitals with the hopes of generating $50 million that could leverage another $50 million from Washington.

The House approved the cigarette-tax increase Friday.

Logan Square barricade situation

Police have been on the scene of a barricade situation where a man has refused to come down from a roof top on the Northwest Side in the city's Logan Square neighborhood.

The situation started shortly before 5 a.m. on the 2400 block of North Ridgeway Avenue, police said.

Preliminary reports said a man was on top of a roof and refused to come down.

As of 4 p.m., the situation was ongoing and police were still at the scene, said Police News Affairs Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti.

Police could not provide any further details about the incident.

Sarge's History lesson

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed annually in the United States on the last Monday of May.^[1] Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.^[2] Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.^[3]
By the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as people visited the graves of their deceased relatives in church cemeteries, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family gatherings, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.^[4]
Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountains. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather on the designated day and put flowers on graves and renew contacts with kinfolk and others. There often is a religious service and a "dinner on the ground," the traditional term for a potluck meal in which people used to spread the dishes out on sheets or tablecloths on the grass. It is believed that this practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the "memorial day" idea. ^[5]

Sarge's Sports

American League
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
Baltimore	29	19	.604	-	14-13	15-6	221	204	+17	Lost 2	5-5	50.7
Tampa Bay	29	19	.604	-	17-7	12-12	210	193	+17	Won 1	5-5	58.9
NY Yankees	26	21	.553	2.5	14-11	12-10	217	198	+19	Won 5	6-4	47.0
Toronto	24	24	.500	5	12-10	12-14	231	214	+17	Lost 5	4-6	30.8
Boston	23	24	.489	5.5	10-13	13-11	246	232	+14	Lost 1	6-4	31.4
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
Cleveland	26	21	.553	-	14-12	12-9	206	224	-18	Lost 3	5-5	27.1
Chicago Sox	26	22	.542	.5	12-13	14-9	228	198	+30	Won 5	9-1	73.4
Detroit	23	24	.489	3	11-12	12-12	206	208	-2	Won 3	5-5	31.4
Kansas City	19	27	.413	6.5	5-17	14-10	181	206	-25	Won 2	4-6	10.5
Minnesota	15	32	.319	11	6-17	9-15	184	264	-80	Lost 5	4-6	0.3
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
Texas	30	18	.625	-	14-9	16-9	276	179	+97	Won 3	6-4	97.7
LA Angels	24	25	.490	6.5	11-10	13-15	180	176	+4	Won 6	7-3	26.3
Oakland	22	26	.458	8	10-15	12-11	158	190	-32	Lost 5	3-7	5.5
Seattle	21	29	.420	10	9-13	12-16	185	201	-16	Lost 4	5-5	8.8
National League
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
Washington	29	18	.617	-	15-8	14-10	185	154	+31	Won 3	6-4	70.4
NY Mets	27	21	.563	2.5	15-9	12-12	204	223	-19	Won 3	6-4	21.2
Miami	26	22	.542	3.5	13-10	13-12	191	195	-4	Lost 1	6-4	22.9
Atlanta	26	23	.531	4	10-10	16-13	234	214	+20	Lost 7	2-8	41.6
Philadelphia	25	24	.510	5	11-13	14-11	200	195	+5	Lost 1	5-5	25.8
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
Cincinnati	27	20	.574	-	15-9	12-11	191	177	+14	Won 2	8-2	57.4
St. Louis	26	22	.542	1.5	13-11	13-11	251	188	+63	Won 1	4-6	76.3
Pittsburgh	23	24	.489	4	14-10	9-14	140	166	-26	Won 3	6-4	11.3
Houston	22	25	.468	5	16-10	6-15	189	182	+7	Lost 2	6-4	22.2
Milwaukee	19	28	.404	8	11-13	8-15	206	233	-27	Lost 2	3-7	6.1
Chicago Cubs	15	32	.319	12	9-15	6-17	161	215	-54	Lost 12	0-10	0.5
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
LA Dodgers	32	15	.681	-	21-5	11-10	213	164	+49	Won 2	8-2	90.7
San Francisco	25	23	.521	7.5	12-10	13-13	196	195	+1	Won 1	6-4	33.6
Arizona	22	26	.458	10.5	10-15	12-11	201	217	-16	Won 2	6-4	16.0
Colorado	17	29	.370	14.5	9-14	8-15	223	256	-33	Lost 2	2-8	3.5
San Diego	17	32	.347	16	12-16	5-16	151	204	-53	Lost 3	3-7	0.5