Extra, Extra

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Dec 6, 2005 10:21PM

• A former Aurora gymnastics coach was sentenced to 20 years for molesting 7 young girls. He says that gymnastics is a hands-on sport and that his touches were misunderstood.
• This is already one of the coldest Decembers on record. Warming centers are open for the homeless.
• A Chicago man is suing Microsoft for selling a "defectively designed" product, saying that the Xbox 360 has a flaw that causes the hardware to overheat and freeze in the middle of gameplay.
• The Payday Loan Refrom Act was signed into law by Blago last spring and goes into effect today. It cracks down on the payday loan industry and puts new limits on interest charges and loan amounts.
• The U of C Hospital is planning a $500 million, 6- to 12-story, 300-bed expansion
• Options for an expansion of the downtown courthouse & office complex were unveiled. The project would cost about $550 million and would replace "a dreary stretch where the most prominent stores are McDonald's and Payless ShoeSource" (State btw Adams/Jackson).