Daily Routine ... Interruped

I told you my days are becoming a routine more and more. The two top pictures (again) show you the house I am living in. They are just two days apart, marking the transition from fall to winter. I might have mentioned on an earlier occasion, but winter is to be taken serious here. And traditionally January is the coldest month of the year. Obviously the best is still to come. - I don't mean it sarcastically, it is an interesting experience for a change, yet I am not sure if I could stand it a lifetime long.
The next two images are related to my daily train ride. On the left one there is the train I've just missed ... that occurred quite a few times. I approach the L from my street (S Wesley Ave), and at the end of the street I can overlook quite a bit of the tracks and also the Eisenhower Expressway (see earlier entries on the "Ike"). Often I see the train arriving just when I arrive at the tracks, but I have to walk two blocks to the bridge across the tracks and the expressway, where the entrance to the station is. That means if I see the train I will have to wait for the next one ... That is exactly what I did, when I took the right picture, out of the train, just at the next station in the direction to "downtown and O'Hare", as it is announced. I took this one, because it reminds me of an article I had read recently. It is about the experiences of a German living in a suburb of an American city. He says that the suburbs are built so fast that infrastructure is often neglected in those areas. In addition the houses are all the same model, because variety would just cost time. The latter statement seems to hold true for the area depicted. I guess this is a valid indicator for the "sprawl" phenomenon.
The next two photos respectively show the skyline (Sears Tower), cloaked in heavy fog, and the door to my office, which I share with Thomas and Xioafeng. Thomas is really Toma, which is the transliteration of the French pronunciation of this name. While he is from Japan, his father liked to give him a French name. I must admit I have never heard of something like this. Anyways, Toma is a very hard-working person, yet also a very pleasant presence, and I am a bit sad that he will return home for good on Monday. Xiaofeng, by the way, is the senior postdoc of Dr. Trenary's group, and he is from China. - I am wondering if I will ever be as motivated as Mickey.
The bottom left photo is an inscription in the concrete pavement that someone seems to have left behind during the recent campaigning time. Remember president-elect Obama is a Chicagoan, and both the City of Chicago and the state of Illinois are strongholds of the Democrats.
So much for the daily routine; now I have to come to the part where it was interrupted. The last photo depicts the sitting governor of Illinois, Milorad "Rod" Blagojevic. Now guess what - he has been arrested for abusing the powers of his office. Among others he is charged for trying to sell (!) the vacated seat in the US Senate formerly occupied by Obama. Also, it seems he has tried to blackmail a children's hospital (!!!) to get some $50,000 for himself in exchange for providing financial support from his office. - Man, I really have to get my proper Chicago outfit! (The "Chicago Outfit" was the gang of Al Capone.)
PS: If you are no native speaker of English, you might want to click on the word "blag" (as short for Blagojevic) for LEO's translation to German. It's too good to be true!