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Thursday, Sep 24, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

The Alexander County Sheriff’s department at the Southern tip of Illinois is trying to round up some vehicles, as most of the department’s patrol cars were repossessed earlier this week.

* Illinois Tollway: State finds more than $150 million in accounting errors

* Olympics financial punch far weaker than organizers forecast, outside study says

The Olympics would produce $4.4 billion in spending on tourism, construction and operating the games in Chicago and Cook County, says Anderson Economic Group LLC, a Michigan-based economic consulting firm. That’s far less than the $19.2 billion estimated in a study commissioned by Chicago 2016, the Olympics bid committee, which was released in December.

* City’s troubles take back seat to Games bid

* Supermax should be harsh – not inhumane

* Planned Parenthood to offer abortion pills

An opinion issued in March by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan made the process of providing medication abortion potentially less cumbersome. Madigan wrote that Illinois law allows nurse practitioners and physician assistants to hand a patient her first dose of medicine.

Before Madigan’s opinion, Planned Parenthood used doctors to take that first step, Trombley said.

* Sneed 1: Sneed hears rumbles that Mayor Daley wants to appoint former Chicago housing chief Terry Peterson as the new CTA chief . . . now that Carole Brown has resigned. Brown abruptly left her post Tuesday, though her appointment didn’t expire until 2013.

* Daley says CTA won’t suffer from loss of top board members

* Daley already interviewed a few candidates for top CTA Board spot

* Sneed 2: It’s a one & only: U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has called a summit on distracted driving in Washington next week, has invited only one person from Illinois to speak at the conference: State Rep. John D’Amico, who has not visited the nation’s Capitol before… D’Amico was the Illinois House sponsor of the bill forbidding texting while driving in Illinois, which was signed into law and will go into effect Jan. 1.

* Sneed 3: •What age would that be? WTTW’s Elizabeth Brackett finished first in her age group at the International Triathlon World Championships in Australia recently.

* Former Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese files suit against 2 dozen defendants

* O’Hare Airport hit for safety violations in FAA report

* Empress cuts 56 jobs as revenue falls

* IRS challenge to Cubs sale might add to Tribune Co. liability

But a fight with the IRS could expose Tribune, which is trying to emerge from bankruptcy, to a liability of $300 million. The Cubs sale was structured to save about $300 million in capital gains taxes. It is set up as a partnership with Tribune keeping a 5 percent stake.

18 Comments

- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 9:26 am:
Regarding Alexander County, I think before a bank repos a car, they have to notify local law enforcement. Does that mean the Cairo Bank notified the sheriff before repoing the cars Couldn’t the sheriff have stashed them in a barn or something?

Are we to be believe this issue couldn’t have been worked out between responsible community bankers and elected officials without taking this step? Come on.

I hope Fitz is all over the tollway. It might take forensic accountants some time, but I’ll wager there’s a lot more than clerical errors in those books. Time to drain the swamp.

- Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 9:33 am:
===Are we to be believe this issue couldn’t have been worked out between responsible community bankers and elected officials without taking this step? Come on.===

You don’t know Alexander County. It’s like stepping back into a very bad time. I should do more on it.

- Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 9:39 am:
Figures that a Sam Zell move could once again delay the sale of the Cubs by the IRS being involved.

- Wumpus - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 9:45 am:
Maybe the sherriff can get their cars back for pennies on the dolalr at the bank auction.

- Third Generation Chicago Native - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 9:49 am:
I am not familiar with Alexander County, but I hope the crime is low there with only one vehicle left, and that might be gone soon, also 75% laid off.

Wordslinger…

The sheriffs took the lights off the vehicles before turning them in…
looks like they knew ahead of time, as if the big layoff wasn’t enough of a clue>>

- ws - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 9:56 am:
sadly Alexander County has a very high crime rate and the cut will hurt that area.

- Lou Grant - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 10:00 am:
You know you have a village when the idiot shows up. Welcome back Betty.

- Speaking at Will - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 10:00 am:
http://thesouthern.com/news/local/article_18255cbc-a7b8-11de-b625-001cc4c002e0.html

here is a bit more detail on the Alexander County story.

- Speaking at Will - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 10:02 am:
Just a little more on the Alexander County Story. to really understand Alexander County you have to understand Cairo Illinois.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo,_Illinois

Read the wiki link, and then you will get a partial understanding of what the issues in Alexander County are.

- Buford Pusser - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 11:25 am:
Anybody know where I can apply for the Sherrif’s job of Alexander County?

- Don G. - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 1:52 pm:
Impressed with the Sun Times editorial on Tamms. Well-researched and well-argued. Hard to believe so many people (including the press and the IDOC) are willing to address policies on prison conditions with flashes of brutal honesty. Maybe there is less reason for cynicism than I previously thought.

- curious - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 4:47 pm:
Sneed 2 Good job State Rep John D’Amico-he will do a great job in representing Illinois and hopefully will help move the country in a safer direction with driving laws.

- steve schnorf - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 8:45 pm:
It seems to me back when I was younger the city fathers poured the local swimming pool full of concrete rather than integrate it,

- Bobs yer - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 9:21 pm:
Alexander County is East St. Louis all over again. Don’t delay, ISP should take over the place to protect the residents.

Sam Zell: Oh Sammie, sorry OPM won’t bail you out of this one. Death and taxes, old boy.

- Lynn S - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 11:01 pm:
Rich, hoping you’ll pick a slow news day soon to give us your take on Alexander County. Am interested in your take on it!

- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 4:02 am:
===Alexander County is East St. Louis all over again. ===

Not even close. There is an extremely ugly Old South component to the county which does not exist at all in East St. Louis.

- sista - Tuesday, Sep 29, 09 @ 2:16 pm:
Rich,Cairo,ill and E St L has a lot in common. East St Louis has that same ugly old south attitude too! Check East St Louis in 1917.

- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Sep 29, 09 @ 2:22 pm:
===Check East St Louis in 1917. ===

LOL

Yeah, and check Alexander County today.

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