The National Institutes of Health is sending some cash towards UIC for a new study focusing on how victims of sexual assault deal with the trauma of their attacks. The school is receiving a $2 million grant for "a five-year study examining how support the victims receive relates to post-traumatic stress disorder, problem drinking and positive adaptation." The school plans to track the progress of roughly 1,800 women for the study. [ABC 7] more ›

• The FBI has charged four area men in a child-pornography case; the men apparently did themselves no favors by referring to their groups as "Boy Lovers."
• U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush will introduce the "Bereaved Consumers Protection Act," federal legislation on cemetery regulations, inspired by the Burr Oak scandal.
• The CTA is the recipient of a new $1.5 million grant to help buy cleaner buses.

More than 150,000 Illinois college students who depend on grant money to complete their degrees may be forced to drop out of school since MAP grants were cut from the state budget, says CBS2. A Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant is awarded by the state and covers tuition and mandatory fees for students who demonstrate financial need. Chicago State University students are most dependent on MAP grants and students like Emerald Clark told CBS2 she won't be able to stay in school, "I really need to try and show my sister and brother there's something different than selling drugs. I'm really trying to go to school." And CSU student Soujoud Saleh said, "Any other grants by itself are not enough to pay the whole tuitions and even the book supplies, and every semester everything is getting more expensive." CSU students are pleading directly with lawmakers to restore the grants but will have to wait until at least mid-October until lawmakers return to Springfield. more ›

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin announced earlier this week that the Chicago Fire Department was the recipient of a $779,520 grant courtesy of the United States Fire Administration, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Said Durbin, "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens. As these brave men and women put themselves in harms way, we must ensure that they are equipped with the best tools possible to do their jobs well, and today's grant will go a long way toward meeting that goal." [WBBM 780 AM] more ›

The saga of the Loop Lab school looks like it may be solved. And it doesn't look good for the state getting it's money back in spite of an earlier ruling. If you remember, then-governor Blagojevich intended for the money to go to the recently burned down Pilgrim Baptist Church but it seems he mistakenly promised it to Elmira Mayes, who was then leading the Loop Lab School which had been renting space at the church at the time of the fire. After a lot of confusion, the school took the money to buy a new space downtown but then flipped the property. Even shadier, the school's leader, Chandra Gill, had been the recipient of a Blago pardon. Lisa Madigan eventually sued the school and the school eventually agreed to repay the state. But an audit by the Illinois Auditor General's office shows that it's very unlikely the state will see that money, calling out the Blago administration for "a lack of due diligence" on its "bureaucratic mistake." more ›

Earlier, we mentioned today's hearing for the Loop Lab School over the controversial $1 million grant they received by mistake from then-governor Blagojevich. At the hearing, the school agreed to repay the $1 million it had received. School head Chandra Gill said today, "I was only interested in continuing the education of our children. The allegations are what they are. My intent was not to fight that.” more ›

Finally, a hearing has been set in the case of the Loop Lab School, which may find itself having to pay back $1 million in grant money in may or may not have been given by mistake. Way back in '06, after Pilgrim Baptist Church burned down, then-governor Rod Blagojevich claimed he pledged the cool million to the church to help rebuild. At the time, the Loop Lab school was renting space in the church and burned along with it. But then-leader of the school, Elmira Mayes, claims Blago made the promise to her. To add another layer of intrigue, the school's current leader, Chandra Gill, was the recipient of a Blago pardon. more ›

As Governor Rod Blagojevich has named November Alzheimer's Awareness Month, it was announced that the state of Illinois will be making a $190,000 grant to Alzheimer's research courtesy of taxpayer donations on their tax returns to the Alzheimer's Disease Research Fund. Since the fund was established in 1985, Illinois residents have donated over $3 million. Currently there are approximately 200,000 Illinois residents suffering from the disease. more ›