• In a world where the cost of a political campaign is ever rising, one local group is trying to limit money in politics. Reporter Paul Biasco photo, which is using the incumbent-free 2nd Ward as a testing group, winning pledges from four of six candidates to limit their fundraising and expenditures during this municipal election.
"This race should not simply be about who can send out the most mailings and most robocalls," said Cornell Wilson III, a candidate who has taken RunClean's pledge.
• Speaking of campaign cash, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a lot of it. And a SuperPAC supporting him, Chicago Forward, is doling it out to aldermanic candidates in large numbers. City Hall reporter Ted Cox dug into campaign finance filings and found the mayor's favored candidates have received nearly $700,000 in SuperPAC funding. Who's gotten the most? Ald. Deborah Graham (29th) has received more than $60,000 from Chicago Forward.
• Two Logan Square landlords are facing criticism after deliving letters of endorsement for Ald. Rey Colon (35th) under their tenants' doors, writes Darryl Holliday. Some residents say they felt it was intrusive. Ald. Colon, for his part, said he did not support this kind of endorsement.
• Thinking about hosting a party for the South Side Irish Parade? Well, here's a deal for you. A deal on portable toilets.
• Turns out winter's icy grip loosen's Chicagoans' tight grip on cash - particularly tips for delivery drivers. GrubHub released data showing that as the temperature dips, tips rise, if only a little bit.
Throughout the year, Chicagoans tip an average of 13.4 percent. That climbs slightly to 13.6 percent during the winter. GrubHub's national average is about 14 percent.
• North Side hackers, tinkerers and makers — rejoice.
The newly formed Chicago Industrial Arts and Design Center is converting a gray three-story commercial building into Chicago's only "hackerspace" powerhouse, featuring $300,000 worth of welding, woodworking, casting and 3-D printing equipment.
"I don't care what material you're working with — what method, what process — you realize you can actually come up with an idea and work with your hands, work with tools, and output a real world object," said founder Matthew Runfola. "It's pretty darn cool."
• It's not festival season yet, but that's not stopping Boytown organizers from throwing up a tent for a weeklong bash called Frost Fest. It kicks off Sunday with the annual Soup Walk, in which local eateries serve up free bowls of soup.
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