Chicago Sun-Times back issues from July 2008:
'I don't want her name tainted'
Jul 01, 2008; ... Residents jumped over a rust-colored puddle of water mixed with blood Monday to get out of the building at the corner of 78th and Kingston. About 12 hours earlier, three people had been gunned down just inside the South Shore building in what police believe was a drug- or gang-related ...
Tax to the max
Jul 01, 2008; ... If you think you're paying more sales tax today in Cook County, you are. The sales tax rate jumps 1 percent today, thanks to a Cook County Board vote, giving Chicago the dubious distinction of having the highest municipal sales tax rate in the nation. You'll pay the highest rate of sales ...
Dancer slips, now she wants bar to pay
Jul 01, 2008; ... A woman named Rory Beer took a wicked spill while dancing on the bar at a popular Division Street night spot in August 2006. Now, she wants $50,000 for her pain. On Monday, Beer, formerly known as Rory Roberts, filed a lawsuit claiming that she was injured at Bar Chicago, 9 W ....
Campaign '08
Jul 01, 2008; ... A McCain memo . . . Carly S. Fiorina, 53, is the other woman in John McCain's political life. She's a big Hillary Clinton fan. In a 45-minute phone chat Monday, she told Sneed: "I know Hillary. I am a great admirer. She is obviously an intellectually determined and heroic ...
Coupon maven draws bargain-hunting crowd
Jul 01, 2008 ... Jill Cataldo's coupon savvy is making her a mini celebrity. Since she was featured in the Sun-Times June 12, she has fielded questions from readers at suntimes.com, interviewed by Jonathon Brandmeier on WLUP-FM (97.9) three times and by two other radio stations and been filmed by a TV ...
Sour in Trib Tower
Jul 01, 2008; ... For some employees at the Chicago Tribune, a memo Monday was the last straw. Make that the last Post-it note, pen and notebook. The paper's corporate owner, Tribune Co., is trying to save $500,000 a year on office supplies. Gerald Spector, the company's chief administration officer, ...
Suburban man arrested for deadly fish toxin
Jul 01, 2008; ... The FBI arrested a McHenry County man Monday on a felony charge of possessing tetrodotoxin -- a deadly poison found in puffer fish. Edward F. Bachner IV, 35, of Lake in the Hills, ordered 98 milligrams of the toxin from a New Jersey chemical company, the FBI said. Using the alias Edmond ...
The law says what they want it to
Jul 01, 2008; ... In the course of many years in this line of work, I've often had occasion for somebody to inquire of me, "That must be illegal. What does the law say?" The implication always is that somewhere there are these magical tablets containing the applicable statutes for the specific fact ...
Pilgrim Baptist finally gets $1M from state
Jul 01, 2008; ... Gov. Blagojevich's administration Monday finally delivered on his 30-month-old promise to provide $1 million to Pilgrim Baptist Church to help rebuild the fire-ravaged Bronzeville icon. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity signed off on a grant agreement that could enable ...
Rides, trains fine if you stay on right side
Jul 01, 2008; ... The details of the story are horrific. Heck, the headline was horrific: "Teen decapitated by Six Flags Batman ride in Georgia." It's the kind of story that negates any kind of publicity generated by those borderline tasteless TV spots, with the Asian guy screaming, "Six Flags! ...
A brilliant idea, if we play our cards right
Jul 01, 2008; ... You can't blame black people for not wanting to see AIDS in America as a black disease. Black people have enough stigma on their plate. Now, an organization that has been at the forefront of the AIDS battle in the black community may have come up with a way to help stop the ...
Black buying power touted
Jul 01, 2008; ... Black Americans buy in big numbers. But product manufacturers aren't spending enough advertising dollars with the black press and African-American advertising firms, black media and advertising industry professionals said Monday. African Americans wield about $800 billion in buying ...
Fine for tinted front windows may hit $250
Jul 01, 2008; ... The City Council Police and Fire Committee Monday forwarded a proposal to boost the fine for cars with tinted front windows from $25 to $250. Ald. Michael Zalewski (23rd) said police officers who live in his ward told him that they've noticed more cars with tinted front windows, which is ...
CHA property where boy died has code violations
Jul 01, 2008; ... City building inspectors on Monday found code violations at the Chicago Housing Authority property in the 900 block of North Cambridge where a heavy gate broke free of its hinges and fatally crushed 3-year-old Curtis Cooper on Friday. Details of the inspection report were not available ...
Near One's Heart
Jul 01, 2008; ... It's been almost a decade since Chicago became the first city in the world to equip its airports with automated external defibrillators -- known for short as AEDs -- in 1999. Since then, the portable devices are credited with saving the lives of 49 people who'd gone into sudden cardiac arrest ...
Canceling musical over one word was mistake
Jul 01, 2008 ... Wilmette Park District officials blew it last week when they bowed to political correctness by canceling the musical "Ragtime" because it includes the n-word. Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, "Ragtime" is a critically acclaimed musical set in the early 1900s. The story captures the ...
Israel's choice risky, but human
Jul 01, 2008 ... It seems a simple and wise principle: You don't negotiate with hostage-takers because it only encourages more hostage- taking. Yet things rarely are that simple in real life, especially when that life is lived in the Middle East. Israel reached agreement Sunday with the terrorist ...
Time for gun foes to surrender to reason
Jul 01, 2008; ... Mayor Daley's reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's gun decision was typically over the top: "Do you think your next door neighbor should have an Uzi, an AK-47? Any type of gun? Do you really believe that?" No, and I don't think there's an iota of evidence that the court believes that ...
When greed backfires
Jul 01, 2008; ... Did American automakers intentionally self-destruct? Despite the obvious volatility in the Middle East and long-standing concerns about America's overdependence on oil, domestic automakers continued building bigger, more powerful trucks and SUVs. While the rest of the world has been ...
Fighting for Pfleger
Jul 01, 2008; ... In response to "What Pfleger teaches flock" in which Fred White labels Father Pfleger a disrespectful egotist [June 26], I would suggest that Mr. White visit the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. Father Pfleger has devoted himself to providing stability and revitalization for this community ...
Justice for sale
Jul 01, 2008; ... The Supreme Court's decision to overturn earlier judgments that would have held Exxon accountable for $5 billion as a result of its negligence that resulted in the most devastating environmental disaster in America history provides further proof, as if any more were necessary, that all three ...
Gun ruling right on target
Jul 01, 2008; ... The citizens of the United States and, most important, cities that outlaw gun ownership like Chicago, have something to celebrate. Why does the Chicago leadership not want law-abiding citizens owning and, more important, carrying guns? Isn't the violence in Chicago an indication that ...
We must not give up on regulating handguns
Jul 01, 2008; ... I am profoundly disappointed with the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the District of Columbia's gun law. We do not allow civilians guns in the White House and the Capitol, nor are they permitted in federal court buildings. It is just common sense to offer states and ...
What took so long?
Jul 01, 2008; ... While I appreciated your editorial supporting Attorney General Lisa Madigan for going after the bad guys, I think this action is a bit too late in the game ["Madigan's lawsuit nails mortgage ...
Talk back
Jul 01, 2008 ... WHAT A DIFFERENCE GUN BAN DIDN'T MAKE Chicago has had a gun ban for more than 20 years. And none of its citizens is protected. I think the Supreme Court was absolutely right. You have a constitutional right to protect yourself. Someone should go over to the Cook County Jail and listen to ...
Right-wing gun ruling endangers U.S.
Jul 01, 2008; ... More people will die from gunshots due to the decision of five right-wing Supreme Court justices to overturn the District of Columbia law banning handguns in the district. To reach their ruling, the gang of five had to distort the clear meaning of the words of the Second Amendment and ...
Ever-rising Chicago area taxes are reaching a soar point
Jul 01, 2008; ... 'It's death by a thousand taxes," Jerry Roper told me when I called him for comments on the Cook County Board's decision to raise the county sales tax 1 percentage point. "The question is, where is the tipping point? When do major corporations view this as a disincentive?" The answer ...
CTU board again votes to put VP Dallas on trial
Jul 01, 2008; ... Call it CTU deja vu. The Chicago Teachers Union executive board Monday voted to try union vice president Ted Dallas on charges of lavish spending at high-end restaurants and on liquor, among other purported misdeeds. After the first vote for a trial, originally scheduled for June ...
McCain getting a bit liberal?
Jul 01, 2008; ... News Item: John McCain renews offer of a $300 million prize for a new car battery that would "leapfrog" existing technology. Is McCain saying, in other words, that he doesn't trust the free market to reward such an invention, so the government should step in? Not that there is ...
Achy breaky superhero
Jul 01, 2008; ... 'Hancock' Rating 3 out of 4 John Hancock Will Smith Mary Embrey Charlize Theron Ray Embrey Jason Bateman Aaron Embrey Jae Head Red Eddie Marsan Man Mountain David Mattey - - - Columbia Pictures presents a film directed by Peter ...
How did model die?
Jul 01, 2008; ... Sounds like there are two opinions about the untimely death of rising supermodel and former Vogue covergirl Ruslana Korshunova, the 20-year-old beauty who had been a fashion world fave since emigrating here from her native Kazakhstan. While the initial police report called her death -- ...
Scurrilous: Chicago's No. 1 Couch Potato
Jul 01, 2008 ... SAME-DAY OPENING AVOIDED JEN VS. ANGIE ON HOLD The big Angelina Jolie-Jennifer Aniston showdown has been canceled. I'm talking about Oct. 24, when Angie's movie "Changeling" and Jen's picture "He's Just Not That Into You" were both supposed to open. We pretty much know ...
Brown going 'Dancing' here
Jul 01, 2008 ... Josef Brown, now in the London production of "Dirty Dancing," will reprise the role of Johnny Castle in the U.S. tour that kicks off Sept. 28 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W ....
One more day for puppy love
Jul 01, 2008 ... The Sun-Times is still taking entries in its hunt to find Chicago's top dog. Write to us at webphotos@chicagosuntimes.com with one JPEG of ...
Goodman's 'Misbehavin' ' is big and bold spectacle
Jul 01, 2008; ... 'Ain't Misbehavin' RECOMMENDED When: Through July 27 Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn Tickets: $23-$78 Phone: (312) 443-3800 - - - It has been 30 years since a little cabaret revue called "Ain't Misbehavin'" made the leap to ...
Piven adding to 'Entourage'
Jul 01, 2008; ... Jeremy Piven led the bidding for a walk-on role on "Entourage" at a benefit Saturday night, and nabbed $20,000 each from two guests. It was a good thing they weren't deterred by the fact that they'd be unofficial drop-ins on his hit show. "I'm not even supposed to do this," he said as he ...
White T's win hometown raves for new material
Jul 01, 2008; ... Chicago's hardest-working band no longer has to work very hard to elicit a feverish reaction from a crowd. Today, it's just a word away: Delilah. Native sons the Plain White T's took a break from recording their new album, tentatively titled "Big Bad World," to scurry through an ...
Friend creates chaos by acting rude and angry
Jul 01, 2008; ... Dear Ellie: Whenever we're together with my friend of 20 years, she's rude to her in-laws or short-tempered with her parents, and often gets into arguments with her husband, all in front of our family. We're embarrassed and don't know how to react. It's not a great environment to be in for ...
In the Know: Sarah King
Jul 01, 2008; ... "Everyone I admired came out of Chicago," Chicago comedian Sarah King confides on a sunny afternoon at the Coffee Studio, 5628 N. Clark, in Edgewater. "Gilda Radner, Amy Sedaris, Catherine O'Hara." A gifted, hardworking performer, King took her cue from her idols, moving to Chicago, where she ...
The Great Manatee Rescue
Jul 01, 2008; ... How would you feel if you were the most popular girl in school, then suddenly you are a nobody? What if you had to move to a new town that was totally different and leave everything -- including all your friends -- behind? And what would you do if you found some very strange animals that you ...
News in Brief
Jul 01, 2008 ... SISTER ON TRIAL IN KILLING OF BROTHER, 3 A South Side woman went on trial Monday for the 2005 murder of her 3-year-old brother. Yesenia Diaz was 17 when she allegedly suffocated her brother Ricardo, stuffed his body into a white garbage bag and put it into a garbage can in a Little ...
Boeing promotion
Jul 01, 2008; ... CONGRATS to good pal James Bell, who was just named president and CFO of Boeing Corporate, a division of Boeing Co. Bell had been executive vice president and CFO. ACTOR Boris ("Madea's Family Reunion," "Soul Food") Kodjoe is looking for female and male models to model his new Ziami ...
Sweatshop cops?
Jul 01, 2008; ... The state of Illinois ordered about $80,000 of its uniforms from three companies linked to overseas factories with poor working conditions, according to findings to be announced today by an anti-sweatshop coalition. "The state of Illinois does business with companies that are linked to ...
Business Brief
Jul 01, 2008 ... IMPORT VIOLATION COSTS BOEING $3 MILLION Boeing Co., the second-largest U.S. defense contractor, will pay a $3 million fine for exceeding the value limits of imported parts used to build military aircraft. Boeing's own audit found it had imported more than what was allowed under ...
BBDO's new creative force has familiar feel
Jul 01, 2008; ... Energy BBDO/Chicago has found its new chief creative officer, Dan Fietsam, a creative leader with deep ties to the Chicago advertising community. Fietsam, 42, most recently was executive creative director at Publicis in the West/Seattle, where he moved after a long tenure at ...
All together
Jul 01, 2008; ... Six of Chicago radio's biggest morning personalities will turn up together to show what good sports they are. Dan Bernstein, afternoon host of CBS Radio sports/talk WSCR-AM (670), will moderate the star-studded roundtable from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 11 at Smith & Wollensky, 318 N ....
Living the lava life
Jul 01, 2008; ... Talon Merchant Capital announced Monday it acquired the Elmhurst-based lava lamp manufacturer, Lava World International Inc., as part of a multi-asset deal from family-owned Haggerty Enterprises. In a tribute to the counterculture heyday 1960s when the company first sold the novelty ...
Special ed teacher, 27
Jul 01, 2008; ... ROBERT E. HOSTY JR. 1980-2008 The body of Robert E. Hosty Jr., a 27-year-old missing Roberto Clemente High School teacher, was identified by family members Monday. He was found Sunday on a Lake Michigan beach in Culvert Township, about five miles north of his family's ...
Landis loses bid to keep 2006 Tour title
Jul 01, 2008 ... Cyclist Floyd Landis lost another chance to retain his 2006 Tour de France title Monday, the latest step of a multimillion-dollar process that has branded him just another convicted cheater. A three-person panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, upheld a ...
Quick Hits
Jul 01, 2008; ... RANDOM THOUGHTS A SERIES UNFIT TO BE TIED Random thoughts while wondering how long before the Cleveland Indians can be considered no threat to challenge the White Sox' postseason hopes: - Once upon a time (OK, early last century) baseball teams played exhibition games ...
Magnuson's an Olympian
Jul 01, 2008 ... Christine Magnuson of Tinley Park claimed her first trip to the Olympics in the 100 butterfly by claiming first place in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday night. Magnuson finished with a time of 58.11. ''I didn't know I made it until I looked up,'' said Magnuson, an Andrew ...
Piniella: 'Ambushed' by plate umpire
Jul 01, 2008; ... A day later, Cubs manager Lou Piniella didn't feel any better about Sunday night's checked-swing non-call on Sox hitter Joe Crede -- or the ejection behind his back that surprised him. ''I was talking to the first-base umpire about the checked swing, and I got ambushed from behind [by ...
100: This Day in Cubs World Series Title Drought History
Jul 01, 2008 ... TAYLOR HOMERS ON 'GUTTER BALL' July 1, 1958 Cubs second baseman Tony Taylor leads off the first inning with an inside-the-park ''gutter ball'' against the Giants at Wrigley Field. Taylor's hit down the third-base line goes into the rain gutter in fair territory, but the Cubs' ...
Workmanlike win
Jul 01, 2008; ... Hangover? What hangover? Sure, back-to-back weekends spent forcefully drinking-up the Cubbie blue Kool-Aid found all around town, only to be able to finally spit it out following the three-game sweep of the North Side rivals Sunday night, set the stage for what could have been an ...
Trade talks for Uribe could be heating up
Jul 01, 2008; ... It was almost as if Ozzie Guillen was starting to say goodbye. Considering the talk going on behind closed doors concerning infielder Juan Uribe, maybe the White Sox manager was. ''The one thing I say about Juan, I have never had anyone like him since I've been a manager,'' ...
Get ready to celebrate a real rivalry
Jul 01, 2008; ... In truth, the six games against the White Sox were just another six games for the Cubs. As much as we -- fans and media alike -- tend to drool over the crosstown series, the Cubs have a far more important series coming up this weekend, when they travel to St. Louis to play the ...
Bulls, Rose come together
Jul 01, 2008; ... It was the presence of Tyrus Thomas as much as the single stem roses found throughout the United Center news conference Monday which suggested the blossoming of a new era for the Bulls. Bulls general manager John Paxson and new coach Vinny Del Negro flanked Derrick Rose on either side as ...
Just give him the damn ball
Jul 01, 2008; ... A healthy, long-stemmed rose was placed on every seat. None, from what we could tell, had a thorn. Other than the girls who hound him incessantly -- news that prompted new boss John Paxson to crack Monday, ''And that's not gonna change. We'll be keeping an eye on that.'' -- Derrick Rose has ...
A Giant step at the start
Jul 01, 2008; ... The Cubs don't have Aramis Ramirez, but for one night at least they managed to replace him -- and then some. Ramirez headed home to the Dominican Republic for the birth of his son as the Cubs headed west to open a critical road trip, trying to snap a four-game losing streak without their ...
Phish may resurface, Gordon says
Jul 01, 2008 ... Mike Gordon, bassist for the disbanded jam band Phish, confirms there are prospects for some sort of group reunion. But he cautions that ''there isn't really anything more to say than what's been said, because we don't know yet.'' Gordon is referring to a recent statement by keyboardist ...
Lexus' stripped oil pan should be replaced
Jul 01, 2008; ... Dear Tom and Ray: Please help me. I had my oil changed recently and now have been told by my mechanic that the oil-change place stripped the oil plug and I need a new oil pan. I have a Lexus RX 300. The oil-change people think they have adequately fixed it by putting a larger plug in, ...
Corrections
Jul 02, 2008 ... - A graphic Tuesday about Cook County's sales-tax increase should have said diners will pay 11.5 percent sales tax in downtown's Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority ...
Instant Messages
Jul 02, 2008 ... Readers give their take on cheating: Infidelity means so many different things to different people. To some, merely having a conversation with someone else about how frustrated your partner is making you is infidelity. To others, a hug or a kiss. To others, the act of fornication itself ....
Patriotism or advertising?
Jul 02, 2008; ... Around the Fourth of July for 18 years, Joe "Not your average Joe" Niego has distributed thousands of U.S. flags throughout the Garfield Ridge and Clearing communities on Chicago's Southwest Side. The office manager of Niego Real Estate said that between 16,000 and 18,000 flags were ...
She saves $35,000 a year
Jul 02, 2008; ... Marsha Flood learned to squeeze every penny after she decided to stay home to raise three children. Flood, 57, of Geneva, made do on half of the family's previous income, survived her husband's yearlong layoff and cut expenses $35,000 a year. She ramped up her cost-cutting skills after ...