Dawn Patrol: Dead body found, strike cancels classes
Wheaton man found dead
The body of a 51-year-old Wheaton man was discovered dead in Chicago with facial trauma in the 4600 block of West Monroe, police said. The body was found by a woman at about 2 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled later this morning, and no arrests have been made at this point. Full story.
District 126 teachers go on strike
A mediation session between administrators and teachers at Zion-Benton Township High School District 126 broke down early Thursday morning, and teachers voted to go on strike. Classes have been canceled at the far northern school district because of the strike, the district reported on its website this morning. Full story.
Santorum taps ex-classmates; others here not making GOP choice yet
After his second-place finish in Iowa, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is looking to establish his presence in Illinois by enlisting the help of former Carmel Catholic High School classmates and former state representatives Penny Pullen of Arlington Heights and Al Salvi of Wauconda. Santorum attended the Mundelein school in the 1970s. A number of suburban Republicans have endorsed Gov. Mitt Romney, but many top GOP officials have yet to announce their choice. Full story.
Lawsuit: Elgin police supervisors hacked into co-worker's email
Two Elgin police supervisors have been named in a federal wiretapping lawsuit that accuses them of hacking into a former lieutenant's personal email. Elgin Deputy Chief Bob Beeter and Sgt. Tamara Welter are accused of hacking into the email of Lt. Greg Welter, Tamara's estranged husband, and using confidential information against Greg Welter. In the summer of 2010, both Tamara Welter and Beeter were suspended without pay for six weeks for an inappropriate supervisor-subordinate relationship. Full story.
IDOT official worked safety event, drove drunk in same month
An Illinois Department of Transportation employee who represented the agency at a safe driving event in November pleaded guilty yesterday to drunken driving just weeks after that event. Carmer Iacullo, 58, of Chicago registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.098 when he was pulled over Nov. 20 in Wood Dale. Iacullo must wear an alcohol-detecting device for six months, pay a $1,000 fine and serve a year of court supervision. Full story.
Lake Zurich pays former administrator $85,000 upon his departure
Lake Zurich officials voted to pay former village administrator Bob Vitas an estimated $85,000 plus health insurance benefits for six months in exchange for his silence regarding the circumstances leading to his departure. Vitas' contract expired Dec. 31, and the terms of the deal were included when he was originally hired, according to a village trustee. The agreement also prevents village officials from speaking negatively about Vitas' leaving. Full story.
Cops: Man sent sexual texts to three Crystal Lake girls
A Woodstock man has been charged after police said he sent sexual text messages to a 13-year-old Crystal Lake girl and two other Crystal Lake juveniles, according to police. Denzel Hayes, 19, was arrested at the Woodstock Library on Dec. 27, and while he was in jail, police found child pornography on his computer, which resulted in further charges. He is being held in lieu of $143,000 bail. Full story.
Geneva-based construction company insulted by village officials
Geneva-based ShoDeen construction company has been a mainstay in the community since 1961, but it's now in a spat with town officials over design specifics on a new development. The company, which has built a number of large-scale Geneva establishments, says the city staff is interfering with a project at South and Second streets. “Candidly, after eight buildings (at Dodson) and 10 years of work, to be told your plans need detailed design expression is an insult,” said company President David Patzelt. Full story.
Weather
Get ready for the warm up. It may only be 27 degrees when you walk out this morning, but it will be partly sunny with temperatures of about 46 degrees this afternoon. While this may be nice, it'll be nearly 50 tomorrow. Enjoy!! Full weather.
Traffic
No problems to report on the open roadways early this morning, as the entire system is moving along smoothly. St. Charles Police, though, are warning that, from Nov. 1 through April 30, it is unlawful for any vehicle to be parked on any streets designated as a snow route when an accumulation of snow is two inches or more, until the street has been cleaned. By not parking on snow routes when there is freshly fallen snow, our streets can be quickly plowed, which will make winter traveling safer. Full traffic.
Hotheaded Zambrano traded to Miami
Fiery starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano must not have done enough to “earn” his way back onto President Theo Epstein's team this off-season; he is joining former Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen in Miami. The Cubs will reportedly pick up between $15 million and $16 million of Zambrano's $18 million contract this year in exchange for pitcher Christ Volstad. Zambrano's last start as a Cub came on Aug. 12 when he was ejected and later indicated he was retiring after walking out on the team. Full story.
DRose injury scare in otherwise sleepy Bulls-Pistons game
The Bulls were in danger of being lulled to sleep at a nearly empty Palace of Auburn against the lowly Detroit Pistons. The Bulls cruised to a relatively easy 99-83 victory to improve to 6-1 on the season, but the Pistons issued a few unwelcome wake-up calls at the end. In one, Derrick Rose drove to the basket and was fouled by Detroit's Damien Wilkins. Rose took a hard fall when he hit the floor and immediately reached for his left elbow. Full story.
The orange is brighter than the purple in Evanston
One by one, purple-clad fans ever so slowly started filing out of Welsh Ryan Arena with a few minutes to go in the showdown between Northwestern and visiting Illinois last night. And who could blame them? After all, they had watched as a 10-point Cats lead late in the first half slowly and quite hideously dissolve in front of their eyes because of a 9-points-in-19-minutes dryspell. Northwestern's very last shot was blocked to seal the Illini win. Full story.