* Report: Chicago homes in foreclosure up in 2009

A new report say the number of Chicago homes in foreclosure was up 16 percent in 2009 compared with 2008.

* City commission wants feds to investigate racist Beverly signs

The signs read, “Say no to the ghetto,” “White power” and “Mt. Greenwood - the next Englewood.”

A smaller sticker read, “White Pride Worldwide,” and a tiny noose was hanging from his garage. […]

Reached Monday, Corrigan said he hadn’t heard of the commission’s wishes.

“I’m maintaining it was yard art,” he said. “Other than that, I really have no comment.”

* Huberman warns of 37-student class sizes if CPS must trim $700 million from its budget

Hundreds of teaching jobs also could be at risk. Full-day kindergarten, magnet schools, gifted programs, early childhood programs and bilingual education also would take a hit under the plan that outlines $301 million in school-based trims and $398 million in central office and citywide cuts.

* Schools could use your help

If you want a say in running your local Chicago public school, now is the time to raise your hand.

* Coalition gives Mayor Daley ‘D’ for job performance

Mayor Daley is already reeling from a personal low 35 percent approval rating tied to the parking meter mess, City Hall corruption scandals and Chicago’s first-round Olympic flame-out.

Now, a coalition of liberal-leaning civic groups is piling on — by giving the mayor a “D” for job performance.

Developing Government Accountability to the People (DGAP) accused the mayor of “mortgaging the future” by selling off Chicago parking meters and draining most of the $1.15 billion windfall to fill a massive budget shortfall.

* Daley: No blanket moratorium on landscaping ordinance

Mayor Daley said Monday he’s willing to let Chicago businesses substitute plastic fences for more costly wrought-iron, but he’s not about to declare a blanket moratorium on Chicago’s landscaping ordinance.

* Video archives of City Council meetings available on clerk’s website

* Video of Chicago City Council meetings now archived online

* Judge fines Sheriff Dart $1,400 over eviction delay

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart — who made international headlines in 2008 when he temporarily stopped evicting tenants in foreclosed buildings — was fined $1,400 Monday over a delay in carrying out a 2009 eviction order.

* Edens Spur resurfacing to create a bottleneck

Just as most of the massive rehab of the Illinois tollway system ends, construction on a small segment, the Edens Spur, threatens to snarl the commute for thousands of motorists and handcuff Chicagoans’ escape to Wisconsin this summer.

* Cabbies working longer hours and facing increased risks, experts say

In a recent survey conducted by a researcher with the University of Illinois at Chicago, more than one-fifth of Chicago-area drivers said they had been attacked or threatened with violence by a passenger at least once in their careers. However, only half of them said they had reported the attack to police.

* Chicago and U.S. Underprepared for Bioterror Attack

* Full-body scanners come to O’Hare

* Full-body scanner debuts at O’Hare

* Gangs here but shouldn’t be tolerated

“It’s hard for these towns to adjust to the fact that gangs are everywhere,” said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. “It’s not a stigma against any town, because they’re everywhere.”

He said that his gang-intelligence officers have detected increased activity in pockets of Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Arlington Heights because of an influx of rival gang members.

* School board president: Bus driver allowed to work despite suspicions of drinking

Mount Prospect official says incident a ‘districtwide failure’

* Now illegal to use hand-held phone while driving in Evanston

* School renovation hits a wall: Neighbors

A renovation plan for the North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka has neighbors voicing design concerns that could delay the project.

* Tough times are right times to redevelop city

This “tough time” is the right time to make fundamental investments in Rockford’s recovery.

* Behind closed doors, LeRoy council talks Open Meetings law

* Normal hopes to get more money through higher totals in 2010 Census