* Daley’s top contract officer resigns - Lumpkin not satisfied with African-American share
* How Illinois kids did on test scores
Test results from the nation’s only uniform way to compare students across state lines put Illinois in the middle of the pack nationally, with Illinois grade school students making significant gains in math but sliding back or making modest gains in reading since 2003.
* Illinois students failing to keep pace
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings went out of her way to put Illinois’ scores in the best light during a conference call with reporters, saying it was one of only four states that had made notable progress toward closing the achievement gap among pupils of different races and income levels.
But that measure, too, carries mixed messages.
While Illinois’ minority and poor pupils made important gains on the tests, the gap also narrowed because the progress of white and more affluent pupils was minimal.
* Museuem ‘in a cave’ might be OK with Ald. Reilly
* Reilly welcomes, waits for Daley sit-down
* Editorial: State can’t rewrite federal worker law
* Rep. Acevedo loses suit against fellow officer again
* AG Madigan urges new cribs or refunds in recal
* ComEd customers get October surprise
* Cox to be U.S . Attorney for Southern IL
Benton attorney Courtney Cox — controversial in Springfield for representing a group of black police officers in a racial discrimination lawsuit against the city — has been appointed the top federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Illinois.
* Hastert won’t quit soon
Congressman Dennis Hastert said Tuesday he still hasn’t decided whether he’ll vacate his seat before his term ends in January 2009, but scoffed at speculation he might quit soon to force a special election before the Feb. 5 primary. “I don’t see a primary before the primary,” the Plano Republican told The Associated Press. The Illinois lawmaker announced last month that he would not run again for the 14th District seat he’s held since 1986. His decision came about eight months after he lost his post as longest-serving speaker of the House, with eight years at the helm.
* Hastert undecided about vacating seat before the end of term
* Hopefuls emerge as Weller’s replacement
* Clout Street: Ex-AG Jim Ryan backs Giuliani
* Aldermen: End Burge saga; more here
* City’s violent crime shows a drop
* Chicago by the numbers
The good news for Chicagoans is that, while we fell as hard as any of the big cities on McDonald’s list during the ’60s and ’70s, we turned it around during the late 1980s and mounted the most dramatic comeback of all.
But we had a long way to come back. Chicago lost 17 percent of its population between 1970 and 1990. During that time, the poverty rate jumped to 21.6 percent from 14.4 percent. The average annual family income, measured in 2005 dollars, dove to $48,500 from $54,300. The murder rate jumped by 30 percent and the percentage of single-parent households nearly doubled to 41 percent from 22 percent.