* LaHood: Electoral College ‘antiquated’
“All these people in America are going to go out and vote on Election Day 30 days from now and the truth is that their vote doesn’t really count because it’s the Electoral College who will decide who the next president is,” LaHood told about 130 students Wednesday at Holy Family School.
Earlier this year, Illinois became the third state to support choosing the president by the nation’s popular vote instead of the Electoral College, which is set up by the Constitution. Maryland and New Jersey also embrace the idea, but dozens more states would have to join the effort before it could take effect.
* Cell phone law may be softened
Chicago motorists who get caught talking on cell phones while driving without a hands-free device would no longer lose their driver’s licenses, under a mayoral plan that would have spared a North Side alderman political embarrassment.
Last year, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) got pulled over and ticketed for yakking on his cell phone while driving. He was forced to hand over his license like thousands of other motorists.
* Public housing’s island
Mayor Richard Daley declared eight years ago that Chicago would end “the failed policies of the past.” Yet a Tribune investigation found that the city has pumped hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars into housing complexes that preserve the very policies the plan was meant to reverse.
The largest is the Altgeld-Murray Homes, a sprawling 190-acre development built on the Far South Side for black factory workers during World War II. At that development alone, the CHA plans to spend $451 million rehabbing 1,998 barracks-style apartments, with politically connected Walsh Construction doing much of the work.
* Daley says lax trash haulers will be disciplined
Despite the lousy report, Daley said Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Michael Picardi “has done a good job.” The mayor also denied union allegations that Hoffman issued the report to help Daley’s case for layoffs.
* Daley wants to fire loafing garbage workers
“We are going to identify these individuals. We are going to discipline and fire them,” he added.
The tough comments, typical for Daley after embarrassing news breaks, came after an Inspector General’s report released Wednesday blasted garbage workers for loafing in what was characterized as “systemic, pervasive” waste and fraud. The office spied on 77 garbage truck drivers and 145 laborers in 10 wards before drawing its conclusions.
* Alderman: I’ve had enough valet gripes
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) is fed up with valet parking companies that damage cars, park illegally, gobble up on-street spaces and tie up downtown traffic.
Reilly wants to require valet companies serving Chicago restaurants, bars and hotels to provide enough off-street spaces to serve 25 percent of the establishment’s seating capacity. The current requirement is 10 percent.
* Generator didn’t get clouted in
ComEd has concluded that clout and favoritism played no role in the company’s decision to deliver a generator to the home of Chicago’s No. 2 man at O’Hare Airport to restore power during a violent August storm.
First Deputy Aviation Commissioner David Ochal resigned his $155,604-a-year job in the wake of the scandal, allowing him to escape a mandatory interview by the city’s inspector general.
* Medicaid covers breast cancer gene test
Women enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program can receive insurance coverage for tests to see if they carry genetic mutations linked to breast and ovarian cancer, state officials said Thursday.
* Marathon to test logistics
* Warm day looms for marathon runners
* Marathon Organizers to Step-Up Safety
Chicago marathon organizers say they’re stepping up safety efforts this year. Runners last year said the event was mismanaged. Some complained there wasn’t enough water on the course despite record heat.
* Hardy Chicago Marathoners Give the Race Another Go
* Run, watch or stay put
Chicagoans have a choice Sunday: either join the 1.5 million people expected to watch the Chicago Marathon — or try to avoid it altogether. But it won’t be easy, as 45,000 runners will clog up the 26.2 mile race course and more streets for a good part of the day.
* New Renaissance schools
15 new Renaissance 2010 high schools announced Wednesday:
* Friday Beer Blogging: Joe Six Pack Edition