Dawn Patrol: Drowning, Quinn on school pensions
Man's body found in Gages Lake, friend charged
The friend of a Park City man who drowned after he was stranded near the middle of Gages Lake has been charged in connection with his death, accused of lack of action after he himself was able to reach the shore. Divers found the body of 44-year-old Richard Stoneking about 18 hours after he jumped off a pontoon boat along with Eric Oomens. Oomens made it to shore Monday night, told a bystander of his missing friend and fled, police said. Full story.
Quinn says schools have cash to handle pension costs
Ahead of Thursday's date with top lawmakers to discuss a fix for the state's pension mess, Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing a study that says some suburban school districts have money saved up and should be able to afford taking over some costs of teachers' pensions. Quinn's data shows schools with millions of dollars in reserves as of June last year, but the Illinois State Board of Education says districts might have less than the study suggests after state budget cuts. Full story.
College of DuPage nears OK for development plans
College of DuPage officials removed a number of buildings from the Glen Ellyn campus's planned development application to appease neighbors, and received support from the county board's development committee for doing so. The new plan now includes a single 70,000-square-foot building instead of three large classroom buildings, among other changes. Full story.
Elk Grove joins suburbs approving video gambling
The Elk Grove Village board voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow video gambling within the village. The board passed an ordinance that amends the village code so that an exception in the ban against gambling is made for the video machines. The village has granted exceptions for off-track betting, bingo and casino nights run by nonprofit charitable organizations in the past. Full story.
Man who built Millennium Park may revamp Wood Dale
Whether the project's massive — such as Chicago's $470 million Millennium Park — or if it's creating a $26,000 vision for a small suburb looking for some identity, Edward Uhlir says it's all about creating a sense of place that invokes a feeling of pride. “Not every project can be as big as Millennium Park. You also have to have a lot of smaller projects,” said Uhlir, who is likely to be given a contract to create a downtown vision for Wood Dale. Full story.
Cops: Teen shot at group in Elgin neighborhood
An 18-year-old has been charged with firing gunshots at a group of people in Elgin about a block from where a summer youth program to keep kids off the street was being held. Police said the man's intended target was a rival gang, but the people he shot at were not affiliated with the gang. No one was injured, but one bullet struck the garage of a nearby home. Full story.
Winery gets green light from Antioch officials
Antioch officials have OK'd plans for a winery, set to open in March 2013, after months of discussion with worried residents. The Trombino family said their hobby turned into a passion, which is on its way to becoming a business — Vigneto del Bino. “If you think about what Antioch's theme is, Authentic by Nature, growing grapes on your property and then making that into a product to sell goes along with that theme,” Debra Trombino said. Full story.
Mountain bike plan hits snag in Carpentersville
A proposal to let a Chicago-based mountain biking group build trails inside Carpentersville's largest park, has generated a bit of debate between village trustees, the group that would create the trails and the neighbors who say they don't want them in their backyards. The village board was scheduled to make a decision on the agreement Tuesday night, but did not, due to legal language within the contract that needs to be worked out. Full story.
Weather
Sunny windy and hot once again, this time with a high of about 93 degrees this afternoon. It's about 80 degrees right now, and expected to dip to a low of about 73 degrees tonight. A thunderstorm could roll in late tonight or tomorrow, officials said. Full story.
Traffic
No major problems to report on the area highways early this morning. Though motorists are urged to avoid delays at Route 21 at East Dundee Road due to pavement buckling in Wheeling. The buckled lanes have been closed, but delays will stack up in the area while repairs are made. Full story.
Cubs knock White Sox out of first place
The Cubs followed up Monday's 12-3 win with a 2-1 squeaker over the White Sox last night, knocking the Sox out of first place in the AL Central. Jake Peavy continued to pitch well, throwing a 5-hit complete game, but Travis Wood and the Cubs' defense kept the Sox off the board. The Sox lost their third straight and the Cleveland Indians won, dropping the Sox into second place. Full story.