Dawn Patrol: Quick hits as you head out the door

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Breaking news

• Crystal Lake Police were forced to shoot and kill a deer that somehow made its way inside a condominium complex in the 700 block of St. Andrews Lane Tuesday.

• The Park Ridge City Council has made it legal to swear publicly. The council has been reviewing older and outdated laws recently, and plan to review the practice of wearing clothes belonging to another gender next.

Cook County residents shocked by higher tax bills

Suburban Cook County residents are lining up to have a word with township assessors as bills for the second half of the property tax year are coming in unexpectedly high. “I almost had a heart attack,” Dan Pappas of Mount Prospect said. “Unbelievable. It went way up. My first payment was $2,600. This payment went up to $5,500. It's nuts.” Full story.

But tax appeals favor businesses

Many Cook County homeowners opened their tax bills this week to find the amount they owed went up, even though the assessed value of their property went down. In the Northwest suburbs, one reason is that commercial property owners who appealed their assessments got bigger breaks than homeowners. Full story.

Buffalo Grove massage parlor shut down after third prostitution bust

A Buffalo Grove spa has been shut down after the village president revoked the massage parlor's license due to its third prostitution bust in five years. GQ Spa, 1105 Weiland Road, was the target of an undercover police investigation in July. Full story.

Cost for iPads for politicians add up

Reduced paper and staff costs have made iPads attractive to suburban agencies that have purchased them for board members. But the savings comes with a cost. iPads aren't cheap, typically running $499 to $829 each. Government watchdogs also are concerned. Full story.

Arlington Heights man charged with Rolling Meadows bank heist

An Arlington Heights man has been linked to last week's Rolling Meadows bank robbery, which police say he committed just three days after being paroled. Alexander Stover, 58, was arrested after an Arlington Heights police detective recognized him in a surveillance photo released by Rolling Meadows police. Full story.

Des Plaines in line for $2.6 million from Rivers Casino

Des Plaines city officials are trying to figure out how and when to disburse gambling tax revenues from the new Rivers Casino, which opened July 18. Des Plaines' take of gambling revenues was $1.7 million for August, and roughly $874,000 for the two weeks the casino was open in July. Full story.

Cause of fatal Hoffman Estates fire likely to remain unknown

The cause of a backyard shed fire that killed a Hoffman Estates man Tuesday will likely never be known, according to fire officials. “Until such time when somebody comes forward as a witness to provide some more information, this will go down in the books as accidental,” Hoffman Estates Fire Chief Robert Gorvett said Tuesday. Full story.

Detective says rape suspect admitted girl ‘seemed a little scared'

A Rolling Meadows detective who testified yesterday in the rape trial involving a former Glenbard West High School football player and a 15-year-old girl said Demarco Whitley admitted the girl did not want to have sex and “seemed a little scared” during a police interview. Whitley is scheduled to testify today. Full story.

Elgin man who broke infants's legs gets 7½ years

An Elgin man convicted of breaking the legs of his girlfriend's 8-week-old daughter has been sentenced to 7½ years in prison. Ricardo Robeldo-Espino, 29, must serve a minimum of six years of that sentence. The girl, who turns 3 in February, is now Espino's stepdaughter as he married the baby's mom while in jail. Full story.

Weather

The good news is that it will be absolutely gorgeous today with highs in the mid 70s and lows in the mid 60s. It'll be nice and dry throughout the day, and not a rain drop is forecasted until after the weekend. The bad news, according to forecasters at AccuWeather, is that the coming winter is expected to produce as much or more snow than we received in late 2010 and early 2011. They estimate that 58-inches of snow will fall over the winter months, about equal to the 57-inches that landed last winter. But, that snow is expected to be spread out more, rather than most of the snow falling in the month of February, officials said. Full weather.

Traffic

Traffic congestion is building on area roadways, though no more than usual, traffic.com is reporting. People should avoid S. Naperville Road at W. Loop Road because of a crash, and reports are that there is horrible construction traffic on 75th Street in Naperville between Naper Blvd and Route 53. People should also avoid construction congestion in Bartlett at Route 59 and Route 20. Full traffic .

Amanda Knox lands in Seattle, thanks supporters

Amanda Knox returned home to Seattle yesterday after her acquittal on murder charges in Italy after four years in prison. “Thank you for being there for me,” she tearfully told her supporters. “I'm really overwhelmed right now. I was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed like everything wasn't real.” An Italian appeals court threw out her earlier conviction in the sexual assault and stabbing of her British roommate who was killed in November 2007. Full story.

Calculations: Bears must run to win

Heading into Sunday's Bears game against the 4-0 Detroit Lions, the Bears may want to look at a certain statistic regarding their run-pass ratio. In every one of the Bears' last 10 victories, the team has run the ball 27 times or more. The last seven games they ran the ball fewer than 20 times, they lost each time. With the seemingly unstoppable tandem of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson on fire lately, the longer the Bears' drives last, the better. Full story.