Illinois

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Missing Ill. Boy Found Hidden Behind Wall at Grandma's

Mother charged in connection with 6-year-old's disappearance

(Newser) - Authorities in Illinois have found a boy who’d been missing for nearly 2 years hidden behind a wall in his grandmother’s house, and arrested his mother and grandmother in connection with his disappearance, the Chicago Tribune reports. “It was a good day today,” one official said,...

Chicagoans Cool Off on Olympic Bid

Financial concerns drive lukewarm public support

(Newser) - Local support for Chicago's bid to play host to the 2016 Olympics has fallen sharply, with public opinion evenly split, the Chicago Tribune reports. Just 47% of Chicagoans in a new poll support the mayor’s initiative—a 14-point slide—while 45% oppose it. The main issue is expense: 84%...

Blago Book: Senate Deal 'Routine' Politics

Former Illinois gov admits only 'routine' backroom dealing

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s memoir makes the case for his innocence with a lot of help from Shakespeare, the Chicago Tribune reports. While blaming his woes specifically on five enemies, he likens his plight to that of Othello and Lear. “You might as well throw in a little Richard the...

Judge Jails Yawning Man for 6 Months

(Newser) - Make sure you've had a good night's sleep before going to court in Illinois. Clifton Williams, 33, went to support his cousin during a hearing on a felony drugs charge, but during the sentencing he stretched his arms and let out a loud, distracting yawn. His cousin got just two...

Blago Bereft? Hit GovernorRod.com

Former guv launches his site, finally

(Newser) - Looking to book Rod Blagojevich for a speaking gig, but just weren’t sure how to get a hold of him? Now you can reach him with the click of a mouse, thanks to his new website, which the ousted governor named—of course—GovernorRod.com, the Chicago Sun-Times reports....

Babies' Graves Vanish From Ill. Cemetery

(Newser) - Police declared the whole of Burr Oak cemetery in the Chicago suburbs to be a crime scene last night, after hundreds of families reported empty or missing graves, including an entire section of the cemetery called Babyland, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Relatives will be barred from the site for about...

It's Official: Burris Won't Run

(Newser) - Roland Burris made it official this afternoon: He won't run for a full term next year, the Chicago Tribune reports. “I love serving the people of Illinois,” the current holder of President Obama's old Senate seat said. But “political races have become far too expensive in...

Emmett Till's Casket Found 'Rusted, Battered'

Locals search for loved ones' graves at desecrated cemetery

(Newser) - As Chicagoans mourned the desecration of a historic cemetery, the casket of civil rights icon Emmett Till was found rusted in a shack amid garbage and gravestones, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. “When we opened it up trying to find what we have, a family of possums ran out,”...

Burris Won't Run for Re-Election

(Newser) - Roland Burris won't run for re-election to his Senate seat, both Chicago papers are reporting. The Illinois senator intends to stay in office through the end of his term in January 2011 but figures he can't raise enough money to mount a re-election campaign. In fact, he's raised a measly...

Cemetery Workers Dug Up Bodies, Resold Graves

Illinois cemetery employees excavated graves, dumped remains for cash

(Newser) - Four employees of a historic Chicago-area cemetery face charges after police uncovered a gruesome scheme to excavate graves, remove the human remains, and resell the plots, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. One manager and three grave diggers at Burr Oak Cemetery are charged with dismembering a human body, which carries of...

Burris Won't Face Perjury Charges: Ill. Prosecutor

Evidence on Blago contacts insufficient

(Newser) - Sen. Roland Burris will not be charged with perjury for neglecting to tell an Illinois House impeachment panel about additional discussions he had with associates of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the State Journal-Register reports. While Burris did omit conversations about the Senate appointment with members of Blagojevich’s inner circle, they...

Blago to Appear in Rod Superstar Spoof

Ex-gov to take the stage to announce extension of musical mocking his career

(Newser) - The Second City revue's harshly critical musical send-up of Rod Blagojevich's rise and fall will have a special guest onstage Saturday: Rod Blagojevich. Producers of Rod Blagojevich Superstar say the impeached former Illinois governor will be on hand to announce the hit spoof's extension through August, and will join...

US to Return $10M Stolen Art Stash to Italy

'Treasure trove' of looted antiques uncovered in Chicago home

(Newser) - A huge stash of stolen artifacts found in a Chicago home will be returned to Italy by US authorities, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The artifacts—including letters written by kings and popes, and Etruscan works thousands of years old—were discovered by the homeowner's heirs after his death, and are...

Mrs. Blago Thrives in the Jungle

Illinois viewers groan as ex-gov's wife munches tarantuala, discusses hubby

(Newser) - Patti Blagojevich is proving to be more popular in the Costa Rican jungle than in Illinois, the New York Times reports. Blagojevich's fellow D-list celebs on reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here voted to make the wife of disgraced ex-governor Rod Blagojevich immune from elimination by...

Blago Toyed With Giving Rival's Daughter Senate Seat...

...in exchange for dad's pet-project support

(Newser) - Ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich considered nominating his rival's daughter to the US Senate in exchange for concessions on pet projects, the AP reports. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, daughter of the state's powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, was in contention for the spot, according to aides to Sen. Dick...

Pols Pushed U. of Illinois Into Taking Students

'Clout list' just amounts to 'blackmail:' critics

(Newser) - Prominent state lawmakers have been pressuring administrators at the University of Illinois to accept favored applicants or risk facing their wrath, the Chicago Tribune reports. Analyzing 1,800 documents, the paper found that subpar applicants on a “clout list” gained admission over the objections of admissions officers after school...

Burris Offered Blagojevich a Personal Check

FBI tape reveals offer, but the future senator never sent money

(Newser) - The Senate Ethics Committee will have an interesting conversation to ponder as it considers whether Roland Burris engaged in any shady business before being appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. In an exchange secretly taped by the FBI between Burris and Blago's brother before the gubernatorial scandal...

Blago Brother's Talk With Burris Fair Game for Inquiry

(Newser) - FBI recordings of a conversation between Sen. Roland Burris and the brother of disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich can be released to the Senate Ethics Committee, a judge ruled today. The committee is investigating Burris’ appointment by the now-impeached governor, made after Blagojevich was indicted, the Hill reports. The...

RFK Son Plans Run for Obama Senate Seat

Chris Kennedy sets sights on seat now held by Burris

(Newser) - Another Kennedy is taking a shot at a Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Chris Kennedy, the eighth of Robert F. Kennedy's 11 kids, plans to challenge Roland Burris in next year's election for the Illinois seat vacated by President Obama. Insiders say the Democrat decided to run after polls...

Peterson Murder Case Hinges on Flimsy Evidence

Prosecution counting on 'beyond the grave' testimony from victim

(Newser) - The murder case against Drew Peterson is likely to hinge on circumstantial evidence and hearsay testimony, the Chicago Tribune reports. Prosecutors will be relying on a new statute that some are calling “Drew’s Law,” which will allow victim Kathleen Savio to “testify from beyond the grave,...

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