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Dawn Patrol: Quick hits as you walk out the door

Attorney general sues suburban businessmen

The state is going after home repair businesses that cheated suburban homeowners out of more than $600,000, the Attorney General's Office said. The lawsuits filed in Cook County circuit court are against alleged storm chaser Ricky Shattuck, of Mundelein, who solicited home repair service as RLCC, officials said, as well as James D. Johnsen, operating as Thermal Construction Windows.com, based in Des Plaines. Full story.

Another driver crashes through suburban business

For the fourth time in less than two weeks, a suburban driver has crashed into a local business, but thankfully this time nobody was injured. Two employees of a Mount Prospect Hertz car rental on Rand Road had just left the building to pick up a vehicle when a woman's SUV came crashing through the wall. “If we would have been standing where we normally do, we would have been hit,” said 28-year-old Shane Music. Full story.

FBI investigating Carol Stream bank robbery

The FBI and Carol Stream Police Department are expected to release surveillance photos today of a bank robber who hit a West Suburban Bank in Carol Stream yesterday. Few details were made available, but authorities said a lone robber entered the bank at around 5 p.m. and fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. Full story.

3-year-old Batavia boy left on school bus

A 3-year-old boy who attends a special-needs school in Batavia was left on the bus after students were dropped off at the school and not spotted until the driver reached the terminal, according to the district's superintendent. Full story.

Woman seriously injured in Elk Grove Village Walmart parking lot

Elk Grove Village police are investigating a vehicle vs. pedestrian accident in a Walmart parking lot yesterday that seriously injured a woman. Fire department officials said the injuries to the woman who was estimated to be about 30 years old could be fatal. Full story.

Binny's, Smashburger get liquor licenses

Arlington Heights Monday approved liquor licenses for Binny's Beverage Depot, which plans to open a store early in November, and to Smashburger, a restaurant that opened last week. Both are in the Annex Shopping Center at Rand and Arlington Heights roads in the north part of the village. Full story.

Photo with racial joke brings new heat on Elgin cops

A photo that factored into the suspension of an Elgin police lieutenant has resurfaced as a community group looks for tougher action against him and another officer. The photo from the late 1990s features officer Tom Wolek smiling alongside now-Lt. Sean Rafferty in front of a sign that refers to the Pulitzer Prize won by the Indianapolis Times in 1928 for its work exposing the Ku Klux Klan. Full story.

Supreme Court rules Drew Peterson must remain behind bars

The Illinois Supreme Court has denied a petition by Drew Peterson to be released from jail while prosecutors appeal a decision that would bar key evidence from being introduced during the his trial on charges that he killed his third wife. Full story.

Weather

Heavy morning fog and cool, with a high in the mid 50s to low 60s as you walk out the door, but then increaing to about 75 degrees this afternoon. A shower could fall tonight. Full weather.

Traffic

Traffic seems to be moving along fairly well this morning, despite the fog being reported. No non-construction delays are being reported on any area highways, though traffic congestion is expected to increase while the fog continues to linger. Midway is announcing delays to airline traffic due to the fog. Please use caution. Full traffic.

Kerry Wood to undergo knee surgery

With just nine games left in the Cubs season, the team has announced that oft-injured pitcher Kerry Wood will miss the rest of the season with a meniscus tear in his left knee. Wood is scheduled to undergo arthroscopic surgery after the season for the injury, which occurred about two hours after Saturday's game against Houston. Full story.

Cubs beat Brewers with late homers

Geovany Soto hit two two-run homers and drove in all the Cubs' runs in a 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night. The loss and the St. Louis Cardinals' win over Philadelphia kept the Brewers' magic number for clinching the NL Central at four. They are looking for their first division title in 29 years. Full story.

Injuries piling up for the Bears

After a 2010 season filled with the luck of very few injuries, the tides seem to have turned as a number of the Bears starters attempt to recover for Sunday's game vs. the Green Bay Packers. The right side of the line is hurting, with both guard Lance Louis and tackle Gabe Carimi nursing injuries. Wide receivers Earl Bennet and Roy Williams both seem questionable. The biggest concern right now is at safety with Major Wright out with a head/neck injury and Chris Harris fighting to return to the lineup. Full story.

What happened to the White Sox?

Home sweet home? U.S. Cellular Field has been a house of horrors for the White Sox this season, and many players are not mentally equipped to take the heat. Scot Gregor recaps the tough season. Full story.

‘Don't ask, don't tell' ended at 12:01 a.m.

“Don't ask, don't tell,” the military policy adopted in 1993 that allowed gays and lesbians to serve in the military if they did not acknowledge their sexual orientation, ended just after midnight this morning. The Pentagon has spent months preparing by adjust regulations and training the military, which the Pentagon says is 97 percent complete. Right at 12:01, a Navy lieutenant and his partner married in Vermont. Full story.

Other hot wire headlines

• AP Fact Check: Richest Americans pay much more taxes than the middle class: President Obama speaks as if there are millionaires all over America paying taxes at lower rates than their secretaries. But the numbers tell a different story.

•. Surprise! $500,000 MacArthur genius grants go to 22: A skyscraper architect, a children's choir founder and a scientist studying sports concussions are among those who learn they're winners from one of those annual, out-of-the-blue phone calls.

• U.S. quietly testing earthquake alerts in California: For now, only about 30 scientists receive warnings. AP Science Writer Alicia Chang reports researchers hope to build a system similar to the one that saved lives in the magnitude-9 disaster in Japan.

• Stock markets are rattling again: Global shares are mixed amid intensifying worries over Greece's debt and Italy's credit downgrade. Now investors await numbers on U.S. home construction at 8:30 a.m. and the IMF reports on the global economy at 9.

•. AP-MTV Poll: Why online slurs don't seem to faze the young: Still, young people who use racist or sexist language are offending more people than they realize, even among their own age group.

• Georgia panel to decide on execution: A pardons board is likely to announce whether it will spare convicted killer Troy Davis, scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday. He claims he is innocent in the death of an off-duty police officer.

• His character dead, Charlie Sheen nears a big payday: Word that the onetime "Two and a Half Men" star and the studio that fired him are close to a deal — reportedly for about $25 million — comes just as the season premiere writes him out, with a bang.