The S.S. Christopher Columbus was an excursion liner on the Great Lakes, in service between 1893 and 1933. She was the only whaleback ship ever built for passenger service. The ship was designed by Alexander McDougall, the developer and promoter of the whaleback design. Columbus was built between 1892 and 1893 at Superior, Wisconsin by the American Steel Barge Company. Initially, she ferried passengers to and from the World's Columbian Exposition. Later, she provided general transportation and excursion services to various ports around the lakes. At 362 feet (110 m), the ship was the longest whaleback ever built, and reportedly also the largest vessel on the Great Lakes when she was launched. Columbus is said to have carried more passengers during her career than any other vessel on the Great Lakes. After a career lasting four decades, she was retired during the Great Depression and scrapped in 1936 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

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This is a comprehensive listing of official releases by Wilco, a Chicago-based alternative rock group. The band has released six studio albums, six singles, a live album, three collaborations, and two extended plays (EPs). Following the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, the band's first three studio albums were released on Reprise Records. During recording for the band's fourth album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Reprise dropped the band from the label, causing outcry from media outlets such as the Chicago Tribune. The band signed with fellow Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Nonesuch Records in 2002, where the band has released all of its material since. Wilco recorded two albums of Woody Guthrie songs with Billy Bragg, and performed as a session band for The Minus 5 on their Down with Wilco album. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the most successful album for the band, earning a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

This list does not include material that members of Wilco recorded with Uncle Tupelo, The Autumn Defense, Golden Smog, Loose Fur, or any solo projects. (Read more...)

• ... that Chicago-style barbecue is cooked in an aquarium smoker?
• ... that Univision bought a Chicago TV station that wasn't for sale?
• ... that Chicago's Kasama is the world's first Filipino restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star?
• ... that Chicago Radio public address systems were used extensively by the pro-independence Indian National Congress during the British Raj?
• ... that four course records were broken during the 2023 Chicago Marathon?
• ... that the Dearborn Street Subway had skip-stop service in 1951 for one morning before it was discontinued?
• ... that decades after its closure, the station house of the Chicago "L"'s Madison station would house a hot dog stand?
• ... that the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Sports Illustrated have all profiled the smallest TV station in the United States?

Lee Arthur Smith is a retired American right-handed relief pitcher who played for eight teams in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1997. In his 18-year major league career, Smith's longest tenure with any one team was with the Cubs, with whom he spent his first eight seasons. One of the dominant closers in history, Smith held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when San Diego Padres relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman passed his final total of 478 on September 24. Smith was known as an intimidating figure on the pitcher's mound at 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98 m) and 265 pounds (120 kg) with a 95 mile per hour (150 km/h) fastball. In 1991, Smith set a National League record with 47 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals, and was runner-up for the league's Cy Young Award; it was the second of three times he led the NL in saves, and he later led the American League once while with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994. He also set the major league career record for games finished (802), and his 1,022 career games pitched were the third most in history when he retired; he still holds the team records for career saves for the Cubs (180), and he also held the Cardinals record (160) until 2006.

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The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue between 11th (1100 south in the street numbering system) and Randolph Streets (150 north) and named after the nearby Great Lake. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 27, 2002. The district includes numerous significant buildings on Michigan Avenue facing Grant Park. In addition, this section of Michigan Avenue includes the point recognized as the end of U.S. Route 66. This district is one of the world's most well known one-sided streets rivalling Fifth Avenue in New York City and Edinburgh's Princes Street. It lies a quarter of a mile south of the Chicago River, Michigan Avenue Bridge and the Magnificent Mile.

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"[Chicago] is the greatest and most typically American of all cities. New York is bigger and more spectacular and can outmatch it in other superlatives, but it is a “world” city, more European in some respects than American." — John Gunther

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Wikinews Chicago, Illinois portal

July 15, 2024 –

At least one person is killed and over 400,000 people without power as a derecho impacts the Midwestern United States, with downburst winds exceeding 100 mph (160 km/h) and multiple tornadoes being reported near Chicago. (Fox Weather)

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