And in Other News...

By Prescott Carlson in News on Dec 9, 2008 9:23PM

Whaddya know, there's more going on around town than the Feds rousting Blago out of bed:

• Looks like the credit fairy found some extra cash at Bank of America (we're guessing in the PR budget) -- they have agreed to give Republic Windows and Doors "a limited amount of additional loans" so they can settle up with employees after the factory suddenly closed last Friday. The workers had been holding a sit-in at the plant, refusing to leave until they were paid the 60 days severance owed to them under the WARN Act.
• In what we're calling the "Human Ambien Summit", former Vice-President Al Gore came to town today to sit down with President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden to "discuss energy and climate change and how to make policies on those fronts tools for improving the economy." While some have speculated that Gore would head up the "green team" in the Obama Cabinet, Gore says he's not interested. A Gore spokesperson was quoted as saying, “Former Vice President Gore still believes his calling at this time is to help educate the public about the issues through his roles at the Alliance at Climate Protection and other work.”
• A Chicago light repairman has been arrested for soliciting a prostitute while driving a city-owned van. Khalid Muhammad was nabbed as part of Operation Angel, a prostitution sting on the city's South Side. Muhammad is being accused of approaching an undercover police officer and soliciting her for sex. He has been working for the city for 15 years (and has also been arrested 15 times in the past), and is currently pulling down an annual salary of $80,000 -- well, he was. A spokesperson for Streets and Sanitation says, "We expect our employees to obey the law. If they don't, they will pay the price."