* Chicago police, school leaders meet to address student deaths

* Al Sanchez trial: Chicago worker says job came before application

* Still clinging to corruption

* No easing of foreclosures

Illinois ranked seventh nationally in foreclosure activity last month as Cook County filings surged in recent weeks despite pledges by big banks to a temporary cease fire, according to two reports released Thursday.

Residential and commercial properties in some stage of foreclosure totaled 14,218 last month, down 1.6 percent from January but up more than 62 percent from February 2008, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing company.

* Foreclosure Filings Up in Cook County

* Iowa lawsuit seeks $1M from company linked to former Republic owner

* Anger, disappointment linger after Republic owner’s Iowa deal

* Natural gas pipeline could be flowing soon

* FutureGen flap irks Costello, Durbin

* Audit finds fault with state’s choice of Pepsi

* Lawmaker wants new bids on statewide cola contract

* Audit spurs call for state to dump Pepsi pact

* Audit questions Rod Blagojevich’s ‘No Coke, Pepsi’ contract

* Prison decision another chance for Quinn to reverse Blagojevich

* Quinn says Pontiac prison will stay open

* Quinn: Keeping Pontiac prison open will save hundreds of jobs

* Quinn cites jobs in keeping Pontiac prison open

* Pontiac Correctional Center Stays Open, Reaction Mixed

* Pontiac Prison Gets Reprieve

* Pontiac residents happy with decision to keep prison open

* With Pontiac matter resolved, Thomson a question again

* Lawmakers: Release funeral trust fund records

State lawmakers from Springfield oppose Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes’ decision to deny a request by The State Journal-Register for records regarding a troubled funeral trust fund.

“This has occurred during the last six years under the comptroller’s watch, and he is the one that is supposedly doing the auditing, so let’s get all of that out in the open and solve the problem,” Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, said Thursday.

* Official: Illinois’ prepaid tuition plans are OK

* Illinois’ prepaid tuition plans get passing mark

* Students shouldn’t be political pawns

* Ald. Ed Burke delays vote on spay and neuter ordinance

* 20% of Illinois adults still light up regularly: CDC

Twenty percent of adults in Illinois are regular smokers, according to government figures released Thursday.

Nationally, the number of adults who smoke is estimated at 19.8 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported

* City offers incentive for homeowners to get water meters installed

* Daley lays out $1 billion stimulus wish list

* Daley says $1 billion in stimulus cash ‘better than nothing’

* Daley Lays Out Stimulus Plan

* Daley Breaks Down Plans For City’s Stimulus Money

16,000 Jobs To Be Created Or Saved

* Chicago Olympics team wants more financial support

* Daley not worried USOC changes will hurt bid

* Olympic apartments won’t be ‘white elephant,’ IOC chief says

* Chicago Sun-Times editing jobs won’t be outsourced to India, Canada

Union officials representing Sun-Times editorial employees said management informed them Thursday that the paper is scrapping the radical January proposal to eliminate up to 30 jobs.

The Newspaper Guild was braced for a fight. But, in the interim, a shareholder-led overhaul upended parent Sun-Times Media Group’s board and a succession of other changes, including John Barron replacing Cyrus Freidheim as Sun-Times publisher and Don Hayner succeeding Michael Cooke as editor.

* Chicagoans React to Renaming Sears Tower

* All about money? That’s OK.

Paint it silver? No. Call it Willis? Why not? Our immediate reaction upon hearing that Chicago’s landmark Sears Tower soon would be renamed Willis Tower was not good. Why, we wondered, can’t people leave Chicago iconography alone?

Macy’s should be Field’s. The Aon Center should be Big Stan. Cellular Field should be Comiskey Park.

* Tower power

* Willis Tower ain’t what it used to be

* Willis Tower? Addams Tollway? Old names still stick after renaming

* Willis we always call it the Sears Tower? No, we won’t-is

* Robbins mayoral race marred by defaced campaign billboards

* Sox Park’s new top dog

Vienna Beef replaces Best’s Kosher at Cell