Chicago / Illinois Oriented Eric Zorn's Notebook  -- my `blog at chicagotribune.com. (The real old archives are here) Archpundit -- (new url!) From St. Louis by Larry Handlin  "a displaced Illinois Democrat obsessed with Illinois politics and currently residing in the State of Misery." Capitol Fax --  Rich Miller 's  blog supplements his subscription newsletter and his Capitol Fax columns. "Austin Mayor" -- A left-leaning Glen Ellyn man promises "political rants as clear, logical, and convincing as the best editorials...in the student newspaper...of a failing high-school." Public Affairs -- North Shore public-access TV talk host Jeff  Berkowitz avidly follows Illinois politics from a generally conservative perspective.  One Good Thing--Sex-toy shop owner Leigh Anne Wilson's blog is funny and literate and engaging on a very wide range of topics. Mimi Smartypants--this diary blog by a local 30-ish mother is the source of "The World According To Mimi Smartypants," a February 2004 book from Harper Collins Entertainment.  She has been the subject of profiles on Ch. 2 and in  New City and the Sunday Telegraph. Pound -- "My name is Wendy McClure... I live in Chicago where I work as an editor and a writer...I started (Pound) in November of 2000 to write about body image and weight issues...As time went on I began to write essays and journal entries about other stuff, but I always try to go back to my original subject."  McClure's  book "I'm Not the New Me," is  be based on entries from Pound. Justin --the breezy commentary stylings of Justin Kaufmann, executive producer of Chicago Public Radio's Schadenfreude. The Story of Why --By "Gladys Cortez" of West Garfield Park -- "This blog is being created to chronicle my reasons for many of the choices I'm making in my life; though this is one of those extremely-personal things, I suspect that more than one person has found himself/herself in the same situation I'm in, for different reasons. " Makes Me Ralph --  This Colorado resident manages to blog Illinois better than most Illinois bloggers, though you have to wade through Colorado-based items to find it. DJWinfo--Chicago attorney Dan Johnson-Weinberger's blog on progressive politics and policy  (a companion to http://www.djw.info) Peoria Pundit -- By journalist Bill Dennis, "Former liberal Democrat, former member of Libertarian Party, now a small-'L' libertarian and anti-idiotarian." blogs Chicago as well as downstate media.  The Peoria  Journal-Star says, "A traditional journalist in another lifetime - he covered education and police as a reporter with the Jacksonville Journal Courier after graduating with a journalism degree from Eastern Illinois University - Dennis, 41 (in April, 2005), now writes a column for the River City Times, works a full-time job that he doesn't mix with his online blogging life, and blogs at least one hour, sometimes three, four, or five hours, every day. Illini Pundit -- December, 2004: "Illinipundit exists as a blog to present my thoughts and opinions on political news and current events in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and the world. My political leanings are more conservative, and for the foreseeable future, I'll be using the nom-de-plume "Illinipundit" for this project of vanity. Join Cross -- The official blog of the political operation of Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego). Chicagoist -- "a website about Chicago and everything that happens in it. That means news and events, restaurants and bars, happenings and goings-on."  Edited  by Rachelle Bowden. Gapers' Block  -- "A Chicago-centric news and events site...a collaborative weblog on a wide range of topics...Consider it an antidote to all those sites infatuated with the coasts." Proprietor, Andrew Huff. Reference Tone -- Former Trib staffer John Cook has righteous blogging chops, which I admit even though he sometimes directs those chops at me. Metroblogging Chicago -- a chatty, pop-culture/news group-written blog. Zulkey -- Chicagoan Claire Zulkey's online diary. OS Blog -- By Richard Osborne of DeKalb: "The babbling of a 25-year-old member of the DeKalb County  board. Thinking out loud about my experience on the board, local news and issues, various things political and news related, and anything else that catches my eye." Song of the Suburbs -- Jason Hinds of Wheeling "reconciles conservative and libertarian outlooks with classical liberalism" and follows "local happenings in the North and Northwest suburbs" as well as "current events in my hometown of Springfield and my alma mater of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale If it happens in Illinois, I'll probably write about it!" Rick Klau's Web Log--A left-leaning blog from Naperville: "I tend to talk about politics, but also cover business and tech issues, along with the occasional observation about the legal profession (I'm a lawyer by training, but have been on the tech side of things since getting my degree)." Random Act of Kindness  Focus on Illinois politics; the personal blog of  Jeff Trigg  the Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Illinois. One Man's Thoughts -- Reflections on politics by a "30-something Republican precinct committeeman in the western suburbs who has a technical day job. Spontaneous Solutions --Perspectives from Illinois Policy Institute Director Greg Blankenship. That Colored Fella's weblog -- By Bert Caradine of Oak Park: "A life long political junkie. My weblog subject is primarily politics, current events and social commentary. Wry, smart-ass, clever and insightful political/social/personal commentary from the back of the 'Big Tent.'"  (Runaway Winner of the March, 2004 Blog Bowl for political predictions) Modern Vertebrate -- The blog behind "an an online news outlet based on Chicago's Northwest Side" that "covers elections, community news, local events and the arts." Collective Interest-- "Politics and current events with more thought, less bluster" and with a decidedly leftward bent. By Sebastian James and Carl Nyberg Chicago Report -- Eight bloggers and their journal of politics and culture. Chicago Bloggers--a directory of local blogs. A little easier to understand and use than Windy City Webloggers, in my view. Downstate Pundit--A blog profiling politics and news from a Downstater's perspective (that is, "Downstate" Southern Illinois) D.J. Writer -- "Running commentary on music, politics, books, bicycling, and life in general." by David Johnsen of Chicago  ChicagoMuzik -- "Daily, interactive news, analysis and (hopefully) wit on the Chicago music scene" from your proprietor, "Jack Flack" Blogging Blagojevich's Blunders-- By Carl Nyberg of Forest Park Fresh Paint --by Cynthia King--"A blog about painting, printmaking, writing, sweaters, and anything else I can think up -- oh, and Voting George Bush Out of Office on November 2, 2004 -- if we can't get him out sooner." Illini Girl "Random thoughts on current events and my life, direct to you from a twenty-something conservative chick lost in the cornfields of Central Illinois." Russ Stewart--Not exactly a blog, this site features weekly political columns on Chicago and Illinois by Park Ridge attorney Russ Stewart Il Pundit --From Springfield: "I'm anonymous. I work in politics, the last thing I need is for this blog to get me in trouble. This is more for my own fun, and because I like to write. CTA Tattler -- "Seen and heard on the Chicago Transit Authority.  My family and I ride the Chicago Transit Authority to work and school nearly every day. En route, we meet lotsa strange people, and hear some bizarre stuff. This blog chronicles it all." Central Illinois Gazette -- Editorial page editor  Tom Kacich of the Champaign News-Gazette began this blog in Jan, 2005: "I hope to use this blog to expand on some of the topics I address in columns (today's is about events in Champaign County 150 and 100 years ago, including the time the entire village of Homer moved more than a mile south), as well as to opine about state and local politics and anything else that interests me. Polis -- A left-leaning " blog collective concentrating on Chicago politics, the media and other random observations. Current contributors include Scott  Richard, a doctoral student of South Asian History, and Paul Smith, a technology developer at a Chicago non-profit organization."  Intermittent postings. CHICAGO: Howtown on the Make--"Combating Malicious Mopery In Public Discourse & Reporting On The Chicago Life." Golden Rule Jones --Literary events and topics, with a Chicago angle.  Sam Jones writes, "I started (this blog)  because I couldn't find any place, online or off, that tracked literary events in Chicago.  Carbondaley Dispatch --the morning buzz from downstate Carbondale by David A. More The J.G. Spot -- "Illinois politics discussed from right of center."   Spudart / Thoughts Blog -- "a place to share interesting thoughts, both mine AND yours" by Matt Maldre  a "Christian designer in Chicago" employed by Tribune Media Services .   Nathan Bierma--links and jottings of Chicago journalist Nathan L.K. Bierma: "Primarily my personal scrapbook for clipping articles and keeping track of story ideas." Chicago Newspapers  "...finding good and bad writing free or not of bias with an eye to literacy and accuracy and clarity. By (Jim Bowman,) a long-ago ex-newsman -- Chicago Daily News, 1968-78 -- who still reads the papers, sometimes from force of habit but not always." Intermittent postings.    (note--I will try to remove `blogs as inactive when they go one month or more without updates; views expressed in these `blogs do not, of course, always express my views. That's part of the fun)

National Romenesko --Media news from all over. The most-watched blog among print journalists.   John Scalzis Whatever  --Personal blog from a very original thinker John Scalzi's By The Way -- Blog on AOL where Scalzi is helping lead the way for AOL Journals. Nancy Nall -- a notebook  of engaging reflections by a journalist from Ft. Wayne, Ind.. James Wolcott --the acid-penned  cultural critic of Vanity Fair/ New Yorker fame began blogging in September, 2004. Let's hope he keeps it up! Achenblog --By the Washington Post's Joel Achenbach Rambling Gleaner -- The Tribune's Charlie Madigan roams the nation to offers insights and observations about Election 2004 Political Animal (Kevin Drum, formerly the Calpundit  --from the left side of the country and the political spectrum. The Maelstrom by Neal Pollack--I taught Neal everything he knows about writing when he was my student at Northwestern, and now that's he's nearly a cult figure on the national scene he refuses even to name his children after me. Ingrate. Kottke -- Full-time blogger scours the Web for linky goodness. Blogdex -- A ranking of "the most contagious sites" on the Internet. Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish--a robust blog from the conservative gay Brit with a great gift for rhetoric.  Joshua Micah Marshalls "Talking Points Memo"--Well written essay entries from a left-leaning Washington journalist. Daily Kos -- A popular lefty blog by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga --"Born in Chicago (1971), raised in El Salvador...back to the States in 1980...family settled in the Chicago suburbs...received two bachelor degrees from Northern Illinois University...J.D. from Boston University School of Law...moved to San Francisco to work in the tech industry." Eschaton -- A popular lefty blog by economics professor Duncan Black who until the summer of 2004 was known only by his nom de Web, "Atrios." Editor's Cut -- By Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel Mickey Kaus "Kausfiles"  from Slate.com Real Clear Politics Commentary ---The blog portion of Chicago-area residents Tom Bevan and John McIntyre's essential Real Clear Politics site. Media Notes -- Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post excerpts and comments on coverage of events great and small. Media Log by critic Dan Kennedy of the Boston Phoenix. Bookslut -- Chicago's Jessa Crispin writes this blog to accompany her "monthly webzine dedicated to those who love to read."  The mag offers "insightful reviews, commentary on trends, updated news, and a lot of silliness," and so does the blog, only more so. Dave Barry  -- booger jokes and more. Daniel Drezner --U of C Political Scientist and increasingly famous blogger. California Insider-Daniel Weintraub of the Sacramento Bee. Tapped  -- a "collection of musings, ramblings, opinions and other assorted writing on the developments of the day -- from political gossip to policy to commentary on material from other publications.... written by several people affiliated with (The American Prospect, a liberal publication.  The Lies of George W. Bush -- author and journalist David Corn has given his blog the title of his latest book.     Milt's File  article recommendations by Milt Rosenberg, erudite WGN-AM talk show host Matthew Yglesias a recent Harvard grad who has the ear of the blogosphere. What's All This Then? --Questioning and commenting on the news and human affairs by retired media producer/writer/director/narrator Jeff Smith of suburban Chicago. Talk Radio Daily News -- Where a tip sheet meets a blog. Best of the Web  by Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal writer James Taranto   Dynamist  by Virginia Postrel Instapundit  by the indefatigable and right-leaning Glenn Reynolds The Daily Howler --"The first post-Socratic press corps review ...applies the simplest rules of thought to the exertions of the celebrity press corps," by Bob Somersby. The Mahablog  --"Chronicle of Our Nation's Crisis (the Bush Administration) Altercation  the MSNBC blog of Nation writer Eric Alterman Secular Talk Radio and Arts Gas Tank by WLS-AM talk host Jay Marvin Metafilter -- Group-written blog with lots of links to offbeat sites on the web. BoingBoing -- Another group-written effort that prowls the `net for diversions. Wonkettte -- by Ana Marie Cox, "A foulmouthed, inaccurate, opinionated little vixen.," says one of the reviews on the front-page of this very popular Washington-based blog. From the Ground Up --Chicago-based freelance journalist Christopher Hayes blogs the political season for In These Times. Newtopia Blog -- The thoughts and links assembled by Chicago-based Newtopia magazine's publisher and editor in chief., Charles Shaw The Cleverly-Named Blog -- by suburbanite Brian Dusek, who advertises a  "vainglorious effort of a guy with way too many opinions, and a weird love of research on the Internet...In essence, CNB provides the answers to questions that no one asked."