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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 …

Cities are where people come together, right? Just look at Millennium Park. The eminent author and sociologist Richard Sennett has a different, perhaps darker, view. He’ll share it at the Graham Foundation on Dec. 2 in a talk titled “Edges: How People Are Separated in Cities and What Can Be …

Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn rehired a former top aide who resigned following ethics violations that became an issue in the governor’s race, his office said today. Jerry Stermer, who served as chief of staff before resigning in August, will return to Quinn’s administration on Nov. 29 in the role of …

Home inspectors say the problem is split face block, a concrete building material used all over Chicago in brand new homes built during the latest building boom. “I’m very scared,” said home inspector William Decker. Decker has been dealing with the problem for years. “For the last four or five …