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* Ten dead, at least 30 wounded in violent holiday weekend

* Pastor who opposes homosexuality may get Chicago City Council seat held by Ald. Billy Ocasio

* City plumbing inspector busts himself

Sources said the $85,068-a-year inspector was working a side job installing a flood-control system in the 3500 block of North Octavia — with no permit and none of the required city licenses — when he inadvertently broke the water pipe leading to the home.

Kendrick dialed 311 to report the break. When investigators arrived on the scene, he identified himself as a city inspector and asked them for city-owned parts — lead packs and copper — to repair the broken pipe, sources said.

Little did he know that one of the responding investigators was Pat McDonough, who helped blow the whistle on the Hired Truck scandal.

* Illinois first in failed banks in 2009

Illinois leads the nation in bank failures this year, though regulators say that is primarily because it has more banks than any other state.

The number doubled to 12 with the shutdown of six banks in two days last week. State and federal regulators said the Campbell Group, a family-operated holding company for all six, invested in the kind of risky mortgage-backed securities that brought down much larger financial institutions.

All the banks, which were spread from central to northern Illinois, were open Monday with new owners.

“They are a family-owned company. Six of their eight banks made some bad investments, while the other two made community loans, and they are doing fine. It’s the same type of loans that shut down AIG,” said Sue Hofer, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation.

* State takes over Founders Bank branches

* 1,700 Chrysler workers return Wednesday

BELVIDERE — About 1,700 Chrysler workers will report back to work Wednesday for the first time since May 1, when Chrysler LLC shut down production after entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

United Auto Workers Local 1268 President John Gedney confirmed Monday night that the company will restart production. The newly formed company that emerged from bankruptcy, Chrysler Group LLC, restarted production at the end of June at plants in Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Mexico and Canada.

* Discover plans $500M common stock offering

* United avoids steep drop in June traffic

United Airlines, the nation’s third-largest airline, said Monday its June traffic fell 7.5 percent, as an improvement in business at its regional affiliates failed to offset steep dropoffs on most domestic and international routes.

Like other airlines, Chicago-based United has been contending with a steep decline in traffic, especially in lucrative first- and business-class tickets, as the recession curbs travel.

UAL Corp.’s United said paying passengers flew a total of 10.57 billion miles last month, compared with 11.43 billion a year earlier. Excluding a 16.9 percent gain from regional carriers that United operates, traffic fell 10 percent.

* South Side hopes Olympics bring a CTA ‘Gold Line’

Underserved by rapid transit, residents there would benefit from a proposed “Gold Line,” an innovative hybrid of both Metra and the CTA, according to Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation, or SOUL.

With the city bidding for the 2016 Games, the line also would serve key Olympic venues, say SOUL members, who represent more than 20 churches and community organizations.

SOUL estimates that implementing the Gold Line would cost $159 million. This would pay for adding 26 Electric District Highliner cars for $91 million as well as for new tracks, station upgrades and fare equipment.

* CTA shows off the first of 58 new accordion-style hybrid buses

* Springfield workers to rally outside city hall

City of Springfield workers will rally outside Municipal Center West before Tuesday’s city council meeting, as a deadline looms for talks between the unions and Mayor Tim Davlin’s administration about potentially drastic cuts in city services.

“This is an action by a number of unions calling on the city council and the mayor to come together to try to work cooperatively to try to solve the fiscal situation in a responsible manner,” said Jeff Bigelow, regional director for Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

A combined union statement issued today called for the city council to “reopen the budget process and pass a reasonable and realistic budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, not one doomed to fail.”

“After this process, if there are sacrifices to be made by the employees of the City, then those sacrifices will be made in an informed manner,” the statement said.

* Union says sheriff’s cuts put residents at risk

Either way, there likely will be fewer sheriff’s deputies on the roadways of Kane County soon.

The Policeman’s Benevolent Labor Committee-Kane County Sheriff’s Office said in a release that the Kane County Board “is scheduled to permanently jeopardize the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to provide sufficient police services to the citizens of Kane County, especially those living in unincorporated areas, by reducing the number of sworn deputies that provide essential and required police services.”

The press release was issued just days after members of the county board finance committee approved a resolution that would decrease the number of sworn deputies on the force to 87 from 90 through an early retirement program. That resolution is expected to be approved by the board’s executive committee on Wednesday and then be discussed and probably approved by the full board on July 14.

* Public safety on budget chop block

The public should not be concerned about a lack of police enforcement next year even though the Peoria Police Department will enter 2010 with fewer employees than it has now, Chief Steve Settingsgaard said Monday.

“It’s a very good possibility we’ll have a reduction in staff,” Settingsgaard said during the first of five public forums on the 2010 budget. “This council, the city manager and myself will look at a lot of places to save budget money before we give up a position impacting true public safety.”

* PJStar: A blueprint for how to balance a budget

* State accuses furniture company owner of bilking customers

The Illinois attorney general’s office sued a Burbank furniture salesman Monday for allegedly bilking his customers out of more than $62,000.

Ziyad Suleiman, 5860 W. 75th Place, has had 54 complaints lodged against him and his four furniture businesses across the Southland, Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in the lawsuit.

Suleiman operated District Furniture Inc., in Chicago; US Furniture Inc., in Burbank; Express Furniture Gallery Inc., in Bedford Park and Chicago Ridge; and Export Furniture Inc., in Bedford Park, between 2001 and this year, the lawsuit said.

While running those businesses, the lawsuit alleges, Suleiman failed to deliver furniture, delivered damaged furniture and refused to give refunds to customers.

* Tribune sale of Cubs to Ricketts ‘very, very close’

* What Ricketts Could Bring to the Cubs

* Wrigley makeover by 2014? Family yet to approve specific renovation plan

* Heartland Shelter seeing disturbing jump in abandoned pets

* Sharon Sharp, 1939-2009: Former Illinois Lottery director

posted by Mike Murray
Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 9:29 am

Comments

==* Ten dead, at least 30 wounded in violent holiday weekend==

If the dateline on that story was Baghdad, rather than Chicago, it would lead the local, and national, news.

We have a problem, folks. This is like the Crack Wars of the 80s.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 9:37 am
Where is the outrage from Equality Illinois over the good pastor?

Comment by Ravenswood Right Winger Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 9:44 am
Mr. De Jesus has proven himself completely unsuitable to lead the 26th ward. His quotes in Christianity Today and while serving on the Chicago Public School Board show that he is unable to treat gay and lesbian citizens with respect. Mr. De Jesus will further divide a community that needs to be brought together. If will be betrayal by Daley to appoint this fundamentalist shill.

Comment by 26th Ward Resident Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 9:53 am
RRW, before posting questions like that, why not just check teh Google first. That way, you can look like you’re informed.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 10:05 am
http://www.newsweek.com/id/157562

Going back to Ronald Reagan, the Rev. Wilfredo De Jesús—the senior pastor of a 4,500-member Hispanic evangelical church in Chicago—has pulled the lever for Republicans in presidential elections. “I always voted on the issue of abortion and the sanctity of marriage,” he says.

Comment by Dirt Digger Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 10:16 am
Sharon Sharp was one of my first sources when I was at the Daily Herald a while back
Smart, funny and capable. Some had doubts, but I think she proved her professionalism outside of IL.
My family will keep Sharon’s in our prayers families

Comment by Steve Brown Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 10:17 am
Good morning Rich; or should I say afternoon (for those of us early risers). YAWN-STREEEEEEEETCH.

I’ll do my best not to pee in your Cheerios right out of the box this morning.

I am curious though; as you move forward with any anticipated site (and perhaps service) revisions, if you are at all familiar with the Gongwer News Service; for Ohio and Michigan?

If not, I would encourage you to hop on over:

http://www.gongwer-oh.com/programming/index.cfm

and peruse the site and get yourself a trial subscription while you are there. I think you might get some good ideas for your own business and have a chance to test run some of those based on another state. You could also use that some of the available features as part of a survey for users of your site and service as to what features might be deemed most useful or beneficial going forward.

I’ve become a recent user of their system for something I am tracking there and I think there are some good features that others might enjoy here.

Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 10:22 am
Can’t locate where Capt. Fax has placed today round of the Trib’s UofI super non-story, but this little report from the News-Gazette raises a question.
“….Pless, assistant dean of law school admissions, told the panel that over four years, the university forced the College of Law to admit 24 politically connected students who wouldn’t have been accepted otherwise. During that time, about 900 students were admitted overall…..”

The question is of the 24 of 900 (or 3 percent) how many graduated and where are they working?
And what about the other 97%

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 11:18 am
@Rich
This is a bit snarky, but so so funny..

“Let me Google that for you”

http://tinyurl.com/knqtgf

Comment by Anonymous Coward Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 2:27 pm
There are lot of people using fax machine for there office purposes and its very equipment for office use.

Comment by Fax Machine Repair Tuesday, Jul 7, 09 @ 3:59 pm
CFS,

Given the tone of Dean Hurd’s e-mail, they’re probably not working, assuming they even managed to pass law school and the bar. They are dragging down the stats of the U of I Law School. That’s why the U wanted say in what students would get the jobs Dean Hurd referenced.

Comment by LynnS Wednesday, Jul 8, 09 @ 11:51 pm