Chicago Sun-Times back issues from May 2009:
Walking on Air
May 01, 2009 ... Color Photo: Illustrations Courtesy of the Sears Tower / EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT THE SEARS TOWER'S 'LEDGE': This artist's ...
Look out below
May 01, 2009; ... Sears Tower -- and it's still called that for the time being -- will invite its Skydeck visitors to enjoy a view usually reserved for window-washers and superheroes. It'll be a walk on the high side as visitors on the observation deck step into glass enclosures that extend 4.3 feet ...
Yesterday's top 5 most viewed stories at suntimes.com
May 01, 2009 ... 1. More than 40 probable swine flu cases reported in Illinois suntimes.com/lifestyles/health 2. Stacy Peterson's sister confronts Drew suntimes.com/news/peterson 3. CPS ...
3 things we love about Tonight
May 01, 2009 ... Beethoven once said, "Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken." There's something for everyone tonight. 1. The owner of the Underground Wonder Bar, 10 E. Walton, ...
CSI Chicago: Tech with street smarts makes bust
May 01, 2009; ... On TV, the crime scene guys seem to do all the work -- gather the evidence and get the bad guy. So it was in October 2008, when Chicago Police Department evidence technician Dean Barney happened upon a suspicious vehicle and wound up nabbing two people inside the van, which had been ...
Burge: I can't get fair trial in Chicago
May 01, 2009; ... Saying that news coverage has portrayed him as the "poster boy for police torture," former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge is asking a federal judge to move his perjury trial out of Chicago. Burge maintains that he couldn't get a fair trial here. But it's exceedingly rare for ...
Man cited for trespassing at site of wife's murder
May 01, 2009; ... A widower's grief has gotten him in trouble. On Easter morning, Ken Hutchison, of Trevor, Wis., visited the site of the now-shuttered Burger King in Lindenhurst where his wife, Mary, was killed Nov. 27, 2006. A Burger King district manager called police, and Hutchison was given a ...
Inspect 'em
May 01, 2009; ... TIPSVILLE . . . Remove 'em: Sneed hears investigators from the Illinois inspector general's office confiscated computers from the Healthcare and Family Services facility at the Thompson Center recently. Hmmm. Stay tuned. A STROGER REPORT . . . Wipe 'em: Hand sanitizers, ...
Michelle's cousin to lead CPS security
May 01, 2009; ... There's a new sheriff in town at Chicago Public Schools, and it's a cousin of Michelle Obama's. Andres Durbak, director of security for nearly a decade, is out. In is Michael Shields, a 21-year Chicago Police veteran whom Supt. Jody Weis promoted on his arrival, only to demote ...
Why was lawyer hauled off to jail?
May 01, 2009; ... After a busy day in court last week, lawyer Nancy Murphy planned to meet with her 7-year-old daughter's teachers, arrive home in time for dinner and then tuck her kids into bed. Instead, the stunned family law attorney was hauled out of court in handcuffs, called a "crack whore" by Cook ...
AOL cashed check, but didn't credit account
May 01, 2009; ... THE FIXER HAS SAVED YOU $675,133 Dear Fixer: I closed out my dial-up service with AOL and paid my final bill of $32.90 last October. Now they are calling me and saying I still owe the final bill. They acknowledge that they cashed my check, but they say it wasn't credited to my ...
Stay home? Many workers in U.S. lack paid sick leave
May 01, 2009 ... President Obama, at the behest of public health officials, is recommending schools with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu "strongly consider temporarily closing so we can be as safe as possible." But for many parents, when a school closes, it's chaos. Nearly half of the ...
People 'more a risk to pigs': vet
May 01, 2009 ... So far, it appears that American pigs are at more risk of catching "swine flu" from humans than the other way around. No cases have been found in pigs yet, while more than 100 human cases have been confirmed in the United States. "We know from the genetics that at some point back ...
Swine flu tally growing
May 01, 2009; ... Illinois had about 41 probable cases -- including 16 from Chicago and 11 from other parts of Cook County -- of swine flu by Thursday evening, state health officials said. The Cook County Department of Public Health recommended closing Ridge Circle Elementary School in Streamwood after ...
Mayors place their NHL bets
May 01, 2009 ... It's the Hawks vs. the Canucks in the NHL playoffs, and Mayor Daley and Vancouver's mayor have made their bets. Daley is backing the Blackhawks with franks and Polish sausage from Red Hot Chicago; Goose Island beer; cheese and marinara from Pastorelli Food Products; Abundance Bakery ...
University's new boss shrugs off criticism
May 01, 2009; ... A day after he was chosen to head Chicago State University, Wayne Watson promised to "transform" the troubled South Side university within two to four years. The appointment of Watson, the retiring chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago, was met with deafening boos at a CSU board meeting ...
'I don't know why'
May 01, 2009; ... To help her through the funeral Thursday of her slain husband and younger daughter, Shelly Engelhardt cradled her 8-month-old granddaughter. Hundreds of mourners joined the Hoffman Estates woman and her surviving family members in an emotional service to say goodbye to Alan Engelhardt ...
Having a conscientious mate found to be good for you
May 01, 2009 ... Having a conscientious mate might be good for your health, according to a University of Illinois study that researchers described as the first large-scale analysis of the "compensatory conscientiousness effect" -- a boost in health reported by those with con- scientious spouses or romantic ...
Stacy's sis attacks Drew in radio rant
May 01, 2009; ... Drew Peterson's last morning radio appearance apparently was too much for the sister of Stacy Peterson to bear. Cassandra Cales, the missing woman's sister, called in to the Mancow Muller radio show on WLS-AM (890) Wednesday and lit into Drew Peterson, calling him a killer in a ...
News in Brief
May 01, 2009 ... 2006 MURDER GUILTY VERDICT IN EX-MARINE'S SLAYING Steven Bryant, 24, was found guilty Thursday in the fatal shooting of a former Marine after a 2006 Cubs game. Bryant, of the 3300 block of Diversey, shot Ricardo Martinez Jr., 22, of New York, as he sat in his car on the Northwest ...
Public defender must represent Cole: judge
May 01, 2009; ... The Cook County public defender's office lost its bid to stop representing a fired 29-year-old county employee at the heart of a hiring scandal in Todd Stroger's administration. Tony Cole was summoned Thursday to an emergency hearing in domestic violence court after the public defender ...
Cops protest lawsuit vs. ex-officer
May 01, 2009; ... Cops plan to pack a courtroom next week to protest a reputed Spanish Cobras gang leader who's suing a former officer. Juan Johnson's lawsuit against former Chicago Police gang crimes specialist Reynaldo Guevara is set for trial Monday. Johnson accuses Guevara of framing him with a 1989 ...
Chicago's zoning czar to step down: 'It is time'
May 01, 2009; ... Signaling the end of an era, Chicago zoning czar Ald. William J.P. Banks (36th) told the Sun-Times Thursday that he will be retiring from the City Council by the end of the year. Banks will remain the Democratic committeeman of the Northwest Side 36th Ward, a post he has held since 1981 ....
'. . . and I'm not a prejudiced person at all'
May 01, 2009; ... OPENING SHOT . . . For about 10 seconds last fall during the presidential election, the nation made as if it were about to begin some big dialogue about race. Then it didn't, in part because Barack Obama won, so the country could skip any stark self-assessment and congratulate ...
His giggling is music. His joy is infectious.
May 01, 2009; ... Even bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Eisenhower Expy. at rush hour can be a blessing -- when you see it through the eyes of a child who has never seen it before. Thursday afternoon, on our way back to Oak Park from Navy Pier, where he had his first piece of pizza and saw a Ferris wheel ...
Michelle's life: 'I'm on a soccer field all day'
May 01, 2009; ... First lady Michelle Obama gave her 101st-day-in-office report card on Thursday, keynoting a lunch with congressional spouses. "I feel like I've never left Chicago," Mrs. Obama said. At the lunch, the first lady offered a look into Obama family life. "Yes, I'm on a soccer field ...
Fallen Officers Honored
May 01, 2009 ... Color Photo: Brian Jackson, Sun-Times / In honor of their fallen colleagues, the Chicago Police Honor Guard posted a guard for 24 hours Thursday at the lakefront Gold Star Families Memorial and Park. Officer Michael Henderson ...
Your Wallet
May 01, 2009; ... CONSUMER SPENDING FALLS, BREAKS 2-MONTH STREAK Consumer spending fell more than expected in March after two straight monthly gains. The Commerce Department said Thursday that consumer spending dropped 0.2 percent in March, worse than the 0.1 percent decline economists expected. Incomes, ...
Motorola plans $200M more in spending cuts
May 01, 2009; ... Motorola officials said Thursday they will make $200 million in additional spending cuts even as they confidently predicted that their new smart phones will make a splash for the Christmas holiday. The $200 million in extra cuts will be split between the cell phone division and broadband ...
Garrett to pop up in Mart
May 01, 2009; ... Garrett Popcorn Shops, known for long lines of loyal customers and curious tourists, is offering more spots to allow fans their caramel-and-cheddar mix fix. In June, the chain will open a location on the second floor of the Merchandise Mart, next to the CTA train platform on the Brown ...
CBS thins the air
May 01, 2009; ... The push to cut costs at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 led to another round of layoffs at the station Thursday that included both on-air talent and production staff. Gone from the on-air lineup are entertainment reporter Bill Zwecker (who remains the Sun-Times celebrities columnist), general ...
Ambrose hurts peers' ability to do their job
May 01, 2009 ... When a mob stool pigeon enters the federal Witness Protection Program, one fear above all others weighs heavily on his mind. At some point, he worries, there's going to be a knock on the door, and behind that door will be someone from the old neighborhood. Someone who has managed ...
Vets seek to find, bury brothers left behind
May 01, 2009; ... Christmas Eve 1943 is seared into Deno Zazzetti's memory. A knock at the door brought a telegram saying his brother Joseph Thomas, a U.S. Marine, had been killed in the battle of Tarawa in the Pacific. "My 17-year-old sister read it and fell to the floor. My mother was from the old country and ...
Torture a coverup for CIA's failure
May 01, 2009; ... Moral smugness reigns. The Episcopalian Church that squats opposite my office on Connecticut Avenue has now chosen to display a sign that reads "Torture Is Wrong." Could sheer, undiluted clarity and courage go any further? One can almost understand the tooth-gritted impatience and ...
Help prevent killer diseases by not eating animal products
May 01, 2009; ... The World Health Organization has just ratcheted up the threat alert for the swine flu epidemic to Phase 5 (out of 6). Along with the avian flu of a decade ago, the Hong Kong flu of 1968, and the Asian flu of 1957, swine flu has been traced to animal waste in a factory farm. Its H1N1 type virus ...
Taxpayers always lose
May 01, 2009; ... Now I know why I drove a truck for 35 years; I don't think like white-collar bosses. The banks go under, get bailed out by us, give themselves bonuses and give nothing back to the taxpayer? I would've thought you would stop bonuses, cut salaries and reduce benefits. The auto ...
Why is this flu different?
May 01, 2009; ... I saw on the news where an official from Chicago's Health Department says that there are more than 30,000 deaths a year from the regular flu. Sadly, that's ...
Executives profit despite losses
May 01, 2009; ... Upbeat stories are appearing in the media about how bank profits and Wall Street bonuses are returning to pre-crisis levels, and we are informed that while the rest of the nation may be getting back to basics, on Wall Street, paychecks still come with a golden parachute. But in fact the ...
Say yes to medical marijuana
May 01, 2009; ... Thank you for the pertinent editorials on standing up to corruption and medical marijuana. I ...
Comedic license governs Sudeikis' Blago
May 01, 2009; ... As a longtime Chicagoan, Jason Sudeikis was a natural to play Rod Blagojevich on "Saturday Night Live," but it took some testicular virility to decide to handle the role the way he has. Instead of replicating the high-pitched lilt of the Northwest Side ex-gov, Sudeikis gives his Blago ...
A trip just for laughs
May 01, 2009; ... Officially, the visit by stars of "Saturday Night Live" was a secret, but secrets seldom stay secret long in the chattery world of Chicago improv. So the generally hectic Wednesday night at the iO theater in Wrigleyville was exceptionally frenzied this week, with fans lining up outside ...
Dial Up Em for Murder
May 01, 2009 ... Photo: Most music videos are launched on MTV, but Eminem's found a better place for his gory new clip: Cinemax ....
No judge of character
May 01, 2009; ... There's more evidence a bunch of ''American Idol'' insiders are "out to get'' Paula Abdul. The entertainer and ''Idol'' judge is furious that she was totally set up -- interviewed by actor Sacha Baron Cohen as the title character in ''Bruno,'' the upcoming Universal feature based on Cohen's gay ...
Joffrey Ballet gives audience plenty to love
May 01, 2009; ... THE JOFFREY BALLET HIGHLY RECOMMENDED When: Through May 10 Where: Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Tickets: $25-$145 Phone: (312) 902-1500 From the austere ritualistic geometry of "Les Noces" ("The Wedding"), to the shifting intimacies ...
Matchmaking a rocky road
May 01, 2009; ... According to eHarmony, Rocky falls into the small group of people it finds unmatchable. But why? That's what we've been trying to find out. Here are your thoughts ... MARTY: Is Rocky seeking a Jewish woman with a Ph.D. and lives within 30 miles of a location in central South Dakota? That ...
Complaints start after she moves to be with him
May 01, 2009; ... Dear Ellie: I'm 31, my girlfriend of 16 months is 23, and we've been living together eight months after a fantastic long-distance relationship. When she graduated, she found a job in my city and moved in. Things changed; she complained about my house, the area, city living. She grew up in the ...
Paige Wiser's TV highlights
May 01, 2009; ... "Ghost Whisperer" (7 p.m., WBBM-Channel 2): Business must be slow -- Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt) takes on a haunted dollhouse. "WWE Friday Night SmackDown" (7 p.m., WPWR-Channel 50): Sherri Shepherd of "The View" battles Dolph Ziggler with MVP for the U.S. Championship. Your visual: ...
History prof was U. of C.'s 'Moscow man'
May 01, 2009; ... RICHARD HELLIE - 1937-2009 Richard Hellie was the University of Chicago's "Moscow man," a Russian historian whose personal reference library was one of the largest private collections anywhere. "He was a scholar who asked a lot of big questions and wrote a lot of big books ...
Expert on gold investments
May 01, 2009; ... DONALD J. HOPPE Donald J. Hoppe, an internationally known stock market historian and expert on investing in gold stocks and coins, died Wednesday. He was 87. The Crystal Lake resident's first book, How to Invest in Gold Coins, was published by Arlington House and was a selection ...
SEC faces Powers surge
May 01, 2009; ... The switch from third to first base has been made with one minuscule glitch -- a single error in 355 chances. The offensive production is flowing without a hitch. With 14 home runs and 48 RBI, Mississippi State junior Connor Powers is mashing the ball with the best of the power hitters ...
Hard work pays off in victories at Jones
May 01, 2009; ... Three fine baseball minds took on the titanic task of constructing a team at Jones College Prep in 2006. Veteran coach Dave Rosene came back from a two-year sabbatical in Michigan City, Ind., and brought in assistants Zach Abraham and Sean Mason, who had played for him at St. Ignatius in ...
Win for Stagg 'makes our year'
May 01, 2009; ... Faith Johnson drove in two runs and Lea LaSota limited Sandburg to three hits as Stagg upended the No. 6 Eagles 3-1 Thursday afternoon in softball action in Orland Park. ''We've been in every game, and it's been stressful losing to top teams by one or two runs,'' Johnson said. ''Our ...
Farewell to Driscoll
May 01, 2009; ... This is a column I really hoped I'd never have to write. It's a very sad day for me because Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison will be closing its doors at the end of next month. I'm not Catholic. I didn't attend Driscoll. And when I was getting to the end of my days in high ...
This & that
May 01, 2009 ... AREA HIGH SCHOOL NEWS AND NOTES PERFECT GAME Plainfield South's Amanda Chamberlin rolled a 300 game at a weekend tournament in Champaign. The 16-year-old sophomore finished second in the girls state meet in February and helped the Cougars finish fourth. HALL OF ...
Top QBs in Midwest to display their skills
May 01, 2009; ... Some of the best quarterbacks in the Midwest, including two who have been offered scholarships by Illinois coach Ron Zook, will showcase their skills today, Saturday and Sunday at the DeBartolo Football Festival at McCook Athletic Facility in McCook. Scheduled to test their arm strength, ...
Sun-Times spotlight
May 01, 2009; ... NATALIE TARTER SENIOR - HURDLER - 5-8 - BATAVIA Why the hurdles? I did track in middle school [Rotolo in Batavia], and coach [Dennis] Piron, the boys track coach at Batavia, said I was a good athlete but that all the great athletes do the hurdles. ... It's really fun once you get ...
Time again for the rite stuff
May 01, 2009; ... Contemporary America skims along, moto-robotically coupon-cutting and cocooning, pulled along by the cable tows of fantasy, opinion and fear. Toss in shriveled consumerism, electro-invasive obedience and relentlessly sophisticated propaganda, too. It is the perfect backdrop for the 135th ...
Arlington poised at starting gate
May 01, 2009; ... Hopes and hurdles spring internal as Arlington Park opens another long season of midyear thoroughbred racing this afternoon. The storied northwest suburban playland begins a 98-day meeting that runs through Sept. 27. Today's 10-race matinee opens with a first post of 2:30 p.m. The hopes ...
Calf healing, Ramirez avoids disabled list
May 01, 2009; ... Significant improvement in Aramis Ramirez's strained left calf and a significant need for his bat in the lineup prompted the Cubs to back off a potential disabled-list move Thursday, anticipating the return of their third baseman in the next few days. Ramirez, who has been sidelined ...
Losing by numbers
May 01, 2009; ... Meetings? The Cubs don't need no stinking meetings, their manager says. What they need are more runs out of their big-money lineup and fewer walks from their late-inning relief corps -- problems underscored again Thursday in an 8-2, 10-inning loss to the Florida Marlins that should have ...
Thome, Getz are in
May 01, 2009; ... White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wanted an answer from designated hitter Jim Thome by Thursday afternoon about his injured left heel, insisting, ''He has to say I'm in or I'm out.'' Thome's in. After receiving more treatment Thursday morning, Thome tested the heel on the basepaths ...
Can 'boring' Sox still win?
May 01, 2009; ... The ''Captain Morgan'' home-run pose is gone, disappearing from the South Side when Nick Swisher was traded to the New York Yankees in November. No longer heard in the clubhouse is Juan Uribe calling Mark Buehrle ''Bailey'' because that was the only way Uribe could pronounce his name. Or ...
Epic Heroes
May 01, 2009 ... Photo: John J. Kim, Sun-Times / Rose, Noah, Salmons, Miller all come up huge to force Game 7 in series destined to go down in history: Pages 72-75, Joakim Noah lets ...
Wicked ways come back to haunt him
May 01, 2009; ... 'GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST' Rating 2 out of 4 Connor Matthew McConaughey Jenny Jennifer Garner Uncle Wayne Michael Douglas Paul Breckin Meyer Sandra Lacey Chabert Sgt. Volkom Robert Forster Vondra Anne Archer Warner ...
We have met the enemy...
May 01, 2009; ... 'BATTLE FOR TERRA' Rating 3 out of 4 With the voices of: Mala Evan Rachel Wood Stanton Luke Wilson Senn Justin Long Gen. Hemmer Brian Cox Doron James Garner Roven Dennis Quaid Stewart Chris Evans Giddy David ...