Regional briefs: Airline passenger charged
An airline passenger accused of yelling profanities, making crude comments and pushing a flight attendant on a Chicago-Las Vegas flight has been charged in federal court with interfering with flight attendants. Andy Lee Osuna, 29, was arrested Friday after Southwest Airlines Flight 2275 was diverted to Denver. The flight crew had restrained him with flex cuffs. An arrest warrant affidavit released Tuesday said Osuna denied yelling profanities and making crude comments and said he did not remember being handcuffed. The affidavit said Osuna told investigators he drank two malt liquors before the flight and had five cocktails on board. Osuna made his initial court appearance Tuesday and was being held without bond pending a detention hearing Friday. Court papers did not list his hometown, and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office did not know where he was from.
Victim's wife hired:
A woman whose husband was targeted in a fatal high-rise office shooting last year is one of four people who got new city jobs this morning from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Suzanne Malec-McKenna is the city's new commissioner for the Department of the Environment. Her husband, patent attorney Michael McKenna, was killed last year when a gunman shot him and two others in a downtown law office. Malec-McKenna says she's received tremendous support from the mayor and her colleagues that's helped her get through "a terribly difficult year." She most recently served as a deputy commissioner in the city department she now leads. The other Daley appointments were Arnold Randall Jr. as commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development; Thomas Byrne as commissioner of the Department of Transportation; and Sadhu Johnston as the mayor's chief environmental officer.
Teen's mom sues city:
The mother of a Chicago teen who was shot and killed by police has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city. The mother of 18-year-old Aaron Harrison alleges her son was unarmed when an officer chased and shot him in an alley Aug. 6 on Chicago's West Side. Police have said Harrison pointed a 9 mm handgun at the officer and was shot after he ignored orders to drop the weapon. Harrison was shot in the upper left rear shoulder, with the bullet exiting through his neck, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Attorney James Montgomery, who is representing the family, said at least two video cameras near the scene may have captured the incident, which he calls a "summary execution." "(The video) will tell the truth, and we will know the truth, and you will know the truth very soon," Montgomery said Monday after filing the suit in Cook County circuit court. Police are reviewing a surveillance video from a nearby building, spokeswoman Monique Bond said.
This train won't stop:
Grand Funk Railroad won't be performing at the Illinois State Fair. The '70s rock band has canceled its appearance in Springfield. Grand Funk Railroad had been slated to open for the Joe Walsh concert Saturday, but fair officials say the band won't be able to perform because of a scheduling conflict. Joe Walsh is still scheduled to perform Saturday night and will be joined by J.D. and the Straight Shot. Grand Funk Railroad is known for hit songs such as "We're an American Band" and "The Loco-Motion."
Driver sent to prison:
A truck driver was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday for causing an Indiana crash that killed five people, including two Illinois women, and sparked a highly publicized case of mistaken identity. Robert F. Spencer, 38, could have faced up to 24 years in prison. On May 29, he pleaded guilty to five counts of reckless homicide and four counts of criminal recklessness. "I know I'll have to deal with this the rest of my life," Spencer said. Spencer's semitrailer collided with a Taylor University van on April 26, 2006, as students and staff returned to the Upland campus. Authorities said Spencer had fallen asleep at the wheel after failing to take required rest breaks. Four students and a school employee were killed; five other people were injured. Five weeks after the crash, the family of student Laura VanRyn realized that she was dead and the injured woman they thought was their daughter actually was Whitney Cerak, another Taylor student.