GHNS Illinois Budget (3/7/08)
Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at www.gatehousenewsservice.com. Please check www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.
If your paper has a story, digest item, opinion piece or standalone photo to share, please e-mail it to Illinois@gatehousemedia.com.
Contacts:
- Casey Laughman: 630-348-3353, 217-816-3343, claughman@gatehousemedia.com
- Jean Hodges: 630-348-3350, 630-956-8834, jhodges@gatehousemedia.com
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FAMILY TAB: Coming Wednesday: The first issue of Family, a 24-page tab from GateHouse Media. Will be available for download as a Quark, InDesign or PDF file.
HASTERT'S SEAT: Suburban Life Publications will be covering Saturday's special election to fill the 14th Congressional District seat vacated by former Rep. Dennis Hastert. A story and photos will move by 9 p.m.; an updated story will move later. There will also be second-day coverage available Sunday.
TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT:
VETERANS WAIT WHILE BEDS SIT EMPTY: For years, hundreds of beds in Illinois' veterans nursing homes have sat empty. Veterans have waited for a year or more - and sometimes died while waiting - because the homes don't have enough staff. A three-part series by Phil Kadner of the Southtown Star. Parts one and two are available today; Part three will be available Monday.
PART TWO: Margaret Pieper's husband, Harold, fought with the U.S. Army in World War II, worked for A.E. Staley Manufacturing Co. in Decatur for 40 years, retired to Arizona and eventually died waiting for a bed in an Illinois veterans home. "There wasn't anything at all in Arizona," Mrs. Pieper said. "They didn't have any veterans homes, and I couldn't afford to put him in a private home."
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x691144997
PART ONE: Veterans are waiting a year or more, sometimes dying, for rooms in Illinois nursing homes created specifically for those who have served with honor in the country's armed forces. Yet for years, rooms in some of the state's four veterans homes have remained vacant because Illinois simply failed to hire enough nurses to make them available.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x513684013
ILLINOIS NEWS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news
STATE BRIEFS: News from around the state. Will be posted this evening.
STACY PETERSON:
Attorney: Stacy Peterson asked about divorce before she vanished
BOLINGBROOK - Days before she went missing, Stacy Peterson spoke with the same lawyer who represented Kathleen Savio in her divorce from Drew Peterson, the attorney revealed Thursday on Roe Conn's WLS radio show. By Danya Hooker of Suburban Life Publications.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1379332767
WITH:
The search for Stacy: Week in review
BOLINGBROOK - A look at some of the week's developments and curiosities surrounding the Peterson case. Compiled by Danya Hooker of Suburban Life Publications.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x39086292
Go team! Companies trading ropes, nets for nontraditional team building activities
The recently-formed executive staff at the new Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital was in need of an outing for the unacquainted coworkers to bond and develop a group dynamic. And the usual lame company ice breakers weren't cutting it. By Jessica Young of Suburban Life Publications.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1775725817
FROM THE STATEHOUSE: Capitol Notebook. Compiled by the Statehouse bureau. Will be posted this evening.
WITH: Statehouse Insider. By Doug Finke of the Statehouse bureau.
Should state buy Wrigley Field? Depends on who is asked
PEORIA - Kriss Cochran might be a diehard Chicago Cubs fan, but even she thinks it's questionable for state government to purchase Wrigley Field and make renovations to the ball park. "I don't feel everyone in the state should pay for that," said Cochran, a Peoria resident. "What you are saying to everyone in the state is that we should work hard and pay our taxes for the Chicago Cubs." By John Sharp of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x633711431
Callahan chosen to take on Schock
LINCOLN - After about three months without anyone in the race for the U.S. House in the 18th Congressional District, the Democrats have their woman. Chairmen in 16 of the 20 counties that make up the district on Thursday chose longtime farm broadcaster Colleen Callahan, 57, as their candidate for the post currently held by U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria. By Karen McDonald of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1379332525
House approves plan to fund Peoria museum
SPRINGFIELD - A plan to set aside $12 million in state funding for the proposed Peoria Riverfront Museum took another step forward Thursday, when the House of Representatives approved it. The vote was 80-23. By Adriana Colindres of the Statehouse bureau.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1775725765
Lawmaker pushes tougher penalty for negligent vehicular homicide
SPRINGFIELD - Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, is urging the state to create harsher penalties for drivers who negligently kill someone.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x688582553
ILLINOIS OPINIONS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/opinions
BRITT: Toon on the controversial Democratic primaries in Florida and Michigan. Will be posted this afternoon.
WOOD ON WORDS: Since the early days of humans' application of electricity to mass communication, "tele-," from the Greek for "far off," has been the prefix of choice for inventing words to keep up with innovations in technology. Will be posted this afternoon.
Editorial: State government's low ranking not surprising at all
No one in Illinois who pays a modicum of attention to state government should be surprised we are at the bottom of a national research group's rankings of states for government performance. An editorial from the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x633711903
ILLINOIS SPORTS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/sports
MIKE NADEL: Mike Nadel is off today. He will be writing Saturday and Sunday from spring training in Florida.
ILLINI: CHAMPAIGN - A feature on outgoing senior Shaun Pruitt. Stands as preview for Saturday's Illinois-Minnesota game. Will be posted this evening. With preview capsule. By John Supinie.
SATURDAY: CHAMPAIGN - Illinois wraps up the regular season against Minnesota. Game time is noon. With report card. Story will move by 4:30 p.m. By John Supinie.
SUNDAY: Wrap up on Big Ten Conference season with a look at the players of the year, coach of the year award and who earned the best grades among the conference coaches. By John Supinie.
SUNDAY QUICK SHOTS: Brett Favre gets praised for his boyish enthusiasm, but would have been better if he played more like a man. Instead of all those smiles when things went well, how about getting Michael Jordan mad and determined when things looked bad? Also, praise for the first year of the 4-class IHSA basketball tournaments and comments on the Bulls, Sox and Cubs. By Matt Trowbridge of the Rockford Register Star. For use in Sunday editions.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1993295671
MISSOURI VALLEY TOURNAMENT: Bradley, Illinois State and Southern Illinois all play Friday at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Coverage from the Peoria Journal Star and the State Journal-Register. Will be posted this evening.
FOR THE WEEKEND:
Caribbean Pride: 15-year-old looks forward to U.S. citizenship but misses Cuba
ROCHELLE - Sometimes, 15-year-old Lisbet Matos just wants to feel the sand between her toes again. She wants to take a break after school and watch the sun on the water. Or relax with her friends as they watch dusk turn to twilight. The Cuban-born Matos says she's a little bewildered by the rigid schedules and daily grind in the U.S. There's no room for spontaneity, she says, and longs for the island culture she knew in Cuba. By Betsy Lopez Fritscher of Espejo, a Spanish-language weekly of the Rockford Register Star. Available in English and Spanish.
ENGLISH: http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x633710526
SPANISH: http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x688582876
One owner, low miles: Almost 30 years later, Z28 is still one sweet ride
ROCKFORD - There was just something about that 1979 Camaro Z28. Greg Currens was 21 years old, with some money in his pocket and his eye on a candy-red sports car. There was a six-month waiting list, but Currens finally got the call. He gladly paid $7,800 for the car, and was thrilled to drive away in it. It's been nearly 30 years since Currens first sat in his Z28, and he's still as happy as ever to have bought that car. He's never considered selling it - although he estimates the car is now worth around $25,000 - and brings it out on only the sunniest days. By Elizabeth Davies of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1126213051
Semis, boxes, farms and warehouses: No load is too big (or too small) for Midwest Food Bank
PEORIA - Whether it comes in semis or boxes, the Midwest Food Bank can use it. The organization that started on a family farm has grown to the point that it's providing food for more than 100,000 familes annually. By Ryan Ori of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x513683123