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* Five Killed in Chicago Violence Over Weekend

“All the guys jumped in and tried to resuscitate him,” he said. “As soon as he hit the ground everyone was helping. It was bad, to be totally honest with you.”

An emotional Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff hailed Wheatley as “one of our finest” at a news conference outside Stroger Hospital on Monday morning.

“I really ask that everybody keeps him and his family in his prayers,” Hoff said.

* Sun-Times: Fire Dept. hero is ours, too

* Bob Evans Farms to close Illinois plant

* Amtrak: Ridership on Chicago-St. Louis line is up

* McPier’s John Gates may chair RTA

RTA Chairman Jim Reilly recently left that post —to become the new all-powerful trustee in charge of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, or McPier, whose interim board Mr. Gates headed.

* Stroger jobs program loses $2.7 million

Among an audit’s 68 findings were questions about whether youths who were paid more than $1 million were even qualified to be in the program, why $31,000 in pension payments were made for temporary summer youth workers and why a payroll company was given $12,000 to administer wage payments of $38,000 for one pay period.

* Todd Stroger: Jobs, contracts and dissatisfaction

* More than 1,700 School-Based Positions Cut in CPS Budget Plan

* Civic Federation: CPS Plan to Drain Reserves Unreasonable

* CPS Dials Up Safety With Cell Phones

* New inspector general in holding pattern

The bottom line is that the new inspector general may not be running on all cylinders — potentially embarrassing aldermen and their employees — until after the Feb. 22 aldermanic election.

* Sun-Times: City can’t afford more short-sighted leases\

* Classes start at Chicago year-round schools

* District 300 OKs wind farm deal

* Lake County Communities Want Lake Michigan Water

Nine communities in north suburban Lake County say their well water is running out.

* FEMA inspects west suburban flood damage

* FEMA finds 1st-floor water in about 50 Machesney homes

* Durbin, Halvorson view Asian carp crisis at Starved Rock

* Durbin: Turn Heat Down On Asian Carp Debate

* Oswego school administrators get raise

* Matteson Village Officials Give Themselves Pay Raises

* Kane Co. warned: ‘Don’t end up … like Illinois’

* Second Kane tax installment due Sept. 1

* Orland School District 135 enters tax fight

* Chicago Heights Park Board OKs referendum on adding a ward

* Parents raise $4 million to save jobs, programs in Dist. 26

In exchange for accepting the money, the district would have to bring back 68 teachers, keep class sizes within board-defined guidelines and restore art, music and physical education as well as other programs that fell victim to more than $6 million in cuts earlier this year.

If the board accepts those conditions, District 26 officials said they would be able to meet them with the donated funds - even though the sum is well short of the $6.6 million the district slashed from the 2009-10 budget.

* Buffalo Grove puts Stone vote to public

In a move not surprising to anyone following recent news from the Buffalo Grove village board, trustees voted to put the recall of Trustee Lisa Stone on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Stone was the only trustee who voted against the measure.

* Palatine sets signature requirement for candidates

* Former Fox Lake fire chief dies of cancer

* Poplar Grove will vote on higher tax for police

* Winnebago considers sewer hookup and referendum for police

* Register-Star: Taxpayers tapped out; unions must give

The size of the Rockford School District budget — $404 million — is jaw-dropping. The city of Rockford’s budget is about $243 million, and Winnebago County’s is a little more than $187 million.

Wages and benefits make up 75 percent of the School District’s total budget and 95 percent of the education fund. The total budget is made up of 10 funds: education, tort immunity, grants, food service, operations and maintenance, debt service, transportation, IMRF/FICA, working cash, life safety.

* [Rockford] City Council Committee approves affordable housing complex plan

* Rockford supports regional transportation planning

* AirTran may cancel nonstop flight from Quad Cities to Atlanta

* R.I. approves police labor contract

* RI County taxes due today

* Joe Holtschlag to fill out Adams County Board term

* Putnam County takes pass on coroner

* Durbin demands FutureGen answer from Mattoon

* Testa: Now you see it, and now you don’t

In a state with an extremely unstable financial situation and a poor reputation for politics, FutureGen stood to be a bright spot - an asset capable of attracting researchers and experts from across the globe. It could have been a beacon of light for the economically depressed regions of central and Southern Illinois, as it would have created jobs and served as a boost to the coal industry.

* Committee rejects pay raises for [Macon] county workers

* Champaign school board OKs contract for support staff

* Motor fuel tax approved for formal vote in Urbana

* Springfield Budget Problems Might Lead to Layoffs

* [Springfield] finds 86 miles of street needing repairs

* News-Democrat: Get serious about thefts

Is a 14-year-old smarter than the adults who run East St. Louis School District 189?

* Top East St. Louis leaders feared FBI wire

* Collinsville approves raises for part-timers, despite opposition on council

* Marion council unsure about Ten Commandments

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 10, 10 @ 9:57 am

Comments

the story highlighting more stroger (sr & jr) administration’s incompetence to the tune of $2.7 million lost is just sickening!

i hate to dispute lisa madigan, the illinois dems are horrid! if you’re a dem and you don’t speak out against dems who are dirty, incompetent and corrupt, and stand silently by for the “good of the party”, then you’re just as bad—maybe even worse.

Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Aug 10, 10 @ 10:14 am
sorry, meant to include this in the previous post:

“Matteson Village Officials Give Themselves Pay Raises”

Voters should be the only ones deciding when and if local, state and federal public officials deserve pay raises. the village of matteson is simply wasting taxpayer money with these payraises. this is why the public has such a hard time supporting tax increases (i.e., Quinn’s). It’s hard to know/trust that the money will be entirely used for legitmate and/or stated purposes.

Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Aug 10, 10 @ 10:25 am
Reilly seems like he was an effective, reasonable and energetic RTA Chairman. And Gates, Jr. might be a great and timely successor; it’s possible he is being queued-up to boldly lead reform of the RTA, just as he did McPier.

However, the Reilly-Gates baton hand-off has a real bad appearance problem. It *looks* like a $25,000 “thank-you for your cooperation” using public dollars. Whether it’s Daley’s gift, or Reilly’s energy put to use behind the scenes in hand-picking his RTA successor, it just doesn’t look good.

Comment by KeepSmiling Tuesday, Aug 10, 10 @ 11:03 am
{if you’re a dem and you don’t speak out against dems who are dirty, incompetent and corrupt, and stand silently by for the “good of the party”, then you’re just as bad—maybe even worse.}

Perhaps you can convey that message more forcefully on camera; standing outside of the AG’s office, with your CLAYPOOL FOR ASSESSOR T-shirt on.

Now that would make a nice commercial. Maybe John Fritchey will stand next to you as well.

Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Aug 10, 10 @ 12:11 pm
I like to read this as Stroger cut $2.7mil in spending.

Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Aug 10, 10 @ 12:37 pm