News: November 2009 Archives

Four people have been charged in a lottery ticket scam that swindled five victims out of $110,000 and targeted two others for $50,000, Chicago Breaking News reports.

The last three jurors and six alternates were selected in the trial of a man charged with the rape and murder of 11 South Side women in the 90s on Friday at the Criminal Courts Building, according to Chicago Breaking News.

Daniel Vincent, 28, Aurora, was accused on Friday of robbing a First Federal Bank in Lexington, Kentucky. Vincent previously served over five years in federal prison for admitting to robbing 16 banks. On Friday, Vincent led Kentucky police on a 25-mile chase after allegedly robbing a bank in Lexington, authorities reported. Vincent entered the First Federal Bank around 11:30 a.m., implied that he had a weapon, and left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, authorities said.

The battle over health care is revving up this weekend as a deal among U.S. House Democrats has paved the way for a potential House vote on President Obama's health care reform bill. The deal would allow for an amendment to the public option portion that would prevent the the government's plan, as well as private plans involved in the government-run exchanges, from covering elective abortions. However, coverage would still be available in the cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is in danger. The amendment is expected to pass with support from Republicans and conservative Dems and gives Dem leaders hope of swaying enough of those conservative Dems to secure the 218 necessary votes to pass the bill on to the Senate. There are concerns, though, that there won't be quite enough votes to get the bill passed. Clout Street explains:

The question of whether or not Bulls' forward Tyrus Thomas had the flu when the team sent him home this week is now irrelevant. Thomas will miss the next four to six weeks after fracturing his forearm during a workout yesterday. According to the Tribune:

The Blackhawks' road woes continued last night, dropping their third straight away game as the Avalanche edged the 'Hawks 4-3 in a shoot-out. It was a game of runs as the Blackhawks opened up a 2-0 lead in the first half of the opening period. Dustin Byfuglien got a power play game early on and Duncan Keith added a second goal a few minutes later. But the Avalanche countered with a three-goal run that spanned the rest of the first and most of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. The 'Hawks answered, courtesy of Andrew Ladd, to tie the game at 3-3. After a scoreless third period and overtime, it was on to the shoot-out where Patrick Kane was the only 'Hawk to net a goal and by a 2-1 shoot-out margin, the Avs took game. Niemi took the loss in goal for the 'Hawks making 17 saves in regulation, two in overtime, and six saves on eight shots in the shoot-out. The 'Hawks return home Monday night to take on the Kings (7 pm, VS), the first of four home games next week. If you haven't had a chance to catch the team live in person, now's a good chance to do it before the team goes on the infamous two-week Circus Trip.

• A pair of area deaths related to H1N1 have been reported. In related news, a truck with 900 H1N1 vaccine doses was stolen in Milwaukee though police have apprehended a suspect.
• As the search continues for a hit & run driver responsible for the death of 25-year-old Rachel Gilliam, a surveillance tape is making the rounds that shows the alleged car that moments later hit Gilliam and her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the driver.
• With 1,000 officers eligible to retire, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis admits he's "nervous" about retirements cutting into the CPD's already thinned ranks.

While we've been lamenting things like the loss of the Outdoor Film Festival and the shrinking of the Chicago Christmas tree, there are certainly more serious issues at stake in the midst of the city's enormous budget deficit, one being the quality of mental health care in Chicago. The city's mental health centers have been in limbo since January when it was announced that some of the city's 12 centers would be closing, and while 4 of the centers were reopened, they still won't be avoiding a hit -- their operating budget is being reduced next year.

The Tribune is calling today's story about "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan's incarcerated brother and his planned prison escape "Batman-like," which is good bait to get you into the story. But when you read deeper, it turns out that the tale being told isn't terribly Batty at all - it's only barely Dark Knight related. Which is not to say it's not a hell of a story - one which we're surprised hasn't been talked about much to date. (The conspirator part of our brain is saying "yeah, but that kind of talk might keep away other film companies, and that's bad for the city, so maybe...")

Every year the boundaries for acceptable Halloween costumes are tested. Every year those boundaries are most certainly crossed, if only for a few of us at Chicagoist that insist on wearing the Ninja Turtles costume we've worn since we were eight. Halloween in some ways has become a social experiment, measuring the capacity for tolerance by exploring what really is in fact taboo by today's standards. For some, we found out where the line was drawn after photos of two local individuals dressed as "blackface" for Halloween surfaced on the Internet a few days ago. The two who dressed in blackface are believed to be students at Northwestern University and, as a result, there has been considerable public outcry in Evanston. The university even publicly addressed the photos, calling the costumes insensitive and in poor judgment, although not in violation of any university rules.

The White Sox continue to shuffle their lineup around. First, a day after the rumors first leaked about a trade sending Chris Getz and Josh Fields (plus some cash) to Kansas City, the trade has been confirmed. Sox general manager Ken Williams tells the Trib the newly acquired Mark Teahen will play third while Gordon Beckham will be shifted over to second base.

Hyatt, the hotel chain owned by Chicago's storied Pritzker clan, raised $950 million in its initial public offering Thursday, as the hotel chain took its shares public. Shares were priced at $25, but closed up 12 percent Thursday, near $28 a share. "We are delighted at the success of our initial public offering and with our new partnership with the NYSE," Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said of the IPO. "Our focus will continue to be providing authentic hospitality to our guests and driving preference for our brands."

  

Bulls Edge Cavs

There were a pair of debates last night of interest to voters with the approaching primaries in February. Of particular interest to local voters is the The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) Cook County Board President forum. ABC 7 has video of the complete forum that you can check out here. The participants were current Democrat candidates Pres. Todd Stroger, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, and MWRD Pres. Terrence O'Brien, Green Party candidate (and former No Games Chicago leader) Tom Tresser, and only one Republican candidate, John Garrido.

With a massive budget deficit looming, property taxes on the rise, and the mayor talking about more furloughs and service cuts, the Chicago Public Schools have still found over $150,000 to hire a city hall insider to handle "forging partnerships with the business community to support school programs," the Sun-Times is reporting. Better yet, the hire is Barbara Lumpkin, who has served as Daley's city comptroller, budget director and city treasurer, and who was involved in several city hall scandals during her previous tenure.

We were all shocked yesterday afternoon watching coverage of the shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas. This morning, the tragedy hits close to home as it's been learned one of the 13 people killed, Army Pfc. Michael Pearson, 21, was from Bolingbrook. Pearson's mother Sheryll told the Tribune, "We thought it was going to be okay, because we thought it was another building. Mike won't be there because he already he got his inoculations ... He shouldn't be in that part of that building. Since we weren't contacted, we felt we were okay." The Trib's report continues:

• A Naperville man has been charged with trying to bribe a "city agent," who the Sun-Times reveals to be Ald. Ike Carothers.
• GOP candidates for governor aren't the only ones debating tonight; the candidates for Cook County Board President will participate in a forum that gets underway at 6 pm. You can view it live online at ABC 7.
• Two men have been arrested in the shooting death of DePaul student Francisco “Frankie” Valencia from last weekend.

As a union leader expressed doubt about the recent stroller incident at the Morse Red Line stop, police have now called the mother's account "credible" and say there's no evidence of any shenanigans, though the investigation, including interviews, continues. While the union leader expressed doubt over the lack of damage to the stroller, police say traces of paint on the stroller back up her story. The Tribune report also says the stroller was not turned over to the CTA until some five stops later. Union officials claim the stroller (pictured right) would be more heavily damage from hitting guardrails. Initial tests on the train from the incident show the car's door were functioning meaning they would have stayed open as long as an obstruction was present. The train's operator remains suspended without pay pending the investigation.

The Chicago Community Trust, a foundation that funds programs to benefit Chicago, announced today that it will award 12 local news organizations with $500,000. The awards are part of a new program by the trust, Community News Matters, designed to support the sources of Chicago news and information.

A stolen semi containing more than 1,200 cases of liquor was found on the South Side on Monday. The truck was reported stolen around 12:30a.m. on Friday from a National Wine & Spirits in Indiana, according to Sgt. Matthew Mount. Two men allegedly wearing ski masks commandeered the delivery truck by gunpoint after attacking the truck's driver and handcuffing him and throwing him in an empty trailer of a parking lot. After the two men drove off, the driver exited the trailer and called for help. The truck was recovered over three days later at the 12000 block of South Avenue O in Chicago and two men were arrested. It is unknown if the liquor was still in the truck when it was found. Rumors have been circulating that the 1,200+ cases were headed to Chicagoist Editor-in-chief Marcus Gilmer's house for a Halloween party.

Former Chicago Police commander John Burge, arrested last year on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury, has successfully postponed his trial for the third time. The Chicago Sun Times reports Burge has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will be undergoing radiation treatment in Florida when his January trial is scheduled to begin. Burge’s lawyers requested the postponement, saying that it was “nonsense” to imply he is using his illness to further stave off the trial. In fact, Burge’s legal team appeared disappointed in not beginning the trial, with one of his lawyers saying he “would have loved a Christmas jury with a cancer patient. That’s a combination for an acquittal.”

At least on one home in the north center of Chicago. Last night at about 7:52 p.m. a large of chunk of ice fell onto the roof of a house on the 4200 block of N. Wolcott Ave while the family was inside watching TV. They said they heard a loud thud that shook the house like an earthquake. The family collected the balls of ice into a plastic bag and believes a large chuck on ice fell from the sky, hitting the roof and exploded into smaller pieces.

Last night, Marcus Jordan, son of Bulls legend Michael, made good on his promise to wear Nike shoes during his school's first game, prompting rival shoe company adidas to back out of it's multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with the school. The controversy had started a while ago when Jordan claimed the school, the University of Central Florida, promised him he could wear his father's line of Nike shoes though that directly conflicted with the school's exclusive contract with adidas. According to the Orlando Sentinel:

2010 is a big election year and state Republicans are hoping to take back, among other offices, the governor's seat. But first they've got to get through the primary and with seven candidates in a heated campaign, the race to see who will oppose Quinn or Hynes in 2010 could be pretty interesting. The debate happens tonight at the downtown Hilton (720 S. Michigan Ave) and Chris Robling will moderate. You can purchase tickets here, find a viewing party, or wait for WLS 890 AM to rebroadcast the entire debate tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

We've admittedly been hesitant to cover the story of the alleged "Miracle At Morse" in which a stroller with a baby was reportedly stuck in the doors of the train, dragged along the platform, and then the baby knocked out onto the tracks but wound up miraculously unharmed. The whole thing sounded so improbable and given a similar recent incident in Australia that garnered world-wide attention, we had several questions: Did the operator completely not see the stroller before pulling out? How did the train start moving with doors still wedged open? - and we wondered if the whole thing was real. Turns out we're not the only ones. Amalgamated Transit Union President Robert Kelly is having problems wrapping his head around this, too. With the stroller in question in officials' hands and in relatively good condition, questions are beginning to arise. As reported by CBS 2:

When Mayor Daley first appointed a former federal prosecutor to the Inspector General office five years ago in the wake of scandals such as Hired Trucks, he probably thought of it more as a gesture than anything that might bring about real problems for him. Boy, was he wrong. Since then, there's been a lot of tension between the City and the IGO as the IGO has done their job and kept after the city. In the latest development of this ongoing battle, the Inspector General's Office is taking the City of Chicago to court in an effort to get access to documents and records pertaining to a 2006 no-bid contract award. Our media crush Carol Marin has the details at the Sun-Times:

The Wolves got the best of the Milwaukee Admirals last night in the latest leg of the Amtrak Rivalry by a 4-3 final. It also happened to be the first road win for the Wolves this season. Anthony Stewart opened the scoring halfway through the first to get the Wolves up 1-0 and Tim Stapleton made it 2-0 just a few minutes later. Not to be outdone, Milwaukee countered with a pair of goals of their own to make it 2-2 at the first intermission. In the second, Milwaukee got its third goal on a power play to take the 3-2 lead, but the Wolves answered when Arturs Kulda tipped in a shot from Stewart. The game remained tied at 3-3 until Stapleton got his second goal of the game halfway through the third to give the Wolves the edge and eventual win. Goalie Drew MacIntyre had 14 saves on the night and Chris Chelios had a pair of assists. The Wolves next travel to Grand Rapids for a game tomorrow night (6 p.m.).

With the city hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, fewer police on the street to battle crime, and a transit system on the verge of another round of service cuts and fare hikes, the City Council is tackling the tough issue plaguing our city: suburbanites claiming the best seats at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. During the Council's budget hearings yesterday, it was Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th) who spoke up, according to the Sun-Times. Said Ald. Schulter:

• On again, off again: the abortion notification law is on hold once more after a judge issued a restraining order on it this afternoon at the request of the ACLU.
• According to prosecutors, the man accused of causing a wreck that killed a pregnant mother and the baby - delivered by emergency c-section after the crash - had cocaine in his system at the time of the crash.
• Mick Dumke breaks down Mayor Daley's interview with WBEZ from earlier in the week.

We read stuff all the time about people doing dumb things, but it's not often you come across a story so littered with wrong turns that you could turn it into a drinking game. Such is the case of Mary Cordes-Michehl, a 45-year-old Palatine woman who was arrested Tuesday on charges of manufacturing and distributing child pornography. Let's break down the alleged events that police say happened that led to her arrest:

Chris Cilizza, writing for The Fix at the Washington Post is reporting today that Senate candidate Mark Kirk is courting an endorsement from America's Sweetheart, Sarah Palin. According to Cilizza, Kirk fired off a memo to GOP bigwig and Berwyn-born Fred Malek, hoping to nail down a friendly howdy-do from Palin.

According to the American Psychological Association's Stress in America survey, Chicagoans are stressed about work and job stability this year. More than 60 percent of residents report money, work and the economy as significant sources of stress. The study also cited that more than half of Chicagoans have been told by a health care provider that they have a chronic condition.

We're not superstitious, but we got a kick out of the latest announcement from the beleaguered Block 37 project. The project announced a slew of new tenant signings, totaling 13 in all, an unlucky number for an unlucky project. Among the tenants: Sephora, L'Occitane en Provence, and several local stores including a new spot from the Comic Vault and Chicagoist favorite Bleeding Heart Bakery. Developer Joseph Freed and Associates LLC claims the project will open this Thanksgiving - just in time for Christmas shopping - and be complete by the end of next year. Meanwhile, Freed and Associates are battling Bank of America in that foreclosure lawsuit and a hearing is scheduled for November 20 that could decide whether the opening of the project's underground CTA pedway is delayed. According to Crain's:

With last week's announcement of the Cubbies' new ownership - the Ricketts family - came a historic, gay caveat. One of the four new sibling owners, out lesbian Laura Ricketts, is the first openly gay owner of a professional sports team.

Last night, the Bulls dug themselves a big hole early on by rallied in the second half to bounce the Bucks 83-81. The Bulls' offensive struggles of the past few games carried over into last night as they shot 27 percent, mustering an unsightly 29 points in the entire first half and found themselves down by 14 at the break. The Milwaukee lead grew to as much as 18 over halfway through the third, but then Chicago finally got things going, sparked by Jannero Pargo coming off the bench, kicking off a 12-0 run to close to gap to four by the end of the third; the team wound up scoring 45 points over the game's final 18 minutes. Luol Deng had the best performance for the struggling Bulls with 24 points and 20 rebounds; Joakim Noah had only four points but pulled down 12 rebounds and Derrick Rose, who started but played fewer minutes, scored 16. The Bulls get a night off and then head to Cleveland to take on LeBron and the Cavs tomorrow night (7 p.m., TNT).

During Tuesday's morning shoot around, the Bulls sent power forward home Tyrus Thomas home with "flu-like symptoms." Thomas missed the Bulls dramatic comeback win against the Milwaukee Bucks last night, with rookie Taj Gibson starting in his place.

File this under No Surprise to Anyone: Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, otherwise known as McPier, is deep in debt. Crain's is reporting that according to the new chairman of McPier,

• Jury selection began today for Andre Crawford, accused of raping and killing 11 women during the 90's.
• No one was hurt but 12 vehicles were damaged today when a Pace bus driver passed out while driving the bus along it's Oak Park route.
• Block 37, lawsuit, CTA, delay, blah blah blah.

With yesterday's petitioning deadline come and gone and the deadline to petition challengers and withdraw from a race approaching next Monday, there's still just a teeny bit of positioning left to do for this February's primaries, but the races are starting to shape up. Luckily for us, WBEZ has a nice, concise breakdown of who's running for what. For instance, did you know that there were actually a few Republicans running for Cook County Board President, too? But seriously, the list is pretty comprehensive though we'll know more a week from now, especially as we await on which race U.S. Rep. Danny Davis will settle on.

The results of New York’s special election in the 23rd district congressional race might have effects nation-wide, even here in Illinois. The Tea Party movement successfully derailed the campaign of Dede Scozzafava, a moderate GOP candidate in the race in favor of Doug Hoffman, a much more conservative republican. Politico reports that their success could embolden their efforts to push out more moderate GOP candidates in favor of hard right conservatives.

Normally when you think of the phrase "trimming the tree," the image that comes to mind is decorating it with lights and ornaments. But this year, Chicago is also trimming the physical size of the Christmas tree that goes up in Daley Plaza each November.

So as we stare down higher property tax bills and a potential transit fare hike, here's more good news: the parking meter rates are going up, too. As The Parking Ticket Geek points out, when the City Council passed that controversial parking meter lease that Mayor Daley engineered, it also included a yearly increase in rates. These annual rate increases will continue through 2013. $1/hour rates will go up to $1.50, $2/hr up to $2.50, and $3.50/hr up to $4.25. The increases hit January 1, 2010.

Home foreclosures in the Chicago suburbs and outer lying counties have risen sharply in the past three months, according to the Chicago Tribune. While home foreclosures within Cook County have decreased by five percent this financial quarter, "collar counties" like Will and Kane saw an increase in filings of at least 53% when compared to last year. The Woodstock Institute, a Chicago based economic research group, attributes the increase partly to the Illinois Homeowner Protection Act and the Home Affordable Modification Program.

Mayor Daley's Environment Commissioner Suzanne Malec-Mckenna told the press yesterday that she would accept a one-day suspension for alleged hiring abuses related to a contractor in her department. The city inspector general recommended the suspension, as well as the firing of one of her deputies, who is accused of lying to investigators about the matter. “If that’s the recommendation, I’ll take the recommendation,” Malec-McKenna said Monday.

The Tribune Company - which includes the L.A. Times, the Baltimore Sun, and our own beloved Chicago Tribune - is preparing for a potential separation from the Associated Press by sleeping on the couch and (for the most part) going without AP content for a week starting this Sunday, November 8. The AP itself is still shaking out how it'll charge for content, including possibly offering stories to some outlets earlier than others for a higher price. The TribCo gave the AP a head's up last October that come October 2010, they may ditch the AP completely. Next week's trial separation will give the company an idea of how life without the AP might be. Of course, the separation won't be complete. The Trib's Phil Rosenthal reports that there will still be a bit of AP content, limited to sports stats and the occasion when the AP is the only source of a "vital" story. Also, TribCo TV station and newspaper websites won't be affected by the trial separation.

With 2,000 layoffs being included in the CTA's dreaded 2010 budget, leaders for the CTA bus drivers' union are contemplating a strike to fight the proposed cutbacks. Local 241 of the Amalgamated Transit Union is threatening to not only strike to protest the cutbacks and promised raises made in a 2007 deal, but is claiming that the CTA's current budget gap is closer to $500 million, far larger than the CTA claims. Darrell Jefferson, President ATU Local 241, told CBS 2, "Metropolitan Transit Act says, in section 28, that management and exempt people should make up only 3 percent of the total number of employees. We estimate CTA being somewhere like 15 to 18 percent. Laying off people and you're still gonna be heavy in management, I think you're asking for a war more than a layoff."

Todd Stroger filed for re-election of his seat as Cook County Board President late Monday afternoon. By filing the nearly 22,000 signatures he's collected to put him on the ballot so late - he filed less than an hour before the deadline - he'll secure the last position on the ballot, considered second to the top spot in terms of voting booth strategy. "I feel great," Stroger told the press after filing. "I feel like 150 pounds of dynamite." While Stroger is perceived as politically vulnerable after a tenure of tax increases and budget debacles, that 150 pounds of dynamite has yet to really go off on Cook County residents. The 22,000 signatures are only about half of what a few of his opponents turned in. Never one to take the blame himself, Stroger instead told the Sun-Times it had to do with his helpers: "Normally, you have people who collect signatures. It's hard getting people out there to collect signatures."

• Sen. Burris continues to be in the health care debate spotlight thanks to his stance on a public option. Well, sort of.
• The Sun-Times discovers commuting by bike.
• Clean-up continues of a major freight train derailment in the Glenview area.

The field to garner the GOP nomination for next year's gubernatorial election is getting a bit more crowded as former candidate Jim Ryan is entering the contest. Ryan, who lost to former governor Rod Blagojevich in the state's 2002 general election, has spent the last several years out of public office and teaching at Benedictine University in Lisle. But as WBBM-AM explains, Ryan, a former state's attorney general, may face a few new hurdles.

It might, if the government is to be believed. As swine flu escalates, leveling everything and everyone in its path, the wide-spread absences that have shut down schools might also lead to similar wide-spread absences in offices across the country. And what will millions of bored, sick, bed-ridden Americans do to pass the time? Why take to the internet, of course. And such simultaneous web-surfing could overload the information super highway, crashing the web for people all around the world. The Government Accountability Office issued a 77-page report that sets guidelines as to how we can all help, including "voluntary public reduction of Internet use," and trying to "limit video streaming, gaming and peer-to-peer and other bandwidth-intensive applications during daytime work hours." Right, that'll happen.

       

Having fallen to .500 by losing two straight after a 3-1 start to the year, the Bears looked to right the ship against the 1-6 Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field on Sunday. While the Bears came away with a 30-6 victory, it was hardly the reassuring victory the team and fans were looking for. Sure the Bears managed to score 30 points on Sunday, but the team's offense repeatedly encountered trouble when it found itself inside the redzone against the league's worst defense. On three separate occasions the team had to settle for field goals and once even turned the ball over on downs. The Bears may have scored 30 points, but that they didn't capitalize on opportunities to score forty or more was a failure.

  

Heat Burn Bulls

WBEZ's Alison Cuddy sat down for a one-on-one with Mayor Daley and while we can't say she was soft on Daley, there are no major revelations in the interview. Daley defends his decision to dip into the parking meter fund for the 2010 budget; when asked how that money will be replaced, Daley simply says, "You replace money as the economy gets better," and then makes a joke about praying for the economy to get better. On the subject of TIFs, the Mayor said, "Most TIF funds don't generate any money." And on the topic of TIF transparency, Daley chuckles when Cuddy mentions the Chicago Reader and then seems to brush off the question with a less-than-genuine answer. Not that we're surprised. On the subject of privatizing other city assets, Daley side-stepped the question, saying, "There's no market. If there's no market, you cannot lease a public asset," as if to imply, "No." Which we don't believe as getting fair market value for the asset never seemed to be Daley's main concern. Other topics tackled include his approval rating and youth violence, on which Daley still manages to find a way to blame the media for something.

Tomorrow, the controversial law that requires physicians to notify the parents or guardians of girls 17 years old or younger who seek abortions will go into effect. Unlike in many other states, however, in Illinois parental consent is not required. There are ways around the notification: in the case of medical emergency or if the girl puts in writing that the pregnancy was a result of sexual assault, she may bypass the notification. A teen can also request a bypass of notification by appearing before a judge who would have 48 hours to rule. The ACLU of Illinois has set up a website designed to help guide girls through the bypass process. The law was actually passed in 1984 and updated in 1995, but that update was placed under a federal injunction which was lifted this summer by the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gothamist learned that Vespa owners are resorting to illegal measures (okay, scraping off their vehicle ID numbers) to keep their scooters on the street, not that it'll help.

The past two years that the Witch School has operated in the city of Rossville, about 125 miles south of Chicago near the Indiana border, haven't been without constant protests from nearby Christian groups, going so far as to sprinkle the wheels of their cars with holy water and drive around town to ward off witches. This weekend, the Christian groups demands will finally be met as the Witch School is moving to a more occult-friendly city: Salem, Mass, the site of the notorious witchcraft trials over three centuries ago.

Around 2:06 a.m. this morning in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood on the west side, a 2-alarm fire broke out on the 2000 block of West 23rd Street in a 2-story frame apartment building, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Chief Kevin MacGregor. Two 2-story frame buildings adjacent to the building where the fire originated also caught on fire but only sustained minor damage, MacGregor said. By 2:20 a.m., the fire was struck out and officials began conducting a search of the building around 3 a.m., MacGregor said.

Whether or not you still have sore feelings about one of Chicago's most recognizable landmarks being renamed by the Brits, there is at least one good thing coming from the switch: the building will receive an upwards of $300 million green makeover.

DePaul students and faculty are up in arms, holding protests and sit-ins over alleged gender discrimination in the university's tenure system, the Chicago Tribune reports.