Briefs: Tri-State Tollway work
One northbound lane from Willow Road to Lake-Cook Road and one lane under the Lake-Cook Road bridge on the Tri-State Tollway will close today from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for roadwork. Also, one southbound lane from Lake-Cook Road to Dempster Street will close from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for pavement repairs. One northbound lane under the Lake-Cook Road bridge also will close from 8 p.m. until midnight for bridge work.
Bee winner headed to D.C.
Anne Marie Kommers, 12, of Lake Bluff and a sixth-grader at School of Saint Mary in Lake Forest, beat 11 other finalists to win Lake County's regional spelling bee Tuesday at the College of Lake County in Grayslake. The finalists were chosen from among students from 120 schools in Lake County who participated in three sectional contests co-sponsored by the Lake County Regional Office of Education in February. Kommers earned a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., to compete on May 30.
Let there be blue
The final touches of the conversion of the AmeriSuites Hotel in Vernon Hills to Hotel Indigo will include blue exterior lighting. The village board Tuesday voted 4-1 to approve the accent lighting for the building at 450 N. Milwaukee Ave. "Light 'em up," Mayor Roger Byrne said after the vote. Trustee Cindy Hebda, who previously had complained the lighting would lend an unwanted Las Vegas feel to the building, voted against. The Vernon Hills Indigo will be the third in the area. Others operate in Palatine and Chicago. Hotel Indigo is the newest brand of InterContinental Hotels Group, which also operates Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and others.
Burglar gets probation
A Buffalo Grove man has been sentenced to 24 months of probation for his role in the burglary of a neighbor's home. Arturas Sigajevas, of the 100 block of Old Oak Court West, pleaded guilty Wednesday to burglary charges from the Oct. 8 incident. Police said Sigajevas, along with Artures Slizevicius of the 0-100 block of Mohawk Trail, stole two laptop computers, a cell phone, an iPod, a radar detector, a GPS unit and cash from a townhouse on Old Oak Court West. Slizevicius was sentenced to one-year probation last month for his role in the burglary.
Bond for accused robber
One of three men accused in the armed robbery of a Wheeling Arby's this month had his bond lowered by Cook County Judge Kay Hanlon Wednesday. Bond for Anthony Stevenson, 17, of 830 Corey Lane in Wheeling, was reduced from $75,000 to $50,000. Bond remains at $75,000 for the other two men accused: Jesus Arcos, 18, of 877 Cambridge Drive in Wheeling, and James Cantrell, 19, of 582 Williamsburg Court in Wheeling. A 16-year-old also faces armed robbery charges. Authorities said Arcos and the juvenile, armed with what later turned out to be pellet guns, came into the Arby's at 34 N. Elmhurst Road around 3:50 p.m. March 12 and demanded money. The Cook County state's attorney's office asserts that Stevenson, who was working as a cashier at the time, set up the robbery. Cantrell drove the getaway car, police said. The three men are next scheduled to appear in court April 4.