FIVE THINGS TO KNOW: City payouts, Daley military news; animal art

One out; one in. The city was this/close to settling police-torture allegations with four former death row inmates for a whopping $20 million, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Meanwhile, a jury decided later in the week that the family of a 23-year-old Chicago man should get $12.5 million for an unjustified fatal police shooting in 2003 that was captured on videotape.

Mayor's son deployed. Mayor Richard Daley's Army paratrooper son, Patrick, will be deployed overseas. The elder Daley declined to say exactly where, over privacy (and presumably safety) concerns. The younger Daley joined the military in 2004 at the age of 29.

Won't get fooled again. Even the most expert authorities get hoodwinked. The venerable Art Institute of Chicago acknowledged that a faun statue it bought in the late 1990s -- supposedly sculpted by 19th-century French artist Paul Gauguin -- is a fake. The source of the forgery is believed to be Britain's notorious Greenhalgh family.

Seal of approval. The Shedd Aquarium is up-front about the source of its paintings for sale: sea lions. Two of the mammals have learned to apply paint to canvases by holding brushes in their mouths as part of a cognitive exercise. The Shedd is selling the abstract-looking paintings in its gift shop; proceeds benefit the museum's education and conservation programs.

Field of schemes. Might the state acquire Wrigley Field, the historic home of the soon-to-be-sold Chicago Cubs? Media reports indicate state officials have entertained a suggestion for the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority to take control of Wrigley from the Tribune Co. and oversee a large-scale renovation while keeping the privately owned team in town. Mayor Daley seemed dubious of the idea, considering the state hasn't found the money to bail out the cash-strapped Chicago Transit Authority.

Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net <mailto:ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net> .