April 2009 | Breaking Tweets Chicago

April 24, 2009

'Felony Franks' opens in Chicago's West Side

Per WGN-TV, Felony Franks, a new hot dog stand on Chicago's West side opened for business today. Owner Jim Andrews hires ex-convicts to help turn their lives around.

Twitterers seem to be intrigued by the idea behind the "home of the misdemeanor weiner."

Leena_Eats Love this-RT @gapersblock: Misdemeanor Weiners: Felony Franks, a new hot dog stand to be staffed by ex-prisoners: http://bit.ly/I2unh 24 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

gpoulet Just passed #felony franks. Food so good its criminal. What? Key word here is "passed" 24 Apr 2009 from TwitterBerry

jennyclary is intrigued to see Felony Franks (the misdemeanor weiner) on the news! 25 Apr 2009 from web

dearButtercup RT@GapersBlock Felony Franks, new hot dog stand 2 be staffed by ex-prisoners, is causing a stir http://tinyurl.com/c8ah4x [Good luck to 'em] 25 Apr 2009 from web

April 22, 2009

Bulls' Rose named NBA Rookie of the Year

Per the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Bulls' guard Derrick Rose will be given the award for top NBA rookie in 2008-09.

Rose finished the regular season averaging 16.8 points, second only to Memphis' O.J. Mayo (18.5), led all rookies in assists (6.3) and minutes played (37.0).

In two playoff games, Rose has averaged 23.0 points and 11.0 assists.

Michael Jordan and Elton Brand are the only other Bulls to have won the award.

The Bulls are expected to officially announced the award at a 2 p.m. CST news conference Wednesday.

Twitterers were unsurprised and happy for the 6-3 Memphis grad.

sugui Hey Derrick Rose, apparently there's a package for you at the Berto Center. It's shaped like a trophy. hmm... 22 Apr 2009 from web

j_dub70 Derrick Rose NBA rookie of the year! Chicago bulls lovers rejoice!!! 22 Apr 2009 from twitterrific

AJthegraduate Derrick Rose will be awarded the Rookie of the Year trophy. WELL DESERVED! Press conference this afternoon in the CHI. 22 Apr 2009 from TwitterBerry

realgt not a big surprise that Derrick Rose is #nba rookie of the year....i'm just hoping Beasley can be Most Improved player next year ;) http ... 22 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

tommychoi It's official, I can buy a Derrick Rose jersey now!!! Wish I could trade in my Ben Wallace, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich ones. 22 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

Manny_Nunez Derrick Rose is NBA rookie of the year!!!! he deserves it! 22 Apr 2009 from web

Reporting by John Kristoff.

April 21, 2009

Blagojevich denied Costa Rica request

Per Chicago Tribune, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been denied permission to go to Costa Rica to film a television reality show. Modifying his political corruption bail terms would be, according to U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel, "a bad idea."

Twitterers are not surprised by the ruling and some are poking fun at the situation:

tommymac73 (Location not listed) Poor Blago can't go to Costa Rica. Look for him to star in his own series in Federal PMITA prison instead. 21 Apr 2009 from twitterrific

Logans_Fun (Chicago, IL) Blago, how much more insanity can you wring out of that brain of yours? http://tr.im/jlKU 21 Apr 2009 from web

wardseward (Chicago, IL) @tommymac73 Yeah! What kind of ego does that guy have that he actually thought they'd let him go? Come on Blago! 21 Apr 2009 from TwitZap in reply to tommymac73

Bill1827 (Oak Lawn, IL) blago can't go and do his reality show. Finally someone who has common sense. Good job judge I thought I was going to boycott NBC!!!!!! 21 Apr 2009 from web

Napjeeper (Elgin, IL) No reality show for Blago. :( Guess we won't get to see him use his hair as a life raft. http://bit.ly/48K4ye 21 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

Featured TwitPic: From Tribune Tower balcony

Breaking Tweets founder/editor Craig Kanalley took the following picture during a recent trip to the Tribune Tower and immediately uploaded to TwitPic:

"Oh man! On the 22nd floor of the Tribune Tower" (Posted by @ckanal)

Lollapalooza lineup announced

Coming on the heels of Coachella, the lineup for Lollapalooza was announced today.

The annual 3-day festival, held in August at Chicago's Grant Park, will feature old favorites such as the Beastie Boys and newer bands like The Gaslight Anthem.

Twitter users couldn't wait to get their tickets:

JarynLH how killer is the lollapalooza lineup?

HaggisBulfin If I don't go to Bonnaroo this year, I must do Lollapalooza!

knowsurprises The Lollapalooza lineup is very solid. I want to go to there.

PrncssKT Lollapalooza is calling my name

_jacob Man, Lollapalooza 2009 sounds incredible: Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Depeche Mode ... $190 for a 3-day pass http://bit.ly/zvTIu

echristopher I'm very excited about the Lollapalooza lineup! Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Kings of Leon and more. Who else is going?

Kate_2323 lollapalooza line-up is out of control.....I HAVE to go!!!

justinstrange My Lollapalooza two cents. As expected, it's a fantastic lineup. Also as expected, it costs too much.

MegPoulelis Lolla lineup! Summer cannot come soon enough. http://2009.lollapalooza.com/

Others aren't as thrilled about the lineup:

ejdrouillard Not too impressed with Lolla. Lots of good bands, but the top of the bill is boring (meaning the good bands play in the miserably hot day).

firepretty The Lolla lineup sucks. Heading out & hanging with Kells.

chevelleluv im very disappointed with the lolla lineup. maybe worth goin to see, depeche mode, kings of leon, the killers an snoop dogg lmao

ForrestW weak headliners, strong support, overall bonnaroo remains king: http://2009.lollapalooza.com/

You can see the complete lineup here.

Reporting by Shari Weiss. Additional reporting by Danielle Destrade.

April 18, 2009

No Thorn on this Rose

In a spectacular performance, Bulls rookie Derrick Rose scored 36 points in leading Chicago to a 105-103 overtime victory over Boston in Game 1 of their 1st round NBA playoff series.

Rose's 36 points tied the record for the highest playoff scoring debut in NBA history. He also added 11 assists before fouling out in overtime.

You knew this game would spark conversation in the Twitterverse, and basketball fans in Chicago are revved up about their Rose:

defsupreme @yesImFresh derrick rose is officially a martian. 18 Apr 2009 from web in reply to yesImFresh

cp432002 Derrick Rose your rookie card just went platinum. Great game. The way Boston played it wouldn't matter if K.G. was playing anyway 18 Apr 2009 from web

J_dot_Reed Bulls take game 1!!!!! Shout out to Derrick Rose...36 points and 11 asissts. If he don't get Rookie of the Year somebody paid somebody off. 18 Apr 2009 from TwitterBerry

Dragonsflame35 just watched the end of the bulls/celtics game. Derrick Rose... you are a BEAST! 18 Apr 2009 from web

And it's safe to say Bulls fans are feeling pretty confident their team can knock off the defending NBA champion Celtics-

PRTeech Point of clarification: I'm a Celtics supporter, Bulls fanatic. My allegiance lies with Chicago in this series. 18 Apr 2009 from web

Stylefiller Oooo. Bulls won in Boston after overtime. Now in series Chicago lead 1-0. I can say only one thing "NBA, where amazing happens." 18 Apr 2009 from web

DPDaPhranchise Twitter fam!! Ya'll still doubting my CHICAGO BULLS??? 18 Apr 2009 from mobile web

Man charged after three deaths in Hoffman Estates

Per the Chicago Sun-Times, D'Andre Howard was charged Friday night on multiple counts, after allegedly stabbing to death a high school senior, father, and grandmother in Hoffman Estates, apparently all relatives of his girlfriend.

Twitterers posted updates both near the scene and in reaction to the news.

dansinker A more accurate name for @Chicago_News would be "Chicago Stabbings and Car Crash Central." 17 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

dyphan More murder and craziness down the street from me RT @mbandur: Wow! Five people stabbed, 2 fatally in Hoffman Estates. http://bit.ly/15cIDv 17 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

kkclayton sad story but the comments are even sadder RT @chicagotribune 2 fatally stabbed in Hoffman Estates http://tinyurl.com/ckrhwy 17 Apr 2009 from web

dblogged You know that multiple stabbing today in Hoffman estates? We took a wrong turn after golf and ended up on that street. Sad. Cops everywhere 18 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

April 17, 2009

Blackhawks win OT thriller after playoff drought

Per ChicagoTribune.com, an electrified crowd of 22,478 at the United Center helped fuel a 3-2 come-from-behind win for the Chicago Blackhawks over the Calgary Flames. It was the Hawks' first playoff game in seven years.

Martin Havlat's first of two goals came with 5:33 left in regulation to tie the game at 2-2. With only 12 seconds into overtime, Havlat scored his second goal to cinch the Game 1 victory for the Hawks.

Chicagoans share their excitement after last night's game on Twitter:

ghettosloth17 :: the Blackhawks winning last night incredible for the fans and the city of Chicago ... keep it going, boys... 17 Apr 2009 from twhirl

boxwatcher I'm still pumped after that Blackhawks win last night. It was an amazing atmosphere at the UC. Hope they can build off that win.. 17 Apr 2009 from web

bkeeley Good to see the Blackhawks put the last one in the net late last night. Its been 12 years! 17 Apr 2009 from web

Chazamm Blackhawks OT Winner!!! Revolution will be televised... Start your playoff beards now... 17 Apr 2009 from web

toomanythieves Blackhawks with the steal. keep it up, boys 17 Apr 2009 from web

MikeMatusovski Good thing flames lost! Go Chicago Blackhawks!! They deserve a long run. 17 Apr 2009 from Tweetie

RyanBeardsley Blackhawks and Bulls in the playoff's at the same time! Someone pinch me! 17 Apr 2009 from web

Fans even noted seeing Chicago Cubs players such as Mike Fontenot at the game:

tonyafathead AND, loved seeing Cubs' players @ the Blackhawks game. Made me happy, but Fontenot better not be hungover for todays game! ;) 17 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

scootermacc Hopefully, the entire Cubs team watched the Blackhawks win last night. (>) 17 Apr 2009 from web

Chicago now has a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The next game is on Saturday, April 18 at 8 p.m. CT