Ghost Ads Part I

Restaurants come and go, but sometimes their signs remain.

Rushmore tried and failed to make a go of it beneath the L tracks off Randolph Street's restaurant row. After Rushmore, there was Addiction Sports Bar also defunct. As the site prepares for its 3rd incarnation, I snapped the following pic before the last sign (literally) of Rushmore is whitewashed from existence.

O'Leary's Public House

O'Leary's Public House in River North: Any resemblance to the famed Missus, her cow or the Great Chicago Fire are purely coincidental.

Read my full review here: http://bit.ly/PYZYo

Ghost Art Part I

The majority of public art projects are planned, executed and then left to fade away into oblivion.

This is a particularly apt example of this endangered species of art.

Located along a railroad viaduct on Kinzie and Des Plaines in Chicago's River West neighborhood, these images are perhaps even more poignanat than when they were painted 35 years ago.

Hundreds of similar projects exist throughout the city, so please send along any you find.

Paramount Room

"No crap on tap" is a bold claim, but this out of the way River West gastro-pub more than backs it up.

Rat Out the Racists

Tattletale. Rat. Stool pigeon. Snitch. Narc. Anyone who’s ever been to kindergarten or seen Goodfellas knows that these are unflattering terms, but in light of recent comments by the Cubs Milton Bradley and apparently backed-up by teammate Derrek Lee, it’s time for Real Cubs fans to take a stand. So, I’ll state it simply: if you definitively hear and see another fan hurling racial insults at any Cub, opposing player or fellow fan at Wrigley Field, grab security and have the idiot thrown out.

Cubs fans are better than this. We get plenty of criticism, some of it deserved, but on the whole we are undoubtedly the loudest, most loyal and hardest partying fans in baseball. Perhaps it was easier to accept the losing when bleacher seats were $6 in the mid 90’s. Now, pay Stub Hub $150 for the same seat and maybe a sense of entitlement comes along with the price tag. That’s no excuse, under any circumstances, to use racial slurs, be generally obnoxious or to toss an over-priced beer at Shane Victorino. This kind of behavior needs to stop—yesterday. Drop a dime, if you hear someone out of line.

Sure, Bradley is an inning-watcher, who “pray[s] the game goes nine innings so I can go out there for the least amount of time as possible and go home”, but we all know people like that at work, especially on Fridays. And sure, it would take 200 years for a hard-working fan earning 50K to match Mr. Bradley’s yearly salary, but he’s human and he has feelings too. If you want to hurt them, please keep your criticism within a constructively destructive framework.

Acceptable Milton Bradley jeers: “Uncle Milty”, “Run of the Milton”, “We miss Sosa.” (also #21) and, of course, a sing-song chorus of “Mil-ton”.

Taunting at baseball games is as American as hot dogs (Germany) and apple pie (England). It is every fan’s obligation to cheer excellence, boo mediocrity and beg for baseballs during batting practice. But, please, when you go to the game, stay classy Chicago.

If you like you’re ale upscale, check out this River North bar & Grill which was designed by Oprah’s favorite interior decorator. How upscale? Does the $19 Kobe beef burger give you an idea? Find out where and check out the review @ the Chicago Bar Project.

LaSalle Power Company

The “LaSalle Power Company” sounds like the name of a Public Utility. Find out this River North bar/rock club’s Utility to the Public at the Chicago Bar Project.

Chicago Bar Project Review: Wabash Tap

If you’re taking the “L” to Soldier Field, Charter One Pavilion or any South Loop attraction, you might consider a stop the Wabash Tap, located between the train station and Michigan Ave. Expect a laid-back neighborhood hangout in an area that wasn’t much of a neighborhood just a few short years ago. Check out the full review at the Chicago Bar Project.

The $180 Free Credit Report

Taking control of your credit is more important than ever. Your credit rating factors into everything from buying a home to finding a job and the credit reporting agencies are looking to capitalize on this new found awareness. Using tactics ranging from fear to catchy jingles, ads touting seemingly “free” credit reports play in heavy rotation on TV and radio. But these “free” reports often come with more strings than a marionette, so a savvy consumer needs to know their options before they end up with services they did not need or intend to buy.
The free credit reports you see advertised all come with automatic enrollment in subscriptions to “credit monitoring” services. These services cost $14.95 a month—for a total of $180 per year—and will continue indefinitely until you cancel.

The value of these credit monitoring services is limited at best. By ordering and reviewing your credit report you are already monitoring your credit, effectively negating the value of the service. And these services can induce a false sense of security leading consumers to think they are fully protected from identity theft. In actuality, these credit monitoring services cannot ensure that your identity won’t be compromised, have limited benefits and come with enough loopholes in the fine print to make a contracts attorney glaze over. Save yourself the expense and the hassle and take matters into your own hands.

Every consumer is entitled to a free annual credit report from the 3 primary credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. These reports are excellent sources for finding discrepancies in your credit history and spotting incidents of identity fraud, but do not come with the much hyped FICO score. Knowing your FICO score will give you an idea of the type of credit you may qualify for, no more, no less. Individual credit reports including your FICO score can be purchased for a one-time charge of $15—which still saves you $165/year if you make this an annual habit. If you’re looking to make a major purchase, such as a home or car, you may want to know your FICO score before approaching a lender. Otherwise, you need to consider whether this information is necessary, if your primary goal is to ensure your credit report is accurate and free from irregularities.

It’s to your credit to protect your credit. Just make sure you’re protecting your wallet at the same time.