Regional budget for 9/15/07
GateHouse News Service Regional Budget (9/15/07)
Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at http://ghns.ghnewsroom.com
*Please check this Web site in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.
Contacts:
Regional Editor Jonie Larson, (217) 816-3343, jlarson@gatehousemedia.com
National Editor Jean Hodges, (630) 348-3350, jhodges@gatehousemedia.com
PLEAE SUBMIT PHOTOS AND MUGS WITH YOUR STORIES
<u>News</u>
CAPITOL NEWS FEATURE: WILL VOTERS ASK FOR CHANGE? Every 17 years, a brood of cicadas makes a noisy emergence in northern Illinois. That happened this year. Next year, another once-in-a-while event will occur in the state, and the cacaphony could rival that of the boisterous bug. Every 20 years, Illinois voters must decide whether they want to rewrite the state constitution. HEUPEL/CAPITOL BUREAU/posted/Illinois
-SIDEBAR: How the process works. HEUPEL
COMING HOME. About 170 members of the Streator-based 1744th Transportation Company return home Saturday after serving in Balad, Iraq, for about a year. Members are from units throughout the state, including East St.Louis, Quincy, Paris, Rock Falls and Riverside. A couple Peoria men were among the unit. We've talked to both of them and their family members about the coming home. The unit was originally mobilized to haul cargo throughout Iraq, however, that changed and the company's new mission focus became force protection and convoy security. COON/PEORIA/Illinois News
TEEN INITIATIVE. Illinois State Police, the Tazewell County Sheriff's Department and others will hold a meeting of the teen initiative group that was formed in response to the series of teen driving deaths that plagued the area. Finding out where the group stands now, plans for the future and about the recent benchmark of no teen driving deaths for one year. SAMPIER/PEORIA/Illinois News
TONY CURTIS. CHICAGO - Nearly 50 years after its initial release, "Some Like It Hot" is still hot. And that's a good thing for film actor Tony Curtis. The only surviving major cast member of the 1959 classic screwball comedy said he received a cut of the gross, thanks to a deal structured by Lew Wasserman, his late super-agent.Curtis comes to the Chicago area Sept. 21-23 to attend a revival of "Some Like It Hot." He reminisced about his co-stars, Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon, and his 60-career in motion pictures.
RAMSEY/CHICAGO
ART: DIGITAL ART
SIDEBAR OF CURTIS QUIPS
moving Friday/Entertainment and Illinois News
5 THING TO KNOW: A review of the week in Chicago in five quick hits. RAMSEY/CHICAGO/Illinois
CHICAGO CENTERPIECE: CHA OVERHAUL. CHICAGO - By 2011, longtime Cabrini-Green tenant Kelvin Cannon will have to find a new place to live when his current residence is torn down. The Chicago Housing Authority is about halfway through a 15-year plan to raze its notorious high-rises while rehabbing or building 25,000 apartments for low-income residents. The mixed-income developments are the centerpiece of the so-called "Plan for Transformation."
RAMSEY, WITH ART
Illinois/posted
MYSTERY SHOPPING SCAM: Wendy Mytar is convinced a few more seconds would have cost her nearly $5,000. As it is, the Springfield, resident estimates she is out about $600 as a result of a "mystery shopping" scam that promised to pay her up to $4,997 for shopping at local stores and for testing money-wiring transfers.
ART: photo
Breakout: yes, attached to story.
LANDIS/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois News
CASINO AIR: Lung Association says it has examined air quality on the Casino Queen, an East St. Louis gambling boat, and found the air was unhealthy, due to the presence of a relatively small number of smokers. HEUPEL/CAPITOL BUREAU/Illinois News
MEX FEST: As celebrations go, Mexican Independence Day in Beardstown on Sunday will be a humble affair. The festivities will start at 11 a.m. with a Mass at St. Alexius Church and end at 4 p.m., long before nightfall would allow fireworks. A parade with about 40 cars is planned. There will be food, of course, but no alcohol. Also a mariachi band, piñatas, a clown, dancing and rides on a mechanical bull for anyone who dares. RUSHTON/SPRINGFIELD/Travel and Illinois News
NOTIFICATION: (Editors: Take a look at technology options for emergency notification) Some parents were upset that they weren't notified during bomb threats at West Middle School and likewise when riots broke out at Jefferson High School this week. But would parents rather get a phone call or an e-mail while a threat is going on, or simply know that their kids are protected and safe? Story will touch on the history of 205's recent issues, including last year's incident at Lincoln Middle School and this week's bomb threat at West. What technology options are available? Texting? Computerized dialing? What are other districts in the region doing? What about experts in the field, what do they say?. SADIE/ROCKFORD/Illinois News
HOODIE BAN?: Officials at North Boone High School say hooded sweatshirts have caused some problems in the past few weeks. Officials met with students this mornign to discuss the problem, and warn them if it continues the outfit may be ban. KEVIN HAAS/ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR/Illinois News
<u>Sports</u>
MIKE NADEL: Column only if Jim Thome hits No. 500./NADEL/Illinois Sports and Mike Nadel.
CARDINALS NOTES: Cardinals manager Tony La Russa remains adamant about not discussing his managerial future while the season still is in progress. But there's been one strange aspect to this season he has been thinking about, and in the end, it could affect where he'll be and what he'll be doing next year.It's the amazing number of devastating blows the team has absorbed all season, on and off the field. HAL PILGER/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois Sports and Illinois Pro Sports.
THE REAL DEAL: Illinois freshman Arrelious Benn, a heralded recruit when he arrived on campus in January, has lived up to the hype. Now the coaches must decided how much is too much for Benn. Serves as preview for Illinois-Syracuse game. Also, preview capsule. SUPINIE/CHAMPAIGN/Illinois Sports and Top Ten
REED SHRECK: BEARS GRAND OFFENSIVE PLAN YET TO MATERIALIZE: Column. SHRECK/Illinois Sports and Bears
--preview/SHRECK
WOLFE FEATURE: Wolfe copes with not playing. SCRECK/Illinois Sports and Bears
DAILY SOUTHTOWN:
ARVIA COLUMN: CUBS AT CARDINALS
SOX NOTEBOOK - (Playing the Angels) FIRCHAU
NOTRE DAME ADVANCE - CRONIN
CUBS NOTEBOOK - At St. Louis, 7:10 p.m. MAIN/NOTEBOOK - VORVA
<u>Opinions</u>
EDITORIAL: COUNTERPRODUCTIVE SEX-OFFENDER LAW - Few crimes horrify society as much as sexual crimes - especially sexual crimes committed against children. While such crimes have been committed as long as humans have roamed the world, in recent years laws punishing such crimes and attempting to control those convicted of sex crimes have continually been toughened. Some are beginning to wonder if the laws have gone so far as to become counterproductive. SPRINGFIELD/Illinois Opinion/posted
EDITORIAL: DON'T BE SNIFFING THE POPCORN - First came "black lung" for miners: pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of coal dust. Then came "hot tub lung": respiratory irritation from breathing bacteria found in jacuzzis. Now there's "popcorn lung," a reportedly deadly form of bronchial disease triggered by taking repeated whiffs of microwave popcorn. PEORIA/Illinois Opinion
BRITT CARTOON: War-related toon about the Democrats shooting an "elephant gun" toward the Republicans. CHRIS BRITT/SPRINGFIELD/Illinois Opinion/posted
CAPITOL NOTEBOOK: 5 interesting things occurring in legislation from the week./CAPITOL BUREAUS/Illinois Opinions
STATEHOUSE INSIDER: A look at the week from columnist Doug Finke. FINKE/CAPITOL BUREAU/Illinois Opinions
<u>This weekend ... Moving on cycle</u>
For Sunday
NOTE FROM MIKE NADEL - If Thome hits No. 500, Mike will write a column to be delivered between 10 and 10:30. Again, it might need to be topped. If Thome doesn't hit it, Mike will not write unless something
compelling occurs. (And if Thome has already hit homer on Friday, Mike will be off Sat.)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: No Illinois vs. Syracuse football game story.
Report card on Illinois-Syracuse game. SUPINIE/CHAMPAIGN/Illinois Sports and Top Ten
--A blog is available through www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com/> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com/
DAILY SOUTHTOWN:
THE SOUTHTOWN INTERVIEW(S)
CUBS GM JIM HENDRY (VORVA)/SOX GM KEN WILLIAMS (WHALEN)
ARVIA: AT CUBS-CARDINALS
SOX NOTEOOK: Hosting Los Angeles, 6:05 p.m. - FIRCHAU
CUBS NOTEBOOK: At St. Louis, noon AND 7:10 p.m. - VORVA
COLLEGE FOOTBALL (main and notebook)
Notre Dame at Michigan, 2:30 p.m. CRONIN
For Monday
FOLLOW UP. A look back at the Illinois-Syracuse football game and a look ahead to the Illinois-Indiana game. SUPINIE/CHAMPAIGN/Illinois Sports and Top Ten
MIKE NADEL: Column from Bears game. NADEL/Illinois Sports and Mike Nadel
DAILY SOUTHTOWN:
ARVIA COLUMN
CUBS NOTEBOOK: At St. Louis, 1:15 p.m. - VORVA
COLLEGE FOOTBALL FOLO - CRONIN
CUBS NOTEBOOK - VORVA