Chicagoist

Wrigley Heir's Penthouse Listing Is Chicago's Most Expensive Residence

Anthonia Akitunde — 2009-11-08T12:45:00-06:00

In the market for some new digs? Have a couple million saved up for a rainy day? You're in luck: two of the most expensive properties in the Chicago area have just opened up.

A 13,200 square foot Gold Coast penthouse was put on the market by Bill Wrigley, Jr., chewing gum heir and chairman of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. At $14 million, the property is the most expensive residential listing in the city, the Tribune reports. Wrigley also placed his Lake Forest 11,013 square foot mansion on the market for $14.5 million, giving the heir the distinction of trying to sell "two of the five highest-priced properties in the Chicago area."

[Tribune]

U.S. House Narrowly Passes Health Care Bill

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-08T12:00:00-06:00

AP Photo

By a narrow final margin of 220-215, the U.S. House passed the health care reform bill late last night. With the vote almost completely breaking along party lines, only one Republican - Joseph Cao of New Orleans, LA - voted yes while 39 Dems (none from Illinois) voted no. In an email statement, President Obama said, "This is a night to celebrate -- but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun.''

Next up is the U.S. Senate, which has its own bill. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is facing an uphill battle due to his supporting a public option, so there's still plenty of work to do. In spite of President Obama's hope that the final reform bill would be passed by Christmas, the Senate still has to negotiate and hammer out its own version of the bill to pass and then the two bills must be merged into on bill that will have to, once again, pass both houses.

Babysitter Critically Burned In Fire Started By Child

Anthonia Akitunde — 2009-11-08T11:15:00-06:00

Photo by stonethestone

A 25-year-old babysitter received second-degree burns in a fire started by one of her charges in the South Side neighborhood of Roseland, Chicago Breaking News reports.

Her charge, a young boy, played with a lighter in the second floor bedroom as the woman slept, the report said. As the flames spread through the bedroom, the boy ran without telling his babysitter. He did however tell his first floor neighbors who called 911.

Fire fighters were able to "quickly extinguish the fire" though it had spread to the two-story building's attic. The home did have fire detectors but none of them had batteries.

The babysitter received burns on 35 percent of her body. According to the report, she was looking after "several children" but no other injuries were reported.

[Chicago Breaking News]

Morning Box Score

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-08T10:30:00-06:00

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College Football

Northwestern rolled into Iowa City and pulled off a big upset win, knocking off #4 Iowa by a 17-10 final. Down 10-0 early, the Wildcats scored a pair of second quarter touchdowns - including a big defensive play on a fumble recovery in the endzone - to take a 14-10 lead and added a fourth quarter field goal to extend the lead. The Hawkeyes seemed doomed when QB Ricky Stanzi went down with an ankle injury on the fumble play in the second quarter. As for the Wildcats, Mike Kafka and Dan Persa split time under center, combining for only 109 yards. In fact, Northwestern only managed 239 total yards, but all that mattered was the final score. Oh, and with the win, the Wildcats are now bowl eligible at 6-4.
For the second straight time, the Navy Midshipmen upset Notre Dame in South Bend, 23-21. The Irish were down 21-7 heading into the fourth quarter but rallied behind Jimmy Clausen, who threw for 452 yards. Down 21-14 in the final minute, Clausen was sacked in the endzone for a safety, giving Navy a 9-point lead. Still, Clausen led Notre Dame back down the field and threw a 31-yard TD pass to Golden Tate to cut the Navy lead to two with 24 seconds left. But the Irish comeback fell short when Navy recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Illinois lost quarterback Juice Williams early to an injury but the Illini defense came up big in the team's 35-32 win over Minnesota. The defense had an interception returned for a touchdown and got seven sacks as the Illini held off Minnesota who put together a 22-point fourth quarter. Jacob Charest threw for 185 yards in relief of Williams.
Northern Illinois picked on the hapless (and winless) Eastern Michigan Eagles, rolling to a 50-6 victory. The Huskies got 418 yards on the ground, including 174 yards and two touchdowns from Chad Spann and QB DeMarcus Grady threw for 119 yards and ran for 104 yards, scoring a total of three touchdowns.

Fire Burn Rev, Advance in MLS Playoffs
The Chicago Fire needed to beat the New England Revolution by two goals to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. They got that victory, burning the Revolution 2-0 last night at Toyota Park, securing their ticket to the next round. Down by a goal in the series aggregate, John Thorrington got the scoring going last night with a goal in the 35th minute, giving the Fire a 1-0 game lead and tying the aggregate at 2-2. As the game moved late and the sellout crowd was getting antsy, Patrick Nyarko brought the ball along the endline with some solid footwork, passing off to Blanco in the box; Blanco showed some handling skills of his own before popping a shot into the upper-right corner of the goal to give the Fire the necessary 2-0 advantage. The Fire was overall more aggressive, getting off 12 shots to New England's 4; goalie Jon Busch got all four saves.

Next up for the Fire is Real Salt Lake, who comes to Toyota Park next Saturday night for the Eastern Conference Final. Tickets are available here.

Bulls Bounce Bobcats
The Bulls kept rolling for their third win in the row by bouncing the Charlotte Bobcats 93-90 last night. Once again using a second half surge to overcome a halftime deficit, the Bulls got 26 points from John Salmons and Joakim Noah scored 21 while pulling down 16 rebounds. The Bulls found themselves down by 7 points at the half but outscored the Bobcats 27-17 in the third to get back out in front. Trailing by 9 with 3:43 to go in the third, the Bulls took off on a 16-0 run that extended into the opening minutes of the fourth period and never looked back. Next up are the Nuggets who come to the United Center Tuesday night (7 p.m., CSN).

Alleged Lottery Ticket Con Artists Charged

Anthonia Akitunde — 2009-11-07T17:00:00-06:00

Mug shots of the accused from the CPD, via the Trib

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.

John Garcia, 30; William Velasquez-Ortiz, 43; Janet Cruz, 39; and Carmen Perez-Santiago, 62 worked as a team across the city, typically targeting older Hispanics on the street or in front of stores, according to the report. The con artists would tell a victim they had a lottery ticket "worth more than $1 million they couldn't cash because they were undocumented immigrants."

Victims were told that if they gave them a large amount of money or jewelery as a "good faith deposit," they could cash the ticket and split the winnings, the report said. When the victims handed over their cash or valuable jewelry, the offenders would leave the area.

Police say the team was arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday. Court information was not available, according to the report.

[Chicago Breaking News]

Jury Selected For Trial of Charged 1990s Serial Killer

Anthonia Akitunde — 2009-11-07T16:00:00-06:00

Photo by jlurie

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.

According to the report, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Evelyn Clay scheduled opening remarks for Tuesday at 10 a.m. and expected the trial to last "several weeks."

Andre Crawford, 47, faces the death penalty if convicted. He is "also on trial for the attempted murder and rape of a 12th woman," the report adds.

In the late 1990s, Chicago police began looking for a serial killer targeting women in the Englewood and New City neighborhoods. The search garnered headlines until Crawford was arrested in January 2000. Since then, the case has been out of the spotlight and few jurors seemed to recall the details of the case, the report said.

Crawford's case has moved its way slowly through the system for the last 10 years. He has been awaiting trial longer than any other inmate in Cook County Jail, according to the report.

[according to Chicago Breaking News]

Chicago Police Department Rescues Drug Dog From Shelter

Anna Deem — 2009-11-07T14:00:00-06:00

Photo by: epyon

Pantera, a 16-month-old black Labrador, recently joined the Chicago Police Department's organized crime division, as part of a new effort to recruit police dogs from shelters instead of expensive breeders. Pantera was adopted in May for only $98 by Officer Steve Martinez, who visited the Chicago Ridge Animal Welfare League close to half a dozen times before picking Pantera because of the dog's "high degree of maturity and strong drive," Martinez told the Chicago Tribune. Since completing his training in different drug detection techniques, Pantera is now the youngest certified narcotics detection dog in Chicago's history. Pantera has already helped police recover evidence and assisted in search warrant operations with the narcotics team, the department said.

"I'm hoping he's the first of many (to join the department)," said Terri Sparks, the Animal Welfare League's marketing and public relations director to the Tribune. "It shows that shelter animals aren't people's leftovers. We've got a lot of good dogs here."

Aurora Man Suspected Of Robbing His 17th Bank

Anna Deem — 2009-11-07T13:30:00-06:00

Photo by: crouch

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.

Once they obtained a description of Vincent - a white man with a dark hooded sweatshirt - police discovered that "He may be on Interstate [Highway] 75, northbound, in an unknown vehicle," said Lexington Police Lt. Fred Lisanby to the Chicago Tribune. "We flooded the interstate with police units." The units chased after Vincent, who was driving a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle, and ended up driving through three counties before Vincent crashed his vehicle into a guardrail on Kentucky Route 62 in Harrison County, said Lisanby to the Tribune. Once out of the car, Vincent tried to run away through a nearby field before being apprehended by officers. No injuries were reported from the robbery or police chase.

Vincent's history of robbing banks also stems back to 2003, when he pleaded guilty to robbing a bank in the south suburb of Homewood a year earlier. At that time, he also admitted to robbing a total of 16 banks in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin and taking more than $53,000 from the banks.

Health Care Bill Heads To U.S. House Floor For Debate, Vote

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-07T12:45:00-06:00

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

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:

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer expressed concern Friday that GOP lawmakers might attempt to disrupt the voting by making repeated motions to adjourn, as they have in the past. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said Friday that party leaders had not decided what they would do during the vote.
One veteran lawmaker expected that when the voting starts, more lawmakers will come over. "I don't believe all those people who say no," said 19-term Rep. Pete Stark (D-Fremont). "When they look up at the board, do they really want to vote against providing coverage to millions of people?"

But Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who heads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said party leaders are reluctant to go to a floor vote without a sure result. "You don't want to roll the dice on this," he said.

According to a report by Reuters, Hoyer claims the vote may not happen later today, as originally expected, but could move to tomorrow or further into next week, saying, "There are many people who are still looking to get a comfort level that this is the right thing to do. We're trying to answer any concerns they might have." President Obama is paying a visit to lawmakers this weekend in an effort to shore up support for his bill, which would still have a long way to go even if it does get passed by the House this weekend.

Thomas Fractures Forearm, Out 4-6 Weeks

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-07T11:15:00-06:00

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

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 fourth-year forward fractured the radius in his left forearm while performing pull-ups in the weightlifting portion of practice.
X-rays confirmed the fracture and team physicians will perform surgery on Thomas Saturday at Rush University Medical Center.

Taj Gibson, who's already been filling in for Thomas, will continue to play the power forward spot. This latest injury leaves the Bulls with just 10 healthy players on their rosters, so expect some kind of signing soon. Thomas could miss as many as 20 games due to the injury.

Morning Box Score

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-07T10:30:00-06:00

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Avalanche Edge 'Hawks in Shoot-Out
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.

Wolves Fall To Griffins
Like their NHL counterparts, the Chicago Wolves jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but let it get away as Grand Rapids came from behind to top the Wolves 5-4. Brett Sterling and Andrew Kozek got the Wolves' first two goals but the Griffins netted four straight goals to take full momentum of the game. Johnny Pohl cut the lead to 4-3, but Grand Rapids took a 5-3 lead and the final Wolves goal came from Joey Crab with just a few seconds left, too little, too late. The Wolves have a week off before a three-day, three-game weekend in Texas starts next Friday in San Antonio.

Extra, Extra

Marcus Gilmer — 2009-11-06T17:30:00-06:00

Photo by Martin Nieto

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.
Sheriff's police made a huge pot bust in McHenry County.
Gov. Quinn got some endorsements today, including from Blago's father-in-law, Ald. Dick Mell (33rd).
John Fritchey, Salt-n-Pepa fan.

Chicago's Mental Health Services Still in Jeopardy

Prescott Carlson — 2009-11-06T16:20:00-06:00

Photo by Zol87

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.

Staff has been shrunk by half to 108 from 216, and the clinics are only serving 8,000 patients, down from 12,000. The state says the 4,000 are being treated elsewhere -- perhaps in nursing homes.

Making matters worse, billing issues that resulted in the city losing some crucial state funds still haven't been resolved, which is something Ald. Ricardo Munoz took the city's health commissioner to task on at a recent budget hearing:

"That's a huge risk to take with this population, commissioner, in 18 months, to deal with a billing system, when we know what they're asking for and they know what we can provide," Munoz said. "I'm not a computer whiz, but I'm sure there are computer experts somewhere that can figure it out."

According to an internal memo that the Tribune managed to get its hands on, Health Department first deputy Matthew Beaudet told staff that fixing the billing system properly was "not doable at this time."

"Batman" Headline Is a Stretch, But Prison Escape Story Could Be Its Own Movie

Karl Klockars — 2009-11-06T15:40:00-06:00

"Wacker Drive looks pretty nice from up here." Photo via Wired.

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...")

Matthew Nolan has been incarcerated in the Metropolitan Correctional Center for the past few months, and over that time amassed a cache of escape tools, including a razor, 31 feet of "rope" made from bedsheets and a metal pick that could open locks. He was arrested as he left bankruptcy court in Chicago on charges of involvement with a murder and kidnapping in Costa Rica, where he posed as a jewel dealer. Beyond that, the rest of Nolan's troubles stem from a check scam that allegedly took place in Chicago during the filming of "TDK," and he's also claimed to be part of the British Special Forces as part of his shady dealings. Again, none of this sounds like something that the World's Greatest Detective would be involved with.

"Mission Impossible?" Maybe. "The Thomas Crown Affair?" Getting closer. Any "James Bond" movie? Much more like it. "Escape from Alcatraz?" Since very few prisoners, if any, have ever escaped from the MCC, totally. But "Batman-like?" Considering there's no bats, no true wealthy playboys, no maniacs with green hair, no leather-clad S&M catpeople - unless it turns out that Nolan's parents were killed as they were leaving a screening of "The Mark of Zorro," we're going to go ahead and call BS bat guano on the misleading Batmannery.

Blackface Controversy Spurs Northwestern University Forum

Jake Guidry — 2009-11-06T14:00:00-06:00

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.

Northwestern, in turn, hosted a forum last night for students and faculty about the photos and race relations as a whole. Hundreds showed up to the forum held in Evanston, which lasted a few hours. While most who attended found the forum productive, they felt the people that really need the education weren't there.