Chicago Sun-Times back issues from August 2008:
Correction
Aug 01, 2008 ... In the Mix column in today's Weekend section, the item about the Chefs & the ...
Baby business boom
Aug 01, 2008; ... Bad news for the economy can be good news for the baby business. Some Chicago area fertility clinics say they've seen a surge in women inquiring about becoming egg donors or surrogates for infertile couples, apparently because of the recent economic downturn. Summer is usually a ...
Cool car, fast talk
Aug 01, 2008; ... He drove a Jaguar. He claimed he was a cop. And that was enough for Michael P. Wurm to fill up his tank with gas and drive away -- with a promise to pay later, police say. In May and June, Wurm allegedly posed as a police officer to steal gas at least 10 times in at least ...
She's back!
Aug 01, 2008; ... KNEE NEWS . . . I'm back in the saddle! It was all the matter of a partial knee replacement by the amazing Dr. Richard Berger, preceded by the great care of Dr. Michael Terry. My knee was in great hands, and hopefully it will be able to kick derriere in the near future. THE ...
News In Brief
Aug 01, 2008 ... 'ONE BOOK, ONE CHICAGO' 'RIGHT STUFF' NEXT UP FOR CITY READERS The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe's compelling "new journalism" book about the race to space and the gutsy men who made it possible, is the 15th selection in the citywide celebration of reading known as "One Book, One ...
Hey! Where's the party?
Aug 01, 2008; ... Imagine getting to Cancun after spring break is over. Arriving at a singles bar to find it deserted. Getting your best pickup lines ready -- but finding nobody to hear them. That's the equivalent of what happened to some rare, straggler cicadas that emerged in the Chicago ...
Cheers! Bell's beer is back in Chicago
Aug 01, 2008; ... Ring the bells and sound the alarm -- a beloved microbrew is back in town. At midnight, Sheffield's bar became the first Chicago bar in nearly two years to tap a keg of Bell's beer, said Phil Kuhl, self-proclaimed "beer dude" at the North Side pub. "Now people don't have to drive ...
Usual check system gets unbalanced -- fees mount
Aug 01, 2008; ... Dear Fixer: This problem started as a simple error on my part. I've been renting two spaces from Public Storage for a long time and paying for both with a single check for $259 monthly. I have two checking accounts, and one month I accidentally wrote the check from the wrong ...
Mass murders linked?
Aug 01, 2008; ... Police are investigating whether there is a link between two of the Chicago area's most notorious recent crimes -- the February slayings of five women inside a suburban Tinley Park Lane Bryant store and the April murders of five people inside a South Side home. Victims in both crimes ...
'They just left them there' -- 5-year-old killed in hit-run
Aug 01, 2008; ... As storm clouds moved over Lake Michigan on Thursday afternoon, Jess Barker, 69, and his two grandsons picked up their pace, heading back to Barker's South Side home. They had nearly made it, but a car plowed into them at 67th and South Shore Drive -- and the driver kept going ....
Cops say road rage turned deadly
Aug 01, 2008; ... Frank MacNaught was a quiet guy who loved riding his brand-new BMW motorcycle. So when a Ford Explorer bumped the bike last week while MacNaught was riding in Villa Park, the 37-year-old suburban man followed the SUV in an attempt to get the driver to stop and report the collision, ...
Singing Obama's praises
Aug 01, 2008; ... It is a new day-o for calypso. Calypso is the traditional folk music of the Caribbean. But one progressive theme unites hundreds of calypsonians who are part of the current 41st annual Caribana Festival throughout Toronto: Barack Obama. At the Canadian Calypso Monarch ...
3 County Hospital workers probed in billing scheme
Aug 01, 2008; ... Three Cook County employees at Provident Hospital are under investigation for allegedly scheming to pay phony invoices submitted by an Alsip-based business supply company. Provident business manager Patricia Dixon, her underling John Janousek and hospital purchasing agent Tiffany Spicer ...
Landlord's violent death a mystery
Aug 01, 2008; ... The beating death of a 69-year-old West Side landlord who also suffered extensive burns remained under investigation Thursday as his family struggled to understand why anyone would attack him so violently. Harold P. Beilstein, whose family had reported him missing, was found early ...
Burke asks if deputy chief was forced out
Aug 01, 2008; ... Chicago's most powerful alderman Thursday demanded to know whether a veteran police official was forced out because of testimony he gave to a City Council committee. Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) was doing the questioning, Perry Mason-style. Steve Peterson, deputy ...
County picks corruption watchdog
Aug 01, 2008; ... Cook County's national search for an independent corruption watchdog turned up a top candidate who's already on the county payroll. Cook County Assistant States Attorney Patrick Blanchard was tapped by a county selection committee as the best pick for the $150,000 inspector general ...
Man found dead in pool
Aug 01, 2008; ... Mildred Johnson allowed herself a slight smile Thursday afternoon as she recalled how her 19-year-old son figured that because he was so tall, it was his job to take care of his mom. But the smile quickly vanished and Johnson's eyes brimmed with tears as the reality of an unimaginable ...
Pair held in Berwyn pipe bomb blast
Aug 01, 2008; ... An ailing octogenarian from Oak Brook and a 41-year-old Justice man charged with setting off a pipe bomb that damaged a Berwyn video and vending machine business were ordered held without bond pending a hearing next week. Slight, tattooed Samuel Volpendesto, who joked with court ...
Daley on boot plan: 'Just pay'
Aug 01, 2008; ... Chicago could make a $48 million dent in its unprecedented budget deficit by lowering the threshold for applying the Denver boot from three unpaid parking or red-light tickets to two, Mayor Daley said Thursday, arguing that it's better than raising taxes. One day after the proposed ...
Daley defends secrecy on deficit
Aug 01, 2008; ... Mayor Daley on Thursday defended his unprecedented decision to keep aldermen -- and the taxpayers they represent -- in the dark about the city's massive budget deficit. By executive order, Chicago's mayor is required to present a preliminary budget by July 31. Instead of ...
In Brief
Aug 01, 2008 ... LAKE VIEW MAN HIT, KILLED BY TRUCK WHILE CROSSING LAKE SHORE DRIVE A Glenview man was killed when he attempted to walk across traffic on North Lake Shore Drive on Thursday in the Lake View neighborhood. About 5:45 p.m., Adam Anderson, 29, was crossing the 3300 block of Lake Shore ...
City casino dealt out of the game
Aug 01, 2008; ... Gov. Blagojevich and three of the four legislative leaders agreed Thursday to scale back a stalled statewide construction program and ditch one of the most controversial ways to pay for it. The revised plan was reduced from $34 billion to $25 billion and no longer relies upon a major ...
Hotspots: Breaking News Around the World
Aug 01, 2008 ... GUANTANAMO COURT HOLDS 1ST SECRET SESSION GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The U.S. military closed a session of a war crimes trial to journalists and other observers for the presentation of classified evidence -- a first for the tribunal system created to prosecute alleged ...
August bounty feeds your spiritual side
Aug 01, 2008; ... At last . . . August. Summer's languid afternoon. The loveliest, laziest days of the year. For most of my life, August has meant vacation. As a child, my parents would pack my brother and me into the station wagon, head to the ferry dock on the Connecticut side of the Long Island ...
Give the boot to squeeze on city parking
Aug 01, 2008 ... Mayor Daley has reached the tipping point on city taxes and fines. Now he wants to give us the boot. You think voters are mad about rising city taxes as they struggle to pay their mortgages, gas up their cars and put food on the table? You haven't seen anything yet. Daley ...
Keep a careful eye on city's surveillance
Aug 01, 2008 ... Two weeks ago, we made the argument on this page that all those police surveillance cameras, private security cameras and cell phone cameras out there have had the unintended but welcome consequence of nailing rogue cops -- they get caught on camera, too. Today, we'd like to share with ...
Enforce driving laws
Aug 01, 2008; ... Is pulling to the right of the road and letting emergency vehicles pass still a driving law in Chicago? I wasn't sure because a good portion of drivers in Chicago keep driving on the their way without following this law. If Mayor Daley wanted to increase revenue, instead of lowering the ...
Cool article
Aug 01, 2008; ... Thank you for your very insightful and well-written column about the collector's item Ebony magazines. As a public school teacher, I recognize the power and influence the media hold over young minds. I use Ebony and Jet in the classroom weekly, and your column will be my first current events ...
Talk back
Aug 01, 2008 ... WEIS HASN'T EARNED THE RIGHT TO WEAR POLICE UNIFORM Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis does not get it. He is not a police officer and has not earned the right to wear the Chicago Police uniform. He disrespects the brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice. He just does not get ...
Violence threatens even best-protected children
Aug 01, 2008; ... With the surge of teen murders in the past two years, it has become abundantly clear that our African-American children are under attack. I have a 13-year-old daughter at a Chicago public school. For the most part, her whereabouts are closely monitored at all times, but as we have learned, no ...
Reasons to vote for Obama
Aug 01, 2008; ... Thomas Sowell makes the statement that "it's hard to get Obama backers to give a coherent reason for their support" ["Bailouts, feminism, liberal deceit: Where does it end?" July 30]. I can give him an endless number of "coherent reasons." The Republican establishment has run this ...
Schools aren't the problem
Aug 01, 2008; ... What Sen. James Meeks and his group are proposing is nothing short of robbery, and I hope that the parents and legislators in our suburban areas stand up and shout, "No you don't!" [New Trier vs. CPS: Meeks plans to protest," July 28]. The real problem, Sen. Meeks, isn't with the Chicago ...
U.S. should restore aid to Sierra Leone
Aug 01, 2008; ... Most Americans know little about Sierra Leone. Some may have seen the movie, "Blood Diamond." Others may remember news photos of child soldiers amputating hands and arms of civilians. But most know very little about this country in West Africa. Sierra Leone's terrible civil war from 1991 ...
Private enterprise pushes energy security
Aug 01, 2008; ... The silliest -- and ultimately self-defeating -- argument offered by Democrats and environmentalists against offshore oil drilling is that it won't immediately lower gas prices or produce new supplies of fuel. That same objection applies to alternative strategies such as solar and wind or any ...
Making noise not just for boys
Aug 01, 2008; ... GIRLS ROCK! CHICAGO End-of-Camp Extravaganza When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Metro, 3730 N. Clark Tickets: $6 (all ages) Phone: (773) 549-0203 Everyone needs their 15 minutes of fame, and the girls at the Girls Rock! Chicago summer camp are about ...
How Hudson lost a guy
Aug 01, 2008; ... Not only did this column break the news last week about Lance Armstrong splitting with Kate Hudson, I've now learned why serial dater Armstrong has moved on. Seems the Tour de France champ and cancer survival poster boy was feeling a bit ''smothered'' by the actress. According to an ...
Dining partner repulses her but she keeps silent
Aug 01, 2008; ... Dear Ellie: At lunch with lady friends, we shared a sampler. One of the ladies would talk and bits of food would land on our communal dish. I found this repulsive but didn't want to say anything. Would it be good manners to take some of all of the items and put them on your own ...
Business Brief
Aug 01, 2008 ... UPS INKS DEAL WITH TEAMSTERS 705 United Parcel Service reached a tentative agreement with Chicago-based Teamsters Local 705 on a new contract covering roughly 11,000 workers, the parties said Thursday. Workers' hourly pay currently ranges between roughly $8.50 and $28. That would rise $4 ...
The face of the Olympics?
Aug 01, 2008; ... Is American swimming phenom Michael Phelps the hottest athlete headed for Beijing? Not exactly. With the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies a week away, you may be wondering which Olympic athletes and advertisers, as well as other Olympic-related issues, are being talked about the most ...
Bear hug
Aug 01, 2008; ... It didn't take long for former Bear-turned-radio host Dan Hampton to get picked up by another team. Starting Sept. 2, the former defensive tackle and Pro Football Hall of Famer will join Laurence Holmes from 10 a.m. to noon weekdays on CBS Radio sports/talk WSCR-AM (670). The new ...
Motorola dials up unexpected profit on cell phone sales
Aug 01, 2008; ... Is a Motorola cell phone spinoff inevitable? Analysts continued to ask that question Thursday after the Schaumburg-based cell phone giant reported a profit and better-than-expected cell phone shipments in the second quarter. The stock climbed 12.5 percent on the news, to close at ...
Heart doctor led Loyola hospital, medical school
Aug 01, 2008; ... DR. JOHN R. TOBIN JR. - 1916-2008 While dean of Stritch Medical School at Loyola University, Dr. John R. Tobin Jr. got the greatest satisfaction from watching the new generation of prospective doctors. "It always excited him to be with young people," said his daughter Dr. Mary ...
Tracks ask IRB for '09 schedules
Aug 01, 2008; ... Next year's horse racing calendar will look much like this year's, based on dates requests submitted Thursday to the Illinois Racing Board by state racetracks. Thoroughbred tracks requested the following 2009 dates and days, compared with the number of 2008 race days: Arlington Park, May ...
Dorin-Ballard on top of her game for U.S. Open
Aug 01, 2008; ... It's easy to think of Carolyn Dorin-Ballard in the past tense. She was in the prime of her Hall of Fame career when the Professional Women's Bowling Association ceased operations in 2003. She was named Woman Bowler of the Year by the Bowling Writers Association of America, just as she ...
Focus shifts to Gordon
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Bulls officially announced the re-signing of restricted free agent Luol Deng on Thursday, but that was hardly news. Word of the six-year, $71 million contract (plus $9 million in incentives) became public Tuesday night, and the deal has been a hot topic since. The bigger issue is how ...
Kill wants NIU on fast track
Aug 01, 2008; ... If sometimes nothing can be a pretty cool hand, what kind of hand can 18 returning starters off a college football team that splint-splat to a 2-10 record last season be? That is the grid-o-matic life-liner that new Northern Illinois coach Jerry Kill will attempt to solve when his ...
Russians hit with suspensions
Aug 01, 2008 ... With only one week to go before the Beijing Olympics, Russia suddenly has its own version of a BALCO doping scandal involving some of the track team's biggest stars. After a 1?-year investigation, the IAAF provisionally suspended seven female Russian athletes Thursday, accusing them of ...
Mexico's one-man gang
Aug 01, 2008; ... Pistachio is the big seller at Heavenly, the little gelato and ice cream shop in Logan Square. The guy behind the counter, the owner with the scoop, is Larry Langowski, a 6-foot, 250-pound Polish guy from Chicago. ''It's real good,'' Langowski said. ''The pistachio has the nuts in it ....
Northern exposure
Aug 01, 2008; ... The more the Green Bay Packers look for suitors for Brett Favre, the more it looks like he could join an NFC North rival. The Minnesota Vikings. Just as the Packers don't have interest in Favre crashing their training camp, the Bears were not putting out welcome signs for him ...
Free agent Lynch tempting, but Lovie will pass
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Bears feel good enough about their biggest question mark on defense not to pursue free-agent safety John Lynch, who mutually parted ways with the Denver Broncos this week. The 36-year-old Hinsdale native is on good terms with Bears coach Lovie Smith from their days together in Tampa ...
Favre saga a laughing matter
Aug 01, 2008; ... There is as much psychological warfare in the NFL as there are battles on the field. A reminder of that arrived Thursday with word that the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in Green Bay had issued a new policy concerning the future of Brett Favre. Leaked internal discussions ...
Illinois dismisses Smith
Aug 01, 2008 ... Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber didn't have to wait for a September probation hearing to reach a decision on troubled guard Jamar Smith. Weber dismissed Smith from the team Thursday evening for ''violating terms of his agreement for a possible return to the team'' after his ...
Bowman on the wing to Hawks
Aug 01, 2008; ... Despite inquiries from other organizations, Scotty Bowman never was tempted to leave the Detroit Red Wings, the franchise he had called home since 1993. Yet when the Blackhawks phoned, Bowman listened. The Hall of Fame coach, winner of a record nine Stanley Cups, was intrigued by the ...
After simulated game, Wood progressing
Aug 01, 2008; ... A day after the Cubs scrapped a plan for Kerry Wood to throw a simulated game, the injured closer threw one Thursday before the game against the Brewers. Wearing a protective pad on his tender index finger, Wood threw 22 pitches, then told reporters he felt fine and is expected to try to ...
100: This day in Cubs World Series title-drought history
Aug 01, 2008 ... DAZZY VANCE IS A-OKKKKKKK Aug. 1, 1924 - Brooklyn's Dazzy Vance ...
Slumping Konerko will 'make best of it'
Aug 01, 2008; ... It wasn't the news Paul Konerko wanted to hear Thursday, but ''this is the business I'm in,'' he said. The addition of Ken Griffey Jr. will affect Konerko, the White Sox' captain, more than anyone else on the roster, drastically cutting his playing time in what has been a nightmarish ...
A tale of two seasons
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Cubs didn't eliminate the Brewers from the playoff race this week in Milwaukee. No, actually, it looked more like they eliminated the Brewers from the next two playoff races, the way they pitched against the team that added CC Sabathia to ace Ben Sheets in their rotation, that had ...
All the right moves
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Cubs didn't make a deal at the trade deadline Thursday afternoon. But that doesn't mean they didn't have an answer for the Ken Griffey Jr. deal the guys on the other side of town pulled off. The Cubs flexed their grip on the National League Central when they finished off a ...
Welcome to our world, Jr.
Aug 01, 2008; ... There were more questions than answers as the trade deadline came and went Thursday. The one thought that kept circulating in my head? I hope Junior likes blow-up dolls. While most baseball experts were trying to break down the idea of the White Sox acquiring Ken Griffey ...
Piranhas keep on chomping
Aug 01, 2008; ... The Minnesota Twins weren't just going to throw up their hands, mumble something about ''How are we supposed to compete with them getting Griffey?'' and then tap out. Not the little ''Piranhas.'' So while the White Sox grabbed all the attention Thursday afternoon, beating the ...
Junior gives Sox options
Aug 01, 2008; ... If you want to know what Ken Griffey Jr. means to the White Sox, go back a couple of days for one of manager Ozzie Guillen's classic give-and-takes. It was amusing to follow the volleys in print, even if Guillen was playing tennis with himself. The ongoing Paul Konerko saga was playing ...
Jr. achievement plan for Sox
Aug 01, 2008; ... There were bigger holes to fill, but a player with the status of Ken Griffey Jr. comes around once in a lifetime -- even if it might be about five years too late in that lifetime. That didn't stop White Sox general manager Ken Williams from pulling the trigger on a deadline deal Thursday ...
Jr. achievement plan for Sox
Aug 01, 2008; ... Please understand this: The White Sox are not getting the first-ballot Hall of Famer, the Ken Griffey Jr. once endorsed for president by Nike, the phenom who scaled fences and blasted home runs in flurries and defined the essence of the five-tool stud. Please know they're getting Griffey in his ...
One man, one vote, Capra style
Aug 01, 2008; ... 'SWING VOTE' Rating 3 out of 4 Bud Johnson Kevin Costner Molly Madeline Carroll President Boone Kelsey Grammer Donald Greenleaf Dennis Hopper Martin Fox Stanley Tucci Art Crumb Nathan Lane Sweeney George Lopez Larissa Johnson Mare ...
This Midwestern life, set in a high school
Aug 01, 2008; ... 'AMERICAN TEEN' Rating 3 out of 4 Paramount Vantage presents a film written and directed by Nanette Burstein. Running time: 95 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking, all involving teenagers). Opening today at Landmark Century, ...