Anyone who's ever gone to a Cubs game knows the clusterfuck that occurs around Wrigley Field right before game time. Now, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) wants to try to clear that congestion a bit by making it illegal for street vendors to set up shot within a certain radius around the stadium. The proposal, introduced today, would make it illegal for vendors to, as the Tribune explains, "sell food or merchandise from a cart, table or other temporary stand."
The City Council today voted 42-6 to approve 15 unpaid furlough days for non-union city workers in an effort to cut costs for the city as it continues to deal with massive budget issues. Ald. Edward Burke (14th) insisted it was to keep from losing jobs, saying, "I don't think we have much choice." Ald. Helen Shiller (46th) said, "We have to show [the unions] we're serious." According to Clout Street, the six votes against the plan were from Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), Robert Fioretti (2nd), Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Leslie Hairston (5th), Sandi Jackson (7th) and Joe Moore (49th). No word on who the two missing votes were from.
Metra trains will soon have additional federal security on board. Metra insists the new plan is not in response to any threat but rather for the benefit of passengers.
The TSA patrols will "augment existing security resources, provide deterrent presence and detection capabilities, and introduce an element of unpredictability to disrupt potential terrorist planning activities," Metra said in a statement.The extra security officers will also be identifiable, wearing uniforms rather than going undercover. [Fox 32]The patrol teams can consist of federal marshals, TSA officers, TSA-certified canine teams, surface transportation security inspectors and local/state law enforcement.
We're less than 12 hours from the deadline to pass a budget that won't completely mess with the state's finances and it seems we're no closer to having a solution than we were before. Last night, the House approved a plan to borrow $2.2 billion to help soften the blow of the expected cuts, but Gov. Quinn isn't too happy about it and, though it still has to pass the Senate, he seems hell-bent on making sure a tax increase is somehow passed. Without saying he'd veto it, Quinn did say, according to the Tribune, "If they throw that my way tonight, they will see it thrown right back at 'em. For those who might be advocating things in the budget that are unfair, are not humane, or indecent, I'm not going down that road."
Mayor Daley's beautification program has done wonders for downtown and tourism, but for Candy Basselen, who runs Springfield Supply, a steel fabrication company, Daley's love for wrought-iron fencing and fancy landscaping has cost her her business. That's because the city wouldn't grant her a new business license after she moved her business to a warehouse at 3348 S. Pulaski, the same warehouse owned by Daley's nephew, Robert Vanecko. And until the warehouse had sufficient amounts of wrought-iron fencing and pleasant landscaping, the city told her, the building wouldn't be up to code. And therefore she couldn't get a business license.
1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores is moving forward with his plans to introduce an ordinance in the City Council to limit the city's Olympic liabilities. "While I remain a strong supporter of hosting the Olympic Games here at home and believe that the Games can provide an economic boost to our city," Flores said in a press release. "We must pursue the Olympic bid in a financially responsible and transparent manner." Flores would like to restrict the city's liability to $500,000,000 should the city win the bid to host the 2016 Summer Games. Mayor Daley signed a contract with the International Olympic Committee earlier this month in Switzerland, leaving taxpayers on the hook for unlimited damages.
At the end of this year, Chicago could be short 800 cops compared to last year the police union told the Sun-Times. The shortage is attributed to vacancies, attrition rates, and Mayor Daley’s 2009 budget which has significantly slowed down hiring. Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis told the Sun-Times last week that the CPD hopes to use federal grant money to hire 150 new officers this year. In the short term Weis will manage the officer shortage by shifting officers from desk jobs, or pay officers overtime with federal grants to cover the streets this summer.
A man accused of two rapes in the Bucktown neighborhood has been arrested. Damario McNeil, 31, of Lawndale, was arrested and charged with one count of attempt first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated criminal assault and two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of armed robbery. The first rape occurred in February in the 2300 block of W. Moffat, very close to the Western/Milwaukee Blue Line stop. The second assault happened just a few weeks ago, a bit further from the same Blue Line stop but still in the vicinity, in the 2000 block of W. Charleston. Police think McNeil could be linked to at least two other assaults, another in February close to the Western/Milwaukee Blue Line stop and one last September close to the Damen/North Blue Line stop. [Chicago Breaking News]
In a move to tackle poor supervision and excessive spending, Mayor Daley rearranged his cabinet yesterday, removing Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Michael Picardi and replacing him with Thomas Byrne, who is currently head of the city's Transportation Department. Picardi, who has been the Streets and San boss since 2005, was criticized after the city inspector general dinged Picardi for lax field supervision, after investigators witnessed garbage crews taking long lunches, drinking beer on the job and urinating in the streets last fall.
Earlier today, Ponzi scheme extraordinaire Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his crimes. CBS 2 talked to Stuart Borg of Northbrook, one of the Chicago-area Madoff victims. Said Borg, "Life in jail is too good for him. This man has devastated not only people like myself, and richer people than me, but what I've said before - what he's done to these charities. It's unconscionable, and he has no conscience." [CBS 2]
Buffalo Grove's American Needle Inc. is heading to the Supreme Court thanks to a fight with the NFL. The company had been one of many that had previously sued the NFL for violating federal antitrust law when the league signed an exclusive merch licensing deal with Reebok in 2001. American Needle lost its suit and its appeal against the NFL and the league took the case to the Supreme Court hoping to get a more broad ruling against smaller lawsuits, though American Needle has pursued a high court ruling as well. According to the Associated Press, "Football team owners hope the high court will issue a broader decision that would insulate the NFL against what they contend are costly, frivolous antitrust lawsuits." [AP, WBEZ]
There's not a whole heck of a lot of time for state lawmakers. The current state budget expires in less than 36 hours (midnight tomorrow). While the failure to reach an agreement won't mean an instant shut-down of the state, it'll definitely be a pain in the ass, as the makeshift budget passed in May contains a whole helluva lot of cuts. The State House is back at work today but the State Senate doesn't kick back into gear tomorrow. At the center of the budget fracas has been Gov. Quinn's call for a higher income tax, yet members of Quinn's own party are questioning Quinn's consistency. Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Cicero) told the Tribune, "What Quinn do you get on a given day? There hasn't been a consistent message from the governor's office in regards to solving the fiscal crisis. That also has the legislature acting inconsistently to find a solution." [Tribune, WBEZ]
According to the Reader's Mick Dumke, Ald. Joe Moore (49th) sent out an email to constituents this morning informing them that the hearings on the Great Meter Debacle will commence this Thursday, July 2nd. This considering the City has already announced plans to spend some of the money made from the deal.
A new study by the University of Chicago has revealed a disturbingly high rate of turnover among Chicago Public Schools teachers. According to the study, within five years, the CPS loses half of its teachers and almost two-thirds of new teachers. The study, conducted by the U. of C.'s Consortium on Chicago School Research, also showed that turnover was even heavier at poorer, predominantly African-American schools where half the teachers left within three years. The study focused on 35,000 public school teachers in 538 elementary schools and 118 high schools over the course of five school years, from fall 2002 until spring 2007. For more information on the study, check out stories by the Sun-Times, the Tribune, and, of course, the entire study itself.
U.S. Rep Dan Lipinski of Chicago has put an a proposal before Congress that's likely to either make you nod your head in agreement or ruffle your feathers about whether or not it's really important. As the Trib explains in a profile today, Lipinski's proposal looks to install federal regulations on size limits of carry-ons. The Congressman is also mulling over a proposal that would put caps on the fees several airlines charge for checked baggage. As for the size limit, David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, questioned its feasibility, asking, "Why set standards that apply to both a large wide-body plane and a regional jet?" Check out the full story at the Tribune.
After a pair of back-and-forth offensive battles, the second round of the Crosstown Classic closed with a killer pitching performance from White Sox starter John Danks dominated the Cubs lineup en route to a 6-0 shutout to take the game and the series. Danks gave up four hits and struck out five over the first seven innings, completely shutting down the Cubs offense; reliever Scott Linebrink pitched two hitless innings to close the game out. Overall, Danks is 2-0 versus the Cubs this year, striking out 14 and allowing only one run over 14 innings pitched. Said Danks after the game, "I didn't throw as many strikes this time around, but I feel like I was still able to make the big pitch when I had to and guys were making plays all over the field for me."
As we approach the end of the month, two June deaths have brought the state death toll from the N1N1 Influenza A (aka swine flu) to 12. A 54-year-old woman passed on June 10 and a 47-year-old woman passed on June 23; the older of the had a previously existing medical condition. Overall, swine flu cases in the state have topped 2,800. [WBEZ]
Several passengers on a CTA bus were injured last night when a teenager trying to escape a police chase crashed the stolen car he was driving into the bus. The incident happened shortly before midnight last night. One officer saw the reported stolen car and began pursuit; other officers followed and a chase ensued. The driver blew through a stop sign at 79th and Perry and crashed into a No. 79 bus. Eight people on board the bus were injured but were all listed in good condition at Stroger Hospital as was the driver of the car who is now in police custody. A passenger who was in the car was in good condition but not charged with anything. [CBS 2, CBN]
A 4-year-old girl who was in critical condition after choking at Calumet Beach on Tuesday died Saturday night. The child, Marianna Carabez, was knocked into the water by a wave while sitting on the beach, according to a police report. Carabez was pulled from the water by her father and bystanders and received CPR from lifeguards, but was "in cardiac arrest after choking" when the Chicago Fire Department emergency personnel found her, the Tribune reports.
[Trib]
As expected, the Regional Transportation Authority board agreed this week to slash public funding for Chicago-area transit services by $67 million over the next six months. The nine board members in attendance voted unanimously for the cuts, in the hopes that they will bring the transit agencies' growing budget deficits in line with lower tax revenues.
It appears that Chicago Police Department's efforts to increase security at this year's Taste of Chicago is working: a man was arrested as he attempted to bring a loaded gun into the festival on Saturday. Police said they were "acting on a tip" when they found a "9mm handgun on Shrome D. George," according to the Tribune. The 25-year-old Michigan City, Ind. resident has been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and other weapons charges; he has a bond hearing today.
[Trib]
Another day, another thriller. For the third time in their four games this season, the winning team came from behind late for victory as this time the White Sox earned a walk-off win over the Cubs 8-7. The Sox opened the scoring by piecing together runs in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Cubs responded in the top of the third by knocking a few in themselves to knot the game at 2-2 and took the lead on a D-Lee sac fly in the fifth. The Pale Hose countered with a Scott Podsednik solo homer and A.J Pierzinski slapping a bases loaded single to score two, putting the Sox ahead 5-3. The see-saw battle continued in the sixth courtesy of a two-RBI double by Alfosno Soriano and an RBI single by Ryan Theriot to put the Cubs up 6-5. That lead lasted all of a few minutes as in the bottom of the inning, Podsednik singled in Wise for his third RBI of the game, tying the game at 6-6.
It’s getting harder out there for Illinois students who attend public universities.
The babysitter of Jada Justice has been charged in the death of the toddler as has the babysitter's boyfriend. Engelica Castillo, 18, and Tim Tkachik, 23, both of Hobart, were charged with Jada's death. Jada's body was allegedly found encased in concrete and placed in a plastic bin, according to CBS 2.
Officials at the Norwegian American Hospital seek federal funding for a new emergency room due to a lack of space in their current one, according to a Chi-Town Daily News report.
With only 17 ER beds and an increase in visits, an expansion is necessary to continue caring for around 30,000 patients each year and “to enhance care for the poor,” hospital officials said. Visitors seeking treatment must wait outside the waiting room and in an opened conference room during peak hours.
The hospital is considering a parking lot outside the ER as the potential site for the project, which will cost around $10 million.
The first exhibit of a new museum dedicated to the Korean War -- the first of its kind in the nation -- opened in Springfield yesterday.
Still reeling from the spike in parking meter fees and where that money's going? Rest assured, the price to park in a Chicago garage daily is up only $1 from last year, according to a new parking rate survey released this week.
If yesterday's game was any indication, this round of the Crosstown Classic promises to hold some of the same excitement we're used to from this series. A back-and-forth game where both teams had chances to score, the Cubs took the first of three on the South Side, edging the Sox 5-4 yesterday. Jermaine Dye belted his 17th homer of the year in the bottom of the first to give the Sox an early 1-0 edge over Randy Wells and the Cubs, but the Cubs got two of their own in the fourth courtesy of surging rookie Jake Fox. The lead didn't last long, though, as Jim Thome homered in the bottom of the same inning to tie the game at 2-2. In the top of the seventh, Jose Contreras - who seemed to have some back issues earlier in the game but was left in - gave up a three-run shot to Geovany Soto, putting the Cubs ahead 5-2.
Well it's a good thing the City got short-changed on that parking meter deal, eh? Because today the City announced that they're going to have to cover a budget hole that could reach $300 million. The money will come from a "budget stabilization fund" set up following the $1.15 billion deal to privatize the parking meters. But that's not the end of the city's money woes as outlined by the City's Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold today. The City Council is also closing in on a deal to force non-union workers for the city to take 15 unpaid days off: six unpaid furlough days, six unpaid holidays, and three "reduced-service" days. Per The Trib's Clout Street:
The Clout List scandal at the University of Illinois continues to grow beyond Ron Santo and undergrad. The Chicago Tribune reports that the law school at U of I admitted an unqualified student in return for promised jobs for outgoing graduates.
As we mentioned earlier today, the citizens of Gary, Indiana are mourning their most popular native son, the King of Pop Michael Jackson. What happened when Jackson came back in June 2003 for a visit? One word: chaos. And then check out a performance of "Human Nature" during the Chicago stop of 1984's Victory Tour. The Chicago stops consisted of three shows from October 12 through 14 at Comiskey Park. After the jump is one more Michael Jackson-related video featuring a song written but not sung by Jackson, just for the hell of it.
The jobless rate in the Chicago metro are hit a 26-year high during May. The "seasonally unadjusted" rate hit 10.7 percent in May 2009, the highest the area has seen since August 1983. According to Crain's:
There were 185,900 fewer people employed in the metro area last month compared with the same month in 2008. That figure, the highest among the 12 Illinois metro areas reported, suggests that the recession continues to hamper the local labor market.The Chicago metro area was second in the state behind Rockford which saw a rate of 13.4 percent.
After last year's shoot-out at the OK Corral in the Loop following the fireworks at the Taste of Chicago, and Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis being raked over the coals for it, police aren't taking any chances this year and are upping security. According to Chicago Breaking News, some of the measures will include:
It's been an eventful end of the week for the Blagojevich family. First, Patti returned from the wilds of Costa Rica after being voted off the reality show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here. Husband Rod, daughters Amy and Annie, and sister State Rep. Deb Mell were at O'Hare to greet Patti upon her return. When asked about the experience, Patti said, "It was nice to go down there and meet people that didn't have an agenda with me, that became my friends and it helped restore my faith in people." Rod added, "She's a heckuva lot more popular [than him]."
The Sox and Dodgers played extra baseball and in the end it came down to Scott Podsednik who provided the heroics for the Pale Hose, driving in the winning run in the bottom of the 13th to give the Sox the 6-5 victory. The Sox found themselves down 4-0 going into the bottom of the fifth as the Dodgers knocked around starter Clayton Richard. But then in the fifth the Sox started the comeback, courtesy of a Konerko solo shot and an RBI triple from Wise. The Sox then went ahead in the sixth thanks to A.J. Pierzynski's three-run homer only to see the Dodgers tie the game at 5-5 in the seventh. But the Sox bullpen went into lockdown mode as Scott Linebrink, Matt Thornton, Bobby Jenks, Octavio Dotel and Aaron Poreda combined for 0 runs and 8 K's over six innings of relief. Poreda ultimately got the win when, in the bottom of the 13th, Podsednik knocked a two-out bases loaded single for the win. Afterward, Podsednik said, "Game-winning hits are always fun, but most importantly, to win the series against a club like the Dodgers, who came into town with the best record, maybe that will give us some momentum here. We haven't been playing that great at home, so maybe that will give us some momentum going into the Cubs series."
Some legal wrangling went down this week in the case against Drew Peterson, set to stand trial for the murder of wife #3, Kathleen Savio. Among the more notables moves made, Judge Stephen White asked prosecutors to cut their witness list down from a mind-boggling 805 to 50. One battle prosecutors did win was an attempt by Peterson's defense team to make the large amount of discovery evidence "easier to navigate." John Connor, the chief of the major crime unit for the state's attorney, claimed, "I think what the counsel is asking us to do is give them CliffsNotes on this," and said all the information the defense was seeking was available in the evidence. Another issue raised by Peterson's attorney - whether three key state witnesses received compensation for their testimony - will be reviewed and ruled on by Judge White at a July 10 hearing. [Sun-Times]
Heading into Thursday night's NBA draft, the Bulls were looking for some help with their inside scoring and some depth in the backcourt. When the night was over, they had addressed the first need twice over while neglecting the other entirely.
As the world reels from the unexpected death of pop star Michael Jackson, fans in his hometown of Gary are flocking to his childhood home to pay homage to the fallen singer. Jackson was born in Gary in 1958 and first started performing with his brothers at nightclub Mr. Lucky's in 1964. Jackson left Gary in 1969. According to the Tribune:
Alinea chef grant Achatz has sold a book proposal of his battle with Stage IV tongue cancer to Gotham Books. Tentatively titled Life, On the Line (a play on words referencing both Achatz's well-documented cancer struggle and the daily grind of a chef in the kitchen), the book is a dual-voiced narrative alternating between Achatz's first-hand account and the perspective of his fight from Alinea partner Nick Kokonas. [NYT Dining Journal]
Police have arrested two men in connection with last night's shooting in which an innocent 9-year-old bystander, Chastity Turner, was killed while washing her dog on her grandmother's porch. Three others, including Turner's father, were also hurt in the shooting, which occurred last night around 7 p.m. in Englewood, but none of their injuries were life-threatening. Sources also tell media outlets that a weapon has been recovered and testing is underway to see if it was involved in the shooting. Earlier, sources said a green van matching the description of the one used in the shooting, believed to be gang-related, was also recovered. The Tribune and Sun-Times have more on tragic incident, including information that Turner's father is not cooperating with authorities in their investigation.
The Lord's Senator has become The Absent-Minded Senator. Senator Burris is backpedaling to fix another "oops," this time amending a financial statement involving stock options. According to the Tribune, Burris forgot to mention his option to buy 8,000 shares of stock in Inland Real Estate Corp. on a Senate financial disclosure statement. Burris served on the board of the company between 1996 and January of this year when he was sworn in as the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois. Burris' communications director Jim O'Connor told the Trib, "You are absolutely right. His unexercised options were not disclosed," and that Burris will amend the statement to include the options.
In a move that actually makes sense, Chi-Town Daily News reports that Chicago Public Schools will soon begin offering students STD testing with help from the Chicago Department of Public Health. Cook County is number one in the nation in gonorrhea cases and third for chlamydia cases and teens make up 60 percent of Chicago's new cases. No word, though, when testing will become available to students.
The ongoing city scandal over real estate and leases involving the mayor's nephew has drawn the ire of 31st Ward Alderman Ray Suarez. Reacting to the questionable month-to-month lease the Department of General Services established back in November of 2007, Suarez told the Sun-Times that he should have signed off on it. Suarez is chair of the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate.
In a column run yesterday on Crain's Taking Names blog, Greg Hinz pretty much summed up the mess Mayor Daley is returning to here in the City by the Lake.
The Cubs missed a bundle of opportunities to score en route to a 5-3 loss in Detroit last night, their third straight loss. Overall, the team batted 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base. Geovany Soto showed some power with a solo shot and Derek Lee extended his hitting streak to 21 games but the Cubs inability to take advantage of scoring opportunities sank them. Rich Harden also struggled on the mound, losing his third straight decision as he gave up four runs - two earned - over 5.1 innings pitched. Not that the bullpen fared much better as both Heilman and Marmol walked in runs. The series finale starts at 12:05 p.m. this afternoon (WGN).
We've disagreed with a lot of judicial decisions and passed laws and City Hall decrees over the years but you'd be hard-pressed to find anything in our archives quite like what blogger and internet radio host Hal Turner pulled. Upset over the recent decision to uphold handgun bans in Oak Park and Chicago, Turner went on an internet tirade which included, "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These Judges deserve to be killed." To take the threats to another level, he listed the "photos, phone numbers, work addresses and courtroom numbers" of the judges involved: Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and judges Richard Posner and William Bauer of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Turner, described by media reports as a white supremacist, was subsequently arrested yesterday at his New Jersey home. While Turner's website has no reference to the Illinois-related arrest, it does contain a post about his arrest earlier this month in connection to similar charges from the state of Connecticut stemming from the same tirade, though the original offending posts are no longer available online. [CBS 2]
Last year, the Bulls were sitting pretty with the top overall pick in the draft. And while some thought they should pick power forward Michael Beasley, the Bulls seem to have made the right call with their selection of point guard Derrick Rose. Not only did he take home the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the league's top rookie, he also helped the Bulls return to the playoffs -- where they played an epic series against Boston. As such, the Bulls avoided the draft lottery this year, and don't make their first pick in the 2009 draft until midway through the first round, at the 16th spot. The Bulls -- on account of trading Thabo Sefelosha to Oklahoma City -- also have the 26th pick. So with newly promoted GM Gar Forman running his first draft, we're interested to see what the Bulls can do to improve the team.
Amid the growing controversy over Mayor Daley's signature on a financial guarantee for the 2016 Summer Games, the city's bid team met yesterday with aldermen behind closed doors. Mayor Daley's Intergovernmental Affairs Office informed aldermen of the meetings, which started at 3:30 p.m. at City Hall. Mayoral spokeswoman Jacquelyn Heard denied that the meeting were secret. "The 2016 team walked into a public building in broad daylight right past a crowd of reporters that the team knew was waiting there and proceeded to brief aldermen as part of the same process that had been in place for decades," Heard told the Tribune. "First, aldermen are given the opportunity to ask questions and hear the facts in private. This allows them to develop a well-informed opinion before they air them publicly." Chicago 2016 spokeswoman Mica Matsoff echoed that sentiment, saying that the meetings were a decision the bid team made "as we're going through this in in real time and hearing things and responding to them."
Did you know that in the 30's and 40's there were frequently ten nominees for Best Picture? Neither did we. The practice ended in 1943, when Casablanca took home the Oscar. Since then it's always been winnowed to a list of five. But this morning AMPAS President Sid Ganis announced that the bigger list is being revived for next year's awards. There will once again be ten nominees. Said Ganis, "Having ten Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize. The final outcome, of course, will be the same - one Best Picture winner." The other categories will remain unchanged.
The Sears Tower will receive a $350 million face lift over the next five years to reduce its energy consumption by 80 percent. The building will also receive a new neighbor--an environmentally friendly 50-story luxury hotel, located at Jackson and Wacker. The initiative could create 3,600 new jobs and Sears Tower could become the tallest building to receive LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
We'll admit, we've left plenty of stuff on trains before: papers, books, umbrellas, even a scrap of paper with the phone number of a young woman who was way too pretty for us anyway. But we've never left a baby on board a train as a woman did last night on a northbound Union Pacific North Line train. No charges have been filed against the woman who left the baby on board when she got off at North Chicago. And yes, mother and baby were safely reunited. [CBS 2]
ChicagoNow's Megan Cottrell wrote an excellent piece about the Chicago Avenue garden at Cabrini Green's southern tip that's run by Fourth Presbyterian Church's "Chicago Lights" outreach program. Cottrell reports on some of the relationships developing in the garden between Old Town and Cabrini Green residents, as well as the struggles faced in getting Cabrini residents to take part in the project. (via Windy Citizen)
The Sun-Times reports that U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis is forming an exploratory committee to consider a run for Cook County Board president early next year. The field is already crowded with at least six other officials showing interest. The Chicago Reader has a roundup of the potentials, which includes, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and of course Todd Stroger. Currently there is no clear candidate for the Republican primary.
She married ChicagoSportsWebio founder David Hernandez in 2001, but she is just now finding out who he really was. Last week, the SEC accused Hernandez of running an $11 million ponzi scheme that funded the ChicagoSportsWebio venture, and he promptly left town. Gina Hernandez reported her husband missing on June 16, and police found him at a hotel downstate on June 22.
Joliet's Empress Casino, closed since a large fire struck the complex in March, is finally set to reopen tomorrow. Empress marketing coordinator Kevin McMaster told Fox 32, "Everything is coming along great. It's amazing how fast things are coming together. We are crossing our last Ts and dotting our last Is for Thursday." The casino, which has been closed for 97 days, will have a few ceremonies before reopening to the public at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow. [Fox 32]
Yesterday, Chicago Police officer Anthony Abbate was sentenced to two years of probation, a forced curfew, anger management classes, alcohol evaluation and 130 hours of community service for the February 2007 beating of bartender Karolina Obrycka which was caught on tape and broadcast around the world.
In a refrain which is growing tiresome yet still just as worrisome, it seems the CTA is once again threatening service cuts ahead of an RTA vote. The vote, happening Thursday, would cut $61 million worth of services to make up for a drop in sales-tax revenue. If approved, overall cuts would breakdown to $35 million for the CTA, $19 million for Metra, and $7 million for PACE. CTA President Richard Rodriguez has warned that cuts would result in about a five percent reduction in service for every $10 million lost. There's no indication which specific services the CTA would be cut, but officials have said whole bus routes could be lost in addition to overall reduction in service. PACE will look to reduce services on routes with low ridership, focusing on late nights, early mornings, and weekends. As for Metra, officials for that agency seemed to be downright sunny in comparison, saying the cuts wouldn't result in lost services as the agency did not fill some vacant job posts and have held tight on spending. [Tribune]
Amid the ongoing game of political football that has defined negotiations over how to close the gap in the city's looming budget hole, one voice has been remarkably absent: city workers who would bear the brunt of the mayor's economic sanctions. That silence was broken yesterday as SEIU Local 73 members descended on the city council meeting to vent their anger at both the city and the union. Workers are angry at the city for forcing layoffs on them, and at their union for not accepting furlough days. “We will take the [furlough] days. We will make the adjustments. But somehow people are demanding something that we haven’t demanded,” detention aide John Joynter told the Sun-Times. “We are not being represented by either the city or the union. We have not had a voice in any of this. It’s like we’re pushed aside.”
John Danks gave the White Sox his third straight quality start, but it wasn't enough to deliver a win as the Sox bullpen and bats couldn't hold up their end of the bargain and the Sox fell 5-2. Danks was rough early, giving up three runs in the first two innings, but then settled down and held the Dodgers scoreless for the remainder of his seven innings. But his early stumbles, including a two-run homer given up to LA's James Loney in the second, were too much for the Sox to overcome. Matt Thornton gave up two runs in relief in the eighth to help LA along to victory. Of course, credit is also due to LA's starter, Hiroki Kuroda, who held the Sox to two runs on four hits over 8.2 innings. Paul Konerko provided an offensive spark early for the Sox with a solo homer in the second, but the Sox couldn't get much going after that. Game two of the three game set gets underway tonight at 7:11 p.m. (WCIU).
The international news of the last week has been filled with images and descriptions of the post-election turmoil within Iran. As tens of thousands of people in Tehran and around the nation filled the streets to protest what they believe is a stolen election, the American president has been remarkably mum on the whole affair. "The last thing that I want to do is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States," Obama said in an interview recorded Friday. "We shouldn't be playing into that."
When we started getting into the NHL playoffs a couple months ago, we were surprised to see Chris Chelios was playing for the Detroit Red Wings, the same Chelios who had helped the Blackhawks to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992. The same future Hall of Famer who played for the Blackhawks from 1990-1999. Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour may have retired, but the defenseman, at age 47, was still skating (as is Roenick, who plays for San Jose).
Sad news to report from overnight: John Callaway, broadcast journalism legend and founding host of WTTW's "Chicago Tonight" has passed away at the age of 72. According to his wife, Callaway died from a heart attack yesterday evening in Racine. Callaway began his career in Chicago with the City News Bureau of Chicago and in the mid-60's went to WBBM where he helped oversee the station's switch to an all-news format in 1968. Later that same year, he was named Vice President of CBS Radio in New York where he helped stations all over the country make similar switches. In 1974, he returned to Chicago at WTTW where he took over as news director and in 1975 began hosting "Public Newscenter." Callaway than started and hosted "Chicago Tonight" in 1984 and remained host until 1999. Most recently, Callaway was the host of WTTW's "Chicago Stories" and in February appeared at the Chicago Journalism Town Hall. Among his numerous awards were seven Emmies and one Peabody award.
DePaul University is looking to expand and has brought its plan to the neighborhood for approval. Chi-Town Daily news reports DePaul has designs on a 10-year development plan which would include a big complex at Fullerton and Sheffield. And now the Sheffield Neighborhood Association will hold its final meeting on the expansion tonight (7pm in the McGowan Science Building). Ted Wrobleski, the SNA's planning chairman, told the CTDN, “Basically one of the concerns is the size of the new buildings, how tall they’re going to be and how that would fit into the character of the neighborhood." But Wrobleski also said that the association and DePaul have a good relationship and there's not much opposition to the plan.
Despite the fact White Sox fans outnumber Cubs fans on this site (though a Cubs fan is in charge), we have to take time to acknowledge a historic game played within the Friendly Confines 25 years ago today. It was on June 23rd, 1984 that the baseball world saw what a young player with the goofily-spelled first name of "Ryne" could do.
In it's battle to obtain documents from the University of Illinois in connection with their investigation of the Clout College Controversy, the Chicago Tribune has stumbled upon a strange example of what they allege to be shenanigans: Ron Santo. While Santo has nothing at all to do with the controversy, it seems the school blacked out Santo's name in documents it handed over to the Trib which the Trib claims "violated the spirit of the law," in terms of their investigation. According to the Tribune's story:
Strange happenings on the West and Northwest side where it seems a total of 17 vehicles were set on fire in several different spots. According to Chicago Breaking News:
Seven vehicles were found in the 1600 block of North Keeler Avenue, an additional six were found in the 1600 block of North Spaulding Avenue, three others were found in the 1800 block of West Erie Street, and one found in the 3200 block of West Wabansia Avenue, police said.Investigators aren't saying much by both the Chicago Fire Dept. and the CPD's bomb and arson unit are looking into the incidents.
Just three weeks ago Boeing said that its 787 Dreamliner might finally make its first flight this month after two years of delays. Now Boeing says that the plans have been grounded again because a section of the aircraft's structure required extra reinforcement.
According to an article in today's Trib it looks like beer, wine and other alcoholic packaged goods could be coming soon to a Walgreen's near you. After Prohibition the drugstore began selling alcohol at many of their locations, but that was phased out in early 90's because it was deemed too costly. Now, according to company spokeswoman Tiffani Washington, new computer systems will make it easier to manage. Profits at the chain have been slipping recently. Perhaps booze can pump them back up. We're completely in favor of the change, as it would mean another way we'd be able to avoid CVS, not to mention it's easier to find a Walgreens.
As Illinois's political leadership struggles to close a daunting hole in the state's budget, the debate over raising taxes versus cutting services brought the governor and legislative leaders to a near standstill. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities posted an interesting analysis of how different states are coping with decreased revenues in the ongoing economic crisis. They found that many states are looking at a combination of both spending cuts and tax increases to balance state budgets. According to their research, 23 states have raised taxes since the beginning of 2009, and 13 more states are considering tax increases.
We're still waiting for more details, but according to a Sun-Times tweet Abbate has been sentenced to two years probation for the taped beating of bartender Karolina Obrycka. He was found guilty on a charge of aggravated battery three weeks ago.
A list of the nation's 25 most dangerous neighborhoods based on neighborhood statistics shows Chicago has landed four on the list, the most of all cities listed. The highest ranked Chicago neighborhood - well, more like "sections of larger neighborhoods" - on the list belongs to a part of Washington Park - State St. & Garfield - that comes in at number two overall. As the Sun-Times points out, that particular neighborhood formerly consisted of the well-documented Robert Taylor housing project.
President Obama is about to start a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, his first from that location. Expected topics of interest will include Iran and health care. You can follow it here starting at 11:30 a.m.
Update: Now that the press conference is done, you can view the complete conference here.
As if the ongoing rift in the Daley family over mayoral nephew Robert Vanecko's connections weren't bad enough, the Bright One brings us more evidence of corruption in the mayor's family. According to records obtained by the Sun-Times, the city has been leasing property from clouted landlords, often at rental rates higher than market. Adding to the problems for the mayor is a warehouse at 3348 S. Pulaski that Vanecko and his business partners acquired, and which the city has paid more than $480,000 in rent over the past 15 months. The city uses that space to park dump trucks.
The Cubs made a quick trip to Atlanta on a scheduled off day yesterday for a make-up game and in the end the offense took an off day anyway as the Braves shut out the North Siders 2-0, wasting a good performance by starter Ryan Dempster. Despite getting nine hits and having runners in scoring position in multiple innings, the Cubs couldn't knock in any runs off Braves starter Javier Vazquez. Jake Fox started in place of the $136 Million Dollar Man and Micah Hoffpauir started in place of Milton Bradley. Dempster saw a strong start go to waste, as he gave up only two runs and and struck out six over 6.2 innings. Said Sweet Lou, "We got enough hits. We just didn't hit with men on base. Vazquez pitched well. Both starting pitchers pitched well. But when you get 10 hits, you figure you'll score a few. We just didn't do it." Not to mention leaving 12 men on base overall. After the quick trip down South, the Cubs have huffed it back up to Detroit where they open a three-game set against the AL Central leading Tigers tonight at 6:05 p.m. (WGN).
In 1989 Juan Johnson, then 19, was arrested for murdering a rival gang member with a two-by-four outside a nightclub in Humboldt Park. He was later convicted and sentenced to a 30-year prison term and served eleven and a half years before he was acquitted in 2004. On Monday, Johnson was awarded $21 million in compensatory damages which is the largest award for wrongful conviction in Chicago history according to Chicago Breaking News.
As the backlash against Mayor Daley's Olympic commitments grows, 1st Ward Ald. Manny Flores is now saying that he will introduce an ordinance that will limit the city's liability for the Games to $500 million. Daley signed a contract last week with the International Olympic Committee, committing the city to assume unlimited financial liability for the "planning, organization and staging of the Games." Chicago has already guaranteed $500 million in backing for the Olympics.
Our warm, humid late June run continues today. If hot and humid is your thing, today's a great day for you. Sunny skies hang overhead and temps will reach the lower 90s in many places today. Coupled with some high humidity readings, it's going to be a steamy day. Be careful if you're outside a lot, as areas south and west of the lake will see heat indexes above 100 degrees, which has prompted heat advisories in some counties. It's good to see the sun out after the wet, dreary start we had to June. Enjoy the beaches!
Jay-Z Announces 2010 Tour Dates. Chicago Not On List.
Extra, Extra
Around Town
Health Care Bill Heads To U.S. House Floor For Debate, Vote
Alleged Lottery Ticket Con Artists Charged
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