Harold Washington statue damaged on South Side

Police released this photo showing damage to a pedestal under the statue of the late Harold Washington. (Chicago Police Dept. / January 20, 2013)

Staff report

4:34 p.m. CST, January 20, 2013

Police are looking for the people responsible for damaging and stealing a portion of a statue of late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington on the South Side.

A front panel which contained a metal description of the late mayor was removed and stolen from the pedestal below the statue, according to a community alert issued by police.

The statue was located in front of the Harold Washington Cultural Center on the 4700 block of South Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, police said.

The incident happened late Saturday. No information about the people who damaged the statute was available, police said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Area Central Bureau of Detectives at (312) 747-8380.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter:@ChicagoBreaking

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Ricketts asks for easing of landmark restrictions on Wrigley

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts discusses Sammy Sosa and the renovation of Wrigley Field.

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said the team is willing to pay for a ambitious $300 million, five-year renovation plan if the city will ease some of the restrictions surrounding Wrigley Field.

“The fact is that when you look at all of the limitations that we have, whether that’s signage in the outfield, which we are not allowed to do, or what kind of stuff we do in the park or around the park, I think we’d just like a little more flexibility to have some options on that stuff,” Ricketts said after a question-and-answers session with fans at the Cubs Convention.

“We have an opportunity cost there that’s tremendous. Just give us some relief on some of these restrictions, and we’ll take care of (renovating) Wrigley Field.”

Among the proposed improvements are larger concourses, restaurants, more bathroom and concession areas, expanded suites and amenities for the players, including a larger home clubhouse, batting cages and additional training facilities. A new roof would replace the wooden roof, new seats would be installed and the façade would return to its 1930s-era luster.

The project would be done during off-seasons over a five-year period, in what business president Crane Kenney termed “the greatest (stadium) restoration project ever.”

The Cubs hope the city will ease what they believe are unfair restrictions on the team by allowing more signage, an increased schedule of night games-- including Saturday night games-- concerts and the use of Sheffield Avenue for street-fests during games.

Kenney said the improvements would not lead to personal seat licenses for season ticket holders.

Ricketts said the team is looking at “other alternatives” to fund the renovations after a proposal to try and use future revenues from their amusement tax contributions fell flat.

“We’re not talking about (the plan) right now,’ he said.  “We’re looking at other things instead. One of the ways we look at it is ‘treat us like a private institution and let us go about doing our business and then we’ll take care of ourselves.”

Due to a landmarking ordinance, the Cubs have to ask for city approval for signage, which was granted for the Toyota sign in the left field bleachers.

Asked if he was aware of the landmarking restrictions when he bought the team, Ricketts replied: “When we bought the team we kind of understood some of the restrictions. What I didn’t understand was we were the only team in baseball to have these restrictions.”

Ricketts said the team has been in discussions with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and feels they’re close to an agreement after talks stalled last year. Emanuel reportedly wouldn’t return Ricketts’ calls after a New York Times report that a PAC run by family patriarch Joe Ricketts considered funding an inflammatory ad campaign against President Obama.

“I hope (we’re close),” Tom Ricketts said. “I think everyone has an incentive. We lost a year this year. We want to get the project rolling. It’s a big economic development for the city. It’s a lot of jobs. It’s something everyone should have incentive to want to get done.”

Kenney said the Cubs understand Emanuel “wants to save the taxpayers.”

“This can not have a negative impact on taxpayers, and it has to create substantial jobs,” he said.   

Ricketts told fans the Cubs pay the second-highest taxes among major league teams, suggetsing an easing of restrictions would be only fair.

“Just let us run out own business,” he said. “We’re not a museum.”

Ricketts said they’d like to open up Sheffield Avenue to a street-fest before games, as the Red Sox have with Yawkey Way outside Fenway Park.

“We think it’s a good idea,” he said. “We think it can really add to the fan experience. We’ve been to Yawkey Way and we think we can do something comparable. (Sheffield) is already closed. Why can’t we put something on it that’s nice for families or for fans coming to games?”

In another shift, the much-hyped triangle building plan has been shelved for an open area that can be used for things like movies, an ice rink, and a farmer’s market. The plan to add parking was also shelved, since polls told the Cubs they didn’t want more congestion next to the ballpark.

Kenney said the Cubs wouldn’t need to remove the landmark status for the proposed changes, adding “the marquee, the ivy, the scoreboard, we’d be the last ones who would want to touch those. The landmark ordinance really isn’t our problem. It’s just the ability to add some of the marketing elements we need and to host games when we feel like it.”

The Cubs are limited to 30 night games under the city ordinance. They would like to have at least a 40-game night schedule, sources said, including occasional Saturday night games, which are currently prohibited unless it’s a nationally televised game.

While a Jumbotron is not in the works yet, the Cubs are open to the possibility, while maintaining the hand-operated scoreboard. Kenney said polls show Cubs fans will support a Jumbotron, a shift in attitude from what they used to say.

“All of our focus groups have swung the other way, if it’s done right,” Kenney said, adding “the key question for them is where, how big, and whether the programming is right.”

In other words, no Kiss Cam.

The Cubs are taking LED board off the centerfield scoreboard because fan surveys suggested “it’s not fitting” with the old one, Kenney said.

All the renovation proposals need city approval, which the Cubs believe should be forthcoming due to the economic impact of the project.

“We need the city’s support to get this off the ground,” Kenney said. “Thousands of jobs are waiting. We expect to get a lot of support from the city because certainly we could all use a little more employment in the city.”

psullivan@tribune.com

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Autopsy today for lottery winner poisoned by cyanide

The body of poisoned lottery winner, Urooj Khan, is exhumed at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago on Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. (John J. Kim, Chicago Tribune)

Chief Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen J. Cina said this afternoon that the body of lottery winner Urooj Khan, exhumed as part of a homicide investigation, was in an advanced state of decomposition but pathologists were able to take samples for toxicological analysis during an autopsy.

It could take several weeks before the test results are available, Cina said.

"I can't really predict how the results are going to turn out. Cyanide over the postmortem period actually can essentially evaporate and leave the tissue," Cina told reporters in the lobby of the medical examiner's office on the Near West Side. "It is possible that cyanide that was in the tissues is no longer in the tissues after several months. We'll just have to see how the results play out."

Cina said it took a few hours to complete the autopsy following the exhumation of Khan’s body from Rosehill Cemetery this morning.

The medical examiner’s office initially ruled that Khan’s July 20 death was from natural causes, but after a relative raised questions, comprehensive toxicological tests of blood showed that he died of cyanide poisoning. He had won a million-dollar lottery prize a few weeks before his death but had not collected the winnings – a lump-sum payment of about $425,000 after taxes.

Earlier today, a hearse was opened in front of a green tent set up at the grave site just north of Peterson Avenue and Khan's body was loaded into it. An evidence technician snapped a photo of it before the hearse's rear doors were closed up and the vehicle was driven away across the grass on the cemetery, escorted by a Chicago police evidence technician squad car and several other marked and unmarked police vehicles. They exited west onto Peterson Avenue.

The whole exhumation process lasted about two hours.

Khan's body was not frozen, officials said. A medical examiner's office spokeswoman, Mary Paleologos, said Khan's body will be buried again on Monday.

Dr. Marta Helenowski, the forensic pathologist who originally handled Khan's case, was to take samples of Khan's lungs, liver and spleen for further testing, along with taking a look at the contents of Khan's stomach and intestines and taking bone, nail and hair samples, all for further examination, according Paleologos.

"Depending on the condition of the body and the quality of the samples, (the medical examiner's office) will hopefully be able to determine how the cyanide entered his body," Paleologos said.

It'll be two or three weeks before the medical examiner's office knows how the cyanide got into Khan's system. The office will also have to wait for independent lab test results.

Helenowski and a few medical examiner's office personnel were on hand for the exhumation. An imam also was present to say prayers at the grave site as the exhumation went on.

Several helicopters hovered over Rosehill Cemetery and a backhoe and three or four pickup trucks were stationed at the grave site in the middle of the cemetery's northern section, where a beam of light could be seen shining over Khan's headstone. The backhoe soon began its work digging into the ground at the grave site. In addition to the backhoe, one or two workers were seen helping dig up the body with shovels.

A large tent was set up at the site where some two dozen police officers were gathered. Among the officers are two Chicago police evidence technicians, Paleologos said. One was taking still photos of the exhumation, while the other was shooting video.

An unmarked police car and two blue barricades blocked off the Peterson Avenue gate to Rosehill, the only entrance and exit in the northern section of the cemetery.

Four TV trucks sat parked along the fence about 100 yards west of the grave site along Oakley Avenue, the designated staging area for the media. A group of about a dozen photographers, a videographer and TV reporters stood along the Peterson Avenue fence, next to where traffic moved along the busy thoroughfare like any normal morning rush hour.

A few passersby gazed at the police activity at the grave site from Oakley Avenue. One, curious about large presence inside the cemetery, was surprised to learned from a Tribune reporter that it was Khan's body being dug up. Another thought someone was having a funeral.

The exhumation of Khan's remains came about six months after the West Rogers Park man was buried at Rosehill. In court papers last week, Cina said it was important to exhume the remains "as expeditiously as possible" since Khan's body was not embalmed.

In court papers, Cina said it was necessary to perform a full autopsy to "further confirm the results of the blood analysis as well as to rule out any other natural causes that might have contributed to or caused Mr. Khan's death."

The exhumation comes after the Tribune broke the story on Jan. 7 about Khan's mysterious death, sparking international media interest in the case.

The medical examiner's office initially ruled Khan's July 20 death was from hardening of the arteries when there were no signs of trauma on the body and a preliminary blood test didn't raise any questions. But the investigation was reopened about a week later after a relative suggested to authorities that Khan's death "may have been the result of poisoning," prosecutors said in a court filing seeking the exhumation.

The medical examiner's office contacted Chicago police Sept. 11 after tests showed cyanide in Khan's blood. By late November, more comprehensive toxicological tests showed lethal levels of the toxic chemical and the medical examiner's office declared his death a homicide.

Khan's widow, Shabana Ansari, who has hired a criminal-defense lawyer, told the Tribune last week that she had been questioned for more than four hours by detectives and had fully cooperated.  She said the detectives had asked her about ingredients she used to prepare his last meal of lamb curry, shared by Ansari, her father-in-law Fareedun Ansari and Khan's daughter from a previous marriage, Jasmeen, 17.

While a motive has not been determined, police have not ruled out that Khan was killed because of his lottery win, a law enforcement source has told the Tribune.

According to court records obtained by the Tribune, Khan's brother has squabbled with Shabana Ansari over the lottery winnings in probate court. The brother, ImTiaz Khan, raised concern that since Khan left no will, Jasmeen Khan would not get "her fair share" of her father's estate.

Khan and Ansari did not have children together. Since her father's death, Jasmeen Khan has been living with Khan's siblings.

An attorney for Ansari in the probate case said the money was all accounted for and the estate was in the process of being divided up by the court. Under state law, the estate typically would be split evenly between the spouse and Khan's only child, he said.

In addition, almost two years ago, the Internal Revenue Service placed liens on Khan's residence on West Pratt Boulevard in an effort to collect more than $120,000 in back taxes from his father-in-law,  Fareedun Ansari, who still lives at the home with his daughter.

Fareedun and Shabana Ansari have denied involvement in Khan's death.

jgorner@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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Father of alleged 'mastermind' behind Te'o girlfriend hoax reacts

By Stacy St. Clair, Tribune reporter

4:07 p.m. CST, January 17, 2013

The father of the man believed to be involved in the  Manti Te’o hoax called the football player “an amazing role model” Thursday and asked the public to let him pursue his dreams without judgment.

In a post on his Facebook page, Titus Tuiasosopo thanked people for the support shown to his “aiga” – the Samoan word for family –  since the story broke. He did not mention his 22-year-old son, Ronaiah, who the sports website Deadspin, which broke the story, described as the mastermind behind the prank.

“There are not enough words in the dictionary to describe the overwhelming love & support me & my Aiga have received today. Feels like I've been drinking from a fire hydrant. lol. Your texts, calls, emails, prayers & messages are received with a sincerely humble heart. I know so much has been splattered all over the media about my son & my family. I also know that many who were born in a manger in Bethlehem & continue to walk on water will undoubtedly express their opinions. Those of you who know us the best still love us the most. It my hope & prayer that we allow the truth to take its course, wherever that may lead. My heart goes out to Manti & the Te'o Aiga. Please allow this young man to pursue his dream without judgement. He's an amazing role model for our youth and Samoan community. I love U all from the bottom of my heart.”

The note was signed “Your friend, Titus.” About a dozen family members were tagged in the post.

Titus Tuiasosopo is a pastor at Oasis Christian Church in Southern California, according people connected with the congregation.  His personal Facebook page is linked to on the church’s site.

Ronaiah often performs with the church band, according pictures and other accounts posted on social media sites.

The family has made no other comments about hoax since it became national news Wednesday afternoon.  

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Obama unveils biggest gun-control push in decades

At the White House earlier today President Obama unveiled a set of gun control measures intended to prevent and reduce violence in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. (Posted: January 16, 2013).

WASHINGTON—

President Barack Obama launched the biggest U.S. gun-control push in generations on Wednesday, urging Congress to approve an assault weapons ban and background checks for all gun buyers to prevent mass shootings like the Newtown school massacre.

Rolling out a wide-ranging plan for executive and legislative action to curb gun violence, Obama set up a fierce clash with the powerful U.S. gun lobby and its supporters in Congress, who will resist what they see as an encroachment on constitutionally protected gun rights.

Obama presented his agenda at a White House event in front of an audience that included relatives of some of the 20 first graders who were killed along with six adults by a gunman on Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

"We can't put this off any longer," Obama said, vowing to use "whatever weight this office holds" to make his proposals reality. "Congress must act soon," he said, flanked by schoolchildren.

In a sign of how bitter the fight over gun control could get, the National Rifle Association released an advertisement hours before Obama spoke that accused him of hypocrisy for accepting armed Secret Service protection for his daughters. The White House condemned the ad as "repugnant."

Until now, Obama had done little to change America's gun culture. But just days before his second inauguration, he appears determined to champion gun control in his next term, which also will be dominated by debt and spending fights with Congress and a likely debate over immigration reform.

His plan calls on Congress to renew a prohibition on assault weapons sales that expired in 2004, require criminal background checks on all gun purchases, including closing a loophole for gun show sales, and pass a new federal gun trafficking law - long sought by big-city mayors to keep out-of-state guns off their streets.

He also announced 23 steps he intends to take immediately without congressional approval. These include improving the existing system for background checks, lifting the ban on federal research on gun violence, putting more counselors and "resource officers" in schools and better access to mental health services.

ASSAULT WEAPONS BATTLE

Obama, who has called the day of the Newtown massacre the worst of his presidency, looked down into the audience and addressed the parents of one of the Sandy Hook victims, Grace McDonald, 7, saying he had hung one of her paintings in his private study.

"Every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace, and I think about the life that she lived and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all I think about how when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now," he said.

As he announced the gun measures, Obama was accompanied by four children chosen from among those who sent letters to him about gun violence and school safety. "We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook. I feel really bad," 8-year-old Grant Fritz wrote, in a portion Obama read from the podium.

The most contentious piece of the package is Obama's call for a renewed ban on military-style assault weapons, a move that is unlikely to win approval because Republicans who control the House of Representatives are expected to oppose it.

The Newtown gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, used a Bushmaster AR-15 type assault rifle to shoot his victims, most of them 6- and 7-year-olds, before killing himself.

Law enforcement experts have noted, however, that the tighter background checks that Obama is proposing would not have prevented the Connecticut school massacre because the gunman's weapon was purchased legally by his mother.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a staunch gun control advocate, said tighter controls were needed no matter what.

"No piece of legislation is perfect and no piece of legislation is 100 percent effective. Think of it like a speeding limit. You may every once in a while violate the speeding limit, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have speeding limits - they protect people's lives," he told reporters.

At the firearm industry's largest trade show in Las Vegas, Gary Svecko - adding a Glock 17 pistol to his gun collection - dismissed Obama's bid to ban assault weapons purchases and blamed video games for inciting violence.

"You know the old saying, 'Guns don't kill people. People kill people'," Svecko, 58, said, citing a common argument of gun enthusiasts. "I think they should ban those stupid video games."

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Chief Keef jailed after judge finds probation violation

Rapper Keith Cozart, aka Chief Keef, arrives at Juvenile Court earlier this month. (Abel Uribe/ Chicago Tribune / January 15, 2013)

By Jeremy Gorner




Tribune reporter

4:19 p.m. CST, January 15, 2013

South Side rapper Chief Keef was ordered held in custody today after a Cook County judge ruled that he violated his probation for a previous gun conviction.

Juvenile Court Judge Carl Anthony Walker’s decision to jail the 17-year-old rap sensation, whose real name is Keith Cozart, stems from an on-camera interview in June with Pitchfork Media that shows the rapper holding a rifle at a gun range in New York.

Walker ruled that by holding the firearm Chief Keef violated the terms of his 18-month probation, a sentence he was given for pointing a gun at a Chicago police officer in 2011, according to Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

The rapper is scheduled to be sentenced before Walker on Thursday, said Conklin.

Chicago police have been looking into whether Chief Keef and his allies played a role in the Sept. 4 slaying of aspiring rapper Lil Jojo. The slaying garnered national attention after Chief Keef sent a taunting tweet about the slain 18-year-old, whose real name was Joseph Coleman, hours after the killing.  Chief Keef, who recently signed a deal with Interscope Records, received mostly negative feedback from his more than 200,000 Twitter followers before he claimed his account had been hacked.

His debut album, “Finally Rich” was released nationwide last month.

jgorner@tribune.com

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City prepared to pay $33 million in two cop misconduct cases

Christina Eilman, 22, at home with her parents Rick and Kathy in a suburb of Sacramento, Calif. in 2007. (Chicago Tribune Photo by Nancy Stone / January 14, 2013)

By David Heinzmann




Tribune reporter

3:15 p.m. CST, January 14, 2013

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office is seeking to settle two notorious cases of alleged police misconduct for more than $30 million, according to an agenda prepared for City Council consideration this week.

The city is prepared to pay $22.5 million to the family of a severely injured California woman who alleged in a six-year-old lawsuit that negligence by the Chicago Police Department led to officers abandoning her in a high-crime neighborhood where she was raped and plummeted from a seventh-floor window. Her lawsuit is scheduled for trial in federal court next week.

The proposed settlement is noted on the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council Finance Committee meeting.

The agenda also includes discussion of a proposed $10.25 million settlement in an unrelated lawsuit involving claims against infamous former Chicago police commander Jon Burge. A federal civil trial in that case was postponed in December; the lawsuit alleges that Burge and other detectives covered up evidence decades ago that would have exonerated a man who spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

The city has already paid out millions of dollars in other lawsuits alleging Burge and his colleagues repeatedly tortured confessions out of innocent men.  But the case involving Christina Eilman of California could go down as one of the single most expensive police abuse cases in city history.

A settlement in the lawsuit brought by the family of Eilman would avert a trial that was to begin next week. It would air evidence that police ignored the then-21-year-old woman’s mental illness when they arrested her at Midway Airport in 2006. Instead of seeking mental health care for her, Eilman was locked up overnight in a cell several miles from the airport and then released at dusk the next day, still in the midst of a bipolar breakdown and with no idea where she was. She was soon abducted and sexually assaulted before plummeting from a window in the last standing building of the infamous Robert Taylor Homes.

Eilman survived but suffered a severe brain injury, shattered pelvis and numerous other injuries that have left her permanently disabled. In their lawsuit, the family sought as much as $100 million for her.

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Grounded 787 Dreamliner leaks fuel in tests by Japanese airline

The FAA stepped in Friday to assure the public that Boeing's new 787 "Dreamliner" is safe to fly. The AP spoke with Kevin Hiatt, Flight Safety Foundation CEO & President, who says mechanical issues with new aircrafts are not uncommon. (Jan. 11)

Tokyo—

Japan Airlines Co (JAL) said on Sunday that a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet undergoing checks in Tokyo following a fuel leak at Boston airport last week had leaked fuel during tests earlier in the day.

An open valve on the aircraft caused fuel to leak from a nozzle on the left wing used to remove fuel, a company spokeswoman said. The jet is out of service after spilling about 40 gallons of fuel onto the airport taxiway in Boston due to a separate valve-related problem.

In Boston, a different valve on the plane opened, causing fuel to flow from the center tank to the left main tank. When that tank filled up, it overflowed into a surge tank and out through a vent. The spill happened as the plane was taxiing for takeoff on a flight to Tokyo on January 8. It made the flight about four hours later.

The causes of both incidents are unknown, the JAL spokeswoman added. There is no timetable for the plane to return to service.

On Friday, the U.S. government ordered a wide-ranging review of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, citing concern over a battery that caught fire on January 7, also on a JAL plane in Boston, and other problems. The government and Boeing insisted the passenger jet remained safe to fly.

The 787 represents the boldest bet Boeing has made on a new plane in more than a decade, and because the aircraft required billions to develop, much of the company's financial performance is riding on its success. Boeing is trying to double production to 10 jets a month this year to cash in on nearly 800 orders.

The eight airlines that operate the 50 jets delivered so far have expressed support for it, saying the mishaps are teething problems common with most new airplanes, and the 787's fuel savings make it an important addition to their fleets. JAL and local rival All Nippon Airways Co fly 24 Dreamliners.

The review follows a slew of incidents that have focused intense scrutiny on the new plane. While many of the issues that have dogged the 787 are typically considered routine, their occurrence in quick succession on an aircraft that incorporates major new technology and has not seen wide use yet has sparked concerns about safety.

In December, a 787 operated by United Airlines and bound from Houston to Newark, New Jersey, was forced to land in New Orleans after a warning light in the cockpit indicated a generator had failed.

Boeing later said a faulty circuit board produced in Mexico and supplied by UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies , had produced a false reading in the cockpit. A UTC Aerospace spokesman declined to comment.

Also in December, two other 787s suffered problems with electrical panels. The fire on January 7 started when a lithium-ion battery used in an auxiliary power system ignited while the plane was parked at the gate. It burned for about 40 minutes before firefighters put the flames out, and smoke entered the cabin. Passengers and crew had already left the aircraft.

On December 5, U.S. regulators said there was a manufacturing fault in 787 fuel lines and advised operators to make extra inspections to guard against engine failures.

Last week, the plane had seven reported incidents, ranging from the fire to a cracked cockpit window.

(Reporting by James Topham in Tokyo and Alwyn Scott in Seattle; Editing by Jeremy Laurence, Catherine Evans and Dale Hudson)

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Kelly to stay at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Brian Kelly will remain Notre Dame's football coach, the school announced Saturday.

"This week, I had an incredible opportunity to speak with one of the premier organizations in sports about becoming their head coach," Kelly said in a statement released by the school.

"Like every kid who has ever put on a pair of football cleats, I have had thoughts about being a part of the NFL. However, after much reflection and conversation with those closest to me, I have decided to remain at Notre Dame."

Kelly interviewed with the Eagles on Tuesday, the day after the Irish's 42-14 loss to Alabama in the BCS championship game, but no word had emanated from South Bend on the status of the discussions until Saturday.

"This decision was motivated purely by my love for Notre Dame and the entire Fighting Irish community, the young men I have the great fortune to coach, and my desire to continue to build the best football program in the country," Kelly said. "We still have a lot of work to do and my staff and I are excited about the challenges ahead."

An extension and raise have been on the table for Kelly since well before the BCS title game took place and the process toward that is expected to continue.

"I was always confident that Brian would continue to lead our football program," athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement. "I am very happy to have that confirmed and share Brian's excitement about what lies ahead for our program.

"I appreciate the Eagles reaching out to request permission to speak with Brian, and I also appreciate Brian keeping me fully informed throughout this process. We all look forward to what’s ahead for Notre Dame football."

bchamilton@tribune.com

Twitter @ChiTribHamilton

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Ald. Sandi Jackson resigns from Chicago City Council

Chicago Tribune political editor Eric Krol phones in to discuss the resignation of Alderman Sandi Jackson and the future of the Chicago City Council. (Posted: January 11, 2013).

Ald. Sandi Jackson has resigned from the Chicago City Council.

The 7th Ward alderman submitted her resignation letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel today. It is effective Tuesday.

"After much consideration and while dealing with very painful family health matters, I have met with my family and determined that the constituents of the 7th Ward, as well as you Mr. Mayor, and my colleagues in the City Council deserve a partner who can commit all of their energies to the business of the people. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I tender my resignation as Alderman of 7th Ward, effective January 15, 2013," reads the letter released by the mayor's office.

Ald. Jackson's resignation comes after her husband, Jesse Jackson Jr., resigned from Congress before Thanksgiving amid federal ethics probes and a diagnois of bipolar depression.

Talk swirled around City Hall that Ald. Jackson also would step down, but she remained on the council until Friday afternoon.

Emanuel put out a statement about the resignation.

"As Sandi takes this time to focus on her family, we give her our deepest thanks and support for her service to our City and the residents of her ward.  Her leadership has been greatly appreciated in the Chicago City Council," the statement read.

"The process to identify a replacement for Alderman Jackson to serve and represent the residents of Chicago’s 7th ward will be announced early next week."

A month ago, amid rumors that she was considering a run to replace her husband in Congress, Jackson denied she was interested in the job and said she wouldn’t resign from the City Council unless "something catastrophic happens.”
 
At the same time, she also said she was undecided about whether to move back to Chicago from Washington, D.C., where the couple lives with their children.

"I will finish my term. I intend to finish my term," Ald. Jackson said then. "Unless something catastrophic happens -- I could step outside and get hit by a bus today."

Her husband, in his resignation letter to House Speaker John Boehner in November, appeared to try to shield his wife in the federal ethics investigation. "I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators, and accept responsibility for my mistakes, for they are my mistakes and mine alone," the former congressman wrote. "None of us is immune from our share of shortcomings or human frailties, and I pray that I will be remembered for what I did right."
 
The former congressman paid his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to act as his political consultant.

Ald. Jackson could not be reached for comment.

Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., the former congressman’s father and the former council member’s father-in-law, was reached Friday afternoon by telephone, but had no comment on her resignation.

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Panel recommends against closing any Chicago public high schools

(Tribune illustration / April 9, 2012)

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah




Tribune reporter

3:07 p.m. CST, January 10, 2013

No high schools would be shut down under proposals in a preliminary report from the commission on school closings appointed by Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett.

Taking high schools out of the equation was the biggest surprise in the report, which also recommended that the district’s best-performing schools, classified as Level 1, as well as Level 2 schools that are showing progress, not be considered for closing.

The commission also recommends that schools that have recently been consolidated, and schools in a “turnaround” academic situation, not be closed.

CPS has said utilization will be the key factor in closing schools, but the commission recommends that under-utilized schools that are in the process of adding grades be kept open. So should schools with more than 600 students, under the report’s proposals.

Faced with dwindling enrollment, the district is expected to close a number of schools at the end of this school year – sources in September said 80 to 120 schools could be on the block.

District officials have said they are awaiting full recommendations from the Commission on School Utilization in early  March before they release an actual list of schools to be closed.

While CPS has said it will take the recommendations into account, Byrd-Bennett has also said the district is not bound to follow all the suggestions.

The district has identified more than 300 “under-enrolled” schools.

The commission has held meetings with residents and community groups across the city, but its role in the school closing process has repeatedly come into question by those who oppose school closings. Critics have also questioned the ability of the commission to remain independent from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his appointed school administration.

While Byrd-Bennett has said she expects a list of schools to close from the commission. Commission members have said they are not expected to provide a list of schools to target only recommendations on “the best method” to identify schools for closing and which schools should be removed from consideration.

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Hall of Fame pitches a shutout: No players elected

Steroid-tainted stars Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa have been denied entry to baseball's Hall of Fame with voters failing to elect any candidates for only the second time in four decades. (Jan. 9)

Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens finally faced a jury Wednesday that would decide whether they are worthy of the Hall of Fame, and the verdict was a resounding no: For the first time since 1996, no players were selected for induction.

Sosa, the former Chicago Cubs slugger, received only 12.5 percent of the vote, which keeps him on the ballot for at least one more year. Players with fewer than five percent fall off the ballot. Clemens was named on 37.6 percent of ballots and Bonds on 36.2 percent.

A Sosa representative said her client's only comment was that "it was an honor to be nominated" and he would be doing no interviews Wednesday.

The inclusion of the Steroids Era players on this year’s ballot overshadowed those who were thought to have the best chance of being voted into baseball’s hallowed shrine in Cooperstown: former Chicago White Sox outfielder Tim Raines, the Houston Astros’ long-time duo of Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell and All-Star pitcher Jack Morris.

Biggio was the top vote-getter with 68.2 percent, followed by Morris at 67.7, Bagwell at 59.6, Mike Piazza at 57.8 and Raines at 52.2. Induction requires 75 percent of the vote.

Also in contention was former Cubs closer Lee Smith, who was on the ballot for the 11th time but received only 47.8 percent of the vote.

Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson acknowledged the awkwardness of the result.

"Obviously, no one in Cooperstown was rooting for a shutout, but we have a great respect for the process," Idelson said.

This Hall of Fame eligible class had received more attention than most because of the inclusion of Bonds, who won seven MVP awards; Clemens, who won seven Cy Young awards; and Sosa, who won a National League MVP award after his famous 1998 home run duel with the Cardinals’ Mark McGwire.

In a statement, Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner called the results of the balloting "unfortunate, if not sad."

"Those empowered to help the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum document the history of the game failed to recognize the contributions of several Hall of Fame worthy players," Weiner's statement read. "To ignore the historic accomplishments of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, for example, is hard to justify. Moreover, to penalize players exonerated in legal proceedings -- and others never even implicated -- is simply unfair.

"The Hall of Fame is supposed to be for the best players to have ever played the game. Several such players  were denied access to the Hall today. Hopefully this will be rectified by future voting.”

McGwire, the only one of those who publicly has acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs, has failed seven times in his Hall of Fame election bid. Former Cub Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for a drug, has failed three times and received only 8.8 percent of the votes Wednesday.

The so-called Steroids Era has caused division within the electorate, comprised of 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association. They historically have been very stingy with their votes, especially considering it takes 75 percent to be included in the summer induction ceremonies.

Here were the vote totals:

Craig Biggio 388 (68.2%), Jack Morris 385 (67.7%), Jeff Bagwell 339 (59.6%), Mike Piazza 329 (57.8%), Tim Raines 297 (52.2%), Lee Smith 272 (47.8%), Curt Schilling 221 (38.8%), Roger Clemens 214 (37.6%), Barry Bonds 206 (36.2%), Edgar Martinez 204 (35.9%), Alan Trammell 191 (33.6%), Larry Walker 123 (21.6%), Fred McGriff 118 (20.7%), Dale Murphy 106 (18.6%), Mark McGwire 96 (16.9%), Don Mattingly 75 (13.2%), Sammy Sosa 71 (12.5%), Rafael Palmeiro 50 (8.8%), Bernie Williams 19 (3.3%), Kenny Lofton 18 (3.2%), Sandy Alomar Jr. 16 (2.8%), Julio Franco 6 (1.1%), David Wells 5 (0.9%), Steve Finley 4 (0.7%), Shawn Green 2 (0.4%), Aaron Sele 1 (0.2%), Jeff Cirillo 0, Royce Clayton 0, Jeff Conine 0, Roberto Hernandez 0, Ryan Klesko 0, Jose Mesa 0, Reggie Sanders 0, Mike Stanton 0, Todd Walker 0, Rondell White 0, Woody Williams 0.

 dvandyck@tribune.com

Twitter @davandyck

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Quinn throws Hail Mary on pension reform

Chicago Tribune political editor reports on Gov. Pat Quinn's pension reform efforts.

SPRINGFIELD --- The Illinois House adjourned this afternoon without even voting on Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's desperatation pension reform plan.

Quinn threw his support behind a bill that would set up a commission to decide how to fix Illinois' financially failing government worker retirement systems.

Conventional efforts to craft a compromise on pension changes have gone nowhere during the lame-duck session. The new measure filed today would set up an eight-member commission appointed by the four legislative leaders. The panel would issue a report on pension system changes that would become law unless the General Assembly voted to overturn it.

Testifying before a House panel, Quinn said the measure represents "extraordinary action" to break the gridlock. It is modeled after federal military base closing commission reports to Congress. "We must have some sort of movement," Quinn said.

While the committee advanced the measure to the full House, Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago later adjourned the lame-duck session without calling Quinn's plan for a vote.
Labor leaders immediately called it a "clearly unconstitutional delegation of power" and a "sad attempt to get something done."

Quinn maintained the approach has been upheld as constitutional. The governor said he wanted the pension systems fully funded by the end of December 2045, saying it is critical to "act promptly on this crisis."

Under questioning, Quinn acknowledged, "we need a new mechanism or different structure" because political gridlock had not yielded a solution.

House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, said she would support the bill in committee as a nod to the governor but had serious questions of the constitutionality of the proposal.

Further, Currie said she worried the proposal would "take us three steps back." Currie said she thought the legislative negotiators on pension bills had made progress.

The committee voted 7-2 to advance the bill to the full House.

Quinn's latest plan came after he urged lawmakers to take a vote on government worker pension reform before the new legislature is sworn in at noon Wednesday, saying Illinois' economy is being held hostage by "political timidity."

The Democratic governor suggested there needs to be compromise, but did not offer specifics on how he thinks the gridlock on pensions could be broken.

Quinn decided to hold his news conference despite being told by House Speaker Michael Madigan that demanding a vote, even for symbolic reasons, didn't make sense when there aren't enough votes to pass the bill, according to Steve Brown, a Madigan spokesman.

Brown said forcing such a tough vote could irk lawmakers who are coming back in the new General Assembly and whose votes may be needed to pass pension reform down the road.

So far, House sponsors have been unable to line up enough votes to pass a comprehensive plan that would freeze cost-of-living increases for six years, delay granting pension inflation bumps until retirees hit 67 and require employees to pay more toward their retirement.

Even if that plan passed the House, it could face an uphill climb in the Senate, where senators went home last Thursday and would have to quickly return to vote. In addition, Senate President John Cullerton has indicated he prefers his own version of pension reform that he argues is constitutional, unlike the House plan.

With time running short, Quinn today said all parties need to double their efforts to reach a comprehensive bill that clears up the state's worst-in-the-nation $96.8 billion in a generation.

Pension reform is essential to put the Illinois economy on "sound financial footing," Quinn said.

"We cannot allow the state's economy to be held hostage by political timidity," Quinn said.

Quinn said more compromises need to be reached on legislative proposals, but he said he did not favor the Senate plan that dealt with state rank-and-file workers and legislators because it was not comprehensive.

A bill pending on the House floor reins in pension costs and addresses the state's pensions for four pension systems. The two additional systems are for university workers and and public school teachers from the suburbs and downstate.

Quinn said the Senate and House are both going to be in Springfield today, although the Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, had said it would be back if the House passed a significant pension bill.

"We've put them on stand-by," said Rikeesha Phelon, Cullerton's spokeswoman. "It's still tentative."

She said the Senate is awaiting House action before it returns. "I don't know how to be more clear," Phelon said.

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No vote on Illinois House pension plan today

SPRINGFIELD—

The Illinois House adjourned for the day without voting on a major government worker pension overhaul, casting grave doubt on the reform plan's fate.

The bill passed out of a committee earlier today, but proponents are still trying to round up enough votes to get it out of the full House.

The clock is ticking down until a new legislature is sworn in Wednesday. The Senate is not in town, and it's unclear whether enough lame-duck senators would return to vote on a pension plan even if it passed the House.

The House will return at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

"Sponsors will continue to work to find the votes and move the bill forward," said Ryan Keith, a spokesman for Democratic Reps. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook and Daniel Biss of Evanston.

Earlier today, the plan won approval from a House committee. Workers would chip in more from their paychecks and automatic cost-of-living increases would be reined in for retirees under the proposal. Retirees would not get automatic annual inflation bumps until age 67 and cost-of-living increases would be frozen for six years.

The legislation emerged as the most comprehensive pension overhaul for government workers to reach the House floor with bipartisan support since estimates of the nation's worst-funded retirement system hit $96.8 billion. The proposal moved to the full House on a 6-3 vote.

Rank-and-file state workers, university employees, legislators, and suburban and downstate public school teachers and retirees would be impacted.

Sponsoring Rep. Elaine Nekritz called for action because the state's pension finances are "in crisis." She said the proposal is not the "ideal solution" but represented a solid compromise that lawmakers can pass before a new legislature is sworn in Wednesday.

"The choice is clear. The time is now," Nekritz testified in the House hearing. Failing to act would mean less money for schools, health care, social services and other state operations, she said.

House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego hailed Nekritz and Rep. Dan Biss, D-Evanston, for jump-starting a "give-and-take process" that has resulted in a "very good product" that will lower the debt by $30 billion.

"This is not going to get better, the economy will not save it and it's got to be fixed," said Cross, who threw his support behind the bill after working two years for pension reform. "This is something that has to happen."

He warned that the state must act or its already-poor credit ratings will drop farther and it will cost Illinois more to borrow money. Businesses already are wary about staying or moving to Illinois because of the uncertainty over the state's financial albatross, and workers deserve to know the fate of their pension plans, he said.

Cross said the state pension systems are only 39 percent funded and "it's not getting any better" because the state is on the hook for nearly $7 billion a year in pension payments ---nearly a quarter of the state's overall operating budget.

Biss maintained it is the only bipartisan legislation that has come forth that "truly solves theproblem" and has a "rationale, sensible framework."

In stark disagreement, Michael Carrigan, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO and a leader in a coalition of unions fighting the changes, maintained the pension proposal would disenfranchise people who have made their payments over the years and "played by the rules." 

Proponents maintained the proposal would be constitutional, but opponents maintained it represented "an all-out assault on employees" and a violation of the state charter's ban on diminishing benefits once they are given.

Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery charged lawmakers would violate their oaths of office if they supported the "illegal plan" and urged them to follow the "better angels of your nature."

Henry Bayer, who heads the union representing the most state workers, contended the measure "shifts costs away from state and onto the backs" of public workers and retirees.

The plan represented a "Tea Party approach" of "cut, cut, cut," said Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31.

Among the key features of the House plan is a freeze on cost-of-living increases for all workers and retirees for as long as six years. Once the cost-of-living bumps resume, they would apply only to the first $25,000 of pensions. The inflation adjustments also would not be awarded until a person hits 67, a major departure  public employees who have been allowed to retire much earlier in some cases and begin reaping the benefits of the annual increases immediately.

Under the proposal, employee contributions to pensions would increase 1 percentage point the first year and 1 percentage point the second year. A lid would be put on the size of the pensionable salary based on a Social Security wage base or their current salary, whichever is higher.

The goal is to put in place a 30-year plan that would fully fund the Illinois pension systems

Even if the House plan passes, the Senate would have to come back to the Capitol Tuesday or early Wednesday to vote on it. It's unclear how many senators would return for such a vote and whether Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, would help pass it. Cullerton prefers his own plan that he says would pass constitutional muster.

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Blackhawks owner Wirtz hopes NHL deal is ratified

The NHL and NHLPA came to a tenative agreement to end the lockout early Sunday morning. The deal must still be ratified, but the regular season is expected to begin in Mid-January.

By Chris Kuc




Tribune reporter

3:18 p.m. CST, January 6, 2013

Chicago Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz, who along with the other 28 owners of NHL teams hadn't been allowed by the league to publicly comment during the negotiating process, said Sunday he is pleased that the lockout appears to be at an end.

Hours after a tentative deal had been reached between the NHL and players' association on a new collective bargaining agreement that would end the 113-day lockout, Wirtz said he hopes the deal will receive the approval of the union and NHL Board of Governors.

"We certainly hope it can be ratified by both the owners’ and players’ sides," Wirtz told the Tribune. "We appreciate the fans’ patience during the process."

The sides came to a tentative agreement after a marathon negotiating session in New York, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr made a joint announcement around 4 a.m. Central saying a deal was in place but awaits final tweaking and then official approval by owners and players.

The Board of Governors will meet early next week to vote on the deal and training camps could open a day or two later with a 48- or 50-game season getting underway about a week later.

ckuc@tribune.com

Twitter @ChrisKuc

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Jail escapee appears in court, ordered held without bond

Chicago Tribune reporter Jason Meisner on the recent arrest of Kenneth Conley, a convicted bank robber who escaped from federal jail in December. (Posted on: Jan. 4, 2013.)

Kenneth Conley's formal return to federal custody this morning at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse was a far cry from the brazen way he left.

The second half of a daring escape duo who used bedsheets to scale down the façade of a downtown jail last month was pushed into a federal courtroom in a wheelchair, his legs extended and his feet swollen and shoeless. Shoulder bones pushed through his thin white T-shirt and one pinky was secured in a splint.

A short time later, U.S. District Judge Sheila Finnegan ordered Conley be held in custody without bail and set his preliminary hearing for Jan. 17.
Conley spoke only briefly to tell Finnegan he understood the charges against him.

"Yes, your honor," said Conley, who was wan and appeared thinner than in his booking photo.

Conley, a convicted bank robber, was on the lam 18 days before being arrested Friday afternoon in Palos Hills after police there received a call of a suspicious person. Police said Conley had attempted a disguise, wearing a an overcoat, beret and using a cane he didn't need.

Conley fought briefly with police, slugging one officer before he was tackled, authorities said. He was treated at a hospital before being transferred back to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the jail he busted out of Dec. 18 with his cellmate and fellow convicted bank robber, Joseph "Jose" Banks. Banks was caught two days after the escape.

Conley's attorney, Gary Ravitz, asked Finnegan for permission to use his cell phone camera to document Conley's left foot, which he said was swollen.

Ravitz, who represents Conley on the underlying bank robbery charge, said he did not know the extent of his client's injuries and that he otherwise appeared calm.

"He seemed to be in relatively good spirits, given the situation," Ravitz said.

Conley, 38, allegedly escaped from the jail, located at 71 W. Van Buren Street, while awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty on Oct. 29, 2012, to a 2011 bank robbery of $4,000 in Homewood.

Deputy U.S. Marshals and FBI agents returned to Palos Hills Friday morning to canvass for Conley because of unconfirmed sightings there and his long-standing connections to the area. A 911 call from maintenance workers at a building where Conley is believed to have been sleeping in the basement came in around 3:30 p.m.

The maximum penalty for Conley's escape is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for bank robbery is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to court records, Conley has a long criminal history. He has been convicted in Cook County of offenses ranging from retail theft to weapons violations and was sentenced to eight years in prison for an armed robbery in 1996. He also was sentenced to six years in prison in San Diego County for petty theft with a prior conviction, according to California records.

asweeney@tribune.com, jmeisner@tribune.com, sschmadeke@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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FBI: 2nd escaped bank robber caught in Palos Hills

The second inmate who made a daring escape last month from a high-rise federal jail in the South Loop was captured today in South Suburban Palos Hills, according to FBI officials.

Kenneth Conley, a convicted bank robber, was awaiting sentencing when he and cellmate Joseph “Jose” Banks scaled down the Metropolitan Correctional Center on Dec. 18 with a rope fashioned from bedsheets.

FBI Spokeswoman Joan Hyde said Conley was apprehended at an apartment complex at about 4 p.m. by Palos Hills police.

A law enforcement source said FBI agents and deputy U.S. Marshals returned to the area around Palos Hills this morning to canvass and talk to residents because Conley had been spotted there since his escape and was known to have contacts in the south suburbs.

By late afternoon a 911 call was placed to Palos Hills police reporting a sighting of Conley, possibly a result of the canvass, the source said.

Banks was apprehended late at night on Dec. 20 less than five miles from the jail in the home of a boyhood friend on the North Side.

Banks and Conley were last accounted for during a routine bed check, authorities said. About 7 a.m. the next day, jail employees arriving for work saw ropes made from bedsheets dangling from a hole in the wall near the 15th floor and down the south side of the facade.

The two had put clothing and sheets under blankets in their beds to throw off guards making nighttime checks and removed a cinder block to create an opening wide enough to slide through, authorities said.

The FBI said a surveillance camera a few blocks from the jail showed the two, wearing light-colored clothing, hailing a taxi at Congress Parkway and Michigan Avenue. They also appeared to be wearing backpacks, according to the FBI.

The daring escape was an embarrassment for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and a rarity for the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where the only previous successful escape took place in 1985.

A high-ranking employee in the facility told the Tribune that video surveillance had captured the men making their descent, but that the guard who was supposed to be watching the video monitors for suspicious activity may have been called away on other duties.

asweeney@tribune.com

jmeisner@tribune.com

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House chooses Boehner as speaker

The House has re-elected embattled Republican John Boehner speaker. The Ohio lawmaker won a second, two-year term as leader with 220 votes, losing just a handful of votes in the Republican-controlled chamber. (Jan. 3)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite a rocky few weeks during the "fiscal cliff" fight, John Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will again lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending.

Boehner defeated House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi 220-192 in a vote on the opening day of the 113th Congress and vowed to use his second term to shrink the national debt of $16 trillion to prevent it from "draining free enterprise."

The Ohio congressman narrowly avoided the embarrassment of having to go to a second-round of voting, as a small group of conservatives held back their support for him.

But without a challenger from inside his party, Boehner's re-election was never in doubt even though he has struggled to control an unruly group of fiscal conservatives in his caucus.

True to form, the often emotional Boehner shed a tear or two as took the gavel and spelled out the challenges ahead.

"Our government has built up too much debt. Our economy is not producing enough jobs. These are not separate problems," Boehner said.

"At $16 trillion and rising, our national debt is draining free enterprise and weakening the ship of state."

Questions were asked about Boehner's speakership when conservative Tea Party-backed lawmakers delivered him a stinging defeat in December by rejecting a proposal of his during talks with President Barack Obama to raise taxes on millionaires.

Boehner also came under fire for voting on Tuesday for a compromise deal to prevent the U.S. economy from falling off the so-called fiscal cliff and for being slow to approve aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy in the Northeast.

A TOUGH JOB

"Being speaker today is no bargain, I tell you," Republican Representative Peter King of New York told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Widely seen as having lost the "fiscal cliff" fight with Obama by accepting tax increases, congressional Republicans are keen for a rematch and they will get the chance soon.

Debate is likely to be fierce when lawmakers deal with planned spending cuts for military and domestic programs that are due to start in February. Around that time, Congress is likely to take up the thorny issue of extending the "debt ceiling" - the limit of how much the federal government can borrow.

Boehner was the Republicans' front man in fiscal talks with Obama but stepped aside for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who struck a dramatic New Year's Eve deal with Vice President Joe Biden.

The stress of recent weeks seems to have got to Boehner, who cursed at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the White House twice after a meeting last week, according to Senate aides.

Reid had accused the Republican of running a "dictatorship" in the House and being more interested in keeping his speakership than in cutting a fiscal deal.

The son of a bar owner, Boehner had a tough upbringing. He shared one bathroom with his 11 siblings and worked in the family business while still a child.

He was elected speaker after the 2010 midterm elections when a Tea Party surge helped Republicans take the House from the Democrats.

Nancy Pelosi, his predecessor and now Democratic minority leader, presented the gavel again to Boehner on Thursday just after he won re-election.

"I know all too well that we will not always agree," Pelosi said. "But I hope, with all my heart that we find common ground that is a higher, better place for our country."

Fellow Republicans, not Democrats, have been landing some of the toughest blows on Boehner, notably New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who launched a tirade against the speaker for postponing an anticipated vote on a $60 billion storm aid package for the victims of Sandy.

King, who was among Boehner's critics, was more forgiving on Thursday after the speaker agreed to abruptly reverse course and set a timetable to approve the storm relief.

"John is really a voice of reason in our conference, despite some of the things I said yesterday," King told NBC's "Today."

(Additional reporting by David Lawder and Susan Heavey. Writing by Alistair Bell. Editing by Christopher Wilson)

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Field of Dreams baseball site sold to group led by Oak Lawn couple

They bought it, and now they hope even more people will come.

An investor group led by an Oak Lawn couple has completed its purchase of the famed "Field of Dreams" movie site in Iowa with plans to preserve it and build an adjacent baseball training and tournament complex. The 193-acre property includes the field and farmhouse made famous in the 1989 Kevin Costner baseball classic.

Go the Distance Baseball LLC, which counts baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs among its members, closed on the Dyersville, Iowa, property last week for $3.4 million plus interest in a controversial deal that was 2 1/2 years in the making.

"We've got that big milestone under our belt now, and we're just getting into the business of opening the (site)," said Denise Stillman, president and CEO of Go the Distance. She and her husband, Mike, began their pursuit of the land, near Dubuque, in July 2010.

The Stillmans have said they saw "Field of Dreams" on one of their first dates and decided to try to buy the property shortly after they learned it was for sale.

"I'm just really excited about what lies ahead," Denise Stillman said Wednesday. "We've got so much work to do to get the field ready to open again April 1. That's when the tourist site opens."

All-Star Ballpark Heaven is scheduled to open with 12 fields and 60 team "clubhouses" for lodging in 2014, before doubling the number of each by 2017. Once complete, the complex will also include a community center, banquet facilities and an auditorium, among other amenities, according to Go The Distance. Construction is to begin this spring.

"My family's farm has been part of the landscape for more than a century," seller Don Lansing said in a news release announcing the deal's completion. "I have been honored to care for it my entire life and know the Stillmans and their group will care for the movie site like I did."

Lansing grew up in the farmhouse shown in the film. He and his wife, Becky, will continue to work with the new owners, such as by helping maintain the property and by leading tours, Stillman said.

The deal was first announced Oct. 30, 2011, pending investor support, tax incentives and zoning approva,l but was dogged by claims from nearby landowners that the complex would snarl traffic and worsen flooding and that the town acted inappropriately in granting a zoning change.

The site attracts an estimated 65,000 visitors per year.

rmanker@tribune.com

Twitter: @RobManker

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