Briefs: Man receives probation

The Hoffman Estates man accused of hitting a Chicago police officer with his car and starting a chase that injured three others pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer. Ryan Levin, 33, was sentenced in a Skokie courtroom to 30 months of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities probation, which will include drug programs, said a Cook County state's attorney's spokesman. Levin was accused of driving his car into an officer attempting to cite him on July 29, 2006, in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. Police said Levin then led officers on a chase onto the Kennedy Expressway that left three others with minor injuries.

Local graduates honored

Two recent high school graduates from the Northwest suburbs have been named Illinois' State Advanced Placement Scholars based on their performance on college entrance exams, officials announced Tuesday. Patrick Lee, a Barrington High School graduate, and Mariya Grinberg, a graduate of Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, are among 104 students nationwide to receive the honor. Lee now attends Yale University, while Grinberg is at the University of Southern California.

Last of arena land sold

Prospect Heights officials recently agreed to sell the last portion of land that was once part of an ill-fated arena proposed in the 1990s. The 14 acres under negotiation at 25 E. Piper Lane will likely not become a tax-generating business when it's formally sold to a developer, city officials said. In the spring, the city had sold part of the land to the Chicago Executive Airport. The original arena proposal was for a multimillion-dollar sports arena in the city's 160-acre Palatine Road TIF district. The plan had moved through three administrations, two development companies and millions of dollars in city finances and private investments. But the project never gained enough momentum to move forward.

School honored Tuesday

The U.S. Department of Education's Todd Zoellick Tuesday attended an all-school assembly and visited classrooms at Twin Groves Middle School in Buffalo Grove to celebrate the school's selection as a 2007 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School. The award recognizes the academic progress the school has made under the No Child Left Behind education reform law. Twin Groves is one of only four middle schools in Illinois and 31 nationally to receive this honor this year. Zoellick is the deputy secretary's regional representative for Region V.

Artists' reception Friday

The Arts in Action Gallery will host its A Season for Art exhibition Friday featuring 18 Lake Zurich-area artists. The reception will be from 5 to 8 p.m. at the gallery, 10 W. Main St., Lake Zurich. Guests will be able to meet the artists and purchase artwork for holiday gifts. Featured artwork includes jewelry, woodworking and a variety of pastel, oil and watercolor paintings. Live musical entertainment will be provided by Lee and Takako, who will perform a variety of popular American songs on piano, and Japanese songs played on a Japanese koto, a traditional 13-stringed instrument with harplike tones. Refreshments and light appetizers will be served. The event is free and open to the public. The exhibition features small and seasonal works and will be on display through Dec. 30.

Tech campus open house

Lake County High Schools Technology Campus will host an open house from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The facility is on the College of Lake County grounds on Washington Street in Grayslake. High school students who visit the event can meet with the tech campus' business partners, talk with local employers and learn how to earn free college credit. Staff and students also will be available to discuss the career and technical training available to high school juniors and seniors. The technology campus serves 22 member high schools in Lake and McHenry counties. It offers academics in a technical setting.

School chief search starts

Elgin Area School District U-46 will hold a special meeting today at 5:30 p.m. in district headquarters, 355. E. Chicago St., Elgin. The purpose of the meeting is to interview superintendent search firms, which will be charged with finding a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Connie Neale. All interviews will be conducted in public.