Dawn Patrol: Dist. 300 board’s final offer; DuPage Board recount?

District 300 board submits final offer to teachers union

Just days after the Community Unit District 300 teachers union declared an impasse in contract negotiations, the board of education yesterday released its final offer and associated costs to union leaders. Based on a timetable of actions that must be completed before a strike can take place, the earliest teachers could walk out is Dec 3. Full story.

Only 11 votes separate two DuPage County Board candidates

Sharon Bryant of Bolingbrook said she is already considering the possibility of requesting a partial recount after Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso defeated her for the third District 3 seat on the DuPage County Board by 11 votes. Unofficial election results showed Grasso with 33,286 votes and Bryant with 33,275 votes. Full story.

Hanover Park OKs video gambling

Prompted by neighboring towns that have made it legal, Hanover Park has approved video gaming in eligible village business. But there’s a catch: All revenues generated for the village as a result will benefit the youth sports complex and other children’s programs. Full story.

Quinn vows to keep working on pension reform

Gov. Pat Quinn played down voters’ rejection of a proposed amendment to the Illinois constitution that would have made it harder to expand public employee retirement benefits yesterday, saying he remains optimistic he can get lawmakers to agree on a plan for bringing down the spiraling costs of pensions. Full story.

Brad Schneider reflects on victory, the work ahead

Democrat Brad Schneider of Deerfield pledged again yesterday to work across the aisle with Republicans after he narrowly defeated freshman Republican Robert Dold of Kenilworth to win the 10th District House seat. “It was a nail biter,” Schneider said. “We need to work together,” he said. Full story.

Aurora approves raises for future mayor, aldermen

Those elected as aldermen and mayor in Aurora will see pay increases in the future, with the position of mayor getting a 9 percent increase after the April election and the aldermen’s positions getting 2.5 percent raises for four years beginning in 2015. Full story.

Five reasons Democrats rolled in the suburbs

Map, makeup of the suburbs, money, Madigan and moderates are the five “Ms” that contributed to the Democratic gains in the traditionally Republican suburbs. Suburban voters flipped three congressional seats from Republican hands to Democrats, voted to send more Democrats to Springfield and nearly matched the 2008 support for President Barack Obama. Full story.

U.S. Cellular sale likely won’t affect name of White Sox park

Sprint is set to acquire U.S. Cellular’s Midwest markets, which will likely result in both a boost in Sprint’s data capacity and speeds in the Midwest and the loss of about 640 jobs in the Chicago region. But it is unlikely, for now, that the sale will affect the name of the stadium the White Sox call home. Full story.

Weather

Cloudy with high temperatures of only 42 degrees this morning, but cloud cover will give away to sunshine and high of 51 degrees this afternoon. Temperatures will dip back to 38 degrees overnight tonight. Full story.

Traffic

Construction on a pedestrian underpass continues at Grand Avenue and Route 45 in Lake Villa Township. People should avoid construction delays in the area. More traffic.

Big Wisconsin Badgers battle ahead in Bears game

Bears offensive right tackle Gabe Carimi and Texans defensive left end J.J. Watt both were first-round picks out of Wisconsin in 2011. Sunday night they’ll square off as members of opposing 7-1 teams that have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Full story.

For Bulls’ Thibodeau, it’s always team first

For two straight games, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau essentially left Kirk Hinrich, Carlos Boozer and Richard Hamilton on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. But he doesn’t worry about stepping on anyone’s toes and is willing to discard the game plan, if necessary. “Everyone has to sacrifice. You have to recognize if someone’s going well, maybe it’s better for the team if they finish,” Thibodeau said yesterday at the Berto Center. Full story.