2 local firms have purchased delinquent property taxes Spire developer loses control of site in foreclosure suit Irish developer Garrett Kelleher‘s company has lost control of the site on which he started to build the 2,000-foot Chicago Spire. A Cook County Circuit Court judge has granted a request by Anglo …

Number of offenders shot rises sharply December 06, 2010| By Annie Sweeney, Tribune reporter A new report shows that Chicago police used Tasers to subdue nearly 700 offenders over 12 recent months, a dramatic increase that reflects the department’s decision earlier this year to expand its use of the weapons. …

December 4, 2010 BY MICHAEL DRAKULICH A Midlothian woman working as an accountant siphoned off more than $600,000 over a 3 1/2 -year period from an Oak Lawn firm whose funds she was hired to protect, a Cook County assistant state’s attorney said in court Friday. Bail was set at …

Invalidating petition signatures could keep Emanuel tenant off mayoral ballot December 03, 2010| By Ray Gibson, Tribune reporter State police are looking into allegations that nominating petitions for five political candidates, including four Chicago mayoral contenders, were fraudulently notarized, a spokeswoman for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said Friday. …

December 3, 2010, BY DAVE McKINNEY AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters The Illinois Senate on Thursday approved police and firefighter pension legislation that Mayor Daley warned would blow a $550 million hole in the city budget, but the top Senate Democrat pledged to try softening that financial hit next month. …

So which elected officials own stakes in full-body scanning machines now in more than 60 U.S. airports? And what are those individual investments worth? We still can’t connect the dots to say that, because these Congressmen invested in these tech companies, than, ipso facto, those scanners were then put in …

You Tube freezes Alex Jones Channel as web censorship accelerates in frightening early salvo of move towards tiered Internet system that favors large corporations while strangling independent voices Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Tuesday, November 30, 2010 In a damning new lurch towards web censorship, Google’s news aggregator has blacklisted …

Off the Markley Please take the time to read Beau Hodai’s fascinating report on the issue for In These Times. The prison-industrial complex is one of the most insidious corporate interests in the United States. The industry lobbies for and makes money from counter-productive drug laws, and–you guessed it–the continued …

Trial begins Monday for Ben Wilcox, a former dean at Kaplan who is accused of sending threatening e-mails to Kaplan students, employees and executives Ameet Sachdev Chicago Law, November 30, 2010 A trial opened Monday in a Chicago federal courtroom against an alleged computer hacker that promises to reveal more …

Some using transit ID cards issued to people who have died November 29, 2010| By Richard Wronski, Tribune reporter Thousands of fraudulent free rides have been taken on Chicago’s mass-transit system by people using passes issued to now-deceased senior citizens, officials said Monday. The Regional Transportation Authority found that at …

Despite the establishment media presiding over another mass hoax in claiming that Americans were completely happy with invasive airport security measures, contrary to polls showing a majority in opposition, and that the national opt out day was a failure, the fact that the TSA was forced to change its policy …

Take your pick of the best — or only — seats in the house Venues with no more than 75 seats provide intimate experience By Mark Caro, Tribune reporter, November 29, 2010 In the ultraclose quarters of A Red Orchid Theatre last year, Michael Shannon was ranting as the Broadway …

By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal, Posted today at 6:21 a.m. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is likely to face some new dissenting votes when the make-up of the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank’s policy-making committee, changes in January. Four presidents of regional Fed banks will step into …

Back in February I posted on the short sales and foreclosures in Chicago’s University Commons development, which is right next to University Village where I live. At that time 11 out of the 21 sales in the preceding 12 month period were distressed properties – either short sales or foreclosures. …

Mainstreaming special education students started out as a good idea. But in reality, the practice is not always beneficial. by Mara Tapp October, 2005 When my oldest daughter started in the Chicago Public Schools some 14 years ago, I was thrilled that our school system celebrated diversity by including physically …