Rene Ortega, 33, and Leonel Torres-Torres, 43, of the 100 block of North West Road, both face drug charges after a search of their home on Wednesday night uncovered 38 kilograms--about 84 pounds--of cocaine, officials said via the Chicago Tribune. Each man faces a charge of one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a sentence that usually carries between 15 and 60 years in prison, according to the DuPage County state's attorney's office. Both Ortega and Torres-Torres appeared before DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan on Friday morning, and both their bails were set at $1 million each. They will appear before Judge Daniel Guerin on January 10, 2011. more ›

Some folks have had enough of the red light cameras that have grown across the area lately. Several dozen people gathered last night in Lombard at the location of RedSpeed-Illinois, one of the state's biggest red light camera providers, to protest these red light cameras. more ›

Photo by johnkershner
• President-Elect Barack Obama issued a statement regarding Gov. Blagojevich's appointment of Roland Burris as his U.S. Senate replacement.

  Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept an appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling this very Senate seat. I agree with their decision, and it is extremely disappointing that Governor Blagojevich has chosen to ignore it. I believe the best resolution would be for the Governor to resign his office and allow a lawful and appropriate process of succession to take place. While Governor Blagojevich is entitled to his day in court, the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government and major decisions free of taint and controversy.

• William J. Quinlan, Governor Blagojevich's top counsel, resigned his position this afternoon. In his statement, Quinlan said, "Today, I have decided to resign my position as General Counsel and return to private practice...We should not let recent events diminish the pride in our accomplishments or the commitment to public service with which we approach our job each day. The state of Illinois is a great place to live and work. The opportunity to serve its citizens is truly an honor." Yeah, we're sure Blago's arrest has nothing to do with any of this.
• An overnight fire at a Lombard apartment building killed an elderly man and required the evacuation of 145 other people.