Dawn Patrol: Woman falls through Palatine manhole; Romney visits Elk Grove Village
Woman falls through uncovered manhole in Palatine
Without a cellphone, a 76-year-old woman would likely be dead after falling through an uncovered manhole behind a Palatine grocery store Monday morning. Police and fire crews had trouble locating the manhole, which was out of hearing distance from the parking lot, but luckily dispatchers traces the cellphones signal to behind the store. Police said the property owners knew of the problem on Friday and ordered a replacement Monday after she fell through. Full story.
Romney praises Harper College during speech
Mitt Romney hailed a partnership between suburban businesses and Palatine's Harper College yesterday as an example of moving the economy forward. The GOP presidential hopeful spoke at Acme Industries in Elk Grove Village, which has added 80 jobs in the past 18 months. Romney said President Obama was “out of ideas” and “out of excuses” during the speech. Full story.
Judge orders Oak Brook to explain Peterson firing
While prosecutors and defense teams laid out their respective cases during Drew Peterson's murder trial yesterday, a separate judge ordered Oak Brook officials to review and explain their firing of Stephen Peterson, who was fired after taking three guns that belonged to his father. Peterson's son admitted taking three of the guns for safekeeping and concealed $236,800 that village officials say he accepted from his father but failed to disclose to investigators, prompting the firing. Full story.
Caputo's to open store, move headquarters to Carol Stream
A 70,000-square-foot Caputo's Fresh Markets grocery store will anchor a planned shopping center development at a prominent corner in Carol Stream. Caputo's corporate headquarters and distribution and production facilities will also be moving into the 300-000-square-foot warehouse that will hold the grocery store. Full story.
Prison watchdog: St. Charles youth center now has safety beds
A year after a prison watchdog group criticized the Illinois Youth Center St. Charles for not having safety beds to prevent suicides, the beds have been installed. “St. Charles is an unusual criminal justice facility. It sits on 126 picturesque acres of fenced-in land, and when the razor wire that surrounds the facility is not visible, the grounds have the feel of a small college campus rather than a youth prison,” the report says. “However, as noted in past reports, the facility is in desperate need of repair.” Full story.
Weather
It is about 73 degrees right now as you head out the door, but temperatures will increase to about 83 degrees this afternoon. Rain and some possible thunderstorms are expected to blow in tonight, with temperatures dipping back to 66 degrees. Full story.
Traffic
The intersection of Route 31 and Route 176 is being reconstructed in Crystal Lake, resulting in intermittent closures for the start of the project that will reduce lanes. This project will be in place until November of 2013. Full story.
Sox lead in A.L. Central down to half game
The White Sox still are leading the AL Central, but not only did they lose to Kansas City 5-2 at U.S. Cellular Field, they lost a game in the standings to the red-hot Tigers, who held on to edge the Yankees 6-5. Full story.
Cubs drop 7th straight
Pitcher Brooks Raley made his major-league debut Tuesday night, but got slammed by the San Diego Padres, who scored 4 runs in the third inning and 3 more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. The Cubs rallied to pull within 3 runs, but that was it as they lost 7-4. It was the Cubs' seventh straight defeat. Full story.
Roach to start for Urlacher on Thursday
With middle linebacker Brian Urlacher (knee) missing his sixth straight practice and second straight for personal reasons, strongside linebacker Nick Roach continues to get a lot of work in the middle for the Chicago Bears. But don't worry about Urlacher, coach Lovie Smith says. The defensive captain will be back playing full time soon. Full story.