Starting on Monday night, the Illinois Department of Transportation will close the two left-hand inbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway from the Edens Expressway to Ohio Street. This project will last (allegedly) until 2025.
Construction will look like this starting on Monday evening,
Source: WGNSource: IDOT
IDOT has suggested that drivers drive at “off-peak times” and avoid rush hour (thanks, guys). For those looking to lower their carbon footprint, there are plenty of public transportation options. Some options include the Metra Union Pacific North, Milwaukee District North, North Central Service and Union Pacific Northwest lines. The CTA Blue Line is also an option, but the Blue Line is currently undergoing construction on the weekends.
If those don’t work for you, you can consider taking North Milwaukee Avenue or North Elston Avenue. For our Crew Members coming from the Western Suburbs, you could use the Eisenhower Expressway depending on your route.
It doesn’t matter what you do, Chicagoland, as long as you share the road with your fellow Crew Members and take care of one another.
IKEA shoppers are a part of a class-action lawsuit, but your time to file a claim is quickly coming to an end.
The Swedish furniture manufacturer is under fire for “printed receipts for credit or debit card transactions at its retail locations that included more than the last 5 digits of the debit or credit card number.” In total, it’s a $24 million settlement.
Anyone who shopped at IKEA in the U.S. between October 18, 2017 and December 31, 2019 and used a debit or credit card to make a purchase could be eligible for a payout. Victims can expect a payout between #30 and $60.
The deadline to file a claim or exclude yourself from the settlement is May 4.
If you are reading this, it might be too late to join Brian & Justin at Lizzie McNeill’s for their live broadcast from 6-10a, but the fun doesn’t stop with the Morning Crew! Brian Phillips will be live from 3-7p for another free, live broadcast with tons of giveaways. Information can be found here.
Chicago Psych Fest (Friday-Saturday)
A winter tradition that’s just as enjoyable as ice skating in Maggie Daley Park or standing under the heat lamps on CTA platforms, the annual Chicago Psych Fest brings a lineup of trippy bands to the Hideout. Tickets can be purchased here.
Chicago Tattoo Arts Convention (Friday-Sunday)
Celebrate your tattoos or plan out a few new ones at the annual Chicago Tattoo Arts Convention in Rosemont. You’ll be able to make an appointment with a tattoo artist (including talent featured on Ink Masters) or show off your existing body art. While you’re on the show floor, make sure to check out the various vendors and live entertainment. Tickets can be purchased here.
Saturday:
Pizza Running Tour with Steve Dolinsky
Join Read & Run Chicago and Pizza City USA for a one-of-a-kind pizza running tour. You’ll stop at three local pizza places, Lou Malnati’s and Robert’s Pizza and Dough Company, along the three-mile route and sample slices. Plus you’ll get to meet James Beard Award-winning food journalist Steve Dolinsky and take home a signed copy of his book The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide. Tickets can be purchased here.
Nick Offerman at The Venue in Hammond, IN
Actor and comedian Nick Offerman returns to the stage at The Venue in Hammond, Indiana. Offerman rose to fame for his role in NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, and has also appeared in other shows like Fargo and The Last of Us. Limited tickets remain.
Bulls host the Heat
The playoff-bound Heat roll into Chicago for a matchup that the Bulls need to win. Tip-off is at 7.
The Roots at The Salt Shed
Legendary rap group The Roots head to The Salt Shed for a sold-out show on Saturday night.
Sunday:
Stout Fest
Celebrate the final Stout Fest at the original Goose Island Clybourn brewery before it moves to the Salt Shed later this year. You’ll be able to sample pours from more than 25 breweries and vote on a winner. A complimentary souvenir glass and passed small bites will also be provided. Tickets can be purchased here.
Talking Heads groundbreaking concert film, Stop Making Sense, is being released in theaters later this year. The concert film captured the band in December 1983 as they performed at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in support of their album, Speaking in Tongues.
Some people hate cats, some people hate snakes, but everyone will hate this.
Serpens catus is the rarest species of feline on Earth .These Animals live in hard to reach regions of the Amazon rainforest , and therefore they are relatively poorly studied .The first images capturing the snake cat appeared only in the 2020.Weighs up the 4 stone pic.twitter.com/rpeMQKCF4I
Our long, national nightmare is so close to being over. It isn’t official at press time, but it seems like Aaron Rodgers’ departure from the Green Bay Packers is imminent.
"Since Friday, I made it clear that my intention was to play and … play for the New York Jets."
— QB Aaron Rodgers tells Pat McAfee he plans to play for the Jets and end 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers pic.twitter.com/8cbMQaujiu
On The Pat McAfee Show yesterday, Rodgers made it clear that he wants to be a New York Jet.
Lead NFL reporter Adam Schefter attempted to reach out to the one-time Super Bowl winner (only one more than Rex Grossman), and was met with this response from the QB.
On March 16, a week before Fall Out Boy drops “So Much (for) Stardust” to the masses, both Reckless Records and Shuga Records will be hosting Fall Out Boy listening parties with merch, prizes, and more.
The Reckless Records locations in Belmont and Wicker Park will be hosting listening parties this evening starting at 5pm. Information on how to get in to this free event and what you can win can be found here.
Shuga Records will be hosting their listening party at 6pm, across the street from the Reckless location in Wicker Park. They will not be holding a listening party at their new Logan Square location. Information on what Shuga has going on can be found here.
‘Robert the Billboard Guy’, a week removed from chatting with Brian & Justin, is now on TikTok. He went viral weeks ago after creating a billboard in an effort to meet women in Wisconsin.
The Cure are heading to America for the first time since 2016 and in an attempt to curve the trend of soaring ticket prices, but the powers that be have ultimately failed them.
The iconic band was selling tickets for as low as $20, but after services and fees, tickets were nearly doubled.
My tickets to The Cure's Train Cities show didn't have quite such bad fees, but close. Ugh, Ticketmaster is so bad. pic.twitter.com/fV6wBmZXe8
Robert Smith took to Twitter to sound off on the situation.
ALL THE 'SECONDARY TICKET MARKET' SITES SHOWING INSANELY PRICED CURE TICKETS ARE A CON – NOT ONE OF THESE SCAMMERS HAS A GENUINE TICKET FOR SALE – PLEASE DON'T FALL FOR IT – WAIT TO SEE HOW YOU GET ON THROUGH THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION CHANNEL – X
WE HAD FINAL SAY IN ALL OUR TICKET PRICING FOR THIS UPCOMING TOUR, AND DIDN’T WANT THOSE PRICES INSTANTLY AND HORRIBLY DISTORTED BY RESALE – WE WERE TOLD "In North America the resale business is a multi-billion $ industry.
I AM AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY'S TICKETMASTER 'FEES' DEBACLE. TO BE VERY CLEAR: THE ARTIST HAS NO WAY TO LIMIT THEM. I HAVE BEEN ASKING HOW THEY ARE JUSTIFIED. IF I GET ANYTHING COHERENT BY WAY OF AN ANSWER I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW. X
If you are looking for FREE tickets to The Cure at the United Center on June 10, Q101 is giving away free Cure tickets all day on Thursday March 16, every hour from 8am-6pm as a part of Ticket Blitz Thursday.
Circle K stations around the Chicagoland area are giving drivers a chance to save a little money heading into St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The Fuel Day pop-up event will offer 40 cents off every gallon of gas, valid at 111 stores throughout Chicago from 3pm-6pm on March 16.
Customers can find participating Circle K locations here.
Brendon Urie said he’s “overcome with gratitude” for the band’s 18-year career after their final show last Friday (March 10) in Manchester. Urie announced in January he was disbanding the group after to focus on his family.
Linkin Park are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their legendary album Meteora with a limited-edition super deluxe boxset we will have on April 7. Mike Shinoda received the first set and unboxes it for the first time from his home studio in the video below. This thing features so much incredible stuff from their Meteora era back in 2003, from unheard demos like recently-released single ‘Lost’ that you’ve heard on Q101, to other rarities, several live albums (in fact, as Mike points out, “the tracklisting fills the entire back of the box.”) There’s also new artwork, an accompanying 40-page book, a Litho created by the street artist on the original album cover, stickers and more.
As he lays the box set contents out in front of him, Mike says, “We put a lot of love into collecting all this stuff and polishing it up for you guys, so I hope you enjoy it.” <3 Lauren
The once-leader in adult-oriented smut has made a pivot and is embracing the digital age. Playboy has relaunched in digital form and is looking for aspiring Bunnies to join their platform in an effort to fight back against the dominance of OnlyFans. The company’s Chief Branding Officer noted, “We’re laser-focused on building the safest and most lucrative and engaging creator platform in the world.”
Don’t forget to come up for air, pal.
THE PLATINUM BUNNY 🐰 @AmandaCerny graces the cover of Playboy. To celebrate Amanda’s career and as a founding member of our creator platform, she partnered with Charlotte Rutherford this very special edition 70th anniversary cover. Get your sneak peak https://t.co/bDsdyVZBde 👀 pic.twitter.com/UQcy1Wro7k
One major difference between OnlyFans and Playboy’s new approach towards the digital landscape is that while anyone can sign up to become an OnlyFans creator, Playboy creators have to apply and be accepted by the the publication’s editorial team.
The platform will allow nudity, which its creators view as a form of art and free expression, but explicit content and pornography will not be allowed.
The e-cigarette maker JUUL is under fire for marketing their products towards children and now they’re being forced to pay. Stemming from a 2020 lawsuit, the company now owes the city of Chicago $23.8 million to settle a lawsuit. The city claims the company violated ordinances by, “engaging in a widespread marketing campaign that targeted minors and by selling JUUL products without implementing strict age verification requirements.”
JUUL agreed to pay $2.8 million within 30 days and the rest of the settlement in the next year, according to the city. That money will go towards reducing youth vaping through education, local policies, and more.
Zuckerberg is at it again. In a message to his employees earlier this week, the tech wunderkind noted that the company would be laying off 10,000 employees and not filling the vacancy of 5,000 open positions. In a posted, he noted, “Over the next couple of months, org leaders will announce restructuring plans focused on flattening our orgs, canceling lower priority projects, and reducing our hiring rates.”
Unrelated, here’s a graph of the most profitable companies in the world, per day. You’ll notice Facebook is on this list. They make approximately $701 per second, and $60,580,822 per day.
Our thoughts go out to those who have lost their jobs by way of conglomerate budget cuts.
A group of female students in Naperville are looking to make history. The group appears to have built the fastest truck in America, and soon they’ll be able to put it to the test, as they are headed to Beeville, Texas to compete in the fastest land speed race in the country. They are looking to eclipse 207mph in a Texas Mile.
A cemetery in Marshalltown, Iowa has taken out an ad after their goose, Blossom, was “out of sorts” following the death of her mate, Bud. The two geese met in the same pond at the cemetery, but after Bud left us in 2022, the general manager noticed Blossom acting differently.
The general manager took to her social media to look for a mate for Blossom, saying “lonely, widowed domestic goose…life partner for companionship and occasional shenanigans.”
Little did she know, people nearby, Deb and Randy Hoyt (perfect names for empathetic goose owners) owned a widower goose named Frankie. Blossom and Frankie met, became attached at the hip, and have been like that ever since.
