Chicago

January ended Tuesday with 40 homicides in Chicago, up 43 percent from 28 homicides recorded in January 2011, a RedEye analysis of preliminary police data found. However, as of Wednesday afternoon, Chicago has not seen a homicide since Jan. 24, when a 39-year-old woman was shot to death in Washington Park. This is the first time RedEye's homicide tracker has not had a homicide to report on in the previous week since it was created three years ago. No homicides have been recorded so far in February.

Summertime in Chicago means the bars will be as packed as ever with young singles looking to mingle and tingle. The women of this city are as distinct as the neighborhoods that produce them, and it's important for every guy to know his environment. Below is a handy guide to help a young bachelor navigate the waters of some different neighborhoods, with my researched - albeit extremely biased - recommendation for the perfect drink to order a lady in each one. Gold Coast: Scotch How did you even end up in the Triangle?

We've put it off long enough, but it's time to take that first peek at our beloved baseball teams in spring training. First, some good news: The MLB is expanding the wild-card playoff format by two more teams. (Yes! Even more like the NBA!). Bad news: It won't include Chicago's two teams. Warning: This is going to be slightly to horribly painful. Let's go to the White Sox first. Here we have an example of how a team can really thrive amid "low expectations. " We are in rebuilding mode here, with no Mark Buehrle, Carlos Quentin or Sergio Santos.

Graham Rahal slouched atop a stool nestled inside a local coffee shop. The 24-year-old IndyCar driver planted his elbows firmly on the small table in front of him. His stare darted around the room. He could imagine grandstands surrounding him that very moment. But no crowd rumbled. No checkered flag flapped. The loudest noise in the shop was the feverish tapping of Rahal's right foot. Again and again, he pounded his heel against the metal seat. It was as if he was hammering the gas pedal of a car flying at 225 miles per hour.

Festival season is almost here! We've got a schedule of festivals to help kick off your summer planning now. > > View the full 2013 Chicago festival guide on metromix.com . Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page . 

Chicago on Thursday logged its 100th homicide of the year, a RedEye analysis of preliminary police data found. A 23-year-old man was shot to death Thursday in the 300 block of East Kensington Avenue in West Pullman, the Tribune reported. For the last eight years, except for last year, Chicago has logged its 100th homicide of the year in April. Chicago reached this mark on March 20 last year. Homicides are down 39 percent year-to-date compared to the same period in 2012 and down 6 percent compared to 2011.

Six homicides were recorded in Chicago on Saturday, making it one of the deadliest days of the year, a RedEye analysis of preliminary police data found. According to Tribune reporting: > > At 12:15 a.m., an 18-year-old man was shot to death in the 11500 block of South Wentworth Avenue. > > At 5:05 a.m., a 17-year-old girl was fatally shot in the 2100 block of West 35th Street. > > At 10:30 a.m., a 28-year-old man was shot to death in the 9200 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue.

What was the Lovie Smith era in Chicago? If you take the Bears' average record under Smith, you get nine years of 9-7 teams with a one-in-three chance of making the playoffs and an average playoff exit in the second round after winning the wild card game. Good morning, Chicago, it's mid-August, and your football team is about to go 9-7 with a one-in-three chance of making the playoffs. If they make the playoffs, they'll probably lose in the second round. Are you in? Keep in mind you don't have a choice.

Soho House, the boho-chic private members' club and hotel chain is coming to Chicago as part of an expansion to take place by 2014, the New York Daily News reports . The expansion of the group, which was founded as a club in 1995 and has grown to include restaurants, hotels and cinemas, will see new venues opening up in five destinations deemed 'cool' enough for the brand, long regarded as an arbiter of taste on London's art and media scene....

There's a notion that it can't happen here. Tornadoes are creatures of the plains. They lurk in cornfields--not cities. Not Chicago. Those jaw-dropping pictures snapped in the wake of the deadly tornado that tore through the Oklahoma City suburbs on Monday is a tragedy that we Chicagoans are blessed to avoid, right? Wrong. That's a myth. It can happen here. It has happened before. It will happen again. As Tom Skilling said, it's a matter of when, not if. “One could argue that we're even overdue for a tornado,” added Skilling, WGN meteorologist.

 *** = Recommended shows On sale noon Thursday ***Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Monday, July 22 ($10, all ages) at Space. On sale 10 a.m. Friday We the Kings, Breathe Carolina, T Mills, The Ready Set, Dave Days, Saturday, Aug. 10 ($20, all ages) at Vic Theatre. On sale noon Friday Zane Carney, Thursday, Aug. 8 ($8-$10, 21+) at Schubas. Neil Hamburger, Major Entertainer Mike H, Wednesday, Oct. 9 ($14, 21+) at Schubas. ***Dan Savage, Thursday, June 20...

Well, we're happy to say we told you so. Today Milwaukee Summerfest announced its Emerging Artists Series, and several of the names are familiar: RedEye 2013 Rock 'n' Vote finalists AboveWaves (June 27), and 2011 finalists Aktar Aktar (June 27). That's not it for the Chicago representation, either. Gemini Club (July 2), Blah Blah Blah (June 26), Great Divide (July 5) and Bonzie (July 6) will also appear on the U.S. Cellular Connection stage June 26-July 7. Other highlights on the calendar include Kitten (who just opened for Paramore at Chicago Theatre)

I bought a Nate Robinson jersey this weekend because I'm not sure he'll be a Bull next year. You read that right. Because I don't think he'll be back, I bought his jersey. This does not happen often. Chicago fans don't run out to buy as much merchandise as possible when they know the player they're supporting isn't going to be on their favorite team anymore. You don't see a lot of Marion Barber Bears jerseys. Not a ton of Bryan LaHair Cubs jerseys. Hardly any Kevin Youkilis White Sox jerseys.

Feel like a field trip? Just in time for a three day weekend, Google has announced users of its Field Trip app can snag free admission to The Adler Planetarium, The Field Museum and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The free admission to the Chicago attractions are part of 13 museums in 6 cities nationwide for users of the travel app, which uses a phone's location to alert explorers of notable places and attractions nearby. According to the apps Google+ page, all that's needed to claim a free ticket in is getting physically close to...

Chicago Sky standout guard Epiphanny Prince received a multi-year contract extension, head coach and general manager Pokey Chatman announced Friday in a press release. The terms of the contract were not yet disclosed, per team policy. Last season, Prince cemented herself as an all-star, becoming the first WNBA player since 1997 to score 30-points in three straight games. The 25-year-old led the team in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game while shooting an impressive 44 percent from the field.

Months ago, rumors started swirling that Shake Shack , a popular fast-food eatery that started as a food cart in New York's Madison Square Park, would be opening a Chicago location.  This month, the company has made it official with an announcement that it is planning its first Illinois location at 66 E. Ohio St., which is part of the Shops at North Bridge complex.   The restaurant is slated to open in late 2014, according to Greg Waters, senior manager of marketing and communications for Shake Shack.  Details have not yet been released about the Chicago...

It's often best to stay out of your roommate's relationship drama. That's the advice a suburban woman allegedly gave to her boyfriend's roommate when he asked police officers to keep her out of his apartment, after a fight between the couple escalated Thursday. "You need to mind your own business," Shemekia Fulwiley, of Normal, Ill., allegedly told her boyfriend's roommate at his South Austin apartment when police arrested her for home invasion. She was at the apartment earlier in the day,...