* Downstate mayor to be new Amtrak chairman

Amtrak’s new conductor is from Illinois: Thomas C. Carper, former mayor of downstate Macomb, was unanimously named chairman by Amtrak’s board of directors yesterday.

Mr. Carper, a long-time supporter of passenger rail, has served on Amtrak’s board since last March. He was nominated to be a director by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Il., a leading advocate of Amtrak in Congress.

* Durbin Supports ‘Buy American’

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois says he wants American made steel to be used in infrastructure projects funded by an economic stimulus bill.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes the Buy American provision that was included in the stimulus bill introduced in the U.S. House. The chamber worries other countries could retaliate with tougher trade rules. Dick Durbin acknowledges that could happen but he says America’s steel industry needs a boost.

* Transportation Secretary LaHood to meet with states

* Word on the Street: LaHood hasn’t forgotten his roots

* Who gets what from the stimulus package

* CN-EJ&E merger completed during the weekend

Canadian National Railway Co. says it has completed its acquisition of a nearly 200-mile railway line encircling Chicago.

The closing on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company was completed late Saturday.

* CN completes purchase of EJ&E rail line

* Bosses’ bonanza at CTA

CTA union officials say they weren’t surprised to learn that 150 CTA managers make more than $100,000 a year.

* No Games Chicago Forms Against Olympics

People who oppose Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics in Chicago are hosting a forum Saturday that highlights problems of other host cities.

* Hospital board ignores lowest bidder for security system

The Cook County Health and Hospital Board Friday approved an $868,000 security contract, even though it was roughly $30,000 more than the lowest bid.

* Plan to shutter prison triggered protests, lawsuits

* Pontiac businesses hinging on prison’s outcome

* ‘A platinum parachute’

A Niles Township school superintendent made $411,500 last year — a record in a year that saw top public elementary and high school administrators’ pay climb past $400,000 for the first time.

But the taxpayer tab for Neil Codell, 56, didn’t stop after he left his post June 30.

Codell continued to receive his superintendent’s salary — even while in a lesser job — for an additional six months. Niles Township High School District 219 now faces a potential penalty of well over $100,000 from the Teachers’ Retirement System because of Codell’s early retirement and large spike in pay, state officials say.

“This may turn out to be a platinum parachute by the time all the bills are paid,'’ said the agency’s executive director, Jon Bauman.

* Teachers got bigger raises on average

The state’s 863 public school district superintendents had the highest average pay — $140,000 — of all the categories covered by state Board of Education salary data, but when it came to getting raises, they were near the bottom of the list.

Salary raises for superintendents averaged 2.3 percent. In contrast, elementary and high school classroom teachers got average raises of 4.9 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively, between 2007 and 2008.