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PAR scholarship fundraiser this Saturday

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This is a worthwhile event, and I hope to see as many of you as possible this Saturday night. I’ll be there…

A trivia night fundraiser will be held on Nov. 14 in Springfield to raise money for the Public Affairs Reporting Vu Nguyen Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship was created in memory of Vu Nguyen, a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois at Springfield and talented statehouse reporter who died in May 2009.

The trivia night begins at 7 p.m. at Floyd’s Thirst Parlor, 210 S. 5th Street in Springfield. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 each, and participants are welcome to form teams up to 10 people. The winning team will be given a cash prize, and a 50/50 prize will be given at the event. The trivia night will be emceed by WUIS public radio personality Jenna Dooley. Participants can register in advance or come to the event when the doors open.

Trivia night is one of many grassroots efforts by Nguyen’s Public Affairs Reporting classmates to raise scholarship funds in his memory. Nguyen, 34, was a talented journalist who considered no conversational detail trivial and who took a great interest in his friends and the state he covered for The Associated Press.

A native of Vietnam, Nguyen spent most of his life in California before moving to Springfield for his master’s degree. After graduating in 2008, Nguyen got married and worked as a newspaper reporter in California. He was actively pursuing his lifelong dream of teaching journalism.

More than $10,000 has been raised for the Vu Nguyen Memorial Scholarship, to be awarded annually to other aspiring journalists in the Public Affairs Reporting program at UIS. The PAR Class of 2008 has set $25,000 in endowed scholarship funds as its goal. This scholarship is administered through the University of Illinois at Springfield Foundation.

For more information on Nguyen and how to donate to the memorial scholarship, check out www.remembervu.webs.com.

If you can’t make it, you can donate online by clicking here.

2 Comments

Afternoon political roundup

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

…Adding… GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan issues an apology…

On Wednesday, Brian Dugan was sentenced to death for the murder of Jeanine Nicarico. In the case of Brian Dugan, the criminal justice system worked. In previous prosecutions, it did not. I said in interviews in 2002 that I had less confidence in the accuracy of the criminal justice system than I did earlier in my career. I continue to believe that.

In the Cruz-Hernandez cases, prosecutors, detectives and police officers acted in good faith and still came up with the wrong result. In the Cruz-Hernandez cases, the system and I failed to achieve a just outcome. And for that I am sorry.

Although I continue to believe that the state has the right to take a life under limited circumstances to protect society, I also believe we must do more to ensure the accuracy of the system of capital punishment and limit its application to the “worst of the worst,” such as Brian Dugan.

I believe we must do more to ensure the accuracy of the criminal justice system. Good intentions are not enough when human life is at stake.

If I am elected governor, I will not lift the moratorium on capital punishment until we have created a more limited and accurate system of capital punishment. While Illinois has made significant progress, other reforms have been left on the table, such as a reduction in the number of eligibility factors that trigger the death penalty.

Is it enough to erase the stain?

* From the Mark Kirk for US Senate campaign…

- Five-term GOP Congressman and Navy veteran Mark Kirk released a new poll today that shows him maintaining a six-point lead over likely general election opponent Alexi Giannoulias.

- In a survey of 772 likely Illinois voters, Kirk leads Giannoulias 44-38 with 18 percent undecided. The poll, conducted by Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies on November 3, 2009 with a 3.5 percent margin of error, follows an October 8, 2009 survey that showed Kirk leading 42-35 with 23 percent undecided.

- In the same survey Kirk leads other potential Democrat opponents by larger margins: David Hoffman 43-32; Cheryle Jackson 45-33; and Jacob Meister 45-28.

From the polling memo…

If the election for US Senate was being held today, for whom would you vote if
candidates were Mark Kirk Republican, and Alexi Giannoulias, Democrat?

Mark Kirk …. 44%
Alexi Giannoulias …. 38%
Undecided …. 18%

Giannoulias’ last poll had him leading Kirk 46-43. Rasmussen’s October poll had the race tied 41-41.

* Sen. Bill Brady responds to today’s endorsement of Andy McKenna by House GOP Leader Tom Cross…

I have great respect for my legislative colleague Tom Cross, but his support for Andy McKenna in the race for Governor is just the opinion of one man. Andy McKenna champions himself as an outsider, but House Minority Leader Tom Cross is anything but an outsider.

Illinois needs a clean break from the politics of the past. We need to take the control away from the political dynasty that has ruled Springfield far too long, and give it back to the people of Illinois.

I believe voters are looking for a candidate who stand up to the political insiders and power brokers so their votes count. I believe that the people of Illinois want a Governor who represents all of Illinois, and not just one corner of the state. I am that candidate.

My campaign is about Illinois’ future, a future with more jobs, more integrity and a greater voice in their government for all Illinois citizens. In this spirit, my campaign continues to grow stronger every day with grass-roots endorsements from voters who are seeking decisive leadership and a new direction for all of Illinois.

Pretty standard stuff. Brady’s the one fighting the insiders? Huh. OK. And he’s the break from the politics of the past after being in politics for years?

More on today’s endorsement here and in the Sun-Times.

* SEIU is spending more than a few bucks attacking specific congressmen on TV, including in Illinois…

The Service Employees International Union has put together a new group to launch health care ad campaigns targeting specific members of Congress who voted against Democratic reform plans–the Foundation for Patients Rights. So far, they’re going after four lawmakers, spending $400,000 on the first week of TV ads against Reps. Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), Mike Castle (R-DE), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Mary Bono-Mack (R-CA).

The ad can be viewed by clicking here.

* Democratic US Senate candidate Jacob Meister said this morning: “This race is not about who is the most ethical.” McDermott has the reasoning…

Meister’s point (made in the course of explaining why he won’t accept opponent David Hoffman’s challenge to all candidates to release their income tax records) is that jobs and the economy are the issues that people actually care about; that ethics is “a starting point” but not the end-all issue that politicians and the media have made it out to be.

“People are sick to death of hearing about ethics,” he said.

* Usually, conservatives are the first to decry anyone of color who plays the “race card.” But Illinois Review reversed the polarities this week…

Democrat Quinn showing his racist side?

Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn refuses to deny that his campaign is behind the effort to remove William Walls, the only African-American candidate, from the Democratic governor primary contest. Like Obama, Walls is a community activist, which, according to the Democrats and ACORN, is an honorable professions…like child prostitution.

Seems like yet another example of racism by the Democrats.

“Hoooooookay,” he said as he slowly backed away.

* Pat Quinn’s campaign has posted a few new videos on their YouTube site including a pretty good one from Veterans’ Day. But today’s Internet video is from Democratic US Senate candidate David Hoffman…

Rate it.

* E-Mail of the day…

Hi Rich,

Quick note. Jack Roeser’s Champion News is misreporting that William J. Kelly is exiting the Comptroller’s race. We should have a statement on this shortly. Thought you should know.

* Related…

* Openly gay man seeks Illinois U.S. Senate seat

* Senate hopeful moves into C-U: An office space on Green Street that once housed a flower shop is now the home of a budding political career.

54 Comments

Question of the day

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Back in 1996 when Dick Durbin, Pat Quinn and Clint Krislov were all running for the US Senate, Durbin challenged Krislov’s nominating petitions. Krislov eventually dropped out of the race. Durbin stomped Quinn in the primary and went on to win the seat of retiring US Sen. Paul Simon.

At the time that Durbin challenged Krislov’s petitions, Pat Quinn was quoted in the Sun-Times saying this…

“Never in a million years would Paul Simon in his 40 years in politics have tried to keep an opponent off the ballot. I think Dick Durbin should be ashamed of himself.”

Fast-forward to this week…

Gov. Pat Quinn acknowledged Wednesday that his supporters may be behind a challenge to knock a Democratic rival off the primary ballot, a day after saying he didn’t know whether his campaign was involved.

The effort to remove William “Dock” Walls, the only African-American candidate in the Feb. 2 gubernatorial primary, could be contentious. Quinn has worked to reach out to black voters, even creating a new post of diversity officer.

At the same time an attempt by his supporters to remove the lone African-American candidate could alienate a major Democratic voting bloc.

Look, I don’t see anything inherently wrong with challenging petitions. The law is the law, and too many candidates don’t bother following it. But this latest flip-flop shows that Gov. Pat Quinn has either “matured” as a politician or has sold his soul.

Actually, that might make a good question.

* The Question: Has Gov. Quinn matured as a politician or has he sold his soul to get himself elected? Explain.

…Adding… I should’ve been more clear that this is a snarky question. Snarky responses are heavily encouraged.

69 Comments

Sixteen tons

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Another day older and deeper in debt…

Illinois is poised to fork over a record amount of late penalties and interest payments this year to pay off vendors who are waiting months to be paid what they are owed from the state. […]

All told, the price tag for being a deadbeat state this year will be an estimated $60 million that won’t be spent on anything other than borrowing or penalties.

“It’s getting to be a huge number,” said Dan Long, executive director of the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, which compiled a recent report on late penalties.

* There are no surprises in this new report on the state’s fiscal condition. The only real news is Illinois’ ranking…

Illinois is one of the 10 most financially troubled states in the country, a new report says, warning that it struggles with many of the problems that led to “economic disaster” in California.

The report, “Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril,” portrays Illinois and eight other states as facing fiscal hardships that are just as tough as California’s, which at one point this year was making payments with IOUs.

Authors of the report, issued by the Pew Center on the States, cited Illinois for “its lack of fiscal discipline to balance its state budget.” They noted that Illinois’ $13.2 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2010 was among the top three in the country.

“Officials have used all sorts of short-term approaches to address the budget gaps, but two of the most significant and consequential are to put off paying bills and skimp on the state’s annual pension payments,” the report said.

* Rankings…

State / Change In Revenue / Budget Gap / Grade

California -16.2% 49.3% D-plus

Arizona -16.5% 41.1% C-plus

Florida -11.5% 22.8% B-minus

Illinois -10.9% 47.3% C-minus

Michigan -16.5% 12% C-plus

Nevada +1.5% 37.8% C-plus

New Jersey -15.8% 29.9% C-minus

Oregon -19% 14.5% C-plus

Rhode Island -12.5% 19.2% D-plus

Wisconsin -11.2% 23.2% C-plus

Report home page… complete report… executive summary… press release.

* SIU may have trouble making payroll next month…

With $115 million in missed payments from the state as of Nov. 1, Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard is calling for faculty and staff to chill out on spending.

In fact, the situation at Southern is so tight, payroll after this month is iffy, according to university spokesman David Gross.

In a memo to faculty and staff at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Poshard urged everyone to slow or halt expenditures not related to salary. The goal, he said, was to protect the university’s ability to meet payroll. […]

“We haven’t been paid anything since July 1 by the state,” Poshard said. “It’s a very difficult time, and we’re doing the best we can to survive.”

* One of the problems mentioned in that Pew study above was how Illinois has constantly used temporary, one-off budget fixes. The state is now applying those fixes to the RTA, so the Tribune is spot on with today’s editorial…

When we heard that Gov. Pat Quinn was hunkered down with transit officials, trying to solve their budget woes, our first thought was uh oh. When a guy with no money comes to the table insisting that riders shouldn’t pay more and seniors shouldn’t pay anything, you know what’s coming next: money from heaven.

Sure enough, Quinn has hatched a plan that sounds painfully familiar: We’ll borrow our way out of a tough decision!

The Regional Transit Authority will issue bonds for $166 million worth of capital projects in the next two years, freeing up federal dollars to feed the Chicago Transit Authority’s operating budget.

The state will pay the debt service on the bonds for at least two years, estimated to be $15.3 million. The Illinois Department of Transportation, meanwhile, will chip in $17 million to help Pace provide door-to-door paratransit service. In return, the transit agencies agreed not to raise fares in 2010 or 2011. […]

Quinn’s plan addresses only the fare hikes. That means CTA riders can hang onto their change, but a lot of them will still have to wait half an hour for the bus and ride while standing because service will be cut. And the RTA will be another $166 million in debt, plus interest. And don’t forget, seniors ride for free!

Not to mention 1,100 layoffs during a deep recession.

More…

Asked if he was kicking the can down the road at a time when the state has scant dollars, Quinn called the move prudent given that many riders are facing tough economic times and can’t afford higher fares.

“We brought people together to come up with a fiscally responsible plan. The voters will like this,” he said. “This is exactly what we have to do in an emergency.”

OK, but what about the riders who need to get to work on time but their bus has been canceled because of budget cuts?

* Gov. Quinn defends himself…

QUINN: Every major government in the United States of America at the state or local level is under fiscal strain right now because of the economy. And so we have to manage this like never before, and I’ve done that. I think the people of Illinois know I know a lot about economics. As a matter of fact, I majored in economics at Georgetown University. And I’ve been the state treasurer. I’ve been commissioner, board of tax appeals. I’ve done a lot of economic things.

* Related…

* Study Says Illinois Is At Risk of Fiscal Calamity: The Pew Center on the States looked at 6 factors to determine a state’s financial shape, including foreclosure rates, unemployment numbers and state budget gaps. California scored the worst with a financial shortfall of about 49 percent of its total budget. Managing director Sue Urahn says Illinois isn’t doing so well either. It has the second highest budget gap.

* Think tank: Illinois budget among the worst in the nation

* Illinois among 10 states in financial peril

* Bond Buyer: Illinois Governor Eyes Debt Service Subsidy

* Illinois third highest state in foreclosure filings

* Illinois foreclosures spike in October: A state law that gives distressed homeowners an extra grace period to help avoid foreclosure may have created some pent-up foreclosure activity in the state. After the law went into effect in April, Illinois foreclosure activity decreased for three months before going up again, the RealtyTrac report said.

* Press release: Quinn spells out CTA deal

* No fare hikes for 2 years, but CTA will cut service

* CTA Deal Strictly ‘Short Term’

* Thumbs up to new expressway?

* Politicians, unions fight to save Howe

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Cross endorses McKenna - Plus: AP notices tea party debate

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* House GOP Leader Tom Cross is endorsing Andy McKenna for governor…

“This election is about jobs,” Cross said in a separate telephone call on Wednesday. “It’s about the economy. Andy has demonstrated the ability to run a company and really has taken a regional company to a global company. … We need somebody that can balance a checkbook and find a way for us to prosper as a state, and he brings that.” […]

“We’re not looking in this election for somebody that’s flashy or the great orator,” Cross added. “We’ve had enough of that in our former governor (ROD BLAGOJEVICH). We need somebody that’s just down to earth, that can make things happen from a jobs and economic standpoint in this state.” […]

Cross also thinks the fact that McKenna has never held elective office and that Murphy, of Palatine, is in his first state Senate term, actually improves their chances.

“It’s hard to attack a guy like Andy or Matt,” Cross said. “What we see in a lot of elections is pulling out old votes and saying … ‘How do you explain yourself?’ They’re in a position of not really having to worry about that.”

* The AP has finally noticed that tea party candidates forum which was held a week ago…

Five of the seven Republican candidates claim rising temperatures have nothing to do with pollution from cars, factories or power plants.

“I don’t accept the premise that man is the cause of global warming, if global warming even exists,” Kirk Dillard, a state senator from Hinsdale, said at a candidate forum last week. […]

“Global warming is not created by man and anybody who says that, it’s just bad science. It’s not true,” said Bob Schillerstrom, chairman of the DuPage County Board.

Dan Proft, a Chicago-area public relations consultant, said Al Gore and other global warming activists are “kind of enviro-terrorists.”

* Kadner is unimpressed with McKenna’s TV ad….

Whenever I’m trying to relax these days, it seems that another political commercial for a candidate running for governor of Illinois appears.

There’s a Republican candidate running a spot about the “Culture of the Hair” in Illinois.

A Blagojevich-type wig appears on the top of the Capitol dome, and then governors out of the past appear with Blagojevich hair transposed on their heads. They’re all crooks is the implication.

It was sort of funny the first time I saw it. It made me chuckle, especially because the commercial is for Andy McKenna, who has been part of the political scene in Springfield for a long time.

But by the fifth time I saw the commercial, all I wanted to do was take a spritz bottle and point it at McKenna’s face.

* Related…

* Is Kirk leaning to right in Senate bid? He says ‘I am who I am’ : “I am a social moderate, fiscal conservative. But this is a big race, and we are building a broad coalition, and it will be, for a Republican candidacy, a center-right coalition,” said Kirk, a five-term North Shore congressman who is seeking a promotion to the Senate next year. “But for me, I haven’t changed my views.”

* Kirk: Palin memo not sign of shifting to the right

* Video repost: Kirk Dillard calls Obama “a socialist”

* Cook board race bubbling over

35 Comments

Hodge: I did nothing wrong

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* This is not what I’m hearing, but I should have more for subscribers soon…

Carolyn Brown Hodge said Wednesday that she resigned last month as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Pat Quinn to avoid any “cloud” over his administration, but she’s hopeful that an inspector general’s probe will clear her of any question of wrongdoing.

“Anybody that will talk to you will tell you that that I made a really concerted effort to keep politics out of my government job,” Hodge said in a telephone interview from her home in rural Paris, Ill.

Hodge’s seven years working for Quinn included being director of rural affairs in the lieutenant governor’s office and deputy chief of staff in the governor’s office.

The Chicago Sun-Times first reported that she quit her $119,158 job in the governor’s office late last month amid a probe of whether she had done political work on state time.

More…

Hodge says she sometimes used her state computer at night to check personal e-mail and may have responded to a political message.

21 Comments

Morning Shorts

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

[Note from Rich Miller: Today is Mike Murray’s birthday. Please, wish him well in comments. Thanks.]

* Outlook rough for holiday job-seekers

People looking for part-time work over the holidays can blame an unemployment rate of more than 10 percent and a cautious retail sales outlook if they find the sledding a little rough.[…]

The Philadelphia-based Hay Group, a global management consulting firm, surveyed 25 top U.S. retailers earlier this fall and found that 40 percent of those responding plan to hire 5 percent to 25 percent fewer seasonal workers this year. It found that 64 percent already have lower-than-normal staffing levels.

* Chicago Ranks Low on Performance List

Chicago’s moved up from its place last year, but it’s still not doing well. Of the 200 largest metro areas, Chicago comes in at 148 of the nation’s best performing cities. An annual report released by the Milken Institute ranks metropolitan areas by how well a city can create and continue economic growth.

Chicago’s low ranking shows the decline in jobs and the stagnation of salary and wages. The areas where the city saw the sharpest declines in employment were manufacturing and the financial sector. The loss of those jobs had a negative affect on administrative and support positions. But the report says Chicago remains a major business center and will eventually benefit from a national recovery.

* Chicago Budget Hearings to Wrap Up

Chicago City Council members are scheduled to hold their final day of budget hearings today.

* Thursday Illinois political docket: Daley talks about snow removal, CTA to vote on service cuts

* Lacking business license, Flowers’ new site closed

Facing eviction for not paying $10,000 in back rent on office space in Westchester, Flowers moved into a Broadview building a little more than a week ago.[…]

In addition, sources close to the office said, employees - who should have been paid Nov. 6 - have yet to receive their paychecks.

The closure is unrelated to a Cook County state’s attorney’s office criminal investigation that resulted in a raid of the Westchester office and Flowers’ home, or a lawsuit alleging he engaged in a scheme to defraud Cook County and avoid officials after defaulting on a $190,000 loan.[…]

“They didn’t apply for a business license, which would require an inspection,” Fornaro said. “No certificate of occupancy was issued.”

* 8th-graders’ shot at elite high schools better

High-scoring kids were being rejected simply because of the order in which they listed their college prep preferences.

“I couldn’t believe it,'’ schools CEO Ron Huberman said. “It’s terrible.'’

CPS officials said Wednesday they have decided to let any eighth-grader who applied to a college prep for fall 2010 admission re-rank their preferences to better conform with a new selection system.

* CPS magnet plan must keep racial diversity

* Northbrook criticized for giving police officers their old guns

A few residents blast Northbrook’s idea to let police keep their service Berettas

* Chocolate milk lovers have a cow about bans

A year after Barrington Community Unit School District 220 banned flavored milk from its lunch menus, the students persuaded administrators to give it another chance. Now the sweetened drinks are served on Fridays as the district tries to decide whether the benefits of calcium and vitamin D are worth the added sugar.

* Narcoleptic police dispatcher reaches settlement with Hillside after firing

* Swine flu ban: No young visitors at Stroger, other county hospitals

* Shots for high-risk available

* Man charged in downstate bomb plot will undergo tests

* Use the tools to ensure victims’ safety

Thousands of Illinoisans live in fear that someone they know may try to harm them. All told, more than 27,000 active orders of protection are on the books.

Problem is, about one-fifth of these court orders have not been served to those accused of abuse. If they violate an order for which they have not been notified, the offenders cannot be arrested, leaving their victims vulnerable to further attacks or harassment.

A new initiative by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is aimed at closing this gap in the justice system and providing enforceable legal protection to more victims of domestic violence.

* Crime 101: Chances of being a statistic

In Chicago, in 2008, there were 511 murders. What are your chances of being a statistic? Check out our graphic below:

* Death for Dugan

* Michigan man arrested after calling 911 for a ride home

30 Comments

Protected: SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today’s edition of Capitol Fax

Thursday, Nov 12, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Veterans’ Day news roundup

Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

Election 2010

* Candidate’s disinvitation stirs debate

A spokeswoman for Quinn denied comment on whether the Quinn campaign was behind the challenge to Walls’ petitions. Quinn’s Downstate campaign director did request copies of Walls’ petitions.

* Quinn won’t say if he’s behind effort to remove only African-American candidate from governor’s contest?

Gov. Pat Quinn vowed transparency when he succeeded the disgraced Rod Blagojevich as the state’s chief executive, but today neither Quinn nor his campaign would discuss whether they’re behind the effort to remove the only African-American candidate from the Democratic governor primary contest.

* Outsider mantle no longer good fit for Quinn

* Ryan: Jobs creation should be job No. 1

* Candidates line up in primary races for governor

* State Republican party attacks Islamic group

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady put out a statement calling on the Illinois Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights to immediately expel the Council on American-Islamic Relations from its list of affiliated agencies over alleged ties to Hamas in the Middle East.

Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR’s Chicago chapter, called that “utter garbage,” “dirty politics” and part of a “coordinated misinformation campaign” by a GOP leadership “lacking in guts.”

* Dem comptroller candidate has petitions challenged

* Seven DuPage candidates challenged

* Some Illinois primary races have six or more candidates

* State Sen. Cronin will top ballot in DuPage chairman’s race

* Two Dems take brave stand on health bill

* Bean explains health care vote

* Suburban Democrats backed health care bill, but still hold reservations

* State Capitol Q&A: New laws designed to make voting more convenient

* This is one time politicians should looks at polls

State Government

* STAR Bond talks continue in Springfield

* Gov. Quinn defends plan to release up to 1,000 inmates

* Quinn calls early prisoner release necessary

* First 60 early prisoner releases come this week

* Still more work needed at youth prison

* State, RTA reach deal to avoid fare hikes for disabled riders

* CTA reaches deal to avoid big fare hike

Transit officials and Gov. Quinn will announce details today of a deal that will help the CTA avoid steep fare hikes, sources said.

* Wednesday Illinois political docket: Quinn transit announcement, Veterans Day ceremonies

* Peterson’s house going to auction block?

Sneed hears Gov. Quinn is going to appoint two new members to the CTA Board: John Bouman, president of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and Katie McClain, the Chicago director of the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation.

* Blago makes Mad mag ‘dumbest’ list

Misc.

* Mayor Daley: How we’ll weather the storm

* Cook Co. commissioners out to snuff new film office

A suburban Cook County Board member is leading an effort to quash President Todd Stroger’s attempt to open a Cook County Film Commission Office.[…]

Stroger’s 2010 budget proposal allotted about $250,000 for creation of the film office, but the lion’s share of that would go to salaries: $100,000 for an executive director and more than $78,000 for two assistants.

* 911 official resigns over blunder that cost $2 mil.

The No. 2 man at Chicago’s 911 emergency center has resigned his $149,832-a-year job to avoid being fired for alleged contract irregularities that cost taxpayers $2.25 million.

* Court rules public can’t see list of cops with 10 or more complaints

Chicagoans likely will never see the names of the 662 Chicago Police officers with 10 or more complaints against them.

A federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that an independent journalist and 28 Chicago aldermen “lacked standing” to file a lawsuit asking to see the list because the case the list was compiled for has been settled.

“The unwillingness of the Police Department to provide information to public officials about officers whose conduct may be questionable is a real problem,” said Ad. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), a leader of the 28 aldermen.

* SJ-R: Police internal affairs files should be open

* Police Decry High Court Ruling On Guns In Cars

* Ald. Stone ally on trial for vote fraud

* Cook County prosecutors allege NU students paid witness

* Northwestern students paid witnesses, prosecutors allege

Professor denies 2 men received money in effort to prove convicted killer is innocent

* Ill. commision says millions left in student loans

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission says it still has $66 million for low-interest, federally secured loans to students for the 2009-2010 academic year.

* U. of I. grad student teachers may strike

The Graduate Employees’ Organization says 92 percent of its members voted to strike.

* Starting over

So it’s nice to report some encouraging news. Gov. Pat Quinn has named four new members to Chicago State’s board of trustees, and he has chosen well.

* City magnet school admissions get makeover

Families with kids already in will have a better chance of getting another admitted

* College preps to admit by income

For the first time, the income levels of students’ neighborhoods will help determine whether kids win seats at one of the city’s elite college prep high schools or elementary schools for the gifted.

* Chicago changes criteria for admission to magnet, selective schools

* CPS Says Racial Integration Remains a Priority

* CTA union says cops harassing arrested driver

* CTA president says mom’s stroller story ‘plausible’

Transit agency investigation focusing on train operator

* Safety of timers at red-light camera intersections debated

City transportation officials told aldermen at a budget hearing that they don’t favor adding the countdown signs at red-light camera intersections. Drivers check the countdown to see how many seconds they have until green lights change instead of watching to see if the car in front of them is slowing down, said Thomas Powers, acting commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation.

“What that tends to do is, you would see an increase in rear-end collisions. It would actually decrease the safety value of the camera, having those countdowns,” Powers said.

* AMA supports bans on cell phone use while driving

* Illinois Freedom of Information and Open Meetings laws get some teeth

* Telemarketers face lawsuit

Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit against two telemarketers Tuesday alleging they scammed Illinois consumers with false promises of reducing their credit card interest rates, and her office advised consumers on how to avoid being ripped off.

* Unilever to shut Chicago office

200 jobs affected; Work done here will move to N.J.

* ComEd set to install ’smart’ meters

* City boasts most ‘5-Diamond’ restaurants

* Burr Oak Cemetery taking burials again

* Veterans Day this year has added meaning for Illinois National Guard

More than 2,900 returned safely, but 18 were killed in duty in state’s largest deployment since World War II

* Durbin: ‘Dramatic change’ needed at VA hospital

* Quinn places emphasis on supporting veterans

* New veterans home slated for Northwest Side

Quinn announces plans for 200-bed facility

* Press release: Gov picks Chicago vets home site

* New Long-Term Medical Center for Veterans Coming to Chicago

* Law students’ idea grows into godsend for vets

* Lisa Madigan praises law school’s vets program

* Little known program boosts military pensions

Eligible wartime veterans could be receiving up to $1,600 more a month

* State offers veterans low-interest loans

Illinois veterans of the National Guard and U.S. Military Reserve can now get $10,000 low-interest loans when their duties end because of changes in a state program.

* Don’t just thank a vet; hire one

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