Wisch: The Win-Win Of Illiniwek Proposal Lost On University
The Illinois administration long ago should have worked to turn the Chief into something better, broader and more beneficial. It didn't.
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The Illinois administration long ago should have worked to turn the Chief into something better, broader and more beneficial. It didn't.
When it comes to numbers, I don't trust the city of Chicago.
Over the past few years – and months – Notre Dame has taken its share of big hits. But what the university hasn't taken is big responsibility.
The signs around campus still read "University of Illinois," but right now the place is going by a different name: Transfer Central.
Here are five Windy City athletes who looked the weirdest playing for a team other than the one they're best known for.
In any case, however, the question of who ultimately foots the bill isn't the one I'm interested in delving into today. Rather, it's this: Is DePaul's new arena actually a good thing for its students?
In many ways, LeBron, Wade & Co. strikes me as Chicago's new version of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys," the hated mountain that the Michael Jordan-era Bulls once had to climb. And while losing to the Heat again is disappointing indeed, just like with the Pistons, this series loss will only make victory all the sweeter when the Bulls finally do beat them.
So, Mayor Rahm Emanuel reportedly has a $300 million plan to build new basketball arena at McCormick Place and bring the DePaul Blue Demons back into the city after more than 30 years in Rosemont.
Contrary to the popular belief in Chicago, Dwyane Wade does do more than just whine about the refs. He whines about his hometown, too.
But I also happen to think this: Playing without Derrick Rose in the playoffs could actually be a very good thing for the Bulls in the long run.
Banished from athletic events at the University of Illinois six years ago, Chief Illiniwek is now standing on the hypothetical sidelines in Champaign, holding a new proposal for his return.
Nevertheless, with the Bulls a M*A*S*H unit – featuring calf pulls, plantar fasciitis, debilitating viruses and even spinal taps – many Chicagoans are indeed seeing a different kind of red as the team hobbles its way into tonight's decisive Game 7 against the Nets in Brooklyn.
So, what if the Cubs set up their own giant HDTV on the reverse side of their proposed video board?
Growing up, I always believed that besides the Sears Tower, Assembly Hall's spaceship-shaped silhouette is the most recognizable of any building in Illinois. And now, just like how the Sears Tower has become the Willis Tower, the Assembly Hall has a new name as well.
So, what if at some point this season – I'm not suggesting that the Cubs do it just yet – the team moved Castro to third, Valbuena to second and Barney to short?
Is Derrick Rose truly Public Enemy No. 1 among Chicago Bulls fans, or is he just Public Enemy Right Now?
Over the weekend, the Big Ten pulled off a heady play when the league leaked word that it's mercifully dumping the much-maligned Legends and Leaders divisional monikers in favor of geographical names.
Winning will not be easy. Not with the Cubs' dearth of top-line pitching coupled with the changing face of free agency, which will make it all the more difficult for the Cubs to acquire top-line pitching.
I went for a run this morning. Thought about the Boston Marathon with every step.
From 1994-98, I was a student at the University of Illinois, and during those four years I saw a grand total of 14 football victories.
There was no joy in Wrigleyville on Wednesday night.
The state of Kentucky now has two more championships in the past two years than the entire Big Ten Conference has over the past 13.
With the national semifinal games set to tip off in Atlanta Saturday evening, here are some Chicago-related reasons to pay attention to all four teams involved from Michigan and Syracuse to Louisville and Wichita State.
As much as I like the idea of Chicago being part of baseball's Opening Day festivities, the notion of MLB scheduling a later home start for both the Cubs and White Sox each year definitely does have its appeal.
It turned out that the Illini – and, most significantly, athletic director Mike Thomas – were indeed lucky. And in the end, that was good.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year, with big wins for Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off Saturday with over 700 cars on display. You can even get registered for your Real ID.
The FBI is investigating a new message related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist has the extended forecast.
Meet 6-moth-old Baloo, he is looking for his forever home. Adopt him today at PAWS Chicago.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
The 2026 Chicago Auto Show kicks off at McCormick Place on Saturday.
A man was shot in the leg inside a home on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
A source close to the investigation said the woman worked for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
More than 35 local, state and federal agencies have been working for the last 18 months to prepare for Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
Two west suburban high schools have something extra to celebrate Sunday, when alumni from their schools make their Super Bowl debuts.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are underway after the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons and the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony.
Caleb Williams certainly had plenty of big throws to celebrate in 2025, but it wasn't hard to pick his most memorable one after he launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in overtime in Week 16.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, Immanuel Quickley had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the new-look Chicago Bulls 123-107.
Local and federal authorities said "investigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity" regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.
A burglary crew smashed into a restaurant in Chicago's southwest suburbs, leaving the owner cleaning up a big and frustrating mess.
