* Funeral for fallen police officer Friday at St. Sabina Church

* Police Uniform No Longer Guarantees Officer Safety

* June unemployment rate rises in Illinois, falls in 39 other states

In Illinois, the June rate was 10.4 percent, up from 10 percent in May but down from 10.7 percent in April.

But only 21 states saw net job gains in June, the government said. That compared to 41 the previous month and is the fewest this year.

* Unemployed workers await extension of jobless checks

* Reserves dwindling as [Chicago] faces $700M budget gap

As of Dec. 31, the city had just $180 million left from the $1.15 billion parking meter windfall that was supposed to last for 75 years. There was $550 million remaining from the $1.83 billion deal that privatized the Skyway for 99 years.[…]

Daley is not expected to raid the the $500 million long-term reserve fund generated by the Skyway windfall, because doing so could threaten the bond rating that determines city borrowing costs.

In a May 11 report that reaffirmed Chicago’s AA minus rating, Standard & Poor’s wrote, “The stable outlook reflects our expectation that [the city] will, with the help of careful budgeting, improve its financial operations and not draw on its long-term reserves.”

* Crime Rates in Chicago Down, But Murders Up

Total crime dropped 3.9 percent while violent crimes – which includes criminal sexual assaults, robberies, aggravated assaults and aggravated batteries — saw a 10.6 percent drop, according to a police release.

* Poll: Chicagoans believe crime is up

The telephone poll of 800 male and female heads of household from the six-county Chicago area began July 8, one day after Chicago police Officer Thor Soderberg was gunned down in Englewood.

* Email Warns Gang Members are Targeting Chicago Police Officers

* CPS maintains diversity after admission changes

Upcoming school year entry-level admissions to nine college prep high schools that admit students based on tests and grades, and to the dozens of magnet schools that admit by lottery, remained at last year’s 77 percent minority student ratio, the preliminary data shows.

Notable blips across the board are an increase in the Hispanic student enrollment at these schools, and a corresponding decrease in both the African-American and Asian student enrollments, however. And maintenance of the African-American student ratio hinged on the opening of 100 college prep seats, outside the process, to students at CPS’ lowest performing schools. Those seats, at Jones, Northside, Walter Payton and Whitney Young, were awarded under the No Child Left Behind Act.

* CPS Releases Race Data for Magnet Schools

* Chart: CPS admissions data breakdown

* Sun-Times: Bold approach needed on diversity in schools

* Marin: Can we save kids from violent destiny?

A few months ago, NBC5 producer Don Moseley and I decided to revisit that documentary we had done two decades ago. In the wake of the shooting crisis gripping Chicago’s West and South Sides, we felt we needed context and a longer lens.

We went looking for Boo to see what had become of his dreams and his life. We talked to former residents of the now-demolished Henry Horner Homes, some of whom keep up with each other. But no one could tell us about Boo and his family.[…]

On the frozen January morning in 2009 that Barack Obama, of Chicago, became president of the United States, Alonzo “Boo” Campbell was sentenced to 28 years in prison for first-degree murder as an armed habitual criminal.

* Former Sun-Times executive Conrad Black granted bail

It was not immediately clear when Black would be released from the federal prison in Florida. The conditions of his release would be determined by a U.S. District Court judge in Chicago, according to an order from the three-judge panel.

* Trying Conrad Black again won’t be easy, experts say

* Man accused in Ill. bomb plot gets new attorney

* What’s the fallout from the construction strike?

Drivers could see summer road work pushed into late fall, IDOT spokesman Josh Kauffman said, adding he couldn’t provide specifics until the agreement is ratified.

“Each project will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” Kauffman said Tuesday. “The strike has not cost the state any money at this time. We’re optimistic the settlement will be finalized so construction can resume and we can put people back to work.”

* Strike ends too late for Memorial School students

Work at Memorial resumed Tuesday morning after the unions reached a tentative deal with a major contractor association Monday night.

Still, the strike caused too much of a setback for the project to be completed by its original deadline of Aug. 25. District officials say the completion date has now been moved back to November, and they hope to bring students back to Memorial in early January.

* Dispatchers say labor dispute could lead to strike

Northwest Central Dispatch System is the biggest single dispatcher of police and fire in the Northwest suburbs, covering Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg and Streamwood, as well as the Inverness Police Department, Palatine Rural Fire Protection District and Prospect Heights police.

The two sides have met once or twice a month since September 2009, as they negotiate the group’s first-ever collective bargaining agreement.

There is no deadline for when a contract must be signed, said Cindy Barbera-Brelle, the executive director of the dispatch system.

* McHenry Co. unions say strike may be possible

* Alexander Square proposal withdrawn

* Aurora alderman forced to spend much less in their wards

For years, each of the city’s 10 ward aldermen received $580,000 in discretionary funds to be used within their wards. The money, which was drawn from the gaming tax fund, was mainly intended for neighborhood street repair, but there were no restrictions on it, and some aldermen used it for other projects aimed at improving quality of life.

But with gaming tax revenue dropping, the City Council agreed to a compromise last year. The plan, developed by far East Side Aldermen Lynda Elmore, Leroy Keith and Rick Mervine, cut ward funds down to $75,000 each, with $50,000 of that reserved for capital projects like sidewalks and streets.

* Fed money released for Oswego Metra station

* Tinley Park trustees lukewarm to tax break for restaurant

* Schaumburg powers ahead of 8 other suburbs to win yearlong conservation contest

* Buffalo Grove village president tells trustee to ’shut up’

* Naperville says no red light camera tickets for right turns

* Utility fund requests heating up at [DuPage] county

* Kane panel: Voters should decide coroner issue

The county board’s Executive Committee unanimously decided Tuesday to recommend putting the issue to a public vote in the Nov. 2 general election. Board members plan to discuss the wording of the referendum question at an Aug. 4 committee of the whole meeting.

* Kane County Board leaders like medical examiner over coroner

* Kendall Board lays off planning chief

The layoff was called an economic move by those supporting it, a start toward balancing a budget that could be $500,000 to $600,000 in deficit by the end of the 2010 fiscal year, and is projected to be $2.8 million in the red by the end of the 2011 fiscal year.

* Moline approves $993,000 purchase in preparation for Amtrak

* Moline to buy property for Amtrak terminal

* First look at new plans for Moline rail station

* Prep work starts for B-N transportation center

* Quincy school, teachers union officials to meet with federal mediator to speed up contract talks

* Woodford County approves wind farm

* Decatur school board approves renovation of two high schools option

* Sullivan pulls together for cleanup in aftermath of storm

The city of Sullivan was still cleaning up Tuesday after being slammed by a ferocious summer storm that ripped off roofs, snapped trees, cut power and sent bricks and debris cascading into the town square.

The storm hit about 1:30 p.m. Monday, packing winds that some locals estimated at 60 to 80 mph amid a cloudburst that dumped more than 3 inches of rain on damaged buildings suddenly exposed to the sky.

* Money owed by state results in drop in Mendon School District fund balance at end of fiscal 2010

* Champaign council approves 5-year $1.56 million contract for multifamily recycling

* Hoopeston school board to discuss use of Cornjerkers trademarks, logos

* Ball-Chatham School Board OKs updated building plan

* News-Democrat: [Freeburg] Mayor must make meetings

* Belleville redevelopment project is a go

* Saline County deputy, school board president arrested on sex charge

* More adults drinking, but not drinking more