News Chicago

April 5, 2011, CONSOLIDATED GENERAL ELECTION – PROPOSITIONS Read the DuPage Libertarian’s 2011 DuPage County Voter Guide

By Alan Purkiss – Mar 17, 2011 1:08 AM CT Radiation detectors at Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare airports were triggered when passengers from flights that started in Tokyo passed through customs, the New York Post reported. Tests at Dallas-Fort Worth indicated low radiation levels in travelers’ luggage and in …

By DOUG FINKE A $1-per-pack hike in Illinois’ cigarette tax was approved by a state Senate committee Wednesday, as Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, also introduced legislation to repeal the legalization of video poker in the state. Poker was made legal in 2009 as a way to pay for the …

Fewer Illinois school districts are in serious financial trouble this school year — but apparently at the cost of more than 2,600 fewer teachers. The Illinois State Board of Education released data Wednesday showing that even counting the fact that the state has been as much as $1 billion behind …

The Transportation Security Administration is re-analyzing the radiation levels of X-ray body scanners installed in airports nationwide, after testing produced dramatically higher-than-expected results. The TSA, which has deployed at least 500 body scanners to at least 78 airports, said Tuesday the machines meet all safety standards and would remain in …

Dan Sinker, a journalism teacher at Columbia College, says he was behind the fictitious Twitter account “@MayorEmanuel,” a foul-mouthed double of the real candidate and mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel. Sinker tells the Atlantic magazine his punk rock attitude and deep interest in Chicago politics led him to take on Emanuel’s persona. …

You know it’s tough out there for a P2P lawyer when even some random, anonymous, non-lawyer defendant is the more convincing party. That strange scenario unfolded yesterday in Illinois, where divorce-attorney-turned-porn-copyright-lawyer John Steele had his entire case against 300 defendants thrown out completely. The case involved CP Productions, “a leading …

The accusation was explosive and unambiguous: A top general in Afghanistan used illegal “information operations” to influence visiting U.S. Senators. But military documents obtained by Danger Room show that at least one Army lawyer deemed the work legal. What’s more, the alleged information operator’s bosses repeatedly told him that he …

In upcoming sci-fi flick Source Code, an Iraq War veteran uses “time reassignment” technology to crack open alternate realities in an effort to stop a terrorist from blowing up Chicago. While the premise sounds outlandish, it’s actually based on principals of quantum physics, according to Source Code scribe Ben Ripley. …

(CN) – The Supreme Court on Monday vacated a decision that found Ford Motor did not have to face a wrongful death suit over its failure to use the safest materials available. Coming on the heels of a decision Wednesday that found Mazda could be sued for choosing to fit …

-By Warner Todd Huston Rahm Emanuel hasn’t even officially set his first foot in the Mayor’s Office and he’s already had his first political misstep: He hired a transition team member that has ethics problems. Last year Judy Erwin was forced to resign as director of the Illinois Board of …

State Senator Dan Duffy R-Barrington has been a vocal opponent of red light cameras for a while. Now he’s stepped up his opposition to proposing a ban on red light cameras statewide, and has been successful in getting two Democratic Senators to sign on — State Senator Kwame Raoul, who …

With municipalities and police wanting an answer, DuPage County Board members in late 2009 were expected to decide whether to allow red-light cameras at county-controlled intersections. The vote never happened. Instead, the county put the brakes on discussions about the controversial devices. DuPage County could allow red-light cameras at the …

If you want to be on TV, don’t go to Los Angeles or New York. Come to Chicago, where your wish is certain to be fulfilled. In fact, you couldn’t avoid it if you wanted to, thanks to the nation’s most extensive network of police surveillance cameras. Anytime you walk …

Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell says he’s not political, but he’s happy to lead new council, offer input Melissa Harris Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn announced that Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell will lead his new Innovation Council. Coupled with Keywell’s plans to launch the first Chicago Ideas Week in October, the …