Briefs: Good news on I-290

The Illinois Department of Transportation has lifted the lane closures on both the northbound and southbound local lanes of I-290/Route 53 in Schaumburg until March. Work on the project will resume March 15, with two express lanes closed until the completion of the work at the end of June, weather permitting, IDOT said in a news release.

Boy robbed in Des Plaines

A man pulled a handgun and robbed a 15-year-old Des Plaines boy outside his home on the 1300 block of Willow Avenue, police said. The robber took the teen's money and cell phone around 6:40 p.m. Friday, reports said. A value estimate was not available. The robber was described in his mid-20s, heavy-set and wearing a hoodie, reports added.

Stamp convention Friday

The 121st edition as the Annual Exhibition of the Chicago Philatelic Society will run Friday through Sunday at the Sheraton Chicago Northwest, 3400 W. Euclid Ave., Arlington Heights, featuring a significant PanSlavic influence. Admission and parking are free. Known as the Chicagopex 2007 Postage Stamp Show, the show will feature about 5,300 pages of stamp exhibits and more than 75 dealers, catering to virtually every philatelic interest imaginable. For details, visit www.chicagopex.com or call (773) 775-2100.

Assessment notice delayed:

The complete list of new property assessments for Schaumburg Township is scheduled to be distributed as an insert in some Daily Herald editions of Nov. 22 rather than today, as was indicated on a notice property owners received from Cook County. Notices of the triennial reassessments were mailed on Nov. 6 to Schaumburg Township property owners, and some have already complained about seeing increases in their assessments of 20 percent to 30 percent or higher. A complete list of assessments is published to provide the property owners with data to compare their assessment to those of their neighbors and those with similar homes. The delay of the publication does not alter the deadline for appealing one's property assessment, which in Schaumburg Township is Dec. 11. Anyone in the township who has not received a notice of proposed assessed valuation, or who would like information on appealing an assessment, should contact the county assessor's office at (312) 443-7550 or the Schaumburg Township assessor at (847) 884-0030.

Bus service improves

School bus routes in Palatine Elementary District 15 are getting better, officials said at a board meeting Wednesday night. Last month, the board voted to spend up to $3,000 a day to temporarily solve some of its busing problems by leasing 10 buses from Laidlaw. Routes were long and weren't arriving on time. Since the temporary lease, 27 routes have been added and only 4 percent of the district's bus routes are longer than 45 minutes.