Dawn Patrol: COD vs. Glen Ellyn, rooftop fire at Delnor

<h3 class="briefHead">COD says it'll keep going in face of village orders, fines</h3>

As promised, Glen Ellyn officials issued stop work orders and citations to the College of DuPage yesterday for the school's ongoing construction projects that they say don't comply with village codes. COD spokesman Joe Moore said the village presented the orders and fines for an outdoor amphitheater project at the McAninch Arts Center and tennis courts project. He said village officials indicated that they would begin to fine contractors today. "We have informed our contractors we will cover any expenses they might incur as a result of being fined," Moore said. "We fully intend to proceed with construction." Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Devin Hester's slapper pleads guilty</h3>

Mount Prospect resident Daniel Rago pleaded guilty yesterday to misdemeanor battery for slapping Bears wide receiver Devin Hester at the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, a Cook County state's attorney's office spokeswoman said. Cook County Circuit Judge Marguerite Quinn sentenced the 52-year-old Rago to conditional discharge with one year court supervision. Rago, of the 200 block of Wille Street, also must perform 80 hours of community service and complete an anger management evaluation within 60 days. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Wheeling trustees, mayor will get raises</h3>

Wheeling village board members will be getting their first raises in more than a decade starting Jan. 1. Trustees' compensation will double, from $3,000 to $6,000. Village President Judy Abruscato's annual stipend will go from $8,000 to $11,000 and the village clerk's stipend from $6,000 to $7,000. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Regis holds court in Naperville</h3>

Like the spontaneous conversations opening many of the live broadcasts in his record-breaking television career, Regis Philbin told his fans Thursday night a story about what he did in Naperville. He ate an Italian dinner at La Sorella di Francesca before speaking to fans at a nearly sold-out Wentz Hall at North Central Central. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Crews extinguish rooftop fire at Delnor Hospital</h3>

Crews extinguished a small fire yesterday on the roof of Delnor Hospital in Geneva, officials said. Firefighters responded shortly after 6 p.m. to an activated alarm and reports of smoke inside the hospital at 300 Randall Road. No one was hurt, but several patients near the fire were temporarily moved to other areas of the hospital as a precaution, fire officials said. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">A Schaumburg Bally Total Fitness to close</h3>

A Bally Total Fitness in Schaumburg will be among 31 other Bally locations nationwide to close before the end of the year after acquisition by LA Fitness this week. Of the 31 locations to close, four clubs are in Illinois, including the Schaumburg West location at 2411 Schaumburg Road. The Schaumburg location at 1020 Meacham Road will stay open and become an LA Fitness. "The employees at the clubs we acquired will no longer be employed by Bally, but we hope that they will apply for positions with us," said the statement on the LA Fitness website. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Judge wants lighter punishment for Palatine liquor store</h3>

A Palatine liquor committee hearing will take place at 9 a.m. today for the purpose of "resentencing" a liquor store a judge said was punished too harshly. A Cook County judge has ordered Palatine officials to reconsider the severity of punishment given to a convenience store owner who admitted reselling thousands of dollars of liquor he paid someone to steal from a competitor. "In essence, (Judge LeRoy Martin Jr.) felt the fine, in addition to the license revocation, may have exceeded what was appropriate," the village manager said. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Naperville unveils draft of election map</h3>

If the computer has its way, Naperville's new voting districts will be roughly bound by the DuPage River and 75th Street. The proposed map was released yesterday on the city's website. Earlier this year, City Manager Doug Krieger directed his staff to use 2010 census results and special geography software to construct the map. Naperville staff members will present city council members Tuesday with their first draft. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Naperville golf course condemnation takes new twist</h3>

An Illinois Supreme Court ruling yesterday could force DuPage County Forest Preserve officials to pay double the price for a Naperville golf course they've been trying to forcibly acquire for 12 years. Four years ago, a DuPage jury awarded Country Lakes Country Club to the forest preserve in a condemnation suit against owner Robert Krilich Sr. But the $10.7 million sale of the 204-acre parcel never happened because Krilich appealed the decision. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the state law used to determine the value of the condemned land is unconstitutional. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Potential Schaumburg Flyers buyers may countersue</h3>

The would-be buyers of the Schaumburg Flyers baseball team not only plan to fight a lawsuit filed against them by the disbanded club's owners, but may even countersue, their lawyer said yesterday. "The charges will be vigorously defended. We feel there is no merit to the claims," said Rick Del Giudice, who's representing John C. Sciacotta, Adriano Pedrelli and their Schaumburg Flyers Holdings, LLP. While reluctant to get into specifics before a written response has been filed in court, Del Giudice claimed the lawsuit filed last month by Schaumburg Professional Baseball, LLC contains a number of inaccurate and misleading statements. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Weather</h3>

In case you're wondering, that white stuff on you window this morning is called snow. Flurries overnight did some accumulation in Lake County, blanketing windows but not enough to collect on the lawn. Temperatures are currently listed in the freezing point near 32 degrees, but temps are expected to climb to about 42 degrees by this afternoon. Full weather.

<h3 class="briefHead">Speaking of weather ... it's going to be bad</h3>

Forecasters are predicting intermittent cold shots over the next couple of weeks, with above normal snowfall starting as early as late December. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Traffic</h3>

Things are moving along freely on most area highways this morning, but several accidents have sprung up in Lake and northern Cook counties that are slowing things down. An accident with injuries on northbound Route 53 in Schaumburg is slowing things down near the I-90 ramp, while another accident with injuries are reducing traffic to a crawl on Route 137 near River Road ner Libertyville. Back ups are also reported on Route 21 in Libertyville at Route 137 due to construction, so avoid that intersection if possible. Full traffic <http://www.traffic.com/Chicago-Traffic/Chicago-Traffic-Reports.html>.

<h3 class="briefHead">U.S. Senate rejects payroll tax extension, but it's not over yet</h3>

The Senate yesterday sidetracked rival plans to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut, in dueling votes that pave the way for negotiations. First, Republicans defeated President Obama's plan to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of next year while also making it more generous for workers. Minutes later, in a vote that exposed rare divisions among Senate Republicans, more than two dozen of the GOP's 47 lawmakers also voted to kill an alternative plan backed by their powerful leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, to renew an existing 2 percentage point payroll tax cut. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Senate also easily passes defense bill with al-Qaida measure</h3>

Ignoring a presidential veto threat, the Democratic-controlled Senate also last night overwhelmingly approved a massive, $662 billion defense bill that would require the military to hold suspected terrorists linked to al-Qaida or its affiliates, even those captured on U.S. soil, and detain some indefinitely. The vote was 93-7. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Donovan McNabb released; will Bears take him?</h3>

Chicago native Donovan McNabb was released by the Vikings on Thursday, leading to speculation that the Bears might be interested in signing the 35-year-old quarterback to back up Caleb Hanie. Coach Lovie Smith didn't care to comment on that possibility after yesterday's practice, though. "He's been a great player in the league," Smith said, "but I don't speculate on anything else besides that. Full story.

<h3 class="briefHead">Have a little fun today</h3>

Glenbrook South High School put together an amazing lip-dub video that has more than 2,600 students dancing, singing and swimming (yes, swimming) to music. The students put together the video as part of the schools 50th anniversary celebration. It's worth taking time to sit back and watch this video. Full story.