A waiting-to-be-demolished home in Bensenville, Ill. Photo by John Crouch. Olympic fever is leading suburban communities known for squabbling with the city to set aside hostilities and declare their support for the 2016 bid. More than half of the 273 municipalities surrounding Chicago, 147 so far, have passed resolutions in support of Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid, according to the Metropolitan Mayor's Caucus. More...

For those into adding a spatial dimension to a story, I've created a custom Google map that contains all the points highlighted so far on the blog along with links back to the relevant images on the Citizen. Enjoy this other way to get into the Bensenville story. More...

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These signs adorn every house bought up by the city. Photo by Jing Zhou. While you were reading about Brett Favre here on elsewhere, big news on the Bensenville front today.  A DuPage County judge gave the City of Chicago permission to begin tearing down the more than 500 properties it bought in recent years to make way for expansion of O'Hare International Airport. More...

It takes about two vodka tonics before I’m physically able to board a plane—or as I like to call it, a coffin with wings. Another $6 shot of liquid courage from the nice flight attendants, and I’m good to go for the duration. This becomes a problem with age and maturity as I begin to travel more both because my family resides in Texas (aka, Utopia) and because I am beginning to take business/school-related trips to meet sources and do research. But for most flights, it works. That is, except for this past weekend. More...