* Representative Ron Stephens arrested on D.U.I. charges

* State Rep. Stephens of Greenville ticketed in Decatur for alleged DUI

A Decatur officer saw Stephens’ car cross the center line of U.S. 51 before he overcorrected and hit a curb. He was cooperative during the stop, Chervinko said.

* State lawmaker arrested for DUI

* Blagojevich Attorneys Back in Court in Attempt to Push Back Trial

* Blagojevich team motions again for Nov. trial date

* Will half a reporter make ‘Chicago Tonight’ whole?

* Ameren to merge Illinois utilities

* Ameren eases repayment plan; temporarily cuts down payment required

* Tweet, tweet! It’s Rich Daley

Earlier this week, Mr. Daley launched an official Twitter account, under the name @mayordaley. He so far has four tweets, the latest of which announces a new program to help home buyers.

* Mayor Richard Daley secretly questioned by FBI in 2008 over real estate probe

The interview focused on the Galewood Yards project, an old industrial rail yard on the West Side that was rezoned for commercial and residential buildings over the objections of city planning staff.

Daley had trouble recalling any controversy surrounding Galewood Yards during the March 2008 interview and could not remember participating in City Hall meetings about three years earlier with his planning staff, an alderman and a congressman about the project, the Tribune has learned.

* Mayor Daley interviewed by feds in 2008 for Carothers case

* Reform group launches City Hall accountability site

Developing Government Accountability to the People debuted its new site the same day it issued its second city government report card, giving Chicago an overall grade of D.
The organization issued a similarly poor report card four years ago, prior to the 2007 election that brought some new faces to a City Council still largely controlled by Mayor Richard Daley.

* Ex-judge on Fire Dept. case

Patricia Brown Holmes was appointed by Gov. Quinn last year to co-chair the state task force that investigated the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal. Now, Brown Holmes, 49, will work pro bono to determine the professional fate of [Chicago Fire Commissioner John] Brooks.

* Teachers to Chicago Public Schools: Stop the threats

* Huberman suspends union campaigns at Chicago schools

* Rockford jobless rate nears 20 percent

Once known for its many parts makers and aerospace companies, the northern Illinois community has seen its manufacturing base thin out for years. But now, Stuart said, Rockford’s jobless rate threatens to rival the city’s 1983 figure; it soared to a national high of 25 percent then.
Rockford doesn’t have large education or health sectors that can buoy economies in hard items.

* Unemployement figures in Quincy above 10 percent for first time since May 1987

* Unemployment Rates Rise in Central Illinois

* McLean Co. jobless rate reaches nearly 10 percent

When the downturn began in December 2007, the county had a jobless rate of 4.2 percent. Its previous January high was 9.4 percent, set in 1983.

* B-N jobless rate jumps in January

* Decatur-area unemployment reaches 27-year high for January

The unemployment rate hit 14.4 percent in January, an increase of 5.2 percentage points from last year, according to Illinois Department of Employment Security statistics released Tuesday.

It was the highest January unemployment rate since 1983, when it was 18.7 percent, and continued where 2009 left off. The rate was 12.9 percent in December to close out the year.

* Communities prepare for rising water

The 19.11-foot river level recorded at Quincy Lock and Dam tailwater at 4 p.m. Monday is not even in the same league with the 1993 level of 32.13 feet — when a 500-year flood occurred. But river experts from the National Weather Service say they will be surprised if this week’s crest is not eclipsed later in the spring. A large snowpack to the north is going to push river levels higher, and spring rains will compound the problem.

* SJ-R Opinion: Welcome news on SimmonsCooper