'Nice neighbor' slain on way to dialysis treatment

WGN-TV: Man fatally shot while waiting for ride to dialysis treatment.

A 72-year-old man was shot and killed in his gangway on the Far South Side early Saturday morning as he left a home for dialysis treatment.

The man's grandson was inside and heard the shots that killed his grandfather, who was identified by family and the Cook County medical examiner's office as William Strickland, of the 400 block of East 95th Street.

The man was shot about 3:30 a.m. and pronounced dead about 4 a.m., according to authorities.

The motive appears to be robbery, police said, but detectives are still investigating.

Detectives remained at the scene, across from Chicago State University, into the morning.

Police taped off the northeast corner of 95th Street and Eberhart Avenue, surrounding the two houses between which the man was killed.

Neighbors said Strickland had lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years. He was described as friendly and willing to lend a helping hand, neighbors and friends said.

"He was just there for us," said Theolene Shears, 84, who has lived in the area since 1965. "He was a very nice neighbor. We couldn't ask for a better neighbor."

Shears said she was inside her home when she heard the shots.

"All I heard was three shots. Bang, bang, bang," she said.

Strickland, who went to dialysis three times a week, had been undergoing treatment for about five years, Shears said. Patrick Wilmot, spokesman for PACE, confirmed that Strickland had a scheduled pickup at 3:30 a.m. and that he was being taken to a standing dialysis appointment. Wilmot did not know where the appointment was.

"He seemed to be very happy about it. The way he talked it was like a little social club," Shears said, adding that he eased her own concerns about potentially having to receive treatment.

He preferred to go early on Saturdays to get it out of the way, she said.

Strickland leaves behind a daughter, three grandchildren and a pet Chihuahua, said Shears.

"He was a good man," said Joshua Miles, 14, a friend of the family "He would help you out if you needed help."

"He always kept you laughing," he said.

pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas

nnix@tribune.com
Twitter: @nsnix87.com

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Sinkhole swallows Florida man inside house

Brother of sinkhole victim talks to reporters at the scene.

TAMPA, Fla. -- A 36-year-old Florida man was feared dead on Friday after a sinkhole suddenly opened beneath the bedroom of his suburban Tampa home swallowing him, police and fire officials said.

Rescuers responded to a 911 call late on Thursday after the man's family reported hearing a loud crash in the house and rushed to his bedroom.

“All they could see was a part of a mattress sticking out of the hole,” said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Ron Rogers. “Essentially the floor of that room had opened up.”

A sheriff deputy who arrived at the scene rescued the man's brother who jumped in the sinkhole and tried to rescue him. Three other adults and a child were in the house at the time the sinkhole opened up.

"He's down there but we can't hear anything and we can't see anything," said Ronnie Rivera, a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman. "We can't confirm anything but it's been several hours."

The victim screamed for help and his brother, Jeremy Bush, jumped in to try to save him but was unsuccessful.

Bush tried again using a shovel to dig but was pulled out by deputies as he was being sucked into the hole, Rivera said.

Bush told television reporters on scene, "I know in my heart he's dead."

About five other people reportedly lived inside the home, which has been occupied by the same family since 1974. The residents were taken to a local hotel and were given food.

Authorities have not been able to contact the missing man and ordered the evacuation of several nearby homes out of concern the sinkhole is continuing to grow.

Bill Bracken, the head of an engineering company assisting rescuers, said the sinkhole was as much as 30 feet (9 meters) in diameter and 20 feet (6 meters) deep.

“It started in the bedroom and it has been expanding outward and it's taking the house with it as it opens up,” Bracken said.

The risk of sinkholes is common in the state due to its porous geological bedrock, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said.

As rainwater filters down it dissolves the rock causing erosion that can lead to underground caverns, which cause sinkholes when they collapse.

Rogers said officials lowered listening devices and cameras into the hole but had so far not detected any signs of life.

Rescue efforts were suspended on Friday over concerns about the house's stability, Rogers said.

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First lady brings campaign for physical education to Chicago

First Lady Michelle Obama announced a new initiative in Chicago Thursday called "Let's Move Active Schools," which encourages physical education in schools. ( WGN - Chicago)

First lady Michelle Obama brought her high energy "Let's Move" campaign to Chicago today, where she announced a new phase of the initiative that will place a greater emphases on physical activity.

The "Active Schools" initiative, funded primarily by a $50 million grant from Nike Inc., will help pay for new physical education programs in schools that meet exercise standards.

Surrounded by athletic superstars including tennis champion Serena Williams, gymnast Gabby Douglas, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and "The Biggest Loser" trainer Bob Harper, the first lady told 6,000 cheering Chicago Public Schools students gathered around the stage that they have the potential to be great.

"The only thing separating you out there and us on the stage is the choices you make in life," Obama said, after returning to the stage dressed in red and black exercise wear. Earlier in the program she wore a black business suit while thanking Nike and other corporations for supporting the program.

The athletes led the crowd of screaming and jumping students in an exercise routine at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Dr. The first lady and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, dressed in exercise clothes, joined in the high energy routine with loud techno music and colorful strobe lights.

The Nike donation, delivered over five years, will allow schools to partner with community organizations and other groups to provide exercise programs  to benefit children. Schools also will be able to implement physical education programs during the school day.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan, in an interview prior to the event, called the violence in Chicago "staggering" and suggested that such after school programs could have an impact on curbing it.

"Our families, our communities, our children deserve so much better," he said. "We have to allow our children to grow up in a safe environment."

Chicago is the third stop on the first lady's multi-city tour observing the 3rd anniversary of the "Let's Move" initiative.

As part of Chicago's efforts to curb obesity, officials announced a "Healthy CPS Action Plan," giving schools a comprehensive plan to improve health and wellness of students.

Earlier today, the Chicago Department of Public Health released new obesity numbers for Chicago Public Schools students. According to the report, 36.5 percent of children entering kindergarten are overweight or obese, as well as 48.6 percent of 6th graders and 44.7 percent of 9th graders.

dglanton@tribune.com

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Obama cites Navy threat, immigrants freed as cuts loom

Speaker of the House John Boehner tells Scott Pelley in a "CBS Evening News" interview that a budget deal is now out of his hands.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. —

President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned of threats to Navy readiness and the government released hundreds of illegal immigrants due to budget pressure as automatic government spending cuts crept closer.

In the latest event staged by the White House to warn of the possible damage to public services, Obama spoke at the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard where scheduled maintenance to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been delayed by the budget crisis.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned of threats to Navy readiness and the government released hundreds of illegal immigrants due to budget pressure as automatic government spending cuts crept closer.

In the latest event staged by the White House to warn of the possible damage to public services, Obama spoke at the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard where scheduled maintenance to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been delayed by the budget crisis.

"The threat of these cuts has already forced the Navy to cancel the deployment, or delay the repair of certain aircraft carriers. One that's currently being built might not get finished," he warned.

The $85 billion across-the-board budget cuts are due to begin on Friday, and might eventually force the government to scale back on a host of services such as air traffic control, law enforcement and food safety inspections.

"These cuts are wrong. They are not smart. They're not fair. They are a self-inflicted wound that doesn't have to happen," he told workers in Newport News, Virginia.

In a move criticized by Republicans as a dangerous political stunt, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency released several hundred detained illegal immigrants in order to save money in preparation for the cuts.

An agreement in Congress would halt the cuts, but with days to go before the ax starts to fall, the two parties do not agree on what to replace them with. There have been hardly any budget talks between the parties since New Year.

Republicans seek different, more targeted, spending cuts than entailed in "sequestration," as the automatic cuts are known in Washington budget parlance. They complain that Obama is overplaying worries about sequestration to promote long-held plans to close tax loopholes.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner accused Obama of using "our military men and women as a prop in yet another campaign rally to support his tax hikes."

Boehner, under pressure by conservatives not to cave to Obama's demand for higher taxes, said members of the Democratic-controlled Senate need to "get off their ass" and pass legislation that would blunt the impact of the cuts.

In the Senate, Republicans struggled to come up with a unified plan for replacing the cuts, with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell saying lawmakers should simply pass a law giving the president flexibility on how the reductions would be carried out. Obama rejected that idea.

In a sign of how far they are from halting sequestration, congressional Republicans and the White House have been trying to blame each other for the cuts, which both Democrats and Republicans agreed to in a 2011 plan to fix an earlier budget crisis.

President Obama plans to convene a meeting with the top leaders in Congress on Friday at the White House, congressional aides confirmed.
 
The president’s confab with Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) will come on the day the indiscriminate across-the-board budget cuts, known as the sequester, are set to begin slicing $85 billion in federal spending by the end of September.
 
Republicans on Capitol Hill immediately questioned whether the administration was "serious" about stopping the automatic budget cuts or whether the meeting was a "farce."

BLAME SHARED FOR CUTS

"The president's been running around acting like the world's going to end because Congress might actually follow through on an idea he proposed and signed into law - all the while pretending he's somehow powerless to stop it," said McConnell.

Americans blame both Obama and congressional Republicans for the sequestration crisis, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Tuesday.

Twenty-five percent of people said Republicans in Congress were responsible for sequestration, 23 percent blamed Obama and 5 percent pointed to congressional Democrats. Thirty percent said all of them were to blame.

With a trip to a defense-heavy region of the country, Obama is seeking to draw attention to how the cuts would play out in communities where the military is a major source of jobs.

Defense spending makes up 9.8 percent of Virginia's gross domestic product.

But sequestration will be brought in gradually, and no shock to the economy is expected on Friday when it starts.

IMMIGRANTS RELEASED

"The impact of this policy won't be felt overnight but it will be real," Obama said. "The longer these cuts are in place the greater the damage."

The planned cuts will be phased in over seven months, giving lawmakers time to halt the worst effects, possibly in budget talks later in March.

But the Obama administration is highlighting a series of cuts to public services which are threatened.

The release of several hundred illegal immigrants due to budget pressures was criticized by the Republican head of the House Judiciary Committee as a political stunt to pressure Congress to put off sequestration.

"It's abhorrent that President Obama is releasing criminals into our communities to promote his political agenda on sequestration," U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte said in a statement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released the immigrants while their deportation cases proceed. ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said serious offenders were still being held.

Sequestration might be stopped as part of negotiations next month over another unrelated fiscal issue: a continuing resolution to fund government operations.

But House Republicans think they are in a strong bargaining position as there is not likely to be public outcry when the cuts start, unlike the "fiscal cliff" crisis at the New Year when the threat of tax hikes for most working Americans kept pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal.

The sequestration cuts apply in equal measure to non-defense spending and defense spending.

The reductions will force the Pentagon to put most of its 800,000 civilian employees on unpaid leave for 22 days, slash ship and aircraft maintenance and curtail training, Defense Department officials have told Congress. Pentagon contracting and acquisitions personnel were authorized last week to consult with their industry counterparts about the upcoming spending cuts.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in testimony on Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee, urged lawmakers to avoid the spending cuts, warning that combined with earlier tax increases it could create a "significant headwind" for the economic recovery.

 
"The threat of these cuts has already forced the Navy to cancel the deployment, or delay the repair of certain aircraft carriers. One that's currently being built might not get finished," he warned.

The $85 billion across-the-board budget cuts are due to begin on Friday, and might eventually force the government to scale back on a host of services such as air traffic control, law enforcement and food safety inspections.

"These cuts are wrong. They are not smart. They're not fair. They are a self-inflicted wound that doesn't have to happen," he told workers in Newport News, Virginia.

In a move criticized by Republicans as a dangerous political stunt, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency released several hundred detained illegal immigrants in order to save money in preparation for the cuts.

An agreement in Congress would halt the cuts, but with days to go before the ax starts to fall, the two parties do not agree on what to replace them with. There have been hardly any budget talks between the parties since New Year.

Republicans seek different, more targeted, spending cuts than entailed in "sequestration," as the automatic cuts are known in Washington budget parlance. They complain that Obama is overplaying worries about sequestration to promote long-held plans to close tax loopholes.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner accused Obama of using "our military men and women as a prop in yet another campaign rally to support his tax hikes."

Boehner, under pressure by conservatives not to cave to Obama's demand for higher taxes, said members of the Democratic-controlled Senate need to "get off their ass" and pass legislation that would blunt the impact of the cuts.

In the Senate, Republicans struggled to come up with a unified plan for replacing the cuts, with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell saying lawmakers should simply pass a law giving the president flexibility on how the reductions would be carried out. Obama rejected that idea.

In a sign of how far they are from halting sequestration, congressional Republicans and the White House have been trying to blame each other for the cuts, which both Democrats and Republicans agreed to in a 2011 plan to fix an earlier budget crisis.

BLAME SHARED FOR CUTS

"The president's been running around acting like the world's going to end because Congress might actually follow through on an idea he proposed and signed into law - all the while pretending he's somehow powerless to stop it," said McConnell.

Americans blame both Obama and congressional Republicans for the sequestration crisis, according to a Reuters/Ipsos online poll released on Tuesday.

Twenty-five percent of people said Republicans in Congress were responsible for sequestration, 23 percent blamed Obama and 5 percent pointed to congressional Democrats. Thirty percent said all of them were to blame.

With a trip to a defense-heavy region of the country, Obama is seeking to draw attention to how the cuts would play out in communities where the military is a major source of jobs.

Defense spending makes up 9.8 percent of Virginia's gross domestic product.

But sequestration will be brought in gradually, and no shock to the economy is expected on Friday when it starts.

IMMIGRANTS RELEASED

"The impact of this policy won't be felt overnight but it will be real," Obama said. "The longer these cuts are in place the greater the damage."

The planned cuts will be phased in over seven months, giving lawmakers time to halt the worst effects, possibly in budget talks later in March.

But the Obama administration is highlighting a series of cuts to public services which are threatened.

The release of several hundred illegal immigrants due to budget pressures was criticized by the Republican head of the House Judiciary Committee as a political stunt to pressure Congress to put off sequestration.

"It's abhorrent that President Obama is releasing criminals into our communities to promote his political agenda on sequestration," U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte said in a statement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released the immigrants while their deportation cases proceed. ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said serious offenders were still being held.

Sequestration might be stopped as part of negotiations next month over another unrelated fiscal issue: a continuing resolution to fund government operations.

But House Republicans think they are in a strong bargaining position as there is not likely to be public outcry when the cuts start, unlike the "fiscal cliff" crisis at the New Year when the threat of tax hikes for most working Americans kept pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal.

The sequestration cuts apply in equal measure to non-defense spending and defense spending.

The reductions will force the Pentagon to put most of its 800,000 civilian employees on unpaid leave for 22 days, slash ship and aircraft maintenance and curtail training, Defense Department officials have told Congress. Pentagon contracting and acquisitions personnel were authorized last week to consult with their industry counterparts about the upcoming spending cuts.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in testimony on Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee, urged lawmakers to avoid the spending cuts, warning that combined with earlier tax increases it could create a "significant headwind" for the economic recovery.

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Chicago pelted by snow, sleet

Chicago's midday full weather forecast. (WGN - Chicago)

A winter weather advisory is in effect until tonight as the Chicago area is getting hit with sleet, freezing rain and snow that is making travel hazardous and grounding hundreds of flights.

The National Weather Service expects the heaviest snow to fall this afternoon. Winds gusting at 35 to 40 mph will reduce visibility and glaze roads, the weather service warned in the advisory.

"Snowfall rates in excess of an inch per hour could occur at times," it said. "This will likely be a heavy wet snow sometimes referred to as heart attack snow."

Mike Bardou, a weather service meteorologist, said "the early part of the rush hour will be most affected."

Spinouts have already been reported this on interstates 90, 94 and 55, according to the Illinois State Police. Chicago's Street and Sanitation Department had its full fleet of 284 trucks out. And the Illinois Tollway said it was mobilizing its fleet of 182 snowplows.

The northern part of the city and the northwest suburbs could see 2 to 3 inches of snow by the evening rush hour, Bardou said. Chicago's South Side and southwest suburbs like Oak Lawn, Tinley Park and Joliet might only get 1 to 2 inches of snow, and the far south suburbs could see less than an inch.

Snow will continue to fall, at a lighter intensity, through the evening until early Wednesday morning  and temperatures are expected to hover around freezing. When it's over, we could see anywhere from 3 to 6 inches throughout the area.

Here are some early snowfall totals from the National Weather Service: 2 inches in west suburban Elmhurst, 1.5 inches in west suburban Westmont, 1 inch in south suburban Peotone, and .5 inches in west suburban Elmwood Park.

By midday, nearly 400 flights had been canceled at O'Hare and 60 at Midway, according to FlightStats, which gathers data from airports and airlines. There were 252 delays at O'Hare and 78 at Midway.

Chicago's Streets and Sanitation Department has deployed its entire fleet of 284 plows. Drivers will plow the main roads, such as Lake Shore Drive, through the evening rush hour. As the snow begins to taper off, the plows will clear residential roads, said department spokeswoman Anne Sheahan.

Extra plows are being deployed to the 2^nd congressional district, to help residents get to their polling places for today's primary election, Sheahan said.

As of 1 p.m., road conditions were treacherous throughout the southwest suburbs, especially along Interstates 55 and 80 in Will County, police and fire officials said.

Several vehicles have slipped into ditches along I-55 near Plainfield, especially near U.S. Route 30, said Jon Stratton, a deputy chief with the Plainfield Fire Protection District.  "On I-55, there are vehicles everywhere in the ditch," Stratton said. "Visibility is going down and roads are getting all snow covered, so it's going to be an interesting day."

The most serious accident in the area so far today occurred when an SUV slid under a semi's trailer on the Route 30 overpass over I-55, Stratton said.

Firefighters extricated the woman who was driving the SUV, and she was taken by ambulance to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Stratton said. The woman was conscious and stable when removed from the SUV, he said.

Plainfield police have responded to several reports of crashes and vehicles that have slid into ditches, Sgt. Mike Fisher said. "It is getting slick out there, so people should give themselves extra time, slow down and drive safe," Fisher said.

Schools in the southwest suburbs have also begun changing their schedules because of the storm.

High school students in Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 will be dismissed 20 minutes early today, at 1:50 p.m., to give bus drivers more time to complete their routes, according to a news release from the district.

Middle school students will be dismissed as soon as buses arrive at those schools after completing their high school routes. Elementary school students will be dismissed as close to their usual time as possible, according to the district.

All after-school activities in the district have also been cancelled, including sports practices and games and Plainfield Park District programs that are usually held in the school district's buildings.

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Woman freed after conviction in son's death tossed

Nicole Harris, who has been locked up since the 2005 death of her son, walked out of an Illinois prison today after an appeals court threw out her murder conviction.

Harris emerged from Dwight Correctional Center in front of a gathering of news crews after being reunited with her other son.

"I'm just overwhelmed and I'm thankful that's it's going to be over and I just want to be home with my son," Harris told the assembled media.

"I'm just ready to get on with my life and hold my son."

The Chicago woman was 23 when a jury found her guilty of killing her 4-year-old son Jaquari in their Northwest Side apartment following her confession to authorities. But Harris has long maintained that her confession was false and the result of threats and manipulation by police.

She said today that she was able to make it through the past seven years knowing that "I'm innocent and the truth will come out."

"It was like at some point I just knew this isn't it, that this was not my final destination."

In a 90-page ruling last October that vacated her conviction, the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said there were "many reasons" to question her confession.

The appeal judges also ruled that Diante, then 5, should have been allowed to testify.

Now 14, Diante was the first person to meet Harris when she was released into an outer room of the prison at about 11:30 a.m. today.  Diante walked in bearing a balloon that read, "It's your Day" and a teddy bear. Harris threw her arms around him, wept softly and kissed him.

When asked later what it was like to see her son at that time, she said, "There are no words."

At exactly noon, a prison official told Harris she was "free to go." She clutched hands with a close friend and walked out of the prison. She had been told to get her things together around 8:30 a.m. this morning, she told the media, and said that, at that time, "I was beyond anxious."

Jaquari had been found dead with an elastic bedsheet cord wrapped around his neck. Diante had told authorities that he was alone with Jaquari when he saw him wrap the cord around his neck while playing.

Prosecutors, who argued that Diante also said he was asleep when Jaquari died, accused Harris of strangling Jaquari with the cord because she was angry he would not stop crying.

Harris' release, which the state argued against, is not the end of legal battle. The state has appealed the October ruling, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. In addition, Cook County prosecutors could still move to retry her. A representative from the state's attorney's office said no decision on a retrial has been made.

For now, Harris said, "I just want to enjoy life."

"I'm just glad to be free. I'm just glad to be free."

deldeib@tribune.com

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Daytona 500 still a go despite accident that injured fans

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —

The Daytona 500 NASCAR race will go ahead on Sunday despite a crash on Saturday that injured more than 20 fans, questions over the safety of the famous speedway and the possibility of lawsuits.

Officials said they had repaired the fencing that was damaged after the pile-up which sent debris flying into the crowd and injuring fans on the final lap of Saturday's second-tier Nationwide race.

Halifax Health spokesman Byron Cogdell said that seven people were treated for injuries at their facility but two who had initially been listed as critical were now in a stable condition.

Another injured spectator was being treated at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach, but their condition was not available.

Fourteen other fans had been treated on site at the track before being released, said Daytona International Speedway president Joei Chitwood.

Chitwood said any fans in the affected area who were concerned about the safety of their seat position would be relocated.

"If fans are unhappy with...their seating location or if they have any incidents, we would relocate them. We will treat that area like we do every other of the grandstand.

"If a fan is not comfortable where they are sitting, we make every accommodation we can," he said.

NASCAR and the speedway could face millions of dollars' worth of claims from the injured, litigation that would likely center on the sturdiness of the safety fence that was supposed to keep fans from danger, according to several plaintiffs' lawyers.

"Maybe the fence should have been higher; maybe there should have been more spacing between the track and spectators," said Adam Levitt, a lawyer with Grant & Eisenhofer.

However, lawyers also said the auto-racing business would likely point to the disclaimers that it typically displays on tickets, which are designed to exempt NASCAR from any potential injury liability. They expected NASCAR would argue that fans knew what they were getting into when signing up for the race.

NEW FENCING

Both the speedway and NASCAR have said they will closely review the incident in search of any ways they could improve safety.

Chitwood said new, 22-feet-high fencing had been put in place three years ago following a review of a crash involving Colin Edwards at Talladega in 2009.

"If you look at our 55 years in the business, we have a pretty good safety track record. I think we are prepared today," said Chitwood.

However, three-times Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford said a change might be needed.

"Maybe a double fence, one behind the other with some space in between to stop something like this," he told reporters.

"But there are a lot of things and NASCAR and Indy Car racing are looking at everything they can to make it safer.

"What happened yesterday was a terrible thing because we expect (danger) that is part of it, we have to roll the dice and move on but you don't want to involve the fans," he said.

NASCAR's senior vice-president of racing operations Steve O'Donnell said he would tell any nervous fans that organisers were confident of their safety.

"I would tell them that the fans are our first priority. Obviously we want everyone to be safe at an event," he told reporters.

"We've talked to the speedway. We are confident in what's in place at today's event. Certainly still thinking about those affected but we are confident to move forward for this race," he added.

Fans streamed into the 167,000-capacity venue on Sunday and there was little indication of concern over safety.

"I feel safe. I think anywhere you go you run the risk of being injured but NASCAR does everything they can to protect the fans. They treat the fans like royalty here, it is amazing," said Vinny Nigro of New York City.

Another fan, Brad Stefka from Springfield, Missouri, said that while not particularly worried he would avoid the seating closest to the track.

"I just won't get down low. I would imagine that everyone who comes knows there is some element of danger if the cars are going that fast, if there is going to be a serious impact," he said.

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Te'o tackles questions about 'embarrassing' hoax

CAPTIONS

BCS Championship game
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o appears to fight back his emotions as he exits the field after losing to Alabama 42-14. (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune /January 7, 2013)

By Vaughn McClure




Tribune Reporter

1:31 p.m. CST, February 23, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS –  Manti Te’o sounded like a man ready to move on with his life.

The former Notre Dame linebacker, who claimed to be a victim of a bizarre hoax involving an Internet-created girlfriend, fielded questions from a media horde Saturday at the NFL scouting combine and said he is beyond the personal embarrassment caused by the incident. But Te’o said he is still disappointed in himself for the harm he caused his family.

"The incident, I said all I needed to say about that," Te’o said. "How I’m handing it going forward, it’s doing what I’m doing right now: Focusing on the moment and focusing on football and the combine.

"Not everybody gets this opportunity to be here. I’m sure there are thousands and thousands of people who would like to be here in Indianapolis. So, just trying to enjoy the moment.’’

Te'o said he was surprised by the intensity of the interest in the hoax, calling the reaction "overwhelming" at times and said it was "definitely embarrassing."

Asked about people who have expressed doubts about his version of his involvement in the hoax, Te'o said, "I could have done some things different to avoid all this stuff. .... I'm just very grateful for those who helped me get through that time."
 
Te’o knew he faced more questions about the fake girlfriend hoax that transfixed the nation. More importantly, he needs to show NFL teams how his poor performance against Alabama in the BCS national title game was just as much of an illusion.

"That's all on me," Te'o said of the Alabama game. "Alabama had a great game plan."

Te'o said he has received no indication from NFL teams that the incident will affect his draft status. He also said he didn't think it would affect how he is treated by future teammates.

Te’o said he met with the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers in Indianapolis and still was scheduled to meet with 18 more teams. He hopes to answer some doubts about his performance against Alabama in the national title game when the linebackers start their workouts on Monday.

When the roughly 15-minute session ended, Te'o thanked the media for attending, then thanked his family and Notre Dame.

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Drew Peterson transferred from Will County jail to Stateville

Drew Peterson’s new life as an Illinois Department of Corrections inmate has begun.

Peterson was transferred this morning to the Stateville Correctional Center near Crest Hill,  where he will be evaluated for placement based upon factors such as his conviction, length of sentence, program needs and medical and mental health requirements.

The Will County jail – which has held Peterson in solitary confinement since his May 2009 arrest for his own safety – had the paperwork prepared for his transfer by the time he returned from his sentencing hearing Thursday, officials said.

The sheriff’s department, which oversees the jail, kept the former Bolingbrook police sergeant segregated from the general population there amid concerns that his high-profile case and law-enforcement background would make him a target of inmates looking to build tough-guy reputations.

Jail supervisors began preparing Peterson at 8:30 a.m. and he left without incident by 9:22 a.m., officials said.

Drew Peterson wanted to make sure he was heard when he was given one last chance to speak Thursday, shortly before being sentenced to 38 years in prison for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Declining to speak from the defense table, where there was no microphone, the former Bolingbrook police sergeant shuffled to the witness stand in his jail-issued blue scrubs and orange shoes and began quietly.

"I hope I don't aggravate the situation," he turned and told the judge. Then Peterson screamed into the microphone, "I did not kill Kathleen!" startling almost everyone in the courtroom.

"Yes, you did!" Savio's sister Sue Doman yelled back from the gallery, prompting Will County Circuit Judge Edward Burmila to order her out of the courtroom.

It was an odd end to a case replete with oddities and circuslike sideshows. For the next 40 minutes, Peterson cried, raged and whispered, challenged the state's attorney to look him in the eye and indulged in self-pity as he unleashed his multitudinous thoughts like a character in a Dostoevsky novel.

The 59-year-old said he expects to die in prison. Barring any successful appeal, he won't be eligible for release until he's 93.

Peterson claimed that lies and mistakes by witnesses, prosecutors and police led to his conviction, and made disparaging remarks about Savio's family, attorneys and others involved in the case. His defense attorneys called the monologue an impassioned plea for leniency, but prosecutors said it was proof that Peterson is a psychopath.

"When he got up on the stand and (in) that shrill, kinda-feminine screech that he didn't kill Kathy — that's the guy that killed Kathy," Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said. "You got a glimpse into his soul."

But in describing himself on the stand Thursday, Peterson said he was maligned and misunderstood.

"Until this happened, I thought I was viewed as a great guy," Peterson said, giving a litany of public and private good deeds before announcing he planned to tattoo the phrase "No good deed goes unpunished" across his shoulders.

"The state took an accident and staged a homicide," Peterson said, before turning to the judge. "Can I get some water?"

Once refreshed, Peterson said he had upheld the oath he swore when he became a police officer.

"I always took my job seriously, I never violated the public trust," he said, his voice husky with emotion before quoting one of the Ten Commandments. "And I never beared false witness against anyone."

"I think the only thing left to make this case run true to form," he told Burmila, stopping to take a tissue and wipe his nose, "would be a cruel and unusual punishment. And I don't think anybody would care, because nobody cares. I can't believe I spent 32 years defending a constitution that allowed this to happen to me."

It's not uncommon for a defendant to lash out against those who put them behind bars. It is rare, however, for defendant to offer a long, extemperaneous speech that both walks the court through the evidence and ilicits angry outbursts from the victims' families.

Peterson accused the state's attorney's office, state police, Savio's family and even Lifetime TV of being part of various conspiracies to wrongfully convict him. Last year, Lifetime TV aired a movie about Peterson with Rob Lowe playing the suburban police officer. Peterson said the "ridiculous movie" denied him a right to a fair trial and included statements he'd made to state police.

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Judge denies new trial for Drew Peterson, sentencing begins

Drew Peterson’s sentencing hearing is underway this afternoon after Judge Edward Burmila denied his request for a new trial.

Peterson, 59, was convicted last fall of drowning his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in her bathtub. The former Bolingbrook police sergeant faces 20-60 years in prison.

Savio’s sister Anna Marie Savio-Doman read a statement as the sentencing hearing began.

“My loss of my baby sister is beyond words. There will be no more birthday parties, backyard gatherings, holiday celebrations or other family activities to share,” she said. “The laughter, hugs, guidance, advice, sense of security and those opportunities to say, ‘I love you’ are forever gone.

“One of the hardest things for me is knowing the pain and fear that Kathleen must have suffered at the time of her murder. The horror and betrayal she must have felt when she realized that someone she had trusted and loved more than anything was actually killer her. I wonder if she could feel her heart breaking when she thought about leaving her two boys forever. The helplessness she must have felt knowing she was going to die.

“I have to say it hurts a lot. I hope it gets better, but I am not confident it will get better. I still talk to her. I hope she can hear me.”

Prosecutors have said they plan to argue that Peterson also killed his fourth wife, Stacy, who went missing in 2007, in asking for the maximum sentence. They also indicated that Peterson’s second wife and estranged oldest son could testify.

Defense attorneys had argued their client deserved a new trial because former lead attorney Joel Brodsky’s inept performance violated Peterson’s right to a fair trial. But Burmila denied their motion earlier this afternoon after two days of arguments.

"It was clear to the court from the very beginning that Mr. Brodsky was out of his depth," Burmila said. But the judge noted that Peterson was represented by five other attorneys. "Each of these attorneys brought something to the table."

As they entered the courthouse this afternoon, Peterson’s attorneys had expressed confidence they would be granted a new trial. Attorneys David Peilet and Steve Greenberg said their arguments regarding ineffective counsel and conflict of interest were powerful reasons to grant a new trial.

“I’m not much of a prognosticator, but if we don’t get a new trial here, we’ll get one from the next court,” said Greenberg.

The hearing on a motion for a new trial began Tuesday and centered primarily on Brodsky's trial decision to call Wheaton divorce attorney Harry Smith, who represented Savio in her bitter divorce fight with Peterson and also fielded a call from Stacy about her divorce options shortly before she vanished.

Smith testified at trial that Stacy had asked him if the fact that Peterson killed his third wife could be used as leverage in a divorce.

Several jurors said after trial that the testimony convinced them of Peterson's guilt. There was no physical evidence tying Peterson to Savio's death, which was initially treated as an accident.

“It was an awful decision,” defense attorney Steve Greenberg argued in court. “It ruined the case -- we brought out the worst possible evidence, and the best evidence for the state.”

The defense also argued that media licensing contracts -- that included a movie and book deal – meant Brodsky had a conflict of interest in seeking the best possible outcome for Peterson in the case.

The unorthodox defense motion included several odd moments, including Brodsky taking the witness stand to be questioned by his former defense team nemesis Steve Greenberg. Brodsky sued Greenberg for libel earlier this month. Later, the defense tried to call Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow to the witness stand, but the judge would not allow it.

On Wednesday, Brodsky had a roughly five-minute conversation with Stacy Peterson’s sister Cassandra Cales. Cales declined to talk about the conversation.

“We were just discussing how to make sure that her sister Stacy isn't forgotten after Drew goes away,” Brodsky said.

mwalberg@tribune.com
sschmadeke@tribune.com

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Jackson Jr. admits life of luxury with campaign cash

Jesse Jackson Jr. pleads guilty to misusing campaign funds.

Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. pleaded guilty this morning to conspiring with his wife, former Ald. Sandi Jackson, to siphon about $750,000 in federal campaign funds for the couple’s personal use, and could face years in prison.

Sandi Jackson was scheduled to plead guilty this afternoon to a single charge of tax fraud tied to the same allegations that the couple repeatedly tapped the ex-congressman’s campaign fund, used the money for personal use and then made fraudulent campaign and tax disclosures to cover up the misconduct.

Documents filed with Jackson Jr.'s plea agreement state that in January 2006, Jackson Jr. personally opened a bank account under the name “Jesse Jackson Jr. for Congress," and the following year withdrew $43,350 he used to buy a gold Rolex watch.

Between 2007 and 2011, he withdrew more than $14,000 to pay down personal credit cards, prosecutors stated. Between 2005 and April 2012, he was using campaign funds to fund a life of luxury, according to the documents.

“These expenditures included high-end electronic items, collector’s items, clothing, food and supplies for daily consumption, movie tickets, health club dues, personal travel and personal dining expenses,” the court filing states.

About 3,100 personal purchases were made on campaign credit cards, totaling $582,772.58, prosecutors said.

They included more than $4,000 on a cruise and $243 at a Build-a-Bear workshop. “Records from Best Buy reveal that defendant purchased multiple flat-screen televisions, multiple Blu-Ray DVD players, numerous DVD’s for his Washington, D.C. home,” the records state.

Prosecutors said $60,000 was spent on restaurants, nightclubs and lounges; $31,700 on personal airfare; $16,000 on sports clubs and lounges; $17,000 on tobacco shops; $5,800 on alcohol; $14,500 on dry cleaning; $8,000 on grocery stores and $6,000 at drug stores.

In one of the more exotic purchases, Jackson used campaign funds in the spring of 2011 to pay a taxidermist in Montana $7,058 for two mounted elk heads to be shipped to his office in Washington. This was the beginning of an FBI sting, according to court documents.

A year after the purchase, the taxidermist was asked to buy the elk heads back or provide the names of people who might buy them or build storage containers for them. This led to an undercover FBI agent offering to pay $5,300 for the heads. The money was to be wired to Jackson’s personal bank account, the documents state.

"Sir, for years I lived in my campaign," Jackson Jr. told U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins. "I used monies that should have been used for campaign purposes, and I used them for myself personally, to benefit me personally.  And I am acknowledging that that which the government has presented is accurate."

As he entered the courtroom this morning, Jackson Jr. gave his wife Sandi a peck on the cheek and took his seat. At one point he stepped from the defense table and shook hands with a lead FBI agent in the case, Tim Thibault, who was seated with government prosecutors.

Jackson Jr. spoke softly during the hearing and sometimes dabbed his eyes with a tissue. When asked by Wilkins how he would plead, Jackson answered: “I am guilty, your honor.”

Pressed by the judge on whether he was freely entering the plea, the former congressman acknowledged he had been under psychiatric care but said he had not been treated for addiction to alcohol or narcotics.

Asked whether he understood what was happening, he answered, "Sir, I've never been more clear in my life."

Leaving the courtroom, Jackson Jr. told a reporter, "Tell everybody back home I'm sorry I let 'em down, OK?"

At a press conference following the hearing, Jackson Jr. attorney Reid Weingarten said Jackson's health problems contributed to his crimes.

"It turns out that Jesse has serious health issues," he said. "Those health issues are directly related to his present predicament. That's not an excuse, that's just a fact."

As part of the plea deal, the parties have agreed that sentencing guidelines call for a term of between 46 and 57 months in prison, but the sides reserved the right to argue for a sentence above or below that range for him when he is sentenced June 28.

After his release from an expected prison term, he might face three additional years of supervised release, or probation.

Also under the guideline range agreed to by Jackson Jr. and lawyers on both sides, what had been a maximum fine of $250,000 drops to one in the range of $10,000 to $100,000. In addition, he remains subject to a forfeiture of $750,000.

The judge said Jackson could be released before sentencing and ordered him to be processed by the U.S. Marshal's Service, surrender his passport and undergo drug testing while awaiting sentencing.
His attorney asked if Jackson Jr. could be allowed to travel back and forth from Chicago, saying he essentially lived in both places, and the judge agreed.

Jackson entered the anticipated plea in Act One of a two-part drama playing out in federal court not far from the House chamber where he served. Act Two is on tap this afternoon, when his wife, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson, is expected to plead guilty to filing false tax returns.

Jackson Jr. entered a negotiated plea of guilty on one felony count of conspiracy to commit false statements, wire fraud and mail fraud. Prosecutors say he spent campaign contributions to buy luxury items, memorabilia and other goods.

As the Jacksons arrived at federal court in Washington, D.C. this morning, neither responded to questions from reporters. The two stepped out of a black SUV, and Sandi Jackson walked ahead of her husband, carrying a satchel. Jackson Jr. looked up when reporters shouted questions but said nothing and looked down as he went into the building.

Minutes later, his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., and other family members walked through the front entrance of the courthouse, their arms linked together.

Jackson Jr., 47, was in the House of Representatives for 17 years until he resigned last November. Sandi Jackson, 49, was a Chicago alderman from 2007 until she stepped down in January. Both are Democrats.

Jackson Jr. began a mysterious medical leave of absence last June for what was eventually described as bipolar disorder. Though he did not campaign for re-election, he won another term last Nov. 6 while being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He left office two weeks later, saying he was cooperating with federal investigators.

Married for more than 20 years, the Jacksons have a 12-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son. The family has homes in Washington and on Chicago’s South Side.

Washington defense attorney Stan Brand, the former general counsel of the House of Representatives, said Tuesday that Jackson Jr.’s case involved the largest sum of money he’s seen in a case involving personal use of campaign money.

“Historically, there have been members of Congress who either inadvertently or maybe purposefully, but not to this magnitude, used campaign funds inappropriately,” he said.

Earlier this morning, Judge Wilkins disclosed that he had a past link to Jackson Jr.’s father. But both prosecutors and the Jackson defense waived any attempt to transfer the case, the judge noted in a court memorandum.

Wilkins wrote that he has no interest or bias in the case, but disclosed the following:

“In 1988, while a law student, Judge Wilkins served as a co-chair of Harvard Law School students supporting the presidential campaign of Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., and on October 24, 1988, Judge Wilkins introduced Rev. Jackson when he came to speak at a campus event supporting the presidential candidacy of Governor Michael Dukakis. On March 21, 1999, while an attorney, Judge Wilkins appeared as a guest on a show hosted by Rev. Jackson on the CNN network entitled ‘Both Sides with Jesse Jackson’ to discuss a civil rights lawsuit in which Judge Wilkins was a plaintiff. Judge Wilkins believes that he has spoken to Rev. Jackson only on these two occasions, and he does not believe that he has ever met or spoken to the two defendants in these cases.”

kskiba@tribune.com

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Cubs to improve seventh-inning stretch, modernize music at Wrigley

MESA, Ariz. – The seventh-inning stretch has been a polarizing part of Chicago Cubs games since the introduction of guest conductors in 1998, the year Harry Caray died.

Some fans love it, while others wish the tradition would end and the celebrities there to promote themselves would just go away.

Cubs in-game programming director Jim Oboikowitch said Tuesday there will be some changes to the stretch this year after listening to what fans had to say.

“I think we definitely want to focus on former Cubs players, people that are Chicago natives, people who know baseball and who are Cubs fans,” he said. “I do think we want to get ‘A-listers,’ so if there is that celebrity in a movie ...  But we want them to understand what they’re coming to do -- not just come into the booth and say, ‘My movie hits theaters tonight,’ or ‘My book is in stores.’

“They should know something about the Cubs. They should know the background of Harry Caray and what we are doing, and I think it will be a little more teaching them and exposing them. We do want the best guests, so we might come across that situation. But I think it’s all about preparing them so they’re not on with (broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies) and talking about stuff while a big home run is being hit in the bottom of the seventh.”

One guest conductor came into the TV booth last year and bragged that he hated baseball. Not every guest will be invited into the booth this year.

“People really like the stretch guest,” Oboikowitch said. “It’s the interview that’s always been a little dicey, and I think people always remember the bad ones -- when a guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about or always interrupting the (broadcasters).”

The Cubs also will play more taped music before games and actually try to move into the new millennium instead of playing the best rock songs of the 1980s.

“We will try to upgrade the music a little,” he said. “(Organist) Gary Pressy is not going anywhere. That will stay the same, but some more updated music at different times.  We talked about cutting down some of the pregame (advertising announcements), so I think there will be more music playing pregame, adding a little more life in the stadium.

“It’s tough after a year when you lost 101 games. The year were won 51 home games (in 2008) it was the same music, but it felt a little better and seemed louder. We’ll play what fans want to hear, though we won’t have ‘Call Me Maybe’ on the list.”

New senior director of marketing Alison Miller said they are exploring whether to play the same song at the start of every game, as they did with Van Halen’s “Jump” in the '80s and '90s. They want something that says “Chicago,” though not it also has to get the crowd psyched for the game.

The Cubs played several different songs last year,  and there may be no real consensus on what the perfect introductory song should be at Wrigley Field.  If Cubs fans have any ideas, they’re free to send their suggestions to Miller or Oboikowitch at Wrigley Field.

psullivan@tribune.com

Twitter @PWSullivan

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Rev. Jackson says son is under 'tight medical supervision'

Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is under "tight medical supervision," as his struggle with bipolar disorder has been compounded by recent legal troubles, his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, said today in a statement.

"He is struggling with the highs and lows of his bipolar disorder," Jackson said. "Please pray for him, Sandi and their children."

Jackson Jr.'s legal troubles came to a head on Friday, when federal prosecutors accused him of misusing more than $750,000 in campaign funds, and accused his wife Sandi of filing false tax returns.

They are both expected to sign plea deals with prosecutors.

The Jackson family has heard from "so many ministers" who have offered their prayers in the wake of a "difficult and painful ordeal," Jackson said.

Noting that his son issued a statement of apology on Friday, Jackson said, "our hope is that his sincere apology will be well received."

"This is a storm, within time storms pass over," Jackson said.

"There are other storms," he continued, noting that four shootings took place in Chicago on Friday, just hours after President Obama delivered a speech at a local high school.

"As I pray for my own family, I also pray for the victims of shootings and violence," Jackson said.

"Please continue to pray for our family," Jackson concluded. "Let's pray for each other; let's pray for hope and change. Through it all, prayer, forgiveness and redemption still matter."

Jackson Jr., a Chicago Democrat, has been largely out of sight since last June, when he began a leave of absence from the House. He won re-election last November but resigned his post later that month.

kgeiger@tribune.com

Twitter: @kimgeiger

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Hockey arrives at Soldier Field

Fans clap and cheer after the National Anthem to start a game between Notre Dame and Miami in the OfficeMax Hockey City Classic played at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sunday. (Jose M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune / February 17, 2013)

By Brian Hamilton




Tribune reporter

1:41 p.m. CST, February 17, 2013

The tailgates were at full steam hours before noon. Snow covered gray slats dropped on the Soldier Field turf. And they dropped a rink in the middle of a football field.

Hockey arrived by the lake on Sunday, with four college teams taking part in the first Hockey City Classic. Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio) battled first, with Wisconsin and Minnesota set to meet in the second game of the doubleheader.

It's the first hockey event at Soldier Field and, possibly, a sort of dry run to see if the building can house an NHL Winter Classic involving the Blackhawks -- who skated at the venue with wounded military veterans on Saturday -- in the future.

bchamilton@tribune.com

Twitter @ChiTribHamilton

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Off-duty Chicago police officer dies in SUV rollover on Skyway

Chicago Tribune reporter Peter Nickeas recaps Friday night's breaking news, involving two traffic accidents and one homicide. (Posted Feb. 16th, 2013).

By Peter Nickeas and Carlos Sadovi




Tribune reporters

1:29 p.m. CST, February 16, 2013

A 31-year-old off-duty Chicago police officer who died when the SUV she was driving rolled over on the Chicago Skyway late Friday was on her way to celebrate a new position with the department, according to her family.

Shaunda Bond, 31, was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m. at the Cook County medical examiner's office. She lived in the 4100 block of South Michigan Avenue in the Bronzeville neighborhood.

The officer's older sister works in the section of the Chicago Police Department that investigates fatal accidents and answered the phone when officers on the Skyway called to notify them of the wreck, police said.

Bond was on her way to meet her cousin Daphne Flores and three other friends at a restaurant to celebrate the woman getting a spot on a tactical response unit, said Flores. Police could not immediately confirm the information.

Bond joined the police department in December 2009 and was assigned to the South Chicago District, which covers the area from 75th Street south to 138th, between roughly Woodlawn Avenue and the state line.

"She loved helping people, she was always able to help somebody," said Flores. "She just had a warm heart."

After college, Bond worked at a rental car company until a spot opened up at the police department, Flores said. She said Bond either always wanted to become a police officer or a teacher. She had two sisters and grew up on the South Side, graduating from Longwood Academy high school.

"She liked working with people, she loved public service work," Flores said.

The crash happened about 10:40 p.m. near 81st Street on the Skyway when the 2003 Land Rover SUV Bond was driving flipped over.

Bond was the lone occupant in the SUV, which was the only vehicle involved in the crash.

According to a witness interviewed by police, her SUV was seen traveling at a high rate of speed before it hit a concrete barrier and rolled.

pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas

csadovi@tribune.com

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Obama arrives in Chicago to address economy, violence

President Barack Obama is in Chicago today to talk about helping struggling families and also touch on the wide-ranging approach he thinks the country should take to fighting gun violence.

Air Force One landed at 1:23 p.m. at O'Hare International Airport. 

The president, wearing a black overcoat, walked off the jet accompanied by many members of the Illinois Congressional delegation,

Obama was greeted by greeted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whom he patted on the back before boarding the Marine One helicopter.

After a quick flight with a clear view of the skyline and the lake shore, Marine One landed at 1:48 p.m. at the Burnham Park landing zone, very close to Lake Michigan and slightly south of McCormick Place.

The president walked to his limousine and the motorcade headed to the event.

The president is headed to Hyde Park Academy this afternoon, where his remarks will be devoted to the “ladders of opportunity” he thinks will help working families, like raising the federal minimum wage and investing in education, a senior administration official has said.

Before speaking at the school, Obama plans to meet privately with 16 students involved in a youth anti-violence program, a White House spokesman said.

He’ll also talk directly about gun violence, aides say, in a visit that comes just days after the funeral of Hadiya Pendleton, a teenager killed in a shooting a mile from the Obamas’ South Side home. After attending the services for Pendleton, first lady Michelle Obama invited her parents to join her in the balcony for the president’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

At the school, members of the Pendleton family had arrived. Also on hand were members of the Wortham family. Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV was fatally shot in front of his parents’ Chatham home in 2010 when attackers tried to rob him of a new motorcycle.

Religious leaders including the Rev. Byron Brazier, pastor of Apostolic Church of God in Woodland, and the Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church, are in the audience.

Among the city's political class, Obama adviser David Axelrod and Chicago Alds. Pat Dowell, Leslie Hairston and Willie Cochran were there. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Gov. Pat Quinn and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin are scheduled to attend.

The president is expected to speak about 2:40 p.m. and later head to Florida for some rest and relaxation during the President's Day weekend, the White House has said.

But the president’s emphasis this week is on promoting job creation and economic recovery, aides say, in the belief that solutions to violence and other social problem hang in the balance.

He and Vice President Joe Biden have made the case in recent weeks that the solution to gun violence isn’t just about gun control, but also about improving access to educational opportunities, social programs and mental health services.

To clear these pathways to the middle class, Obama on Tuesday night proposed creating “promise zones” in 20 struggling communities, helping them develop plans and leverage federal resources to increase economic activity.

He also proposes a plan to support summer and year-round jobs for low-income youth and to put long-term unemployed and low-income adults back to work.

Clergy, activists, parents and others in Chicago have said they are eager to hear a plan of action from the president to curb violence.

Annette Nance-Holt, whose 16-year-old son Blair was killed in 2007, said that if the president can set up a task force in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at an elementary school Dec. 14, he can do the same in Chicago.

Cathy Cohen, founder of the Black Youth Project, said she hopes to hear a plan on how to get illegal guns off the street and how to get young people working.

Clergy said they hope the president talks about broader factors contributing to the city's violence, such as a high unemployment rate and a lack of adequate funding for local schools.

Chicago's homicides in recent years have numbered far below their annual total of more than 900 in the early 1990s. But while Chicago topped 500 homicides last year, the total fell below 500 in New York City, which has about three times the population of Chicago.

White House pool reports contributed.

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Stricken cruise ship reported awash in raw sewage nears port

MOBILE, Alabama—

More than 4,200 people trapped aboard the crippled cruise ship Carnival Triumph, having endured days of overflowing toilets, should return to land when tugboats haul the vessel into Mobile, Alabama late on Thursday.

The 893-foot vessel, notorious for reports of sewage and food shortages, has been without propulsion and running on emergency generator power since Sunday, when an engine room fire left it adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.

Operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, the flagship brand of global cruise ship giant Carnival Corp, the ship left Galveston, Texas a week ago carrying 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew. It was supposed to return there on Monday.

Carnival Corp spokesman Vance Gulliksen in Miami said the Triumph was expected to arrive in Mobile at between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. CST on Thursday night.

"This is going to be a long day," Terry Thornton, a senior Carnival Cruise Lines vice president, told reporters at the port in Mobile.

He said the ship, which he described as "in excellent shape" after additional provisions were laid in on Wednesday, was near the sea buoy at the entrance to Mobile Bay late on Thursday morning. Getting from the buoy into port normally takes about three hours, Thornton said.

"There is no way we could actually speed up the process to get the ship alongside sooner," he said. "We're making every effort we can to get the ship alongside here in Mobile as quickly as possible."

A Coast Guard cutter has been escorting the Triumph on its long voyage into port since Monday, and a Coast Guard helicopter ferried about 3,000 pounds of equipment including a generator to the stricken ship late on Wednesday.

Earlier in the week, some passengers reported on the poor conditions on the Triumph when they contacted relatives and media before their cellphone batteries died.

They said people were getting sick and passengers had been told to use plastic "biohazard" bags as makeshift toilets.

MORE COMPENSATION

Carnival Cruise Lines President and Chief Executive Gerry Cahill said in a statement late on Wednesday that the company had decided to add further payment of $500 per person to help compensate passengers for "very challenging circumstances" aboard the ship.

"We are very sorry for what our guests have had to endure," Cahill said.

Mary Poret, who spoke to her 12-year-old daughter aboard the Triumph on Monday, rejected Cahill's apology out of hand in comments to CNN on Thursday, as she waited anxiously in Mobile with a friend for the Triumph's arrival.

"Seeing urine and feces sloshing in the halls, sleeping on the floor, nothing to eat, people fighting over food, $500? What's the emotional cost? You can't put money on that," Poret said.

The troubles on the Carnival Triumph occurred a little more than a year after 32 people were killed when the Costa Concordia, a luxury cruise ship operated by Carnival Corp's Costa Cruises brand, was grounded on rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in Italy.

Carnival Corp Chairman and CEO Micky Arison faced criticism in January last year for failing to travel to Italy and take personal charge of the Costa Concordia crisis, which unleashed numerous lawsuits against his company.

The cruise ship mogul has taken a low-key approach to the Triumph situation as well, even as it grabbed a growing share of the U.S. media spotlight. His only known public appearance since Sunday was courtside on Tuesday at a game played by his championship Miami Heat basketball team.

Carnival Corp shares were down $0.12 at $37.34 in early afternoon trading on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares closed down 4 percent at $37.46 on Wednesday after the company said voyage disruptions and repair costs related to Carnival Triumph could shave up to 10 cents per share off its second-half earnings.

Carnival said it had initially planned to tow the Triumph into Progreso in Mexico, the closest port to its location early on Sunday when the engine room fire occurred. But the ship drifted about 90 nautical miles north, due to strong currents, before the towing got under way, and that left it stranded roughly midway between Progreso and Mobile.

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Obama to visit Hyde Park Academy during trip to Chicago

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will visit Hyde Park Academy High School on Chicago’s South Side on Friday when he travels to the city as part of a three-state tour following his State of the Union speech.

The academy is at 6220 S. Stony Island Ave. The White House has distributed an invitation to the event instructing people to arrive no later than 1 p.m. on Friday and to expect “airport-like security.”
It was not immediately known what time Obama will speak.

Tickets are available only to invited guests, who were instructed to pick up their tickets at a specific location on Thursday afternoon, the invitation said.

His visit comes in the wake of the slaying of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honor student whose parents were guests Tuesday of the president and first lady at the State of the Union speech.

Pendleton was shot and killed on Jan. 29 a mile from Obama's residence in the Kenwood neighborhood.

She and the King College Prep band and drill team had performed in Washington on Jan. 21, the day of Obama’s public swearing-in, at an inauguration-viewing reception hosted by Rep. Danny Davis in the House Ways and Means Committee Room, according to Yul Edwards, chief of staff to Davis, a Chicago Democrat.

Earlier, the band and drill team took part in a competition in Severn, Md., in the Washington suburbs, on Jan. 19. That competition, called the Presidential Inauguration Heritage Music Festival, was timed for the inaugural weekend but was not an officially sanctioned inaugural event.

kskiba@tribune.com

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Hadiya Pendleton shooting suspect: 'She was just there'

The gunman in the slaying of Hadiya Pendleton told police he was in the middle of a three-year battle with a rival gang when he opened fire at a South Side park and hit the 15-year-old who "had nothing to do" with the feud, according to prosecutors.

"She was just there," Michael Ward, 18, told police after he was arrested with Kenneth Williams, 20, prosecutors said during a hearing where both were denied bail.

Williams told witnesses he and Ward were driving around on Jan. 29, looking for members of a rival gang that had killed one of Ward's friends, according to prosecutors. Williams had also been wounded by a rival gang member last summer, police said.

"Ward stated that his gang and the rival gang had been shooting at one another since 2010. [Ward] stated that when the rival gang killed one of his friends, he thought, 'If we keep standing for this, we are going to be some straight bitches,' " prosecutors said.

"It hurt, it hurt," he told police, according to prosecutors. "It hurt to a point where everyone had to go."

Ward confessed to police that he and Williams mistook a Pendleton companion for a rival gang member as the girl was with friends at the park near King College Prep High School, about a mile away from President Barack Obama's home.

In court today, prosecutors disclosed that surveillance video captured the white Nissan the two used to flee after the shooting. Police had identified Williams and Ward as occupants of the car "within approximately 10 minutes of the shooting," prosecutors said.

The two were not arrested until this past weekend.

Williams said he and Ward pulled up to Harsh Park in the North Kenwood neighborhood, according to prosecutors. Ward got out and "snuck up on the group and they didn't see him coming," prosecutors quoted Ward as telling police. "Ward admitted he approached the fence and fired the gun six times. He ran back to the car and both defendants fled."

Relatives and supporters showed up in court for both defendants, but no one spoke to reporters following the bond hearing.

Ward’s lawyer, Jeffrey Granich, contended that police refused his client’s repeated requests for a lawyer while he was being questioned by detectives. He also maintained that Ward was being “railroaded” because of the high-profile homicide.

“This is a serious case, not a political platform,” Granich told reporters in the lobby of the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

Granich said Ward was attending Malcolm X College to obtain a GED, a requirement of his probation sentence for a weapons conviction.

Williams’ attorney, Matthew McQuaid, said his client had graduated from the same high school as Hadiya – King College Prep – and was working for an air courier service at O’Hare International Airport. He has no criminal background.

McQuaid also denied that Williams belonged to a gang.

Detectives arrested the two Saturday night as the suspects were on their way to a suburban strip club to celebrate a friend's birthday, police said. Pendleton had been buried only hours earlier in a funeral attended by first lady Michelle Obama.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said that two days before the killing, police had stopped Ward in his Nissan Sentra as part of a routine gang investigation. That information wound up being the starting point for detectives when witnesses in the shooting described seeing a similar car driving away from the shooting scene, he said.

Through surveillance and interviews — including several fruitful interviews with parolees in the neighborhood — detectives were able to home in on Ward and Williams, police said. On Saturday night, the decision was made to stop the two if they were spotted. Police watched as they departed in a caravan of cars headed to the strip club in Harvey. They were stopped near 67th Street and South King Drive and taken in for questioning.

McCarthy said Williams was shot July 11 at 39th Street and South Lake Park Avenue and an arrest was made. But that gunman was let go after Williams refused to cooperate, McCarthy said.

McCarthy noted that at the time of Hadiya's slaying, Ward was on probation for a weapons conviction. McCarthy said weak Illinois gun laws allowed Ward to avoid jail time because of the absence of mandatory minimum sentences.

"This incident did not have to occur," McCarthy said. "And if mandatory minimums existed in the state of Illinois, Michael Ward would not have been on the street to commit this heinous act."

jmeisner@tribune.com

jgorner@tribune.com

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