* Friend secretly taped ex-Chicago Ald. Edward Vrdolyak, unsealed court records show

* Unsealed docs detail profanity-laced fraud scheme

* Ald. Stone targets inspector general: ‘I’m going after him’

Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) struck out Monday in his attempt to write Inspector General David Hoffman out of the city budget in retaliation for an absentee ballot fraud investigation that targeted Stone’s ward superintendent.

At Monday’s Budget Committee meeting, Stone tried to convince his colleagues to eliminate the inspector general’s $5.8 million-a-year budget.

“He’s come after me, so I’m going after him. That’s the way the game is played,” Stone said.

* Patients revolt against hospital secrecy

“That’s when I knew — a light bulb went on in my head,” she says. “They don’t want anyone to know about this.”

Today, Thomas is exposing MRSA’s staggering toll as one of the nation’s most influential patient advocates. Because of her persistence, Illinois hospitals now must disclose MRSA infection rates and screen for the germ. She’s also pushing for federal legislation that could enhance patient safety in Washington and every other state.

* Medicaid pits state against counties

* States struggle with preterm birth crisis

Illinois gets a failing grade when it comes to problems related to premature babies, according to a report by the March of Dimes.

In a study released this month, the March of Dimes reports that the odds of having a premature baby are lowest in Vermont and highest in Mississippi.

Illinois falls near the middle of the country, ranking 31st out of 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the March of Dimes said.

* Drug cos. to pay $16.5M for Cicero death

* Suit filed over transplant

A transplant patient at the University of Chicago Medical Center filed suit Monday against the hospital and one of its surgeons, saying she contracted HIV and hepatitis C after receiving a kidney from an infected donor.

* Week in Poverty News

* State-by-State Costs of Child Poverty in the U.S.

* Teens hear tales of homelessness

* Lindenhurst revising affordable-housing plan

* November is Affordable Housing Month in Illinois

* Cook Co. sheriff to appear at Durbin foreclosure hearing

* LaHood: Auto vote unlikely this week

* Pontiac Mayor Claims DOC, Governor Putting Criminals On The Street

Pontiac Mayor Scot McCoy is trying to make the case that the slayings of three members of Jennifer Hudson’s family can be connected to Governor Blagojevich.
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McCoy – who’s announced he’s not running for re–election –says he’s got documentation that the Governor is putting dangerous prisoners on the streets.

* Hearing set in AFSCME suit to ban inmate transfers

A lawsuit filed by AFSCME Council 31 relating to the closure of Pontiac Correctional Center will be heard at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 18) in Johnson County circuit court in Vienna. Judge James Williamson will preside.

The union argues that an imminent risk to the health and safety of its members is posed by the transfer of inmates from Pontiac and other prisons to facilities that are already dangerously overcrowded, and/or lack sufficient security infrastructure to safely house the inmates.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to bar further such transfers.

* Friendship, activism grow from school-funding protest at New Trier High School

With grins and a familiar nod, a dozen teenagers came together this weekend for what has become a standing date since nearly 1,000 Chicago students skipped classes and tried to enroll in two North Shore schools to protest the financial disparity in Illinois public education.

Students from New Trier High School and several South Side schools have met weekly in a quiet corner of a Chicago library to chip away at the funding predicament that has stymied Illinois lawmakers for years.

They dubbed themselves the Illinois Council of Students, recruited peers to the cause and created an online presence to drum up interest.

* Four of 5 area schools make Adequate Yearly Progress

* Jim Ryan will speak of son’s suicide

Former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan will speak about his son’s suicide at the 10th anniversary ceremony of Suicide Prevention Services Inc.

* Ill. treasurer to auction abandoned jewelry

* Quinn to give medal to late Marine’s mom in Poland

* Authorities to check safety belt use

If you don’t make a practice of fastening your safety belt, now’s a good time to start. Illinois State Police and local law-enforcement agencies will be stopping cars through Nov. 30 to ensure drivers and passengers are buckling up.

* Sprucing up for Abe’s 200th birthday

* Plan to Cut Airport Greeters Upsets Immigrants

Some Chicago-area immigrant leaders are complaining about a plan to eliminate multi-lingual greeters at O’Hare International Airport.

* Aldermen rally to save free jumping jacks

* Proposed school catering to gays expands mission

* Gay-friendly schools

* Earn A’s, B’s, get free college