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* Daley aide quits for private sector

Mayor Daley on Monday abruptly changed horses in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the center of the city hiring scandal.

John Dunn, IGA director since 2005, resigned his $158,364-a-year job to take an unidentified “position in the private sector.” He will be replaced by Joan Coogan, an 11-year veteran IGA employee who has worked to advance the mayor’s agenda in the City Council.

* CPS Inspector General Releases 2009 Report

* Parking meter contractor citing improvements before rate hike

* Some Unemployed CTA Drivers Recruited for 2010 Winter Olympics

* Inspector flags dubious trip to Vegas, unjustified pay raise

Complaints about misconduct, waste and fraud in Chicago Public Schools rose 20 percent last year, to a record high 1,210, the latest annual report by Schools Inspector General James Sullivan indicates.

* Terrence J. O’Brien: Little-known official running for Cook County Board president

* McQuillan gets to stay on 50th House ballot

* Government spending a top issue for GOP hopefuls in 8th District

* With no incumbent, 10th Congressional district up for grabs

* 10th Dist. candidates debate Afghanistan action

* Nygren leans on experience factor in contentious McHenry Co. sheriff race

* Corbett withdraws from Palatine Twp. primary

* Some Chicago parking tickets were written off

* FCC hails Mayor Daley’s plan to bring technology to 5 neighborhoods

* Internet in Chicago: Daley hopes to add access in underserved neighborhoods

* FCC Chairman Visits Chicago to Call for More Technology

* Gas prices down since November, but up about a dollar from 2008

* Busted by the camera

A Tribune analysis of data from 14 suburban intersections found fewer crashes at five of them, little change at two and increases at seven. In Chicago, collisions increased or held steady at nearly 60 percent of camera-equipped intersections, according to figures from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The city’s own figures say crashes were down, but nobody can explain why the numbers don’t match.[…]

As local governments scramble to install more and more cameras, the people paying those fines have begun to question whether this trend is about safety or revenue, especially when cameras are installed at intersections where few crashes have occurred. There have even been scattered reports of towns that were busted for shortening the yellow-light cycle to increase the number of violations.

* Lawsuit contends Illinois inmates get too much soy

* School officials: This year is no worse than previous years

* Is city’s drug possession ordinance a bust?

* Dist. 186 board divided on high school rebuild steps

* Proceed with caution on property tax

* Time to pony up in District 144

* Homer Glen question: Who holds purse strings?

* Tinley Park prepares for downtown redevelopment

* Sheriff’s officer cited with reckless driving for hitting IDOT worker

* Off-duty Lockport cop charged with DUI in fatal Stevenson crash

* Outside-the-box award goes to students of the Southland

Can you imagine if the state’s leaders showed the same creativity toward job creation here?

Sure, a few candidates have offered plans that include some form of “green” initiative. But mostly we’re seeing the same pitch for lower business taxes and new tax incentives to spur job creation - nothing as out-of-the-box as the project under way by our very own Southland students.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Dec 22, 09 @ 6:19 am

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