News Net A big week for things that make Chicagoans itch, from bedbugs to R. Kelly

Since sifting through dull newspapers, hyperbolic blogs, and overflowing RSS feeds for meaningful news can be an arduous process, News Net catches and compiles both the amusing and the significant reports that were overlooked throughout the workweek. Here are some things to think about as the weekend begins.

• Taiwan’s Next Media Animation TV, makers of much-watched YouTube videos about Snooki and Lindsay Lohan in rehab, gave the Rod Blagojevich trial their surreal Sims-esque treatment this week. They got all the important points right, like the ex-gov’s extreme hairbrush love and Patti’s Cubs hatred, but the way the story’s interpreted, it takes the whole situation to another level of amazing. It’s a must-watch.

• Kill Hannah’s  Mat Devine has been cast  in a supporting role in Broadway’s new Spider-Man musical. The play’s directed by Julie Taymor and features original music by U2’s Bono and The Edge. No word on who Devine’s playing yet, though.

• R&B savant and man of questionable ethics R. Kelly released a new single this week, “When A Woman Loves,” supposedly off his next record, called Epic. Kelly’s a self-proclaimed Sam Cooke freak, and this song’s definitely a throwback ballad in that vein, complete with cheesy orchestration and background doo-woppers. Still, Kells is as Kells does, and he does pretty good, all the time. 

• Fake Shore Drive is reporting former Roc-a-Fella rapper Beanie Sigel is considering setting up camp in the Chi. He’s been hitting open mics around town, and recorded a Jay-Z/Kanye dis rap with local MC King The Hood Savior. The track’s a little tired, with Sigel challenging Kanye’s clothing and sexuality— “Wanna know, I think ye queeeeer / He dress gayeeeeer / I sweeeeear / I heard he takes it in his reeeeear.” C’mon, Beanie. Step your game up.

• Chicago ranked fifth in the nation for most bedbug-infested cities, according to a story by Terminix. New York is first on the list, followed by Philly, Detroit, and Cincinnati. This should give Bears fans some more insult ammo against the Eagles (Nov. 28), Lions (Dec. 5) and Jets (Dec. 26), hopefully.

•  Local gal Stephanie Castagnier has been selected to appear as one of the candidates on this fall’s season of The Apprentice. Castagnier, along with the rest of the contestants, was negatively affected by the recent economic downtown. After losing ground in the commercial banking industry, she started over, founding Child Cause/Fear To Fire, a non-profit organization that supports teens affected by AIDS.

• Former Sun-Times sports writer Jay Mariotti is suspended indefinitely from his job as AOL Fanhouse columnist after his arrest in L.A. this past weekend for allegedly attacking his girlfriend. Mariotti is also not scheduled for any upcoming appearances on ESPN’s “Around The Horn,” where he’s a regular guest.