Ask Amy
If Freddy Krueger visits you, call on Scooby Doo - July 27, 2011 - Dear Amy: I am 23 and still terrified of the dark. I can't sleep without a light on unless another person is in the bed with me. I have to sleep with my bedroom door wide open and the hall light on.
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Fred Mitchell's Around Town
Hampton: Move Idonije inside - July 24, 2011 - Hall of Famer Dan Hampton would like to see the Bears shift Israel Idonije from left defensive end to tackle.
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Barbara Brotman
How do you explain park deaths? You can't - July 25, 2011 - Why did they do it?
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Steve Chapman
The anti-Obama - July 24, 2011 - — When you pick up a glossy, multipage color brochure at a presidential campaign event, you expect to see a candidate's image on the front. The ones stacked on a table inside the Sports Page Grill, where Tim Pawlenty is appearing this...
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Teddy Greenstein
18 Holes with … Gar Forman - July 23, 2011 - I offered to take Gar Forman to a fancy club. Perhaps somewhere with valets, chateaubriand sandwiches and complimentary aftershave in the locker room.
David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
Three Chicago GMs on spot - July 26, 2011 - Duty and a flair for drama compelled White Sox general manager Ken Williams to offer to "fall on the sword" if the team he assembled falls short of expectations.
Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential
Auctioneer Leslie Hindman expands to Milwaukee, Palm Beach, Fla. - July 24, 2011 - By the end of the year, Chicago auctioneer Leslie Hindman will open two more auction houses, in Milwaukee and Palm Beach, Fla., as her eponymous firm expects to reap a second year of record sales.
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Philip Hersh
Timing not right for U.S. in 2020 - July 1, 2011 - While a U.S. bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics still seems very unlikely, USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun didn't rule it out this week.
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Jon Hilkevitch's Getting Around
Boulevard parking angers Logan Square residents - July 25, 2011 - The wide, park-lined boulevards of Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood still look much like they did in 1900, helping define a community that honors the best of a bygone era.
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Ask Rex Huppke: I Just Work Here
Don't be so evil: A guide for bosses - July 25, 2011 - A long time ago, a caveman went up to another caveman and said: "I'll give you some of my woolly mammoth meat if you move these rocks for me."
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Chris Jones
What sort of casino suits the city of Chicago? - July 27, 2011 - When Caesars Palace in Las Vegas threw a $95 million party for Celine Dion, it was just to draw in gamers. New Orleans went the other way, allowing no live entertainment in its casinos. Place your bets for Chicago.
Gregory Karp
Why we blunder when we buy - July 22, 2011 - Consumers might say they like easy buying decisions, but they don't.
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John Kass
Don't pass up 2nd chance to crack open a good book - July 24, 2011 - Some of you do your summer reading with sand between your toes. Others read while sitting at a lake in the woods, smelling faintly of mosquito repellent, wondering if there's a bear in the bush.
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Julia Keller
A super-heated superhero summer - July 26, 2011 - Backward reels the bad guy, pummeled and stunned. Round goes the good guy's granite fist, finishing its gorgeous orbit after connecting with the villain's smirking mug.
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Rick Kogan's Sidewalks
Forgotten hero saved city streets - July 22, 2011 - The children playing in the street in the photograph know little about the history of their street.
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Greg Kot
Album review: Jimmie Vaughan, 'Plays More Blues, Ballads & Favorites' - July 25, 2011 - 3 stars (out of 4)
Gail MarksJarvis
U.S. credit rating could fall even with agreement to raise debt ceiling - July 27, 2011 - If the investment world truly believed there was a likelihood that the White House and Congress would fail to reach the required political agreement to raise the debt ceiling, we'd probably be experiencing a much rockier time on Wall Street.
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Nina Metz
A quartet of summer film festivals at the Music Box - July 22, 2011 - A master of mind games, humiliation and passive aggression, a French business exec played by Kristin Scott Thomas in the film "Love Crimes" artfully manipulates her doe-eyed young colleague (played by Ludivine Sagnier) and doesn't even try to...
Clarence Page
Breivik's real enemy: Himself - July 27, 2011 - Anders Behring Breivik, the far-far-right-wing monster charged in Norway with the biggest mass murder by a single gunman in modern memory, reminds me of how often delusional minds hate others for what they really see in themselves.
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Michael Phillips
One and only cowboy who lays down a beat - July 23, 2011 - Chris Sand, a resident of Dunn Center, N.D., northwest of Bismarck, where he lives in a house he bought for $1,000, goes by the handle "Sandman, the Rappin' Cowboy." This sweet, side-winding little documentary from director Elizabeth Lawrence...
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Mary Ellen Podmolik
Rulings keep homeowners' lawsuits on track - July 15, 2011 - Federal judges in Chicago and Boston have issued rulings in the past three weeks that keep alive two long-running lawsuits brought by homeowners, including two suburban Chicago residents, who have suffered as a result of the housing crisis.
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Dan Pompei
Bears may discover value in rookie free agents - July 27, 2011 - In recent years the Bears have not found many silver dollars in the undrafted free agent trash bin. But a more aggressive approach this year might change their luck, as they agreed to terms with a number of promising prospects Tuesday.
Howard Reich
Chicago prepares to honor one of its own: saxophone legend Von Freeman - July 27, 2011 - It has taken the National Endowment for the Arts three decades to recognize Chicago tenor saxophone legend Von Freeman with the country's highest jazz honor: the NEA's Jazz Masters Award.
Phil Rogers
Alomar joins Hall's family - July 24, 2011 - COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Maria Alomar couldn't stop crying. Her youngest son, Roberto, was making the speech he'd been planning for seven months, since he learned he'd be joining baseball's Hall of Fame.
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Phil Rosenthal
1979 U.S. default hints at possible calamity if debt ceiling isn't raised - July 27, 2011 - What big news do you remember from April 1979? That Iran voted to become an Islamic Republic? That a threatening swamp rabbit was stopped short of President Jimmy Carter's fishing boat? That Jane Byrne took office as Chicago's mayor?
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Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law
U. of C. professor argues privatization of public assets just like borrowing money - July 22, 2011 - Mayor Rahm Emanuel may want to update his summer reading list with an article by a law professor at the University of Chicago.
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Mary Schmich
He didn't want to fight, but Ifti Nasim could provoke - July 27, 2011 - Ifti Nasim, who died of a heart attack Friday night at 64, was one of the most famous Chicagoans most Chicagoans have never heard of.
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Dawn Turner Trice
Post-college parent-child relationships can be tricky - July 27, 2011 - For many parents and their college-age kids, the summer after freshman year is an adjustment period — a real doozy of a time when the family is relearning how to coexist under the same roof and set of rules. Call it Re-entry 101.
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Phil Vettel
Out to Lunch: Sam & Harry's Steakhouse - July 24, 2011 - Sam & Harry's Steakhouse
John von Rhein
Muti book a compelling saga of a rich life lived in music - July 27, 2011 - As he approaches his 70th birthday on Thursday, Riccardo Muti is entering a phase of his international career in which consolidation is the keynote. After a half-century in music, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director feels the time has...
Ellen Warren
Top off summer style with classic hat - July 23, 2011 - Think about it, fellas. How many times are you stopped on the street by a complete stranger who tells you you're looking great.
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Jen Weigel
How to break up with your hairdresser - July 27, 2011 - Recently, I received a text from a friend.
Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"
Problem Solver: CTA smart card racking up phantom fares - July 26, 2011 - Katherine Jacob sees no reason to buy a car.
Eric Zorn
Hoosier hero? Not Gov. Daniels, say Indiana critics - July 27, 2011 - State budget surplus in Indiana! Enough spare cash in the coffers that the governor is handing out bonuses to state workers!
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Julia Allison: Social Studies
How airlines are embracing social media - July 26, 2011 - DEAR JULIA: I'm a young professional who flies upward of eight times a month -- what the oldsters used to call a "road warrior." Unsurprisingly, I'm addicted to my "CrackBerry," my laptop and iPad are practically fused to my fingers, and I...
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Matt Bowen
Waiting for name to be called on draft day nerve-wracking - April 24, 2011 - The dynamic of the NFL draft goes much deeper than first-round picks walking across the stage in three-piece suits (bought by their agents) to shake the commissioner's hand.
Dennis Byrne
How banks are assaulting the housing market - July 19, 2011 - America's big banks, among others, that helped send us spiraling into the Great Recession are at it again. They're warning of even more dire consequences if we don't follow their advice and raise the U.S. debt limit.
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Meghan Daum
Jaycee Dugard and the feel-good imperative - July 15, 2011 - To watch Diane Sawyer's interview Sunday night with Jaycee Dugard was to wonder at times if that was Dugard herself on screen or an actress hired to play the role of the quintessential survivor. Dugard was so serene and lacking in rancor that it...
Don Dziedzina
Beating the Chain's traffic - July 23, 2011 - Heavy boat traffic can discourage fishermen, and nothing is busier than the Fox Chain O' Lakes.
Leah Eskin
Lessons learned - July 24, 2011 - My dad was good at fixing things — and he got plenty of practice. Our living room was lit by a black clay lamp carved into a lattice pattern. It stood on the table next to the sofa — ground zero for the flying pillow or the flailing...
Ilyce Glink
How to save the housing market: Realtors have a few ideas - July 27, 2011 - Last week the National Association of Realtors sent a letter to Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Timothy Geithner, secretary of the Treasury, and Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council.
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Jonah Goldberg
Men behaving badly - June 3, 2011 - Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York is a very busy man. He sits on several important committees. He's newly married to a high-powered wife. He's planning a run for mayor of New York, which they call "the city that never sleeps" for a reason. In fact,...
Benny Kass
Who gets tax credit for purchase of new home? - July 22, 2011 - Q: My husband and I recently filed for bankruptcy after our home was foreclosed. My mother is willing to purchase a home in her name (as an investment property) and rent it back to us, as long as we can come up with the down payment for her...
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Joyce Lain Kennedy
Who pays for job interview travel? - July 27, 2011 - Q. A 62-year-old professional, I have been out of work for six months. A month ago, I answered an ad on Craigslist for a job in another city. Last week I received an email inviting me to interview.
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Charles Krauthammer
Big push for the Half-Trillion plan - July 25, 2011 - WASHINGTON — The debt ceiling looms. Confusion reigns. Schemes abound. We are deep in a hole with, as of now, only three ways out: the (Sen. Mitch) McConnell plan, the G6 plan and the Half-Trillion plan.
Dan McNeil
Bowman needs to make some moves - June 30, 2011 - Hockey on Fourth of July weekend? You bet. I love Rocky Wirtz.
Robert Pagliarini: Your Other 8 Hours
Can you answer the miracle question? - July 25, 2011 - Do you need a miracle in your life?
Kathleen Parker
The just-vote-no crowd - July 12, 2011 - WASHINGTON — A debt crisis is a terrible thing to waste in a presidential election season, and Democrats and Republicans alike are responding on cue.
Mark Pearlstein
Enforcement of rules should be consistent - July 22, 2011 - Q: I live in a 48-unit condominium building that allows owners to rent their units for up to two years in hardship cases only. My unit has been listed for sale for over two years, and I am considering renting the unit and purchasing a home. I am...
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Leonard Pitts
Bin Laden's efforts to rebrand al-Qaida - July 5, 2011 - One thinks of that scene from "The Wizard of Oz" where Toto pulls back the curtain and the "great and powerful Oz" is revealed to be only an old man manipulating a smoke and fire machine. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" bellows...
Janet Portman
Couple learns lesson about reviewing a lease - July 22, 2011 - Q: My husband and I rented a house in a particular neighborhood because we wanted our kids to attend that neighborhood school. When we visited the rental, we told the agent about our choice, and made it clear that we were choosing this rental...
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Dean Richards
Out of the office: Carell enjoying family time - July 22, 2011 - — Steve Carell has come a long way from his days as a waiter at the Hard Rock Cafe in Chicago. It was his day job while he also did comedy at Second City comedy club here. Now he can walk away from plum jobs like his six-time Emmy-...
Daneen Skube: Interpersonal Edge
Can you help a bipolar coworker? - July 25, 2011 - Q. I have a coworker whose mood swings gives me whiplash. One day he seems confident and full of energy. The next day I have trouble getting him to help me put together a memo. We work in a very stressful industry. Is the job making him act this...
David Sobolewski
'We had bigger goals' - March 21, 2011 - Obviously, the Benet team and community had an extremely rough time with the unexpected end to the season.
Joe Trost's Corner Kicks
Girls soccer | Joe Trost's Corner Kicks: Madison County teams sweep the state tournament - June 9, 2011 - Darren Geisler, an avid soccer fan from downstate Illinois, sent an email last week thanking me for picking Granite City to advance to the semifinals of the Class 3A state tournament last weekend.
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Mary Umberger
Tighter lending standards the new normal - July 22, 2011 - For mortgage borrowers, it's one of those good news/bad news moments.
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Bob Weber
Brake dust no big worry - July 23, 2011 - Q: The wheels on my 2011 BMW 128i are almost constantly filthy with soot coming from the disc brakes. I know some soot is to be expected from these brakes. It typically washes off quite easily, but I'm wondering if this is indicative of excess...
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George Will
Who will bat against 'Alibi' Obama? - July 8, 2011 - "If he popped up in the pinch he should of made a base hit and the reason he didn't was so-and-so. And if he cracked one for three bases he ought to had a home run, only the ball wasn't lively, or the wind brought it back, or he tripped on a...