Cold, cold, cold and the rest of the morning's news

1 How cold is it?

Too cold for school. Too cold for some trains to run. So cold that, unless you absolutely have to, or unless you are a polar bear, you shouldn’t leave your house today. [Sun-Times]

2 Today in history: This sucks

Temperatures started dropping last night and didn’t stop until a few hours ago. We’ve already hit a record low for this date — and we’ve got a shot at the all-time coldest temp. [Tribune]

3 Warming centers open longer

For those in need of a warm place, city and state agencies have opened warming centers and will keep them open longer than normal. Here’s a list of centers with addresses. [Sun-Times]

4 Charges in horrific attack

Less than three weeks after a 15-year-old girl was brutally raped and beaten in Belmont-Cragin, Chicago detectives tracked down her attacker. Luis Pantoja, a 25-year-old with a prison stint in his past, faces multiple felony charges, including attempted murder. [Sun-Times]

5 Wi-Fi warriors

With a plan to bring ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi to some tech-deprived South Side neighborhoods seemingly going nowhere, community groups are taking matters into their own hands. [Grid]

6 Meet a pioneer

How many black women own and run chemical plants? None that we know of — except Linda McGill Boasmond. She talked with Grid’s Micaela Brown about overcoming disrespect, setting aside excuses and longing for competition. [Grid]

7 Taking on the haters

Sick of being portrayed as the root of all the financial markets’ problems, high-speed trading firms are pledging to change their ways. Just kidding. They hired some lobbyists. [WSJ]

8 What part of ‘stay inside’ don’t you understand?

Despite everything, against all semblance of good judgment, several thousand people went to the Blackhawks game last night. [Sun-Times]