* Potential Wrigley purchase by state holds up Cubs sale
* Chicago Pubic Radio: Study says state homeless youth need better resources
* Deadline for certain veteran tax breaks quickly approaching
* Editorial: Illinois town chosen at spot for experimental plant
Research indicates energy produced through the FutureGen process would be significantly more expensive than current energy production prices - perhaps 20 percent to 40 percent more expensive. But as oil prices continue to rise and the wars in the Middle East continue to apply upward pressure, investment in alternative, cleaner energy research needs to continue.
That includes sources such as wind and solar energy, as well as efforts like FutureGen’s to find ways to use traditional fossil fuels without exacerbating global warming.
* Editorial: Mattoon site selection is a giant Christmas present for all
* Sun-Times Editorial: Let states take lead on boosting mileage requirements
Though Illinois has not yet decided whether to adopt the California standards, it will be among the states joining in the lawsuit. “We do like the flexibility individual states have been able to have under the Clean Air Act,” Illinois EPA spokeswoman Jill Watson said. “It’s like when you try on your brother’s pants, they may not fit. Not every state is an industrial state. Not every state is an agricultural state.”
The federal government is no longer in a state of denial about global warming. But in holding back efforts to fight the threat, the EPA remains in a sorry state of suspension.
* Illinois tollway board looks down road to new projects; more here
Among these major projects are the Prairie Parkway in Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties; the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway; and the extension of Illinois Highway 53 through Lake County, some of which have been on the drawing board for decades.
* Illinois bill targets online talk with children
Illinois law already bars sexual predators and con artists from plying the Internet, but the latest measure, filed in Springfield last week, would attempt to expand those protections to include virtually any kind of potentially damaging Internet conversation with a minor. It would make it a felony for an adult to have any electronic contact that “demonstrates a knowing disregard for the health, safety and welfare” of the child
* Editorial: Smoke-free will soon be the law, ready or not
* Every Blog Has Its Day: Politically-interested Internet Users’ Perceptions of Blog Credibility
This study employs an online survey to examine U.S. politically-interested Internet users’ perceptions of the credibility of blogs. The article focuses on the influence of blog reliance compared to motivations for visiting blogs in determining blog credibility.
The study found that blogs were judged as moderately credible, but as more credible than any mainstream media or online source. Both reliance and motivations predicted blog credibility after controlling for demographics and political variables. Reliance proved a consistently stronger predictor than blog motivations. Also, information-seeking motives predicted credibility better than entertainment ones.
* Blog advertising dollars increasing
* Daley bristles when asked about son’s deal, asks that it not be played up; more here
* John Kass: Daley believable? A sick thought
You’re probably wondering how a guy with half a fevered brain could be so certain that the mayor is telling the truth when so many don’t believe him.
They don’t know the mayor like I do. As a teenager, Daley used to shoot spitballs from a booth in my uncles’ restaurant on Halsted Street. I know his ways. The last thing the mayor of Chicago wants is his son making an easy score. Scarfing up taxpayer money in City Hall deals, that’s what cousins and brothers and nephews and lots of friends are for — but not your own kid.
* Daley backs former foe, Ald. Smith for county recorder of deeds
Last year, Ald. Ed Smith (28th) launched into an anti-corruption tirade that spoiled unanimous City Council approval of Mayor Daley’s election-year budget…
Either all has been forgiven or Daley wants Smith out of his hair in the City Council.
* Chicago Public Radio: City mail delivery improves in 2007
* Friday Beer Blogging: Oh Christmas Tree edition