Illinois digest

Virtual campus, real tuition:

University of Illinois trustees set tuition rates for the first degrees to be offered by the new Global Campus. Trustees also loaned the online university more than $6 million. The new virtual campus is expected to open in January. The first degrees are expected to be a bachelor of science in nursing and a master's of education. Trustees set in-state tuition for the nursing program at more than $18,000. That's 50 percent more than the tuition for a traditional nursing degree at Illinois. In-state tuition for the master's degree will be almost $14,000. That is about 20 percent less than its traditional counterpart. The Global Campus will have to start paying back the loan in 2001.

Lightning injures Scouts:

Lightning struck a New Mexico mountaintop, injuring a group of Boy Scouts, including four from North suburban Glenview, as they were hiking down from the summit. None of the nine boys or two adults with them on Baldy Mountain was seriously injured, though one was later airlifted to a Santa Fe hospital for treatment. "They have some tingling," said Marcal Young, Scout executive director of the Caddo Area Council, which includes eight Arkansas and two Texas counties. "I guess it wasn't direct because in most cases, that would probably be a fatal situation."

Link sought in robberies:

Chicago-area detectives are wondering whether someone is targeting professional athletes after separate robberies this month. New York Knicks forward Eddy Curry -- 6-foot-11, 285 pounds -- was tied up along with his wife and an employee at his mansion in suburban Burr Ridge on Saturday. Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker, who is 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, was similarly robbed along with a relative at his $4 million townhouse in Chicago's River North section on July 10. "Our guys are talking to Chicago to determine if it's just a copycat or a coincidence or if there is a relationship there," Burr Ridge police Cpl. Tim Vaclav said. Police said the gunmen -- three in the Curry holdup, two in Walker's case -- probably knew exactly who their victims were. Curry used to play for the Bulls. Walker was born in Chicago and starred at Mount Carmel High School on the city's South Side.

Nike settles bias suit:

Nike Inc. has reached a $7.6 million settlement in a class-action race discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of 400 black employees of the company's Chicago Niketown store, the company said Monday. The lawsuit, filed in 2003, claimed managers at the retail store used racial slurs to refer to black workers and customers. They also said the store segregated black employees into lower-paying jobs as stockroom workers and cashiers rather than giving them lucrative sales jobs. And the suit alleged managers made unfounded accusations of theft against black workers and directed store security to monitor black employees and customers because of their race. Nike has denied the allegations.Nike also must make a host of other changes to address diversity, such as appointing a diversity consultant to monitor the Chicago store's compliance.

FutureGen gets incentives:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has signed a package of economic incentives meant to bring the cutting-edge, coal-powered plant known as FutureGen to Illinois. The $1.5 billion project will minimize air pollution by storing emissions underground. Developers are considering sites in Mattoon and Tuscola, as well as two in Texas. A decision is expected in November. Illinois is offering $82 million worth of incentives to FutureGen developers. The package also protects the project from liability due to accidents.