* Midwest Bank signals that failure is looming

The bank unit of Melrose Park-based Midwest Banc Holdings Inc. is expected to be seized by federal regulators late Friday, according to people familiar with the matter.

The $3.2-billion-asset bank — whose CEO, former Banco Popular North America CEO Roberto R. Herencia, was hired a year ago to raise capital to remain solvent — all but said it would fail in a regulatory filing Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

* Illinois ranks low on CEO survey of business-friendly states

In Chief Executive Magazine’s annual “Best and Worst States for Business” list, Illinois ranks No. 46 out of 51 — the same spot as last year.

The list, which ranks the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, is based on responses from 651 CEOs nationwide. They were asked to rate each state in three main areas: taxation and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment.

* Report calls O’Hare 4th busiest, Chicago disputes

Reaction was swift to the news that Michael Hogan, the incoming UI president, will receive a base salary of $620,000 a year, plus $225,000 in deferred compensation after five years.

“It seems high, given the extraordinary financial pressure that we’ve been told the university is under,” said Professor Harriett Murav, a leader in the Campus Faculty Association. […]

The presidents of Northwestern and the University of Chicago receive close to $900,000, Hardy noted. E. Gordon Gee, president of Ohio State University, tops the Big Ten with a $1.5 million package. And the president at Michigan earns close to $750,000.

* Our View: Bad time to pay big bucks to university leader

* Tribune: Welcome, Dr. Hogan

* New U of I president says fundraising is key

* NIU tuition going up

* Board freezes SIU tuition

* Feds announce deal to improve Cook County Jail conditions

* Sweeping deal to improve [Cook County] jail

* Daley to post all investigative reporter requests online

He revamped the city’s new website to include a log of all Freedom of Information Act requests. The list includes the name and organization of each applicant, documents demanded and dates the information was requested and is due to be released.

A new state law merely requires city departments to maintain such a log — not to post it on the Internet to tip investigative reporters about the trail being followed by competitors.

But Daley gleefully declared that he was going “above and beyond what’s required” in the interest of “transparency, openness and the free-flow of information.”

* Mixed Reviews for New Transparency Measures

* Sun-Times: Daley comes out swinging at press

Now every reporter in town — and anybody else with a computer — can immediately check daily what every other reporter in town is looking into.

Our fear is that this will create a chilling effect on the press’ ability to uncover public corruption.

* Sun-Times: ..and Burke gets licks in, too

* Outrage after alderman OKs development across street from ballpark

* Aldermen: Lawrence censure on the table

* Stroger aide says mistakes led to contract fuss

A top aide to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, back to work after a five-day suspension, admits that she signed off on a no-bid county contract with her public relations firm.

She also admits fast-tracking the $24,975 payment to her firm.

But Carla Oglesby, Stroger’s deputy chief of staff, said those actions simply were mistakes made by someone new to government work, adding that Stroger’s other executive staffers signed off on the contract, too.

* DuPage water panel OKs $40M bond issue

* DuPage Water Commission reveals yet another error

The commission’s former finance administrator was blamed again for another accounting error that cost the agency $426,515 over the span of the last two fiscal years. Unlike the last accounting missteps that caused the commission to spend all of its $69 million reserve fund, these dollars will be recouped.

Commission officials said former finance chief Max Richter erroneously adjusted a billing formula for Darien in July 2008. The mistake had a major impact on that municipality’s water invoices while simultaneously creating a minor undercharge for the other two dozen municipal customers.

* Cronin’s water plan seems like a play for his future benefit

* Crime drops in unincorporated Lake County

The total crime index — or rate of crime per 100,00 people — for sexual assaults, burglaries, thefts, car thefts, arsons and murder dropped 17 percent from 2008 to 2009, while the arrest index increased by 40 percent, he said.

* Former Cicero leader quits job

Former Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese says she has quit her job as hostess at an Oak Park pizza restaurant because she did not make enough money and would like to pursue a career as a radio talk show host.

* More Quincy-to-Chicago Amtrak trains on time, which has led to increased rider satisfaction

* Marshall board approves raises

* Livingston OKs $9.4M in bids for law and justice center

* McLean Co. mental health agency to reduce services due to cuts

* Former Dalton City clerk arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from village

* Wind turbines get boost from Macon County Board, though some public opposition persists