* Chicago Pushes to be Wind Power Capitol

The governor of Illinois kicked off a massive wind power convention today at Chicago’s McCormick Place. Chicago is making a play to become the nation’s wind power hub, but it faces stiff competition.

At least eight major wind power companies have their corporate headquarters in Chicago. The region also has a number of factories churning out turbine parts, and officials would love to get their hands on some more of those green jobs. But Illinois was a bit late to the game in crafting policies and incentives to lure them, says Josh Magee with Emerging Energy Research. He says states like Iowa have already sopped up a lot of the demand.

MAGEE: We’ve already seen a substantial amount of investment in many of these components. Illinois or any other state that is looking to attract new investments is, in a very real way, now playing catch up.

* A Chicago project for homeless people shows strong results

The report describes encouraging results for the Chicago Housing for Health Partnership, the first program in the country to link hospitals serving homeless, chronically ill patients with organizations that help people find federally subsidized housing.

The organization was formed in 2002 to deal with a common and unfortunate situation: Ill, homeless people are discharged from hospitals and end up back on the streets without regular medical care. Inevitably, their health deteriorates.

Between September 2003 and May 2006, Stroger Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago recruited more than 400 homeless individuals with chronic medical conditions to participate in a study testing the hypothesis.

* X-Pac Employees Face Layoffs

Two-hundred-seventy-five Bartonville Employees were notified today they will likely be laid off.

The potential layoffs come after Caterpillar terminated two major contracts with X–PAC, a supply chain service provider. X–Pac’s Bartonville facility handles parts packaging and export consolidation services for CAT.

* Schakowsky Urges Wells Fargo CEO To Keep HartMarx Running

As we recounted yesterday, the 120-year-old suitmaker is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and has attracted three potential bidders — two of which want to revitalize the company and another that reportedly favors liquidation. Recent reports indicated that Wells Fargo, which provided a “debtor in possession” loan to keep operations afloat during the restructuring, has been leaning towards the idea of liquidation, which would provide a quick return but result in the loss of over 3,000 jobs nationwide. The bank — which accepted $25 billion in federal bailout funds and reported a first quarter return — will likely select a “stalking horse” bidder this week.

The union that represents HartMarx’s 1,000 Illinois employees, Workers United, has been ramping up efforts to save the company. Helping out has been Rep. Phil Hare, who worked at HartMarx’s Rock Island factory for 13 years before entering politics. Today, Rep. Jan Schakowsky leant a hand as well.

In an interview moments ago, the Illinois congresswoman told us she spoke with Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf this afternoon. “I made it clear that I had thought, even without the $25 billion they got in TARP funds, we wanted him to take into consideration that jobs would be lost and to accept a bid that would actually keep Hartmarx open,” she said. Stumpf apparently told Schakowsky that he has an obligation to his shareholders. Her response: “I reminded him that taxpayers, including people who work at Hartmarx, have a stake in this too and are helping to bail out the company.”

* Prisons in Pontiac, Lincoln and Dwight could get more workers

Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget calls for scores of new prison guards to be deployed at facilities across Illinois. At a time when private industry is shedding jobs, that potential increase in employment has drawn positive reviews in Illinois’ prison towns.

* County settles 2 patronage suits

The County Board on Wednesday approved another $190,000 in payments to former employees who made the allegations against Moore.

One of the patronage suits was brought by Carmen Fludas, a 39-year office veteran laid off from a job as a troubleshooter and interpreter in March 2007. Fludas, who had won several employee commendations, will be paid $90,000 under her settlement. James D’Antonio, a 10-year employee who rose to assistant supervisor, will get $100,000.

* Former Chicago Bears player Jim Schwantz sworn in as mayor of Palatine

* Budget cuts eyed in Oswego as officials try to avoid layoffs

* Madigan Puts Pressure on Craigslist

* State collects on President Lincoln Hotel

* Biggert a top 10 bipartisan in Congress

* Burris commends Batavia pirate-attack survivor

* Crestwood’s contaminated wells: Dick Durbin calls for health study related to use of well water

* Cover-up, sickness could seal officials’ fate

But that doesn’t mean Crestwood officials can rest easy. As unusual as it would be for prosecutors to file criminal charges in connection with the village’s well usage, one recent case suggests such a move would not be completely without precedent.

Just last Thursday, the former supervisor of a municipal water treatment plant in Fort Gibson, Okla., pleaded guilty to a federal charge of making a false statement to state regulators in a report certifying the safety of the plant’s drinking water.

They must show that someone acted willfully, knowingly doing something he was aware the law forbids, according to David Uhlmann, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School who was chief of the Justice Department’s environmental crimes section.

That “higher burden” is one reason why “there are precious few criminal cases brought under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” Uhlmann said.

* Some Illinois lawmakers question H1N1 message

But some on a House panel expressed concern over what they characterized as panic when news of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, first broke.

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Damon Arnold told lawmakers they’re urging people not to overreact. But he said officials had to first treat the H1N1 virus as potentially deadly, because they didn’t yet know whether it was.

* Flu turning out to be not so bad

The Illinois Department of Public Health director told state lawmakers Tuesday that it’s important to remain vigilant in the face of the H1N1 flu virus, but fears of a pandemic flu are overblown.

“We have to keep these things in perspective, look at them rationally, know what the threat is and deal with it in a rational way. We know right now that this virus is acting very similarly to the regular seasonal flu,” said Dr. Damon T. Arnold, head of the state public health agency.

* State’s confirmed cases of swine flu surge to 82

The number of confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu statewide has jumped to 82, from nine on Monday — a rise state health officials attribute to a move to get test results more quickly.

Illinois has 40 probable cases awaiting confirmation.

* Health of the mental health system

After the legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability recommended last week to close Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park, Gov. Pat Quinn decided this week to conduct his own investigation to determine if the facility should be closed. The committee also recommended closing Tinley Park Mental Health Center, although the governor has not announced if he will conduct an investigation of that facility.

* Illinois historic sites to expand hours