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Illinois data on stimulus-related jobs saved, created don't add up

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Bob Secter, Erika Slife - Nov. 04 (News Report) - More than $4.7 million in federal stimulus aid so far has been funneled to schools in North Chicago, and state and federal officials say that money has saved the jobs of 473 teachers. Problem is, the district employs only 290 teachers. "That other number, I don't know where that came from," said Lauri Hakanen, superintendent of North Chicago Community Unit Schools District 187. The Obama administration last week released the first round of data designed to underpin the worthiness of its economic stimulus plan, which so far has directed $1.25 billion to Illinois schools. That money has helped save or create 14,330 school jobs in the state, the administration claimed.

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Going outside the workplace for health insurance carries risks

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Gail Marks Jarvis - Oct. 10 (Opinion) - The price of health insurance at work is shocking people in open enrollment this year and prompting some to look elsewhere for less-expensive coverage. Insurance professionals sometimes suggest the strategy, especially for people seeking family coverage. Some even suggest individuals might be able to save money by insuring themselves at work and buying outside insurance for the rest of the family. But Katherine Ewers said she would not take such a chance if she could possibly help it. When she was unemployed in 2007, Ewers bought an individual insurance policy. Many healthy people would have skipped it and hoped for the best, "but I was prudent and cautious," she said. Now, almost two years later, that prudence has been answered with about $40,000 in medical bills for emergency gallbladder surgery. She said her insurer rejected the expenses, claiming she didn't tell them when she applied that she had a pre-existing condition.

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Make the check out to the alderman (for a retirement present)

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Dan Mihalopoulos - Aug. 10 (Investigative Report) - The heir apparent to powerful Ald. William J.P. Banks (36th) is throwing a $200-a-ticket retirement party for the outgoing City Council zoning boss and asking everyone who attends to make the checks out to Banks personally.

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Mine-resistant, cliff vulnerable

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By James Janega - Jul. 23 (News Report) - For what soon will be a full year, the Illinois National Guard has made no small contribution to the war in Afghanistan. The deployment in the summer of 2008 interrupted the lives of some 2,700 citizen soldiers, their families and their towns in the largest call-up of Illinois Guard troops since World War II. The mission – costly in both lives and resources -- now nears an end. In its final weeks, Tribune reporter James Janega and Tribune photographer Jason Wambsgans have joined the Illinois troops to document their thoughts, their sacrifices and their accomplishments.

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Speaking truth to power

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Roxana Saberi - Jun. 21 (Opinion) - "Just a moment," an Iranian friend typed as we chatted online, "while I upload my photos of today's protest onto Facebook." He is only one of many ordinary Iranians informing the world about the momentous events taking place in Iran since the country's disputed June 12 presidential election. As traditional media outlets and foreign journalists have faced mounting government restrictions on their reporting, "citizen journalists" have stepped in. Through e-mails, blogs and social-networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, they have been disseminating photos, video and eyewitness accounts of street clashes and violence between anti-government demonstrators and Iranian security forces and militiamen.

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Burris says blame impeachment panel for their questions, not him for his answers

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Ashley Rueff, Rick Pearson - May. 28 (News Report) - U.S. Sen. Roland Burris today said he shouldn’t be blamed for any lack of candor while under oath earlier this year before a special Illinois House panel about his appointment to the seat because his duty was only to answer the questions posed by the committee members and nothing more.

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Wiretap reveals campaign-donation talk; Burris agonized with governor's brother

Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - By Jeff Coen, John Chase - May. 27 (News Report) - A month before his appointment to the Senate, Roland Burris agonized with the brother of then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about how to raise campaign cash for the governor without creating the perception he was buying his way into Congress, according to a federal wiretap unveiled Tuesday. Burris said he would make a personal donation but worried that both he and the governor could "catch hell" for any campaign help Burris gave as he lobbied for Blagojevich to choose him.

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Secretary Arne Duncan has $5 billion for transformation. What should he do?

Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Jeb Bush, James B. Hunt Jr. - May. 04 (Opinion) - As former governors from different political parties who remain passionate about the quality of education in America, we agree that Arne Duncan is one lucky guy. As part of the $787 billion spending package passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in February, the new education secretary gets $5 billion to spend on projects that will transform America's education system. Called the "Race to the Top Fund," the money is to meant to pay for innovations that improve student achievement and ultimately revolutionize our economy and workforce for the 21st Century.

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School newspapers: High school newspapers chart new course in tumbling economy

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Tara Malone - Apr. 22 (Special Report) - As newspapers reinvent themselves, high school newsrooms are locked in their own transition amid the economic tumult that has jolted the industry. Several school newspapers in Illinois now publish online only, while others are turning to the Internet to post stories edged out of a shrinking newspaper. These days, the pressures of tighter budgets, thinner papers and slumping ad sales are as central to the lessons of journalism as beat reporting and editing, educators said. "If we want to make it as real world as we can make it, you've got to be able to pay for the pages [through advertising]. If you can't pay for the pages, you figure out another way to do things," said Michael Gordy, adviser to Antioch Community High School's paper, The Tom Tom.

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Poison in the well

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Michael Hawthorne - Apr. 20 (News Report) - As village officials were building a national reputation for pinching pennies... state and village records obtained by the newspaper show they secretly were drawing water from a contaminated well, apparently to save money.

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IRS workers see double standard on tax errors

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Tom Hamburger, Ralph Vartabedian - Apr. 17 (News Report) - The Treasury secretary, who oversees the IRS, didn't pay all his taxes. Neither did five other top nominees for the Obama administration, or their spouses. Now, as Wednesday's tax deadline looms, some Americans are wondering why they should comply with the arcane requirements of the Internal Revenue Service when top administration officials failed to do the same. Even some IRS employees are upset at what they see as a double standard. The most criticized example has been Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who admitted not paying $34,000 in payroll and Social Security taxes, saying his failure to pay was an oversight. Five other nominees disclosed similar tax issues, including one as recently as two weeks ago when Kathleen Sebelius, President Barack Obama's pick for secretary of health and human services, admitted she didn't pay $7,040. "Our members are upset and angry," said Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, referring to concern bubbling up within the IRS over unusually strict rules that can cost agents their jobs if they make a mistake.

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Business, states see green in Obama energy plan

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Jim Tankersley - Mar. 23 (Special Report) - Yet veterans of the efficiency business say the rush of money and new contractors demands strict measures to ensure the upgrades actually save energy. "You basically have the word efficiency sprinkled throughout the stimulus package, but you don't have actual specific targets, or a list of priorities," said Edward Mazria, the founder of Architecture 2030, a non-profit group that works to improve energy efficiency in buildings.

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Stewart vs. Cramer: We have a winner

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Maureen Ryan - Mar. 13 (Review) - On Thursday's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart -- channeling Jimmy Stewart -- delivered a beatdown of CNBC's Jim Cramer, who attempted to defend himself and CNBC but, for the most part, meekly said he and his network could have done a better job in the leadup to the nation's financial meltdown.

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Highway robbery? Texas police seize black motorists' cash, cars

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chicago Tribune - By Howard Witt - Mar. 10 (Special Report) - Suit says cops force motorists, largely black, to forfeit cash and cars—or be charged with trumped-up crimes

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The markets do not believe the 'stimulus' -

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By George Bittlingmayer, Thomas W. Hazlett - Mar. 08 (Special Report) - The Obama administration has much to blame on its predecessor. But its own fiscal strategy is highly leveraged on a theory that has not scored well in previous runs. Markets are dubious that the "stimulus" will stimulate. And investors are losing patience with the federal fixes offered for the banking crisis. If the warning signs of the Dow are not heeded by policymakers, they will be by others

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Kitchen pest is a hero to scientists meeting in Chicago

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Robert Mitchum - Mar. 06 (News Report) - With almost a century of fruit-fly research merging with new genetic technologies, the insect is poised to broaden human knowledge of diseases, including cancer and depression, and provide a cost-effective and efficient system for testing promising therapies.

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Former Chicago Bull star Norm Van Lier dead at 61

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Melissa Isaacson, K.C. Johnson - Feb. 27 (News Report) - Van Lier, the fiercely competitive Bulls guard best known for teaming with Jerry Sloan in one of the NBA's toughest backcourts, was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. He was 61. The cause of death was not released, pending a report by the Cook County medical examiner.

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On different pages when it comes to race

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Dawn Turner Trice - Feb. 23 (Opinion) - I wouldn't describe us as cowards. But I do think too many of us are intransigent with regard to race. And, for too many of us, race remains a Rorschach test in that we still can look at the same thing and see something totally different.

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Sell America

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - Feb. 08 (Editorial) - When the U.S. House passed its economic stimulus package, it slipped in a "Buy American" requirement that would force all the public works projects funded by the bill to use U.S.-made steel and iron. That sounds like a good idea, but it would inflate the costs of many of those projects and invite protectionist responses by other countries. (Buy Mexican! Buy Canadian!) It would violate international trade agreements. It was good to see President Barack Obama and the U.S. Senate take a step back from this.

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In Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois, schools see an oversupply of teachers -- chicagotribune.com

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Diane Rado - Feb. 05 (Special Report) - Frigid temperatures and subzero wind chills didn't keep job seekers away from a Chicago Public Schools teacher career fair. "I had 1,100 show up at 25 below zero (windchill). That tells you this spring is going to be wild," said chief recruiting officer Nancy Slavin, predicting a busy hiring season for Chicago. The nation's third-largest city school system is seeing a deluge of applications, a phenomenon usually associated with coveted suburban jobs. Applications have doubled in five years—to 23,568 for the 2008-09 school year—fueled in part by the economy but also by a glut of new teachers statewide. Illinois is producing thousands more new teachers than public school districts are hiring, with oversupplies in all subject areas except bilingual education, according to a 2008 analysis by the Illinois Department of Education. The "overproduction" of teachers is highest in social science, according to the state.

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Israelis still dealing with international fallout over Gaza offensive -

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Matti Friedman - Feb. 05 (News Report) - More than two weeks after halting its Gaza offensive, Israel is still dealing with the international fallout, including a very public spat with the leader of Turkey, a slew of war crimes allegations and broken ties with Venezuela, Bolivia and Qatar. It's not quite a major diplomatic crisis, but it is a serious public relations problem for the Jewish state, which once again finds itself on the defensive against an avalanche of accusations.

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Obama lets CIA keep controversial renditions tool

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Greg Miller - Jan. 31 (News Report) - Under executive orders issued by Obama last week, the CIA still has authority to carry out what are known as renditions, or the secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to countries that cooperate with the U.S.

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Barack Obama asks longtime University of Chicago professor Cass Sunstein to join his administration

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Christi Parsons - Jan. 08 (News Report) - The president-elect is expected to name Sunstein—his friend and informal adviser—to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a transition official said late Wednesday.

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Barack Obama's silence on Gaza bombings is galling to Arabs

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Liz Sly - Jan. 05 (News Report) - "People recall his campaign slogan of change and hoped that it would apply to the Palestinian situation," said Jordanian analyst Labib Kamhawi, speaking from Amman, Jordan. "So they look at his silence as a negative sign. They think he is condoning what happened in Gaza because he's not expressing any opinion."

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Invest in clean energy

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Chicago Tribune - By Ted Turner - Jan. 04 (Opinion) - As someone who has financially invested in solar power, I have been asked a lot lately whether the country's economic troubles will imperil our nation's transition to cleaner, low-carbon energy sources. The assumption behind the question, of course, is that clean energy is a luxury we can no longer afford. Further, it suggests that investment in clean energy, and the technologies needed to deliver it, only makes sense when oil and gas prices are high. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it's this misconception that for the past three decades has given us a reactive energy policy and left us more dependent on foreign oil. Moving away from dirty and inefficient power sources is utterly essential to U.S. economic competitiveness and to the security and health of the planet. It will also be the business opportunity of the 21st Century.

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