(AP) – 1 hour ago How did an agency created to protect the public become the target of so much public scorn? After nine years of funneling travelers into ever longer lines with orders to have shoes off, sippy cups empty and laptops out for inspection, the most surprising thing …

A lawsuit filed this week in Chicago claims Batavia police officers attacked a then 17-year-old boy two years ago when he was arrested for an alleged alcohol offense. Benjamin Johnston claims that on Nov. 22, 2008, he was arrested by Batavia police during a traffic stop conducted while he was …

November 19, 2010 BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Nearly 1,400 city stickers are “missing” and unaccounted for — at a potential loss to Chicago taxpayers of $134,325 — because of lax internal controls and sloppy record-keeping at a satellite city clerk’s office where residents paid $3.9 million last year …

WASHINGTON – After weeks of pressure from pilot unions over controversial new airport screening measures, the Transportation Security Administration has agreed to exempt pilots from enhanced pat-downs and full body scans, pilot organizations said Friday. Pilots flying for U.S. carriers and traveling in uniform will immediately start going through “expedited” …

Updated: Thursday, 18 Nov 2010, 7:57 AM CST FOX Chicago News Chicago – A new Chicago Tribune report shows how bad the city’s pension funds are doing. The investigation found trustees of public pension funds have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into highly speculative investments. via Report: City Pension …

Aldermen propose surcharge for new revenue Two Chicago Aldermen say the city can find extra money in a cab ride. They are proposing to add a one dollar surcharge to every cab fare in Chicago. Ald. Carrie Austin and Ald. Edward Burke say the added charge could mean 70 million …

Mary Ellen Podmolik Local Scene November 19, 2010 As the value of our homes goes down, so, too, does the value of the work we put into them. According to Remodeling magazine’s most recent Cost vs. Value Report, homeowners who undertake moderately priced remodeling projects aren’t recouping as much of …

By Reuters Posted yesterday at 5:05 p.m. Farmland values in the U.S. Midwest, one of the world’s top grain growing regions, jumped 10 percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago due to rising agricultural prices and the low cost of money, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago …

from the free-speech-isn’t-free dept This is hardly a surprise but, this morning (as previously announced), the lame duck Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted to move forward with censoring the internet via the COICA bill — despite a bunch of law professors explaining to them how this law is a clear …

FBI Director Robert Mueller traveled to Silicon Valley this week to convince major Internet players to build “back doors” into their software that will allow law enforcement to wiretap data on their networks, says a news report. It’s part of an effort to expand the FBI’s wiretapping powers to include …