* Daley budget hits, clears 1st hurdle

* Satellite TV tax may sting – but it’s fair

* More Budget Hearings

* Cook County’s Latest Boondoggle

* Local Housing Group Reacts to Citigroup’s Mortgage Relief Plan

Over the next 6 months, Citigroup plans to reach out to a half a million homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments. Geoff Smith is vice president of the Chicago-based Woodstock Institute, a housing policy group. Smith says the program could really help homeowners but, he still has some concerns.

SMITH: You have a really this really splashy press release with big numbers attached to it in terms of the number of borrowers this is going to help. But then there’s all sorts of fine print that has to be looked at.

* Conflicts, money, bog down probe of Illinois death case billings

A request by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for an investigation into a lawyer’s bills to a state death penalty defense fund is mired in concerns over conflicts of interest, and a lack of money.

The newspaper found some people charging the fund as much as $300 an hour for merely driving to a trial, expense vouchers labeled only as “out-of-pocket expenses” and inconsistencies in the billing times for meetings. One private investigator was allowed to bill for his support staff’s work at his own professional hourly rate.

“Obviously, there needs to be an investigation,” Duncan said. “The question is who ought to do it.”

The Attorney General’s Office said the appellate prosecutor was involved only in Sutherland’s first case — not the second where the questioned bills were submitted — making it the appropriate investigative arm. “

* Study: Isolate Great Lakes basin

Waterways engineered more than a century ago to connect the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds should be altered to stop the exchange of invasive species that can cause irreversible damage, an environmental advocacy group says.

* 2008 wettest ever for central Ill.

* State rep asks Madigan to review price of road salt

* Time for local candidates to prepare

But just when you thought it was safe to focus on other things - the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are only weeks away - a new batch of candidates are gearing up for the April 2009 consolidated election.

* CTA Likely On Cusp Of Fare Hike

Transit Board To Vote On Plan To Hike Fares 25 Cents

* Compute the commute to save

Stung by roller-coaster gas prices, commuters in record numbers are hopping aboard buses and trains in the Chicago area, but they can shave even more off the cost of getting to work—as much as $500 a year.

By setting aside part of their pre-tax earnings, commuters can help cover transit or van-pooling costs.

The wrinkle is that fewer than 2,000 Chicago-area companies provide such benefits to workers, according to the Regional Transportation Authority.

* One commuter’s experience

* Tollway invites comments on truck fees

* Vrdolyak has to pay $6,000 in jury expenses

A judge has ordered a former Chicago alderman who suddenly pleaded guilty in a real estate kickback case to pay nearly $6,000, the cost of bringing dozens of prospective jurors to court.

Vrdolyak pleaded guilty earlier this month for his role in the sale of a $15 million North Side property. Shadur has said Vrdolyak’s last-minute plea came too late to contact jurors and tell them not to come to court. Vrdolyak’s payment is due by Nov. 21. He faces a maximum five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he’s sentenced Jan. 9.

* New Holocaust museum aims to remember the past, transform the future

* Greeley remains critical after fall

* Attorney General Madigan offers service for vets

* Bacteria that attack guts more widespread than believed, study finds

A nasty germ that wreaks havoc in people’s guts is infecting hospital patients at rates much higher than previously estimated, according to a report released Tuesday.