Chicago Sun-Times back issues from February 2009:
Run-over wife claims: Lawyer tricked me
Feb 01, 2009 ... Color Photo: Al Podgorski, Sun-Times / Rosanne Dresher says the deal her lawyer Robert Bingle drew up required her to ask a judge to go ...
Ex-wife: 'I was tricked into doing something illegal'
Feb 01, 2009; ... Short of actually dying, it doesn't seem possible that life could get much worse after your ex-husband runs you down in your driveway and keeps driving over you again and again, stopping after each rollover to get out and say, "Remember, this is only an accident." But it did get worse ...
Insiders' housing projects targeted
Feb 01, 2009; ... A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records on dozens of low-income housing projects built over the last 30 years by indicted businessman William F. Cellini, convicted political fund-raiser Tony Rezko and City Hall insider Allison S. Davis. The mountain of documents the grand jury wants ...
The mayor's man
Feb 01, 2009; ... If there was any doubt Ron Huberman was the teacher's pet, Mayor Daley eliminated it last week. "I have utmost faith in him," the mayor said. "I can go to sleep at night, just close my eyes. I don't have to worry about Ron Huberman." Now, the 37-year-old teacher's pet finds ...
Chicago Daily News: On This Date
Feb 01, 2009 ... As reported by the Chicago Daily News, sister paper of the Chicago Sun-Times: 100 years ago George A. Busse, the 36-year-old brother of Chicago Mayor Fred A. Busse, was cleared of all blame for the death ...
Mourning Curry's Ex-Girlfriend, Baby
Feb 01, 2009 ... Color Photo: Scott Stewart Sun-Times / Friends and family attending funeral services for Nova Henry and her 10-month-old daughter, Ava Curry, gather and embrace outside Calvary Baptist Church in Glenwood ...
Senators threw out gov without reading charges
Feb 01, 2009; ... I call this little number "Reflections on an Impeachment" -- also known as "Columnist Clears Out His Notebook." - - - The siege is over. Springfield is officially boring again. Just after lunch on Friday, I looked down at the second floor of the Illinois Capitol, where ...
5-year water bill for city worker
Feb 01, 2009; ... A city inspector whose brother is Chicago's former zoning administrator has been ordered to pay more than five years' worth of water bills after building a new home without installing a water meter. Richard Kus, an $85,680-a-year electrical inspector for the city Buildings Department, ...
Back in step with 'Soul Train'
Feb 01, 2009; ... Every train has a conductor. On "Soul Train," it was Clinton Ghent, who hosted the local version of the popular dance show that aired every weekday afternoon from 1970 until 1979 on WCIU-Channel 26. Ghent replaced his friend and show creator Don Cornelius in 1971, when Cornelius ...
County seizes video poker machines
Feb 01, 2009; ... Cook County sheriff's officers confiscated about 30 poker machines from 10 businesses that were allegedly making illegal payouts on the machines Saturday. Officers seized $6,472 in cash -- including $2,252 from a Mobil gas station in Cicero -- in busts made in nine suburbs, ...
Public leaders can be louses when offstage
Feb 01, 2009; ... It's a shame how ugly many of us can act when we think no one is watching. Really, that was the most shocking aspect of the Rod Blagojevich travesty. How could someone who calls himself a leader act like such a louse in private? Blago will be remembered by many not as a fighter for the ...
Costly lesson
Feb 01, 2009 ... Remember the good old days of buying tickets from scalpers standing on a side street near the arena? Well, today's Costly Lesson is about a virtual scalper who turned out to be an outright thief. Fixer reader Jenny of Chicago found this crook, named "Jenele," on Craigslist. Jenele was ...
Xbox fix a game in itself
Feb 01, 2009; ... THE FIXER HAS SAVED YOU $584,443 Dear Fixer: I was one of the unlucky ones who foolishly waited in line for several hours to obtain an Xbox 360 when it was released in November 2005. I paid $449.42 plus tax and I was elated that I was able to get the hottest product as a Christmas gift ...
Rival rips Feigenholtz for being on 'clout lists'
Feb 01, 2009; ... State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz is positioning herself as a progressive Democrat in the race to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Congress representing the North Side of Chicago and some of the west suburbs. But one of her opponents is making sure voters know Feigenholtz's name appears on two "clout ...
Done in by a kid cop?
Feb 01, 2009; ... OPENING SHOT ... There's a desk in the newsroom I think of as "the intern desk" because some earnest young person is always sitting at it, his or her dewy mug set in an expression of earnest industry, concentrating on a task with the tongue-at-the-corner-of-the-mouth intensity of a kitty ...
The Quiet Activist
Feb 01, 2009; ... mihejirika@suntimes.com Betsy Frazier Berry tells a story about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and her husband, the late civil rights activist Edwin C. "Bill" Berry. "My husband believed, as Martin believed, that someday we would all find equality," said Frazier Berry, 89, whose ...
Arson blamed in N.W. Side fire that killed mom, girl, 7
Feb 01, 2009 ... Chicago Police said a fire that killed a 23-year-old woman and her 7-year-old daughter early Saturday on the Northwest Side was set intentionally. Itzel Fernandez and her mother, Rosanna Ocampo, died in the blaze, but Ocampo's 4-year-old son survived, family members told ...
'I'll be here as long as God wants': Chavez
Feb 01, 2009 ... Hugo Chavez on Tuesday celebrates a decade as president with his future hopes pinned on a referendum that could potentially keep him in power for many more years. The fiercely anti-U.S. leader is seeking to amend the same constitution he helped create in 1999 to remove term limits for ...
Kids carry burden of parents fame, shame
Feb 01, 2009; ... The children of public people always pay a price. Amy Blagojevich is 12 now but was only 5 when her dad was elected governor in 2002. Her little sister, Annie, is almost 6 and has never known a time when her father was not governor. Until now. Political parents like to ...
No excuses for mob killings
Feb 01, 2009 ... Mob killer Frank Calabrese Sr. made an unusual argument in court last week before being sentenced to life in prison for killing 13 people for the Outfit. The 71-year-old mobster denied killing anyone. But his attorney, Joseph Lopez, pointed out in a filing that "the victims were lifelong ...
Steelers owner's fight for minorities pays off
Feb 01, 2009 ... Tonight, Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, will add to his family's long NFL legacy if his team wins a record sixth Super Bowl championship. But Rooney's most important legacy may lie less with Super Bowl rings and more with a rule he pushed through the NFL in 2002, now ...
Time for public financing
Feb 01, 2009; ... May I make a suggestion for Gov. Quinn: Despite the financial situation facing Illinois, I think the new governor should push through legislation calling for publicly financed campaigns for all members of the Legislature and constitutional officers. The state can set limits based on office ...
Another view on terror
Feb 01, 2009; ... Re: Don Rose's "Bush's claim of keeping U.S. safe open to questions" [Tuesday], it seems that the ...
Forget Con-Con, Gov. Quinn
Feb 01, 2009; ... Gov. Quinn had better remember that the Constitutional Convention initiative he supported was voted down emphatically by Illinois voters. Quinn's support of Con-Con was a very troubling indication of his intentions. Gov. Quinn, we will ...
Blago's smart move
Feb 01, 2009; ... Smart move by this gov. By not attending his impeachment trial he avoided lying, ...
Use power for good
Feb 01, 2009; ... Outside, it is yet another bitter cold day. How I long for the flowers and the leaves. Their presence seems so far away. The seasons show us how little control we really have over our day. Control -- how do we use that power in our daily lives? If ever there was a good time to ponder ...
Forget GOP -- tax cuts don't help most
Feb 01, 2009; ... We've had tax cuts for the past eight years and look where we are now! They don't work but only benefit the upper 2 percent or so. Remove them from the legislation, as you're not getting any Republicans anyway. Evelyn Krueger, Forest Park Stay out of business I have never seen a ...
Talk Back
Feb 01, 2009 ... HOPE BLAGO HAS PLENTY OF CREDIT ON I-PASS Tell Blago to make sure to use I-Pass on his way out of town. It's faster! RIDING OFF INTO THE SUNSET If I had a dollar for every time Blago said "witnesses" and "twice elected by the people," I'm pretty sure I could fund the cost ...
How to get Blago off toll signs for less
Feb 01, 2009; ... Friday morning's paper reported it will cost $15,000 to replace Blago's name on each of the 32 tollway signs. I offer two alternatives to copying the U.S. government's method of buying $30,000 hammers when one for $4.98 would have worked equally well. Get some ...
It's easier to get rid of sports coaches than governors
Feb 01, 2009; ... The Bulls fired head coach Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve 2007, and this was his reaction: "These kinds of things happen," Skiles said. To the people who coach our sports teams, yes. To the people we elect to govern, no. Coaches routinely are given four-year contracts ....
Why attacking the press never works
Feb 01, 2009; ... The Columbia Journalism Review revealed this week that the "high command" of the John McCain campaign hired a blogger "to attack" and engage in "bullying" the press during the last six months of the presidential campaign. Gee, how did that work out? Help much? And why did the ...
Running a risk with REITs
Feb 01, 2009; ... Real estate investment trusts were set up so investors could own income-producing property without having to get out of their La-Z-Boys. They wouldn't have to deal with the dreaded "three Ts" -- taxes, tenants and toilets. Trading property interests would be as easy as trading stock. In ...
1st black priest ordained in Chicago Archdiocese
Feb 01, 2009; ... ROLLINS E. LAMBERT - 1922-2009 When the Rev. Rollins E. Lambert became a priest in 1949, he was the first African American ordained in the Archdiocese of Chicago. A convert from the Christian Science Church, he found his calling after attending an Easter Mass at Holy Name ...
Writing's on the wall for cursive
Feb 01, 2009; ... Last weekend, I found myself in a rare situation: writing the equivalent of an essay over four lined pages, in pencil, in cursive. Two observations: 1. It hurt. I had to pause to uncramp my hand several times, and in the back of my mind I worried about developing a finger ...
Pin the title on surprising Lancers
Feb 01, 2009; ... Lake Park came out of left field to win the boys bowling state championship Saturday at St. Clair Bowl in Downstate O'Fallon, and two left-handed twins led the way. The Lancers became just the second Chicago-area school to win the title. Their 13,129 pinfall was the second-highest total ...
Another SW Prairie trophy for Minooka
Feb 01, 2009; ... Revenge was sweet for Minooka at Saturday's Southwest Prairie Conference wrestling tournament. The No. 3 Indians won the conference title 254.5-205 over No. 6 Plainfield Central and avenged a 33-23 dual-meet loss. It was Minooka's third consecutive Southwest Prairie championship ...
Marshall pulls away from Morgan Park
Feb 01, 2009; ... When Morgan Park left the floor at halftime against Marshall, fans were buzzing about how well the Mustangs were playing. The problem was, the No. 14 Commandos were still ahead by 10 points and eventually pulled away for a 58-35 victory Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Windy City ...
Bauer, Lake Zurich take down Fenwick
Feb 01, 2009; ... Lydia Bauer scored a career-high 29 points -- including 17 in the first quarter -- and added 11 rebounds as No. 21 Lake Zurich stunned No. 8 Fenwick 63-56 on the final day of Sweet 16 play at Lake Zurich. ''I just got the ball and felt good,'' Bauer said. ''Everything I shot went in. It ...
Yarbrough, Zee-Bees take inside path to win
Feb 01, 2009; ... After fighting for his own miss midway through the second quarter Saturday, Zion-Benton's Markus Yarbrough had no intention of passing. He decided it was his to score. He immediately went back up again with some extra oomph and finished over Lake Forest Academy's defenders. As the ball ...
Notre Dame's late rally trumps Marist comeback
Feb 01, 2009; ... A day after it endured a tough loss at St. Joseph, Notre Dame let a 12-point halftime lead turn into a four-point deficit with 4:37 left in the game Saturday night against Marist. This time, though, the Dons were able to pull it together and rally for a 50-45 win before a shocked Notre ...
Coach, educator aided thousands of youths
Feb 01, 2009; ... LARRY HAWKINS - 1931-2009 Larry Hawkins discovered Cazzie Russell in a gym class and groomed him into one of the greatest basketball players ever produced in Chicago. But friends and colleagues think Hawkins' legacy was making an impact on thousands of young lives and preaching that ...
Eagle hopes are flying high
Feb 01, 2009; ... On the bare branches of a tree between an urban waterway and a factory on the Southeast Side, an immature bald eagle perched just below a pair of adult eagles last Sunday morning. Was it the luck of the winter flights or signifying something more positive? What makes that ...
Another lockout on horizon?
Feb 01, 2009; ... David Stern has faced just about everything during his 25 years as NBA commissioner -- from the unprecedented worldwide appeal of the league during the height of the Jordan era in the 1990s to the blemish of the Tim Donaghy betting scandal. Still, the next couple of years might prove to ...
Top 100 - The Area
Feb 01, 2009; ... Quarterbacks Ht. Wt. College Mike Adams, Aurora Central Catholic 6-5 230 Undecided Jon Budmayr, Marian Central 6-0 194 Wisconsin Jordan Coffey, Batavia 6-5 210 Undecided Charlie Goro, Maine South 6-2 183 Vanderbilt Tom Coughlin, Glenbrook North 6-1 155 ...
Drought in Midwest taking toll this year
Feb 01, 2009; ... What does it say when the Big Ten fails to sign a single recruit from among the top 25 players in the nation and only 12 of the top 100? ''It isn't a good year for talent in the Midwest,'' recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. ''It was a bad year in every state, the third year in a row ...
How the big ten shapes up
Feb 01, 2009 ... 1. OHIO STATE. It's an exceptionally athletic class, maybe the best in the country. It wasn't a great year for talent in usually rich Ohio, but the Buckeyes got everyone they wanted. If they get Marcus Hall, they will boast one of the best groups of offensive linemen in the nation. LB Storm ...
Top 100 - the Nation
Feb 01, 2009; ... 1-10 Player, hometown Pos. Ht. Wt. College 1. Matt Barkley, Santa Ana, Calif. QB 6-3 225 USC 2. Bryce Brown, Wichita, Kan. RB 6-0 208 Miami, USC, Auburn 3. Garrett Gilbert, Austin, Texas QB 6-3 190 Texas 4. Devon Kennard, Chandler, Ariz. DE 6-3 245 USC 5 ....
The nation's top 10 classes
Feb 01, 2009 ... 1. OHIO STATE. The Buckeyes have three top-100 players: LB Dorian Bell, DT John Simon and RB Jaamal Berry. Simon is an impact player, perhaps the strongest in the country. Bell is one of the top three linebackers in the nation. Don't forget, they also have OL Justin Boren, a transfer who sat ...
Lots of jockeying left for top spot
Feb 01, 2009; ... Ohio State has a slight edge in the college football recruiting sweepstakes as the national signing period approaches, but LSU, Alabama or USC could pass the Buckeyes if they sign one or two of the highly rated players who remain uncommitted. In one of the most unpredictable years in ...
Time to bounce back
Feb 01, 2009; ... If the sport was ice fishing, Illinois coach Bruce Weber might be launching flares in search of orange lifesavers. ''A few days ago, we were talking about a Big Ten championship,'' Weber said Friday. ''Now we're just talking about beating Iowa and keeping our heads above ...
Bench lifts Demons to victory
Feb 01, 2009; ... The DePaul bench is getting thin. On Saturday, it was the difference. The No. 25 Blue Demons found a spark midway through the first half and took a lead they never relinquished in a 74-56 Big East victory against West Virginia at McGrath Arena. With Deirdre Naughton, DePaul's ...
Redbirds even the score with rivals
Feb 01, 2009; ... There hasn't been a mid-state battle royale this contentious since the bidding began for audiotaping rights at the governor's mansion. Three weeks ago, Bradley beat Illinois State by four in Peoria. Saturday afternoon at frenzied Redbird Arena, ISU flipped the bidding, playing with just ...
Moore is, well, more for Wildcats
Feb 01, 2009; ... For 35 minutes and 49 seconds Saturday, it looked as though poor free-throw shooting would cost Northwestern its game against Wisconsin. The Wildcats trailed the Badgers by two points and had missed 10 of their 18 free throws. That certainly worried NU coach Bill ...
Embracing expectations
Feb 01, 2009; ... When we last saw Carlos Quentin playing for the White Sox, he was sitting on 36 home runs and 100 RBI and was on a collision course with the American League Most Valuable Player Award. Then he slammed his right wrist into his own bat in a fit of anger, ending his season with a month to ...
Great 2008
Feb 01, 2009 ... Despite playing in only 130 games, Carlos Quentin put together a fantastic season in 2008. He made his first All-Star Game appearance (below) and won his first Silver Slugger award. A look at his stats and where he ranked in the American League: Average .288 (28th) Home ...
Sox fans have gratitude attitude
Feb 01, 2009; ... I walked into a SoxFest forum at the Palmer House Hilton and thought I'd accidentally stumbled upon a pep rally. Don't tell me White Sox fans are going soft. It sure seemed that way when fans had the chance Friday to ask general manager Ken Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen questions ...
For Konerko, in Williams he'll trust
Feb 01, 2009; ... There has been some head-scratching going on -- and not just among some White Sox fans. Privately, even some of the veteran players were squinting their eyes with confusion as they watched general manager Ken Williams assemble -- and, in some cases, disassemble -- the defending American ...
12-year-old fan sparkles in Q&A session's spotlight
Feb 01, 2009; ... Up on the stage sat broadcasters Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson. Next to them were manager Ozzie Guillen and general manager Ken Williams. Who would have thought that 12-year-old Ethan Ellis would steal the show? During the ''Your 2009 White Sox'' Q&A on Saturday at SoxFest, Ellis ...
'Disappointed' Dent falls short
Feb 01, 2009; ... On a day when defense was honored by voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there was nothing but disappointment for former Bears defensive end Richard Dent. The MVP of Super Bowl XX was left stranded at the gates of glory again while first-time eligible Bruce Smith and Rod Woodson led a ...
Steelers Outlook
Feb 01, 2009 ... THREE KEYS 1. Fast Willie How do you combat the lethal combination of Cardinals wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin? Play keep-away. Running back Willie Parker's story is one that didn't get told much during Super Bowl week, but he just might be the key to victory ....
A sorry franchise vs. a storied one
Feb 01, 2009; ... At one point in NFL history, the Cardinals and Steelers combined to form one of the worst teams ever assembled. With World War II stripping many teams of players, the league looked to consolidate franchises. Card-Pitts, as it was known, was formed for one season in 1944, a conglomeration ...
Cardinals outlook
Feb 01, 2009 ... THREE KEYS 1. Keep Kurt clean The Cardinals' offensive line must protect quarterback Kurt Warner in the face of the ''Blitzburgh'' defense. The edge the Cardinals have is that coach Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line guru Russ Grimm came from the Steelers, so they know everything ...
Cards' win would give mediocre teams hope
Feb 01, 2009; ... The Rooney family is held in esteem for the decades of leadership it has provided the NFL, but the Arizona Cardinals are the symbol of hope for more than a third of the league. Just get to the playoffs, baby, then win. Every franchise that thinks it's close, or even close to ...
Ben There, Won That
Feb 01, 2009; ... Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Arizona's Kurt Warner enter Super Bowl XLIII as members of an exclusive club because they already have won a Super Bowl. In the history of the Super Bowl, only 16 quarterbacks have appeared in more than one game, with Roethlisberger making that number 17 ...
Talk about being nice ...
Feb 01, 2009; ... You never want to hurt someone accidentally -- and I think I have. When I described Bruce Springsteen's publicist Marilyn Laverty in my Friday column as ''small and middle-aged,'' I did not mean it in a demeaning way. Laverty, the president and founder of Shorefire Media ...