* Survey finds homelessness up sharply in Macon County

* Federal grand jury indicts two

Robert B. Swaim, 61, who has lobbied on behalf of riverboat gambling and telecommunications interests in Illinois, owes nearly $400,000 to the Internal Revenue Service, according to an indictment handed down March.

* Boender guilty on all 5 counts

Prosecutors presented evidence that Boender paid for nearly $40,000 in home repairs to Carothers’ home in exchange for Carothers pushing through a zoning change for Boender’s Galewood Yards project, a residential and retail development that now includes apartments, a movie theater complex and a union training facility on property that previously had been zoned for industrial uses.

* Developer found guilty of bribing alderman

The jury, which deliberated for a day, found Boender guilty on all counts: one count of bribery, two counts of illegal campaign contributions and two counts of obstructing justice. He is free on $500,000 bail but will now be placed on electronic monitoring.

* Chicago developer convicted of bribing alderman

* Tribune: … and aldermen, period.

Citizens tired of paying for City Hall corruption are sure to remember which aldermen feel comfortable being policed like everyone else — and which ones would rather be the law unto themselves.

* Cook County holding election lottery

* Daley acts like a candidate for re-election

* McPier’s chairman expected to head up interim board

Mayor Richard Daley on Friday is expected to appoint John S. Gates Jr., chairman of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, to the same position leading the smaller interim board, a City Hall source said Thursday evening.

The mayor will appoint three other board members, including two with financial backgrounds. They are expected to include Bruce Rauner, who heads private-equity firm GTCR Golder Rauner, and Andre Rice, president of Muller & Monroe Asset Management, a private-equity firm that manages accounts for institutional investors, the source said.

* Illiana Expressway plan signed into law

The road would connect Interstate 65 in Indiana with Interstate 57 or Interstate 55 in Illinois, but the exact route hasn’t been determined.

A private company would operate the expressway as a toll road, but the state would retain ownership of the land. Illinois-based investment and insurance company Ullico has expressed interest at financing the construction of the road.

* No more breakfast in bed for Chicago area inmates

Starting next month, inmates who have long had their meals delivered to them at 4:30 every morning will have to come and get it at the dining hall — a change Sheriff Tom Dart said could save the county about $1 million a year because he expects many inmates will choose to sleep rather than eat.

* Man caught with four knives in Daley Center

Long allegedly told investigators he had come to the Daley Center to visit the law library and had forgotten about the knives, which he said he bought earlier in the day as a gift for his brother-in-law.

* NIU shooting report: shooter had grudge

Without warnings about his mental health struggles, the university says it could not have prevented the shooting.

* Students: “We Demand an Assault Weapons Ban”

Holt spoke of what the loss of a child means. Her son, Blair, was shot and killed in May of 2007. The proposed federal legislation is named in his honor.

It would require a driver’s license, social security number and fingerprints in order to purchase a handgun.

* CPS Unveils New Admissions Rules

* State begins new trend of late payments to Kane County

The county hasn’t seen a dime of income tax revenue from the state in nearly six months, Finance Director Cheryl Pattelli told the county board’s Finance Committee Thursday.

* Aurora mayor’s address full of optimism

* Will County Board freezes pay of elected officials

Earlier this month, county board chairman Jim Moustis (R-Frankfort) told members of the board’s executive committee that the salaries of those elected Nov. 2 should not be raised.

* Hanover Park may tap into reserves to fill budget hole

But Village Manager Ron Moser warned the deficit will grow should legislators approve Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to reduce municipalities’ share of state income tax revenue by 30 percent - or about $950,000 to Hanover Park.

* Lemont plans to maintain balanced budget

* Pekin set to consider fiscal plan

* ICC approves smaller tuition increase