southtownstar.suntimes.com

Fire destroys Frankfort home: ‘We sat on the grass and cried’

Fri, 25 May 2012 02:15:52 -0500

A noise near the back door of his Frankfort home late Wednesday night convinced John Francke that a burglar was lurking. “I thought someone was trying to break in,” he said. Instead, he looked out the window to see a section of his deck on fire. He and his wife exited the house while calling the fire department. There wasn’t enough time to find the family cat. And then all they could do was watch. “We sat on the grass and cried,” he said. Frankfort fire officials on Thursday were continuing to investigate the cause of the fire, which destroyed …

Senior fair May 29 at MVCC

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:58:00 -0500

A senior fair featuring more than 30 vendors with information on topics such as senior living, health care and transportation is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon May 29 at Moraine Valley Community College, 9000 W. College Parkway in Palos Hills. The fair is being held by U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-3rd). For more information, call (312) 886-0481. …

Eyewitness to Tinley attack: ‘Longest minute of my life’

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:03:10 -0500

A horde of masked figures stormed the restaurant in a single-file line, wielding bats, claw hammers and metal batons — their presence announced when one shouted, “‘Hey, bitches, the ARA is going to f--- up this place.’ ” With that, the shrouded thugs went on a rampage, clubbing diners at The Ashford House restaurant on May 19 in Tinley Park. They did not discriminate as to the targets of their violence, even pushing an 80-year-old woman to the ground, according to an eyewitness who’s a former Chicago police officer. “Although the terrorist assault lasted only about a minute, it was …

Veteran caught in web after stroke: ‘I just want to be free’

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:42:00 -0500

All Navy veteran Ed Baker wants is to come home to his family in the Southland. But he’s not free to make such decisions. Baker was made a ward of the state of Colorado as a result of a stroke, stripping him of many of his rights.

Police: Thieves net large haul in ruse burglary of Tinley Park home

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:30:00 -0500

A ruse burglary may have resulted in gold jewelry valued at $180,000 and several thousand dollars in cash being stolen May 8 from a house in the 19400 block of Brookside Glen Court, according to police. They said a man claiming to be a meter reader from the gas company told a resident that day that he needed access to the back yard to read the meter and detained the homeowner in the yard for several minutes. Thieves ransacked a bedroom and removed a safe that contained gold necklaces, earrings, bracelets and other gold jewelry and $4,500 in cash, police …

Crete demonstration permit ordinance put off 3rd time

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:06:08 -0500

Crete trustees again have delayed a vote on a controversial ordinance that would require demonstrators to obtain expensive permits to stage protests, parades and other public events in town. Thursday’s postponement was the third time the village board put off a vote on the bill, which first came before the board April 23. Under the measure, organizers would be forced to pay security costs, obtain at least a $5 million insurance policy and apply at least 15 days in advance for all events not sponsored by the village. Trustee Mark Wiater, the village’s point man on the proposed law, said …

Four Richards JROTC students get scholarships

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:56:00 -0500

When retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Doug Groters launched Richards High School’s Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program in 2004, he wanted to teach young people, whether or not they decided to pursue a military career. “We’re not in the recruiting business,” said Groters. “We’re in the education business.” However, when four of his Oak Lawn seniors decided to pursue Navy careers and received full ROTC scholarships worth $180,000 to do so, he couldn’t have been more proud. “To have four apply and have four get accepted, we were just really excited.” All four students applied online for their ROTC …

Illinois House OKs higher cigarette tax

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:28:00 -0500

SPRINGFIELD — Without a vote to spare, the Illinois House agreed Friday to raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack as part of an ambitious and politically perilous plan to close a $2.7 billion budget hole that threatens health services for the state’s poor and elderly. The measure passed 60-52, the bare minimum needed for approval. It goes to the state Senate, which has backed similar increases in the past. The tax increase, which also applies to other tobacco products, is the second major part of a plan to bail out the state Medicaid program, which officials say is near …

Eavesdropping legislation stalls in Senate

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:28:00 -0500

SPRINGFIELD — Legislation that would allow people to record the public activities of police officers has stalled, because the sponsoring senator opposes the House’s changes to the measure. Sen. Michael Noland won’t call a vote for the so-called “eavesdropping” bill because he believes police should have wider powers to record citizens. The Elgin Democrat finds himself with the sponsorship because the legislation he sent to the House — dealing with falsifying court records — was picked up by Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook) and rewritten to allow citizens to record police officers. Now, proponents of Nekritz’s measure say Noland should step …

Oak Lawn-Hometown student dies after being hit by pickup

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:35:59 -0500

As Kaylah Lentine fought for her life Friday one day after being hit by a pickup truck on her way to school, students at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School worked during the school day to show the eighth-grader how much they were thinking about her. Everybody signed her yearbook and made posters, Principal Paul Enderle said. Some students wore yellow shirts and blue jeans to school, knowing she would have liked that style. “We really thought there was a chance,” Enderle said. But Kaylah, 14, of the 4500 block of West 88th Street in Hometown, was pronounced dead at 3:26 p.m. …

Midlothian woman helps neighbors out of burning home

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:44:29 -0500

Belinda Dailey apparently is a cut above your average neighbor. So said the bloodstained pants she wore — and the actions she took — after she spotted smoke Friday morning coming from a home across the street in her Midlothian neighborhood. Dailey sprang into action. She said she ran barefoot across the street, pounded on the door before forcing it open, and then screamed into the house, where smoke and flames filled the kitchen. “Please come out. You’re going to burn,” she yelled. A fire had broken out in the home in the 3700 block of 153rd Street about 8:30 a.m. Resident …

Micro distillery to open in Plainfield

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:38:27 -0500

PLAINFIELD — A microdistillery specializing in hand-crafted rum, liqueurs and tequila soon will make its home in Plainfield. The Plainfield Village Board on Monday adopted an ordinance creating a Class S liquor license for Tailwinds Distilling at 14912 S. Eastern Ave., Unit 103. Applicants Toby and Jillian Beall said by distilling each spirit in lower volume batches as opposed to larger operations, greater attention can be paid to quality. The distilling, fermentation, aging, blending, bottling, labeling and packaging will all be done on premises, making Tailwinds’ spirits a truly hand-crafted product, they said. The applicants said there are no other …

Illinois House passes bill to cut $1.6 billion from Medicaid

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:10:02 -0500

The Illinois House signed off Thursday on a measure to “save the Medicaid program” by making $1.6 billion in cuts that some lawmakers complained would hit the poor hard. A Chicago woman with a child in one Medicaid program said an alternative for her daughter ultimately would cost more.

Jobless rate in Chicago area falls to 9 percent in April

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:08:00 -0500

The unemployment rate in the Chicago area fell to 9 percent in April from 9.5 percent a year earlier, according to a report released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security Thursday. The rate, which is not seasonally adjusted, was unchanged from March. The Chicago area added 36,100 jobs since April 2011, down from 42,300 added year-over-year in March. The unemployment rate fell year-over-year in 11 metropolitan areas and edged up in one. “Local economies throughout the state continue a pattern of economic growth fueled by job creation,” IDES Director Jay Rowell said in a statement. “We expect that overall …

Calumet City man among 12 charged in drug investigation

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:41:29 -0500

Chicago Police have arrested 12 people — including five in their 50s — allegedly involved in a drug market run by a Mexican drug cartel and Gangster Disciples that extends from Chicago’s South Side to the south suburbs. Narcotics and South Chicago District police officers executed arrest warrants for 12 of the 14 people wanted from an investigation focusing on the 7900 blocks of South Bennett and South Yates avenues, according to police. Officers used surveillance and infiltrated the drug market to make narcotics purchases. In the process, they seized about 132 pounds of cannabis with a street value of …

Bill seeks reprieve for Tinley Park center

Fri, 25 May 2012 07:28:00 -0500

A bill that would provide funding to keep the Tinley Park Mental Health Center operating beyond its planned July 1 closing has passed the Illinois Senate and is under consideration in the House, where Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) is the chief sponsor. Among other funding measures, Senate Bill 2404 would provide the Illinois Department of Human Services with nearly $9 million from the state’s general revenue fund for operational and other expenses at the mental health center, 7400 W. 183rd St. The Senate on Wednesday passed the bill by a 34 to 24 vote. The bill did not specify how …