Hawks off, gamers on and the rest of the morning's news

1 Politics of snow removal

Chicagoans expected too much of the city after the recent polar vortex, aldermen say. A solution: Residents need more education about how expensive and sometimes ineffective salt can be. Let’s hope we’re done for the year. [Sun-Times]

2 Blame the law

Remember Matt Hale, the white supremacist sentenced to 40 years for ordering a hit on a federal judge? His mother thinks if he’d kept his mouth shut about his beliefs, he’d have been a lawyer and had less time on his hands. [Sun-Times]

3 OWN it

Oprah Winfrey put her Water Tower Place condo on the market for $7.75 million. The 56th-floor digs feature four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a $9,000-a-month assessment. [Sun-Times]

4 Cephalopod CEO

There’s a movement afoot to recapture Chicago’s gaming glory days, and it’s led by an octopus wearing a suit and tie. [Grid]

5 Frustrating night at the UC

Blackhawks writer Mark Lazerus says the team’s 3-2 loss to the Avalanche last night is a reminder that the gap between the Stanley Cup champs and everybody else isn’t that big anymore. [Sun-Times]

6 Dancer dies in accident

DanceWorks Chicago dancer Marco Antonio Huicochea Gonzalez, 22, died Tuesday after a steel acrobatic ring hit him on the head during rehearsal. [Sun-Times]

7 More from recordings in strip-club plot

Gruesome new details have emerged in the case against ex-cop Steven Mandell, set to go on trial for a series of alleged plots to take over a strip club, including a kidnap-murder scheme. Among the less frightening details, a tough-guy threat to “show you what Elmwood Park really looks like.” [Tribune]

8 Pinterest is hiring

Though it’s raised $565 million, Pinterest hasn’t made a penny. As part of plans to change all that, the photo-sharing site is opening a sales office in Chicago. [Grid]