Morning Shorts
Friday, Apr 11, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning
* CBS2 interview with Obama
* Cook County Home Rule vote dies
* ISMIE pays $11.5-mil. dividend
Citing a “healing medical malpractice climate” in Illinois, the state’s largest liability insurer said it will shave $11.5 million off its policyholders’ future premiums.
ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co., which insures about 13,000 physicians statewide, said Wednesday that a drop in the number of malpractice claims filed over the last two years allowed it to return money to policyholders through dividend payments.
* Patients rate their hospital care
On average, 60 percent of patients surveyed in Illinois said hospital staff “always” provided help as soon as they wanted, meaning four out of 10 patients had waited longer than they’d hoped for assistance. An average 68 percent of patients in Illinois hospitals said their pain was “always” controlled, leaving nearly one in three patients with pain they thought was poorly managed.
* Daley pitches youth violence program but specifics in short supply
* Central Illinois Flood Victims Get Help With Coping
* Rita Rezko under fire for alleged sporadic monthly board attendance worth 38K per year
* Levine banned from downtown hotel
* Duffy to Levine: ‘Do you have telepathic powers?’
* Judge to Levine: Answer the questions. Nothing more.
* We’ve reached the point of ridiculousness
* With jury away, the defense will play
* Gavel-to-Gavel: Recess comes at good time
* Energy expert top candidate to be Illinois power czar
Mark Pruitt, senior program manager for UIC’s Energy Resources Center and manager of energy procurement for state government, is the lead candidate to be the first executive director of the Illinois Power Agency, according to people familiar with the matter.
* Are we too nice to homeless?
* Senate expected to bury election recall
* Colleges reaching out to recruit gay, lesbian and transgender students
* FutureGen official touts Mattoon site to Senate panel
Mudd said Wednesday that he believes building one plant in Mattoon will ensure the process of capturing and storing carbon far below the earth’s surface is implemented as quickly as possible.
* What’s all this about licensed and bonded?
* Coury leaves as Edwardsville publisher
* Sun-Times Media Group’s Lake County paper gets new publisher
* Wash. Post Editor Says He Can’t See a Time When There Won’t Be a Print Edition
“I do think the cities will have some newspaper in it, but what kind of newspaper it’s going to be, what kind of journalism it’s going to be doing – that’s an issue.”
* Grand Red Line station rehab — a giant mess
* CTA tests student smart cards
- so-called "Austin Mayor" - Friday, Apr 11, 08 @ 8:56 am:
“Are we too nice to homeless?”
It’s nice to see the homeless take some of the scapegoating burden from the immigrants.
But while they are rounding-up entire classes of people, the good folks of Madison shouldn’t forget to round-up the Gypsies, the Communists, the Homosexuals, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Disabled.
They are always to behind everything that ever goes wrong anywhere too.
– SCAM
so-called “Austin Mayor”
http://austinmayor.blogspot.com
- BigDog - Friday, Apr 11, 08 @ 9:16 am:
Rita Rezko and other obscure-county-board members get $38,500 per year to attend an average of one meeting per month?????????
I would think this story should cause some major consternation among Cook County residents. Unless of course they’re all too numb to notice from years of abuse and getting their tax dollars sucked into the Stroger family vacuum.
- wordslinger - Friday, Apr 11, 08 @ 9:58 am:
Strangely, I find myself outraged by he Rita Rezko story. I’m no stranger to corruption, politics and featherbedding, but come on. Nearly $40 grand, great health benefits for one meeting a month? And then not show? The arrogance of the insiders is appalling. These hacks act like they’re a privileged class, when they’re just swine at the public trough.
- paddyrollingstone - Friday, Apr 11, 08 @ 10:51 am:
Why are colleges recruiting gay, bisexual and transgendered students? Will it help you get into a school if you say that you are gay, bisexual or transgendered. It sounds like a movie script. For a very stupid movie.