Dawn Patrol: Quick hits as you walk out the door
Breaking news
• An entire town in central Illinois has been evacuated after a train derailment. The town of Tiskilwa near Princeton Illinois was evacuated after several tanker cars on the train exploded following the major derailment, officials said. The cars were carrying ethanol, officials reported. Full story.
• A 34-year-old masonry worker is at Advocate Condel Medical Center after he was impaled by a masonry drill bit in Lakemoor, officials said. Officials said he was impaled by a 10-foot masonry bit while cutting a granite countertop at Stonecrafter Inc. His condition is unknown this morning, officials said.
Kenny Williams picks Robin Ventura as the Sox' anti-Ozzie
Former White Sox star Robin Ventura has no managing experience whatsoever, not even in the minor leagues. So how did Sox GM Kenny Williams come to pick Ventura to succeed Ozzie Guillen as White Sox manager? “I think I started interviewing Robin from 1994 to 1998, he just didn't know it,” Williams said. Full story. Plus, Barry Rozner says Williams picked Ventura so he won't have to wake up to a new surprise from the manager each morning. Read his column. And see a gallery of Ventura from his playing days.
Three Aurora siblings accused of neglecting elderly mother
Aurora police are seeking help as they investigate a case of neglect. Charges were filed Tuesday through yesterday against three Aurora siblings accused of neglecting their 77-year-old mother so severely that part of her right leg developed gangrene and had to be amputated. The siblings each face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if they are convicted. Full story.
Gurnee school employee helps police make arson arrest
Gurnee police said yesterday an alert school employee's information led to a woman being charged in an arson this week on the village's east side. It's the second time in less than a month Gurnee authorities credit a witness for helping them make an arrest. Full story.
Plato Twp. DUI victim describes experience of crash, aftermath
In a moment last December, Heike Wehrle went from being able to run around a show ring with her champion purebred dogs to gasping for air and convinced she would burn to death in a crushed SUV. Wehrle described her injuries and how they changed her life in a sentencing hearing yesterday in Kane County court for the young man accused of causing them. Full story.
Downers Grove woman who took bar exam while in labor passes
You've got three hours to go in the bar exam — which must be completed to be valid at all — when you go into labor. What do you do? As labor pains began when she was taking the exam in August, Elana Nightingale Dawson, 29, of Downers Grove did breathing exercises, finished the test, then walked one block to the hospital in Chicago to give birth. Yesterday she confirmed the results of the test. “Ultimately, I have what was, and remains, most important to me: a happy, healthy son,” she wrote us. Full story.
Ex-Glenbard West football player found guilty of Rolling Meadows rape
“There's no doubt in my mind that sex occurred and there's no doubt it occurred the way the victim said it did,” Cook County Judge Thomas Fecarotta said yesterday in finding former Glenbard West High School football player Demarco Whitley guilty of raping a 15-year-old Rolling Meadows girl last year. Full story.
Mt. Prospect American Idol Lee DeWyze loses record label
Lee DeWyze, the former Mount Prospect paint shop employee who made it all the way to the top of Season 9 of “American Idol,” was dropped by RCA Records, the Hollywood Reporter said yesterday. The move comes after DeWyze's album, “Live It Up,” sold the fewest copies among “Idol” winners. But DeWyze tweeted to his fans that he's working with a producer in Nashville. Full story.
Weather
Another gorgeous day on tap for Illinois, as Accuweather is calling for it to be sunny and breezy with highs about 80 and lows in the mid 60s. Full forecast.
Traffic
Traffic is wide open early, but there are a couple of hot spots peaking up that people should avoid. Police are on the scene of an accident at N. Neltnor Blvd at W. North Blvd. in West Chicago, so avoid that area. Also, the Illinois Department of Transportation is doing roadwork on Route 25 from Route 38 to Fabyan Parkway, where some periodic lane closures will take place. Full traffic.
Are you ready for the new Blackhawks season?
The Chicago Blackhawks open the 2011-12 season tonight against the Dallas Stars. What can you expect this season? Tim Sassone says Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook will be on the ice a lot, night after night. “The success the Blackhawks have had, and the success they will have moving forward, no doubt it's at the feet of those two guys,” said Eddie Olczyk, one of the NHL's premier television analysts for the Hawks and NBC. See this story and other previews, plus Barry Rozner's rather positive prediction for the Hawks.
The mighty Yankees have struck out
Jim Leland's Detroit Tigers eliminated the mighty Yankees from Game 5 of their playoffs series last night. It didn't help that Alex Rodriguez went 0 for 4 and the Yanks kept leaving the bases loaded. Today we have two more series-deciding Game 5's, with teams at least closer to us: the Milwaukee Brewers vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks at 4 p.m. our time, and the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Phillies at 7:30. Full story.