Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim DeRogatis has alerted Chicagoans to a potential City Council ordinance that appears to be so excessive that it could cripple or close mainstay Chicago music outlets such as the Hideout, Buddy Guy's Legends, and Schuba's.

It is scheduled for a vote in City Council this Wednesday.

In a nutshell, the city seems poised to muck up the local music scene in a what appears to be a misguided response to the E2 nightclub tragedy that took 21 lives more than five years ago. Jim DeRogatis is all over this story (in a good way), but I think his interview with Alderman Eugene Schulter of the 47th ward and chair of the licensing committee is among the best for outlining the debate and what is at stake.

Learn more:

• Background Reading on the Ordinance by Jim DeRogatis
• Jim DeRogatis's Blog tracking the ordinance (and other music topics).
• Chicago Music Commission, a community group fighting the ordinance.

Make your opinion heard:

• Save Chicago Culture, an online petition and site set up to fight the ordinance.
• Find/contact your alderman.

Earlier this month, Crain's Chicago Business announced its annual list of the largest privately-held firms in the Chicagoland area. I tracked down the top ten firms' employment sites and linked to their available Illinois job opportunities. I hope it will be helpful to those of you hunting for work right now.

Your weekend, Friday, May 9 to Sunday, May 11, 2008, all folded up for you and neatly pressed.

• Funkadesi CD Release Party at the Park West on Friday at 8pm
• Tatsu Aoki's Miyumi Project at the Steppenwolf on Friday at 7:30pm
• 16th Annual Chicago River Day on Saturday from 9am to 3pm
• National Astronomy Day Celebration at the Adler Planetarium on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm
• Story, Wine, and Music Festival (Week 3) at Webster's Wine Bar, Friday through Sunday
• Mom, mom, mom on Sunday from sunrise to bed time.

SeeMore Shopping's Mother's Day event, with an emphasis on local designers, promises to offer great mom gift choices this week. Find unique items and one-of-a kind designs from local collections including Brynn Handbags, CC Bella, Chic Gems, Juliet Jewelry, Kfleye, Objets d'Envy, Pretty Afrika, Simple Treasure, Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique, and Susanne Siegel.

• Wednesday, May 7 through Friday, May 9
• 7am to 4pm
• in the Atrium Lobby of 175 W. Jackson
• Chicago, IL

The Chicago Underground Film Festival has issued a call for entries for their 15th annual fest to be held October 29 through November 2, 2008. Get this, movie makers, there are three progressive deadlines for entry. There's an early one on May 15, a regular on June 16, and a really, we mean it final on July 15. Guess they understand how busy you are.

Working for the weekend? Yeah you are. In addition to our May 2008 Events Top Picks for this weekend, (Looptopia, Cinco de Mayo, Poland in the Park) check out these other Chi-town happen-ings.

• School of the Art Institute Fashion Show on Friday at 2pm and 7pm
• Debut Champagne Tasting Event at Lumen on Friday from 8pm to 2am
• Season opening at the Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum
• First Friday celebrations and open late at:
  • Old Town School of Folk Music
  • Contemporary Museum of Art
  • Adler Planetarium
• Big Time Sarah at B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted on Saturday
• Mayor Daley's Kids and Kites Festival on Saturday
• New Books and Publications Release Party at Quimby's on Monday

Activists seeking to legalize immigration and dedicated to achieving a host of other rights will march this Thursday, May 1. The starting point is at Union Park, near Ashland and Lake, at 10am. Marchers will then, beginning at noon, wind their way to Federal Plaza at Dearborn and Jackson. According to their flyer, they seek the following demands.

• Equal Respect and Pay for Every Worker: Legalization for all now, second chance for all now, defend the right to organize, fight for a living wage
• Peace by Justice, Security by Respect: End the war in Iraq, bring home the troops home, respect for the self-determination of nations, clean up for Vieques, replace globalization with nobilization.
• Keep Families Together: Stop separation of families, stop the hate, stop the violence, stop the guns, stop the drugs, health care for every family, quality, respectful education, a moratorium on mortgage foreclosures.
• Fair Trade Makes Fair Borders: Renegotiate NAFTA, good jobs on both sides of the borders.

Tickets for behind-the-scenes tours and insiders' takes on many of Chicago's architectural gems go on sale online today at noon as part of the upcoming Great Chicago Places and Spaces Fest. The tours and festival will run on May 17 and 18 this year, and online ticket sales will close on Friday, May 9 at 5 p.m.

So, if you have a cranny of the city you've been meaning to explore, now's the time.

May comes in like an event lion with Wine Enthusiast's Toast of the Town on Thursday night and Looptopia running from dusk to dawn beginning Friday evening. Find all of our top picks for May 2008 here.

Think you've got what it takes to perform at the Taste of Chicago or Blues Fest or one of the city's other premiere summer events?

The City of Chicago's Mayor's Office of Special Events is already lining up talent for the 2009 season. They're looking for performers for each of the following events.

• Chicago Gospel Music Fest
• Chicago Blues Festival
• Taste of Chicago Taste Show
• Viva Chicago Latin Music Fest
• Chicago Jazz Fest
• Chicago Celtic Fest
• Chicago Country Music Festival

Meanwhile, for those of you still focused on 2008 City of Chicago Fests and Events, it's too late to apply to perform, but there's plenty of time, obviously, to plan to attend. Click through to our event guide to track when your favorites will occur this year.