* Illinois’ unemployment rates dips to 10.9 percent
* Hang up on contractor who’s ‘phoning it in’
In a special Sun-Times/NBC5 News report in Thursday’s Sun-Times, Carol Marin and Don Moseley wrote that a consulting company run by the stepson of former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr. has not filed a single one of the weekly reports it is required to produce under its contract, which has run for 21 months.
* Judge says street gangs more dangerous than Gitmo detainees
* Illinois tollway headaches finally coming to an end
After two years and countless headaches for drivers, work on the Tri-State Tollway is finally expected to be finished before this weekend, tollway officials said today.
* Illinois tollway extends contract of troubled customer-service firm
* Chicago magnet school plan trimmed back
Faced with screaming parents and enraged aldermen, Chicago school officials trimmed back their admission plans for the most coveted schools in the system Wednesday — and said they might tweak them again once they see the results.
* Daley Criticizes Federal Lawmakers on Legislative Stalemates
* Alderman Takes Aim at Power-Plant Emissions
* CPS unveils new rules for school closings, ‘Student Bill of Rights’
* CTA budget with cuts approved
* Alderman re-introduces elephant cruelty ordinance
* Chicago. Wal-Mart. It’s time
* Wal-Mart: We’ll pay city-mandated wage, if it applies to everyone
* Alderman propose new reporting by police on missing children
* Chicago city workers keep quiet about misconduct, survey finds
* City employees report misconduct only half the time: survey
* Race Gap Widens In Chicagoans’ Health
* Health gap kills 3,200 black Chicagoans every year
Already lagging far behind whites on most key measures of health, blacks in Chicago have fallen even further behind in 11 of 15 areas reviewed by Chicago’s Sinai Urban Health Institute between 1990 and 2005 — including infant mortality, heart-disease deaths and diabetes.
* Racial gap in health widens in Chicago
* Sad news: Illinois ranks 45th
Unhappy?
You’re not alone. A new happiness survey ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia — and Illinois comes in at a miserable 45th.
* Campton Hills rejects video gambling
* NAACP vows to fight cutting of city position
* YMCA names former Tribune exec as new CEO
* First Community Bank of Joliet parent accepts $22M in TARP aid
* Red-light cameras: First 14 installed in suburbs show mixed results
* Sheriff predicts layoffs for deputies
* Opinion: City should implement hiring freeze
* Evanston taxpayers urged to appeal
* Schaumburg residents voice opinions on possibility of village’s first property tax
* Charter school only real option in SD 227
* Belvidere City Council to vote on bar permit Jan. 4