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Morning Shorts

Wednesday, Feb 25, 2009

* Voter turnout low for primary

* Cicero Town President Larry Dominick wins re-election

* Primary election results

* Machesney to have new village leader

* Experience rules polls in Dundee Township

* Riggenbach, Akeson advance in 3rd District race

* 205,000 people claim unemployment in Illinois

Illinois paid over 205,000 people unemployment checks last week.

That comes out to more than $114.7 million.

* ComEd cuts some workers’ hours

Power company ComEd slashed some employees’ work hours by 40 percent this week — just one week after announcing it would cancel projects under way, but avoid layoffs.

* Hard Working: Competing for a Job

* Chicago as a high-speed rail hub: Has the time for this idea finally come?

* New jobs declining in Will, Grundy

* South Shore Cultural Center face-lift draws smiles

* Sears Tower in silver?

110-story icon may get paint job to boost tenants, energy

* Background checks for sheriff’s office, police

The Cook County sheriff’s office and the Chicago Police Department are launching new efforts to weed out bad apples.

Sheriff Tom Dart recently ordered his internal-affairs investigators to conduct background checks on every one of the office’s roughly 7,000 employees, spokesman Steve Patterson said.

* Daley outburst faults feds’ focus

* Mayor wants feds to target gun trafficking

* Daley rants against feds

Daley’s broadside came during a news conference at police headquarters, called to unveil his annual package of gun-control legislation. The only new features are proposals to increase penalties for shooting students on or near school grounds and public transit and to prevent the private sale of handguns without a criminal background check.

* Daley: Feds Need Higher Priorities Than Celebs

* Tips for Mayor’s YouTube site

- Posted by Mike Murray

8 Comments

- Concerned Observer - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 8:51 am:
Average unemployment is $560 a week, huh? So $1120 for two weeks?

Wow. My wife should be trying to get fired. She’d make more money.

- train111 - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 8:58 am:
CO

I second that. My wife is bringing home less than the $560 every 2 weeks!!

train111

- archpundit - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 9:11 am:
It’s most likely a mistake in the article or an interpretation problem–the maximum benefit is $534 with a child and that is only for people who fit into the highest income category on the scale:
http://www.ides.state.il.us/individual/faq2.asp

- Concerned Observer - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 9:18 am:
Hope you’re right, Arch, because otherwise…well, I know where I’D start trimming to get the budget deficit in line….

- Wumpus - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 9:36 am:
Smart move Daley, prod someone who can make your life heck. I love it. Maybe they are finally getting too close.

- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 11:24 am:
This may be the first example of Daley flexing a little muscle of his own regarding his knew found clout with Obama. Time will tell whether he really has any pull over the feds.

- Speaking at Will - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 11:56 am:
Daley makes me sick. Physically sick.

- Captain America - Wednesday, Feb 25, 09 @ 2:08 pm:
Czar Daley really wishes the feds would stop wasting time and resources investigating and prosecuting political corruption in Chicago - especially O’Hare contracts.

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