Four patients in the Chicago area were infected with HIV and the virus for hepatitis C after receiving organs from a high-risk organ donor.

A screening questionnaire determined the organ donor had engaged in high-risk behavior, according to officials at Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donation, the Elmhurst-based organ procurement agency that tested and approved the organs for donation.

But tests for HIV, hepatitis and other conditions came back negative, most likely because the donor had acquired the infections in the last three weeks before death. Personal details about the donor were not released by medical officials, who cited privacy laws.

Based on the negative test results, doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center and the University of Chicago Medical Center went ahead with the transplants.

"It's a risk-versus-benefit calculation," Alison Smith, vice president for operations at Gift of Hope, told the Chicago Tribune. "Every patient in need of an organ has a significant medical condition that in most circumstances limits life expectancy. The question becomes what degree of risk is appropriate in that situation."

The right procedures were followed in testing the donor, according to Smith, who attributed the failure of the standard ELISA test to detect HIV and hepatitis C to the inability of the test facilities use to detect the virus in newly infected people.

Link to full article.

Even though the Bears didn't win Super Bowl XLI I still have to post this little piece of Chicago Bears history -- The Super Bowl Shuffle [wiki].

Riding the wave of football mania that gripped Chicago in 1985, the "Super Bowl Shuffle" reached #41 on the Billboard charts, #75 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and earned a Grammy nomination for best Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance—Duo or Group, the first (and undoubtedly only ever) nomination for a sports team. (They lost to Prince and the Revolution's "Kiss".) Although some found the lyrics boastful, profits from the song and its accompanying video were given to charity, backing Payton's claim that the they "are not doing it because [they're] greedy, the Bears are doing it to feed the needy."

Check out the music video here. 

We won't be hearing a sequel to The Super Bowl Shuffle this year.  (It wouldn't be the same without "The Fridge" anyway.) 

Football extra:  "Wildcats" rap

On Monday there will be an estimated 300,000 - 500,000 people marching through downtown Chicago. I will plan on bringing my camera and will try to get a few photos of the event.

Streets will be blocked off as needed and traffic will be a mess. The trains will be running much more frequently, as will the buses. I plan on riding my bike in so that I don't have to worry about traffic as much.

I hope everything goes well and they get their point across. Without immigration, this country would not be anywhere near what it is today.

So you like to ride your bike and you live in the city of Chicago, but don't know where to ride? Well here is a set of Trail maps. Once you have decided where you ride, you should take a moment and go over the following tips that will help to make your journey a safe and enjoyable one.

1. Make sure your equipment is in good working order.
There are several places along the Lake Shore Drive trail that will do an inspection of your bike for free. Take them up on the offer, it could keep you from having an accident.