The must-read news stories for May 20, 2013

Photo of City Hall protesters on May 20, 2013 by Jon Seidel/Sun-Times

School Daze: The Final Countdown
Protesters opposing the proposed CPS closings took to the streets for the last day of three days of planned protests before Wednesday's Board of Education vote on the closures. Some, though, promised to create "chaos" and did just that by causing a ruckus at City Hall, which led to a handful of arrests. With Penny Pritzker now gone from the BoE and on her way to D.C. to help President Obama, there are only six board members left, meaning a vote of at least 4-2 is needed to approve the closings. Meanwhile, two big stories to prep you for Wednesdays vote: first, the Final Bell series from the Sun-Times, which explores the routes students will have to take to their new schools and the dangers they could face; and then WBEZ's excellent fact-check of CPS' claims about the upcoming closings. [Sun-Times, Final Bell, WBEZ]

Slammed by storms
Oklahoma is digging out from under debris after the state was raked by deadly tornadoes yesterday. More storms are already firing up across the state with one very large tornado slamming Moore, OK, hitting a school directly and leveling a large portion of the town. The storms will continue and could stretch across the Midwest into Illinois later tonight. [KFOR live video, BBC, Accuweather]

Red alert
It was apparently fairly smooth sailing for the first morning rush during the Red Line's historic five-month shutdown, but who knows what's to come? [Sun-Times Red Line resource page]

DOJ targets another journalist
So as not to make their investigation of AP reporters seem politically unfair, the DOJ also apparently snooped on a Fox News reporter, because violating civil liberties should be a fair and balanced endeavor. [Washington Post]

Visit from Newtown
Several parents of Newtown victims spoke to Illinois legislators over a bill in front of state lawmakers that would simply reduce the number of bullets in a magazine. The NRA objects, of course, presumably because 10 bullets isn't enough for ripping a deer to shreds while hunting, because why else would need a gun with a magazine that holds that many bullets? [Sun-Times]

Ridiculous Florida news of the day
18-year-old Kaitlyn Hunt was arrested for having a consenual same-sex relationship with a fellow student; charges were filed by the other girl's parents as soon as Hunt turned 18. [CBS Tampa, Facebook]

Deadly crash
Five people are dead and six others hurt after a downstate bus crash earlier this afternoon. [Sun-Times]

Trump'd
Someone finally stood up to black hole of humanity Donald Trump, and it was an 87-year-old woman. [Sun-Times]

Shift in poverty
More and more data is showing that the suburbs now house more poverty-level residents than urban areas. [Tribune]

Get stuffed (up)
I, for one, welcome our new pollen-coated overlords. [Sun-Times]

Delicious merger
Grubhub and Seamless are joining forces to make your life as a hermit who never steps outside to see sunlight that much easier. [Crain's]

Hawks look to rebound
After Saturday's Game Two debacle at the UC that evened their series with the Red Wings to 1-1, the Blackhawks hope to get back on track in Detroit tonight with Game Three. Bonus: Stalberg is back in the lineup. [Sun-Times, ESPN]

Everyone has an opinion
Can we leave Derrick Rose alone yet, please? [CBS 2]

The Bright One
The Watchdogs take a closer look at Metra police officers and their steep OT pay. [Sun-Times, previously]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
We kick off "Arrested Development" Week with a look at our 10 favorite recurring jokes from the series. [Sun-Times]

The must-read news stories for May 17, 2013.

Medical marijuana puff, puff, passes State Senate
Even as the gay marriage bill awaits a vote in the state House, the state Senate has voted on another controversial bill -- medical marijuana -- approving it by a 35-21 margin and sending the measure to Gov. Quinn. It was mostly a party line vote, but the Democrats were joined by three GOP members in voting the legislation through: Senators. Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry), Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) and Dave Syverson (R-Rockford). The Governor's office had no comment Friday afternoon but Quinn has previously said he's "open-minded" about the legislation. The bill, if passed into law, would allow for 22 growers and 60 dispensaries across the state. Meanwhile, Oberweis says this is pushing him towards broader legalization (as well as the chance for a new tax revenue for the state), adding, "To me, there's not a great deal of difference between marijuana and alcohol." [Sun-Times, Oberweis]

Preck rips Rahm
In an exclusive interview with the Sun-Times, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle had some sharp words for Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposed school closures, positioning her to either be his harshest critic or to maybe be a rival in a 2015 run, if you want to make some fun speculation. [Sun-Times]

IRS panel
Congress has moved swiftly with this IRS controversy, convening a panel by the House Ways and Means Committee. Now if only we could get Congress to move so swiftly on the sequester budget cuts, gun control, and everything else. [WaPo]

Canada cracking up?
Gawker and the Toronto Star report having viewed a video -- being sold by a pair of Somali drug kingpins -- of Toronto's very controversial mayor Rob Ford smoking crack. The resulting circus is about what you'd expect, particularly the Taiwan animation video which has given us the literal image of the greatest Canadian crack party of all time. [Sun-Times]

Syria
And now begins the refugee crisis stage in Syria. [BBC]

#CTARedAlert
The CTA hopefully learned some lessons from this spring's Wells Street Bridge shutdown as the agency prepares to close the South Side portion of the Red Line for five months, starting Sunday. Be sure to share your Tweets and photos with us by tweeting #CTARedAlert. [Sun-Times]

Fortune
The Powerball is over $600 million for its jackpot so hurry up and buy a ticket so you can get disappointed you won't get to quit your job next week. [CNN]

Hoax
Police now say that the woman who claimed she had $200,000 in jewelry taken from her during a robbery on the Mag Mile this week was faking it. [Sun-Times]

I'll Tumblr for ya
It looks like it'll be Facebook versus Yahoo! in the battle for Tumblr. [Tribune]

HAIL ANTS
I, for one, welcome our new ant overlords. [Univ. of Texas]

Kind of close call
Don't worry, the next asteroid fly-by will still be several million miles away. [L.A. Times]

Wheeling in to town
Laura Stevenson chatted with us before she rolled into town for a show this weekend. [Sun-Times]

Cards Against Humanity
How eight nerds brought a popular card game to life. [Grid]

Carlos Controversy
As Carlos Marmol goes on the defensive over an assault charge, Rick Telander hopes the young pitcher has learned a lesson. [Sun-Times]

Phil weighs in
For Phil Jackson, the equation is simple: Jordan > Kobe. [ESPN]

Stalberg scratch
Viktor Stalberg is still looking for a way back to the ice for the Blackhawks. [Sun-Times]

The Bright One
The warm weather is finally here so it's time to start planning summer. Luckily, The Reader's guide to summer is here. [The Reader]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
Let this be a lesson, politicians: be really careful about what you "like" on Facebook. [KTAR]

The must-read news stories for May 16, 2013

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Obama-drama-rama
Well, it's been quite a week for our commander in chief. But the White House is now on the defensive as the IRS commissioner is out (though he apparently was going to quit anyway, so, OK) and replaced by senior budget adviser Danny Werfel. The President also gave Attorney General Eric Holder the dreaded "vote of confidence" today, too, so let's get the over/under going on how many days until he's gone. And who will replace him? Well, our own Michael Sneed hears it's going to be Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, who gave a great DNC speech last year and got a lot of positive press after his role in handling the recent Boston bombing response. So here we go. [Sun-Times, Sneed, WaPo]

Texas tornado
Cleanup has started in North Texas after a tornado struck the town of Granbury, killing six people. [Dallas Morning News]

Another bright life dimmed
A former three-sport start from Proviso East has been left clinging to life after being shot in the head. [Sun-Times]

Incriminating Note
A month later and we've finally learned that Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev apparently scrawled a note claiming responsibility for the bombing inside the boat he took shelter in during the ginormous manhunt for him. [Boston.com]

Roughed up
It's been a bad 24 hours to be downtown as a man in his 80s was roughed up and robbed at the Dearborn Blue Line, while a woman was robbed of cash and $200,000 worth of jewelry on the Mag Mile yesterday. [Sun-Times, Sun-Times]

NOLA shooting
Multiple suspects have been taken into custody by New Orleans police stemming from last weekend's Mothers Day shooting during a parade. [NOLA.com]

Makeover
Mayor Emanuel's makeover plans aren't limited to McCormick Place; Navy Pier is going to get in on the act, too. [Sun-Times]

File under: Crap
The U.S. Marshals Service has managed to lose track of two former witness protection participants, which is bad enough, except these particular guys were actually known or suspected terrorists, so sleep tight, America! [Business Week]

Koch Classic
While the Tribune Company president tried to calm fears over the Koch brothers buying some of the company's newspapers, others are taking matters into their own hands to keep the conservative duo's hands out of journalism. [Bloomberg, Gapers Block]

Good(ish) News
The state's unemployment rate shrank a tad, down to 9.3 percent in April from 9.5 percent in March. [Crain's]

Ba-da Byng!
Patrick Kane and his mullet are finalists for the NHL's Lady Byng trophy, not to be confused with the Lady Gaga trophy,  which is awarded to the league's worst-dressed player. [Sun-Times]

Aces
Want a chance to see the best young pitcher in the majors? Head to Wrigley tomorrow where Matt Harvey will take the hill for the Mets against the Cubs and, hopefully, continue to carry my fantasy baseball team. [Cubs.com]

The Bright One
Now that their season is done, Rick Telander explores the Bulls' murky future with (presumably) Derrick Rose back at the helm. [Sun-Times]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
It appears as if we've uncovered both a possibly lost city in Honduras and water in Canada that's 1.5 billion years old. Science! [Live Science, NPR]

The must-read news stories for May 15, 2013

Brian Jackson~Sun-Times

Supercalifragilisticexpibraggadocious
Black Hole of Humanity and real estate "mogul" Donald Trump was in Chicago today to testify in the lawsuit filed by an 87-year-old woman who claimed she was ripped off in her purchase of two condo units in the downtown Trump Tower. During testimony, in which Trump quipped, "I don't want to be braggadocious," the mogul verbally tangled with attorney Shelly Kulwin, prompting judge Amy St. Eve to crack down on both of them. Said Judge St. Eve: "This is not a boxing ring! You've got to stop it. Do you think the jury likes this? If you think the jury likes it, I can assure you they don't -- you're wasting their time." After testifying, Trump turned his ire at the woman who filed the suit, saying, "This is a disgrace. She's trying to rip me off. She really is. She's trying to rip me off. She concocted the whole situation." [Sun-Times, Tribune]

Deflect!
Two days after the story broke that the Department of Justice obtained two months worth of phone records for AP reporters and editors under murky circumstances, the White House is very publicly backing a press shield law, The Free Flow of Information Act, which might have prevented such a move. The FFIA was killed in 2008 by a Senate filibuster. [WaPo]

Red Line Shutdown
Will you be affected by the extensive South Side shutdown of the Red Line which starts Sunday? Share your experiences and photos on Twitter with #RedAlert.

Maine West charges
Charges were formally filed against former Maine West soccer coach Michael Divincenzo in connection with last year's allegations of hazing. [Sun-Times]

37
Because there's nothing better to spend their time on, House Republicans plan to vote to repeal the country's health care reform laws (aka Obamacare) for a 37th time. So far, they're 0-for-36. [N.Y. Times]

Retiree blowback
Apparently, some people were angry with Mayor Emanuel's decision to roll back a subsidy for retiree health care after he announced that new DePaul arena. [Sun-Times]

Bowing out
State Rep. Ron Sandack has backed out of the running to be the new chairman of the state's GOP because his support of gay marriage would have ruffled too many feathers. [WBEZ]

Heading to court
The Chicago Teachers Union is filing a civil rights lawsuit over proposed school closings. [Sun-Times]

Gaming the net
The possibility of gambling over the Internet could be a new thing in Illinois soon. Not that anyone in Illinois does that already. Nope. Not at all. [Crain's]

Bad idea
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a guy with "cop killer" tattooed on his face has been charged with threatening officers, right? [Sun-Times]

Makin' copies
Cloning yourself took a big step toward becoming a real thing. [BBC]

On track
The CTA rolled out a nice upgrade to its train tracker. [Sun-Times]

Check, inmate
Rocky IV it's not, but this story on Russian inmates playing Cook County inmates in chess is still pretty neat. [CBS 2]

Teaching moment
Here are some lessons the city should heed on public financing of stadiums as it heads into the new DePaul arena. [Chicago Mag]

Big Ten branching out
The Big Ten is plotting to fight bowl fatigue for its football teams but will still feel inferior to the SEC. [Tribune]

Stal-ing out
No Viktor Stalberg for the Blackhawks tonight and it's likely because of a rift with the coaches. The puck drops tonight at 7:30 and is televised on NBC Sports Network, if you can find that on your cable lineup. [Sun-Times]

End of the road?
The Bulls have their backs to the wall against the Heat tonight in Game Five and will once again be without Rose, Deng and, likely, Hinrich. But good news for Rose: He ranks high on SI's wealthiest athletes list. [Sun-Times, ESPN]

The Bright One
In the wake of yesterday's announcement by Angelina Jolie about her preemptive double mastectomy, Mary Mitchell shares her own story of her fight with breast cancer. [Sun-Times]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
Deadspin's Drew Magary went looking for normality at the recent children's National Scrabble Championship. [Deadspin]

The must-read news stories for May 14, 2013

McCormick Place west building // Brian Jackson/Sun-Times

City dipping into TIFs for new DePaul arena
It's been less than 24 hours since the Sun-Times broke the news about the mayor's proposal for a new $300 million project that includes two new hotels and a stadium for DePaul at McCormick Place, and more details have emerged as has plenty of skepticism. The stadium would be built using $55 million in TIF money, $70 million from a McPier bond fund composed of hotel taxes, and $70 million kicked in by DePaul. But skeptics point to the fact that DePaul would host only 18 home games in basketball at the arena, making it seem like an expensive proposition after the United Center offered its services to the school for free for10 years. [Sun-Times]

Big Mess in the White House
It's not a good sign when the president's administration has to hold back-to-back press conferences to address two different growing scandals. Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered a probe into the IRS' targeting of conservative groups, and the White House Press Secretary spent most of his daily briefing addressing the Dept. of Justice's obtaining AP phone records on the sly. As these two new incidents come into focus, so does the Obama administration's issues with civil liberties and privacy. [WaPo, Politico, Sun-Times, Sun-Times Politics Blog]

Seeing red
An audit of the city's red light cameras by the city's inspector general shows that the available data can't be used to prove if the controversial cameras actually decrease wrecks or if they're even located at the most dangerous intersections. [Sun-Times]

Spy vs. Spy
The Russian government has captured an American diplomat it claims was trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer into the CIA, which indicates the Cold War didn't die when Rocky beat Drago. [L.A. Times]

Safe Passage
The Chicago Fire Department will amp up its presence on Safe Passage routes for CPS students who make transitions to new schools during the first three weeks of class this fall. [Sun-Times]

The cost of killing
CPD chief Garry McCarthy says that each murder costs the city of Chicago $5 million. [DNA Info]

Vanceko latest
At a hearing today, the presiding judge in the Vanecko case indicated a likely January 2014 start for the trial. [Sun-Times]

Excess baggage
Do you get mad about the steep baggage fees charged by airlines? You'll be even madder to know that the airlines made $3.5 billion off of said fees last year. [Tribune]

Community policing with Google hacks
Local hackers are teaming with Google to help improve community policing in neighborhoods. [WBEZ]

Party in the parks
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has tabbed $750,000 of leftover cash from NATO for public schools fun nights in the city's neighborhood parks. [Sun-Times]

Angelina's choice
Actress Angelina Jolie has undergone a voluntary double mastectomy to get ahead of a high risk of breast cancer and shared her story with the N.Y. Times. [N.Y. Times]

Wrigley PR blitz
With the renovations of Wrigley Field coming down the pipe and more night games on tap, most Wrigleyville residents are prepping themselves for the new normal, and the Cubs have launched a website for a PR blitz. [Crain's, WrigleyField.com]

Twisting the "Dagger"?
Should the Blackhawks retire "Chelsea Dagger" as their theme song? [Sun-Times]

Bright One
If you haven't yet, please be sure to bookmark Homicide Watch. [Homicide Watch]

And finally
No matter how mad you are about the aforementioned baggage fee item, don't sing Whitney Houston songs non-stop on your airplane or you will be told, "buh-bye." [KCTV]

The must-read news stories for May 13, 2013.

Taking back our meters
The latest evolution of the parking meter mess that Mayor Richard M. Daley and his foul rubber stamp of a City Council stuck us with is in front of the current City Council right now. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's allies in the City Council have quickly assembled at the mayor's side but there's more push-back coming from River North's Ald. Brendan Reilly. Of course, it's Reilly's ward that's going to get hosed the most by the mayor's tweaks -- no free Sundays and extra hours of meter time -- so it makes sense he's the most upset. So upset that he's actually trying to find a way to get the meters back under city control. Reilly's been meeting with "municipal bond experts" to see what options there are, options that would include paying the meter company well more than the city received for the meters. But  that's a whole hell of a lot of money the meter leasing company would be giving up, making it highly unlikely they'd have any part of the deal. [Sun-Times]

Mayor to announce new DePaul Stadium
Last second breaking news: Emanuel is preparing to announce a $300 million DePaul stadium plan for McCormick Place. [Sun-Times]

AP phone claim
The Associated Press is claiming the Justice Department obtained phone records from the media organization in a "massive and unprecedented intrusion." [AP]

NOLA's bloody Mother's Day
Officials continue to investigate yesterday's shooting at a Mother's Day second line parade in New Orleans that injured 19. They released surveillance footage that shows the gunman. [Surveillance footage, NOLA. com]

Party bus-ted
A limo driver who was arrested for suspicion of DUI while transporting nearly two dozen students to and from a suburban prom is blaming mechanical issues for his erratic driving. [Sun-Times]

Fallen Chicagoan
A Chicago man working as a "private sailor" was shot and killed while trying to break up a mugging in Nassau, Bahamas. [Tribune]

Obama denounces IRS targeting
President Barack Obama denounced the tactics that the IRS took targeting right-wing and Tea Party groups, though, ironically, those are the groups that want to work the hardest to avoid taxes, yet I digress. It still ain't right. [WaPo]

Daley double
Illinois still has a chance at another Daley in power as Bill Daley told us he hasn't ruled out a run for governor in 2014. [Sun-Times Politics Blog]

Rolling back life for juvies
Nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court made it unconstitutional, it looks like Illinois lawmakers are getting somewhere in rolling back life sentences for juveniles. [WBEZ]

Call for support
Civil Rights leader Julian Bond and former Chicago Bear Brendon Ayanbadejo have lent their voices to robocalls calling for support of the gay marriage bill that is awaiting a vote by the State House. [Sun-Times]

Overload
Another weekend, another batch of dumb kids crowding as many people as they can into a very small space to "party." [DNA Info]

Snoopers
Bloomberg has been busted for allowing reporters to access subscribers' personal information and login activity to help advance news stories. [N.Y. Times]

Insanity plea
Aurora, Colo., shooting suspect James Holmes looks to be angling for a "not guilty by reasons of insanity" plea. [L.A. Times]

Tasty Taste
James Beard Award-winning chef Paul Kahan is among the big names who will be chefs for this year's Taste of Chicago. [Sun-Times]

New Menu for McD's
McDonald's has announced three new incarnations of its popular obesity on a bun quarter-pounder. [Crain's]

Bye Bye, Barbara
Barbara Walters has announced her impending retirement from television, coming in the summer of 2014, after which we will no longer have any idea of who the most fascinating people are. [Gawker]

Locking down Rizzo
Anthony Rizzo got real paid. [Cubs.com]

#Bullieve!
A still-depleted Bulls squad looks to bounce back from a pair of rough games and even up the series with the Heat tonight in Game Four. Oh, and the calls to trade Derrick Rose? Stop it. Now. [Sun-Times, Tickets, Morrissey on Rose]

Clipping Wings
We know the Blackhawks will take on the rival Red Wings in the next round of the NHL playoffs and we now know the series starts Wednesday night at the United Center. [Blackhawks]

The Bright One
Dan Mihalopoulos digs into some audio and explores how UNO made Wall Street execs nervous. [Sun-Times, Audio]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
In case you missed it on social media this weekend, an astronaut singing "Space Oddity" on board the space station is amazing. [Sun-Times]

The must-read news stories for May 10, 2013.

#Bullieve!
The Bulls finally return home after a week of games on the road. Tonight they welcome the Miami Heat to the United Center for Game Three of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. The Bulls are coming off that thrashing and flipping at the hands of the Heat in Game Two and as testy as that one was, things could be just as interesting tonight with Joey "Look at me!" Crawford heading the referee crew. But there's a silver lining: Thanks to that Game One win, the Bulls still hold a home court advantage for the rest of the series, even if they are without Deng, Hinrich, and Rose once again tonight. (Yeah, that dumb, unfounded speculation turned out to be as false as expected.) But the Bulls still have Nate, and we've apologized for ever doubting you, Nate. [Sun-Times, ChicagoSide video]

Survivor
Even after 17 days and as the death toll climbed to over 1,000, rescuers still found and saved a woman from the wreckage of the collapsed building near Dhaka, Bangladesh, a small miracle in the midst of so much grief. [NPR]

Charges in Ambrose murder
A Chicago man has been arrested and charged with the murder of 19-year-old Kevin Ambrose, who was shot and killed earlier this week outside a Green Line station while trying to help a friend. [Sun-Times]

Smooth move
Because apparently the GOP doesn't have enough reasons to hate taxes, the IRS is giving them more by admitting they unfairly targeted conservative groups. [WaPo]

Cleared to go
Shermain Miles, who has been arrested 396 times, has been cleared to stand trial for an alleged attack on Ald. James Cappleman last summer. [Sun-Times]

Cleveland
Prosecutors are likely to seek the death penalty in the case of Ariel Castro, charged with the kidnapping and rape of three women who he allegedly held captive for more than 10 years. Meanwhile, DNA tests revealed that the young girl found along with the three women in Castro's home is indeed his biological daughter. [Cleveland.com, Tribune]

Man blamed for woman's death
Chicagoan Timothy Jones has been charged for the death of a woman who was struck and killed by police during a high-speed pursuit of Jones. [Sun-Times]

Hitting wilding behavior
A new bill before Gov. Pat Quinn toughens prison sentences for those convicted of wilding (also incorrectly referred to as "flash mob") behavior. [Sun-Times]

Everybody panic!
Carbon dioxide levels on our planet are at their highest levels ever. But, no, climate change is totally a socialist myth. [N.Y. Times]

Run DMCA
A series of bills introduced in Congress look to soften restrictions in the DMCA for lawful exercises. [ArsTechnica]

Space nerd
Every meteorite since 861 A.D. [The Guardian]

Hawks snubbed
Blackhawks Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were snubbed as finalists for the Hart Trophy, but something tells me that after moving on to the Western Conference semifinals, their eyes are on a much bigger trophy. [ESPN Chicago]

Big shoes to fill
Can two Bears rookies fill the hole left by Brian Urlacher? [Sun-Times]

The Bright One
Ah, Cicero, you never fail to entertain. Mark Brown looks at the town's pitch to lure the Cubs away from Chicago and Rosemont. [Sun-Times]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
Your pet is good for your health and dogs are better for you than cats, thus ending that argument forever. [Reuters]

The must-read news stories for May 9, 2013

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

GOP Battle Royale
With Pat Brady stepping down, it's a wide open race to become the next chair of the State of Illinois' GOP. The Republican State Central Committee firmed up nine finalists for the position, only one of them a woman and six of them white males. One of those white males is Joe Walsh, the former Tea Party congressman-turned-radio-host. Prominent Republican Ron Gidwitz blew up when told about the finalists, telling the Sun-Times, "The state central committee -- a faction of the state central committee -- is destroying any chance that the Republican party has in 2014," which is still far more nuanced and rational than just about anything Joe Walsh has ever said. More finalists could be added before the final vote takes place once the committee confirms the interest of other potential nominees. [Sun-Times Politics Blog]

Cleveland Update
Ariel Castro was arraigned today and ordered held on $8 million bond for four counts of kidnapping and three charges of rape in connection with the three women rescued from his home earlier this week. [Cleveland.com]

Competing pension plans
The State Senate passed a pension plan today that is a completely separate, competing pension plan than the one backed by Mike Madigan and already passed by the State House. [Sun-Times Politics Blog]

Boston update
The House Committee for the Department of Homeland Security held their first meeting on the Boston Marathon bombings today in which the Boston police commissioner claimed the Feds never shared any information with local law enforcement. In other Boston news, the body of Tamerlan Tsarnaev has finally been buried at an undisclosed location in Massachusetts. [Boston.com, Boston.com]

Off the rails
A Red Line train derailed near the Armitage Brown Line stop this afternoon, which led to a shutdown of trains between Belmont and the Loop for a spell. As of just after 3 p.m., the CTA reported trains were moving again with residual delays. [Sun-Times]

All of the lights
The city spent $3.4 million of TIF money on some weird looking lights on Congress Avenue, because it's not like we had anything else we need to spend money on. Like schools. Or police officers. [CBS 2]

Flipped off
The Miami Heat fan who became famous overnight for flipping off Bulls player Joakim Noah during last night's game is already infamous for a host of reasons that have nothing to do with basketball. [Sun-Times]

Hacking hit
A cyber gang managed to hack into the accounts of prepaid debit cards and drain $45 million in funds from those cards in a matter of minutes meaning that heist movies in the future will be much, much shorter. [WaPo]

Seeking relief
Gov. Quinn has formally asked President Obama for federal relief for 11 counties after last month's floods. [Sun-Times]

The future is dangerous
The blueprints for a 3D-printed gun have reached over 100,000 downloads, which is great because we don't have anything else to worry about as far as guns are concerned. [BBC]

Flying jolt
Intelligentsia is coming to O'Hare -- a perfect match of waiting for that fancy drip coffee while your flight is delayed -- but it will be under a different name. [Crain's]

Congress woes subside
No, not the U.S. Congress but rather the Congress Theater, which got the okay from the city today to keep operating as owners worked to clear up violations. [WBEZ]

Defending cyclists
Today, John Kass, who has become notorious for belittling the city's cyclists, wrote a column that treated cycling accidents with an all-too-flip manner, and Whet Moser wrote a perfectly sculpted response rebuking Kass' attitude. [Tribune (requires subscription), Chicago Mag]

Sub-power play
The Blackhawks hope to close out their first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild tonight, but they haven't helped themselves with their power-play performance. [Sun-Times]

Haters gonna hate
Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews dismissed a claim by the Wild's coach that the Hawks were cheating on faceoffs. [ESPN]

$$$$
Yes, Illinois is among the states whose highest-paid public official is a football coach. [Deadspin]

The Bright One
Mick Dumke has a terrific look at the city's addiction to guns. [The Reader]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
Sorry, Texas, just give yourselves over to the giant snails. We'll remember you fondly. [NBC News]

The must-read news stories for May 8, 2013

Burke gets in on UNO game
The battle between the state of Illinois and the United Neighborhood Organization, the state's largest charter school organizer, has a new City Council flavor thanks to the involvement of Ald. Ed Burke (14th). Burke, playing the "Won't someone think of the children??" card has asked Gov. Quinn to restart the state flow of money to UNO so construction on an UNO charter school in Burke's ward that was recently halted can resume. Quinn ordered the funding stopped after Sun-Times reports indicated some financial shenanigans were afoot at UNO, but Burke has been quick to defend UNO head Juan Rangel, saying any improprieties were surely a mistake. Burke and Quinn are also political and financial allies, giving Burke's intervention an interesting spin. [Sun-Times]

More Cleveland details
More details are emerging in the case of the three Cleveland women held captive for about 10 years -- including that they were kept bound with ropes and chains, and more details about the birth of Amanda Berry's daughter. [Cleveland.com, The Atlantic]

Charges in 1979 murder
Strange happenings in Inverness today, where charges were filed today against Jacquelyn Greco for arranging the 1979 murder of her husband. [Sun-Times]

Motorists vs Cyclists
The battle between motorists and cyclists got a boost from Mayor Emanuel who, fair enough, wants to fine offenders of both vehicles equally. [Sun-Times]

Heated Bengahzi hearing
Another House committee hearing on the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi attacks got under way today and, as expected, kicked off with some heated exchanges. [WaPo]

Must read
Slate has published excerpts from the memoirs/diary of a Guantanamo Bay detainee. [Sun-Times Politics Blog]

Arias verdict
The sordid trial of Jodi Arias came to an end today, with Arias being found guilty in the murder of her boyfriend. [CNN]

In mourning
Family and friends are remembering a local woman who died after a choking incident at Wrigley Field. [Sun-Times]

Heat is on the CPD
Yes, evidence suggests the notion that crime increases along with the temperature. [Crime vs The Weather via Chicago Mag]

Spotlight
CNN's newest show will put Chicago in the spotlight, because no one knows much about our mysterious city. [Sun-Times]

Rodman reaches out
The Diplomat No One Asked For is back at it: Dennis Rodman is asking Kim Jong Un to "do me a solid" by releasing imprisoned American Kenneth Bae. [Tribune]

New CTA ad restrictions
The CTA will no longer display political campaign ads or adult film ads. In other news, the CTA apparently displayed adult film ads. [Sun-Times]

Yes, it has ketchup
Everyone knows the Brits have a unique sense of humor, but a McDonald's Chicago Burger? That's just twisted. [Chicagoist]

Landmark
Good news for fans of the Portage Theater as the building has attained landmark status. [DNA Info]

Moving south
Vienna Beef is contemplating a move to the South Side, hold the relish. [Crain's]

#Bullieve!
Another game in the Bulls' improbable playoff run tips off tonight in Miami, and King James may be forced to guard 5-foot-9 Nate Robinson. [ESPN]

Nighttime at Wrigley
Mayor Emanuel officially introduced local legislation to approve more night games for the Cubs at Wrigley, meaning more opportunities to watch the offense blow great starts by the pitching staff under the lights. [Sun-Times]

Grant on Derrick
Speaking of the Bulls, Grant Hill, who knows what it's like to face injury and expectation, weighs in on Derrick Rose's critics. [Deadspin]

The Bright One
Homicide Watch looks at the reaction to the death of Kevin Ambrose, a 19-year-old theater student gunned down last night outside a Green Line station. [Homicide Watch, YouTube, ChuffPo]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
Today's feel-good story about a cat who made its way home after Hurricane Sandy. Bonus points for its name. [Philly.com]

The must-read news stories for Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Cleveland escape
Details of an extraordinary story continue to slowly emerge out of Cleveland, where three women escaped from a house where they were held captive for 10 years. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight had all disappeared around 10 years ago in separate incidents but were found in the same house yesterday when, with the assistance of a neighbor, Berry managed escaped, along with a young girl who apparently is her daughter. Authorities are still piecing details together, but three brothers, including the man Berry said had held her captive, have been arrested in connection with the womens' kidnapping. Meanwhile, the neighbor, Charles Ramsey, has become a minor celebrity on his own thanks to his candid interview with a reporter after the rescue. [Cleveland.com, Sun-Times, New Yorker]

School Daze
CPS took a hit when hearing officers opposed the closing of 10 of the 54 schools the system wants to close, and are also dealing with a new low in trust after admitting its overstatement of potential savings from the closings. [Sun-Times, WBEZ]

Military sex assaults increase
A report released by the Pentagon today showed a sharp increase in military service members who were sexually assaulted during the 2012 fiscal year over the previous year. [N.Y. Times]

Bye-bye Brady
Pat Brady is out as the head of the state's GOP but he goes out saying he has no regrets about voicing support for the state's current gay marriage bill, which is still under consideration. [Sun-Times Politics Blog]

AFL issues
The new owner of the Chicago Rush has quite a list of previous "experience." [Sun-Times]

Paper chase
In an attempt to improve wait times, O'Hare will be the first U.S. airport to go paperless for passengers going through customs, making it easier to sneak past all those cheap bottles of absinthe you bring back from Europe. [Crain's]

Susannah speaks
Susannah Collins, former CSN sports anchor, issued a statement on her recent controversial firing. [Sun-Times]

Record high
The DOW closed around 15,000 for the first time ever today, which means the economy is totally fixed, right? [Tribune]

Bypassing renovation
Looks like the Western-Belmont overpass isn't going anywhere after all. [DNA Info]

Mothers' Day
Chicago artist Chris Ware created this week's New Yorker cover, which brings a modern twist to Mother's Day. [Sun-Times]

RIP
Ray Harruhausen, legendary Hollywood special effects master, has died at the age of 92. [L.A. Times, Nerdist]

Bull-headed
Joakim Noah is telling the haters to hush up on Derrick Rose, while Hinrich and Deng are likely out for tomorrow night's Game Two. [ESPN, Sun-Times]

The Bright One
Rick Morrissey looks back at the Bulls' amazing Game One in Miami on Monday night. [Sun-Times]

Commute
Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

And finally
The Dalai Lama is the world's biggest bandwagon sports fan. [Deadspin]