• Originally published March 5, 2010 at 1:15 p.m., updated March 6, 2010 at 4:34 a.m.

The supervisor is Karen Hawkins.

If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please send them by electronic carbon, e-mail them to chifax(at)ap.org or fax them to the Chicago bureau at 312-781-1989. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please transmit them to AP's Chicago photo desk. If you have questions about the Illinois AP news report, please call the Chicago bureau supervisor at 800-572-2585 or 312-920-3623. For questions about the photo report, please call the Chicago photo editor at 888-276-3804.

GOVERNOR'S RACE

CHICAGO — State Sen. Bill Brady officially captured the Republican nomination for Illinois governor on Friday after a month of uncertainty, setting up a stark contrast for voters between him and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. Brady's victory came by just 193 votes out of more than 767,000 cast, but that was enough to persuade second-place finisher Kirk Dillard to concede. Brady will now focus on Quinn, with whom he differs on social issues, economic policy and plans for closing the state's record $13 billion deficit. By Karen Hawkins and Christopher Wills.

AP Photos CX502-503, CX506, CX508, CX510.

WITH:

—LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, from CHICAGO: A former Democratic candidate for Illinois comptroller says he's submitted an application to be the party's candidate for lieutenant governor, and a former adviser to ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich has withdrawn his application.

—GOVERNOR'S RACE-RESULTS.

FATAL FIRE-ILLINOIS

MAYWOOD — The owner of a suburban Chicago apartment house had his maintenance man set fire to the building, killing seven people including a newborn, because he wanted to cash in on a $250,000 insurance policy, prosecutors said Friday. The landlord told police he wanted the house burned when the children living there were at school. Instead, authorities allege, the maintenance man started the fire on a Sunday morning when residents were sleeping inside. By Carla K. Johnson.

AP Photos CX512-513.

BRACED FOR FLOODING

FARGO, N.D. — Across the upper Midwest, the signs are ominous. Salesmen in Fargo are hawking products named "Muscle Wall" and "Sandbagging Buddy." Emergency workers in Keokuk, Iowa, are sizing up limestone boulders to barricade the water treatment plant. The farmer's cooperative in Quincy, Ill., is shipping grain to inland storage. Similar scenes are unfolding throughout the nation's midsection after the National Weather Service issued an alarming forecast: a confluence of flooding risk factors, from the seasonal thaw of a very heavy snowpack to the onset of spring rains, could cause heavy flooding along rivers such as the Red, the Mississippi and the Missouri. By Dave Kolpack and Jim Suhr.

AP Photos NDFAR101-104, CX413-414, ILQHW401.

WRONGFUL CONVICTION-GRADES

CHICAGO — A retired police detective accused of abusing witnesses until they implicated an innocent man in a 1978 murder denies the claims in a videotaped interview with Northwestern University journalism students, turned over to prosecutors this week. Allegations that former Harvey Det. Coleman McCarthy coerced witnesses are central to students' claims that they uncovered evidence that Anthony McKinney was wrongly convicted of murdering a security guard. By Karen Hawkins.

CONTAMINATED WATER

CRESTWOOD — A new report says cancer rates are far higher than average in a south Chicago suburb where officials are accused of knowingly drawing drinking water from a tainted well for decades. Researchers say it's impossible to know for sure if Crestwood's contaminated water caused the additional cancers in the village of 11,000.

TOMATO SHORTAGE

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A frigid Florida winter is taking its toll on your sandwich. The Sunshine State is the main U.S. source for fresh winter tomatoes, and its growers lost some 70 percent of their crop during January's prolonged cold snap. Wholesale prices are up nearly five times over last year. That means you can say goodbye to the beefsteaks on that burger and prepare to pay more than usual for the succulent wedges in your salad. By Tamara Lush.

AP Photos FLC101-102, GFX356.

AIRLINE SECURITY

BOSTON — The Transportation Security Administration on Friday announced nine more U.S. airports that will receive body-scanning technology, as the U.S. heightens its effort to detect hidden explosives and other weapons amid a threat highlighted by an attempted bombing on Christmas Day. By Glen Johnson.

AP Photos MAMS101-103, MAMS105-106, MAMS107.

BUSINESS:

TRIBUNE BANKRUPTCY-BONDHOLDERS

DOVER, Del. — Bondholders in the Tribune Co.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case are suing the banks that financed the media company's 2007 leveraged buyout, claiming they knew that the resulting debt load would leave Tribune insolvent. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington by Wilmington Trust Co., agent for holders of $1.2 billion in bonds sold by the company before real estate mogul Sam Zell led Tribune's $8.2 billion buyout. By Business Writer Randall Chase.

CF-TERRA-EXCHANGE OFFER

NEW YORK — CF Industries Holdings Inc. said Friday it has begun its unsolicited $4.8 billion offer for fertilizer company Terra Industries Inc., which has already accepted a buyout offer from a Norwegian company. Chemical maker CF, based in Deerfield, Ill., on Tuesday offered $37.15 in cash and nearly one-tenth of a share of common stock for each Terra share.

ALSO MOVING:

DARIEN-THREE DEAD, from DARIEN: A man described as the prime suspect in the slaying of three members of a family at their home in the Chicago suburb of Darien has reportedly been returned to Illinois.

POLICE LIEUTENANT-WARRANT, from GALESBURG: A lieutenant with the Galesburg Police Department is facing felony charges in a warrant obtained from the Knox County State's Attorney's Office.

RUMSFELD-TORTURE SUIT, from CHICAGO: A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of responsibility for the U.S. military's alleged torture of two American contractors working in Iraq.

RAIL CONGESTION, from CHICAGO: Officials say a new flyover bridge will help relieve rail congestion in Chicago and create nearly 1,500 jobs.

MAGGIE DALEY-SURGERY, from CHICAGO: Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's office says his wife has undergone surgery in her ongoing fight against cancer.

PLANE-LAVATORY FIRE, from CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y.: Authorities say United Airlines Flight 769 made an unexpected landing in Buffalo after a water pump caught fire in a lavatory.

SPORTS:

BKW-T25-B10-ILLINOIS-OHIO ST

INDIANAPOLIS — Jantel Lavender controlled the middle and Samantha Prahalis took care of the perimeter work, leading No. 10 Ohio State past Illinois 66-55 in Friday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinals. By Sports Writer Michael Marmot.

AP Photos NAF114-116.

BKC-MVC-BRADLEY-CREIGHTON

ST. LOUIS — Bradley guard Sam Maniscalco patiently waited six days to get even. Maniscalco bounced back from one of his worst performances of the season to score a career-high 31 points on Friday in leading Bradley over Creighton 81-62 in the quarterfinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

BKC-MVC-INDIANA ST-ILLINOIS ST

ST. LOUIS — Osiris Eldridge and Austin Hill each scored 17 points as No. 3 seed Illinois State overcame an early 12-point deficit to defeat No. 6 seed Indiana State 69-65 Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

WITH:

—BKC-ST. JOHN'S-DEPAUL, from ROSEMONT: D.J. Kennedy helped St. John's overcome a 20-point first-half deficit with a career-high 32 points and Malik Boothe scored six points in the third overtime as the Red Storm defeated DePaul 90-82 in triple overtime Friday night.

—BKC-MURRAY ST.-E. ILLINOIS, from NASHVILLE, Tenn.: Tony Easley scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots in the final 12 seconds to help Murray State defeat Eastern Illinois 55-51 Friday night in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

HKN-CANUCKS-BLACKHAWKS

CHICAGO — Andrew Ladd, Duncan Keith, Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg and Jordan Hendry scored first-period goals to chase Olympic gold medal-winning goalie Roberto Luongo in the Chicago Blackhawks' 6-3 victory over Vancouver on Friday night.

AP Photos CXA502, CXA508-509.

BBN-DIAMONDBACKS-CUBS

MESA, Ariz. — Justin Upton's sixth-inning grand slam, his first hit since signing a $51.25 million, six-year contract, wasn't enough for the Arizona Diamondbacks in an 8-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

AP Photos AZPC104, AZPC106.

BBO-DODGERS-WHITE SOX

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Vicente Padilla threw two hitless innings and Reed Johnson drove in a pair of runs, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

AP Photos AZMD102-103, AZMD107, AZMD112.

FBN-BEARS-FREE AGENCY

LAKE FOREST — Anxious all week, Julius Peppers was finally getting some sleep at home in Charlotte when he found out just how serious the Chicago Bears were about acquiring him. The free agent signing period had just begun and his agent called to tell him coach Lovie Smith was in town. Soon, Peppers was meeting him at an executive airport. Now, he's being fitted for a Bears uniform. By Sports Writer Andrew Seligman.

AP Photo NY162.

BKH-ILLINOIS GIRLS PREP ROUNDUP

NORMAL — Morgan Tuck took some healthy halftime criticism to heart on Friday. The Bolingbrook sophomore erupted for 19 second half points — including 10 straight in the fourth quarter — as the defending Class 4A champs rolled past Hersey 56-30 in a state tournament semifinal blowout on Friday.

ILLINOIS SPOTLIGHT:

TRUTH AND SOUL

CHICAGO — The view of the world looking out the front windows of Truth and Soul Black Stars barbershop is narrow and uninspiring, nothing but traffic rumbling past on East 87th Street and the glow of a dry cleaner's neon sign. But that has never limited the worldview of the shop's proprietor, Elhajji Elshabazz. For four decades, the world either has come to him — in the form of celebrities ranging from Sammy Davis Jr. to R. Kelly — or he has launched himself upon the world, globe-trotting to places he dreamed of while flipping pages of National Geographic magazines in the library of a West Side grammar school. By Rex W. Huppke. Chicago Tribune.

ACCIDENT-FREE DRIVER

TAYLORVILLE — From drop-offs at the mom-and-pop shops lining the town square to stops at the homes along Lake Taylorville, UPS delivery driver David "Jake" Jacob logs about 140 miles a day. "Over the years, it's probably been around a million (miles), I imagine," Jacob, 51, said of his nearly 28-year career driving the big brown truck in central Illinois. And for the last 25 years, each of those miles has been collision-free. On Saturday, the Springfield resident and father of six earned his place in the Circle of Honor, an honorary organization for UPS drivers who have gone 25 years or more without a traffic accident. By Amanda Reavy. The (Springfield) State Journal-Register.

AP Photos ILSPR601-602.

• Print
• •
• Share
  • Share this item

    Send this to a friend

    Share on FaceBook

  • Grab the link

    Copy and paste the link:

  • Blog about it

    Blog about this page.

  • Close
• •
• 1 Comment
• •
• Favorite
• •
• Report error
  • Thank you for your submission.
    Error report or correction

    Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  

    
  • Close
• •