The news was broken this morning by Greg Hines on a Crains Chicago Business Blog. Lois Weisberg, the Chicago Commissioner of Cultural Affairs since 1989, has resigned in protest of the recent firings in her department, and the move by Mayor Daley to put many of her programs under the auspices of the Mayor's Department of Special Events.

Weisberg told Hinz: "I am not on the same wavelength as these other people. That's why I'm leaving. I felt bad that the mayor never asked, never talked to me about how to fix Taste of Chicago. I don't believe in privatization."

There's more to read at Hinz' blog.

You can read backstory and details at Jim DeRogatis' blog.

And more background at Jonathan Abarbanel's blog.