5 Things to Know: Live, from Chicago, it's city council!

After years of jawing about it, the Chicago City Council on Thursday finally got around to broadcasting its meetings on the Internet, via the city clerk's Web site (www.chicityclerk.com). The baby step forward comes long after local units of government elsewhere in Illinois began airing the people's business on cable-access channels.

Why the delay? Chicago aldermen were sensitive about roaming cameras catching them absent or snoozing. To safeguard their image, the Internet cameras are trained only on council members who are talking.