Briefs: Madigan files fraud suit

Lawyers for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a DuPage County contractor alleging he collected more than $18,500 for home-improvement work he failed to perform. The Cook County suit named William Albergo, who heads Albergo Paver Systems of Roselle. Five of his customers complained to Madigan's fraud bureau that Albergo failed to complete installations of driveways, sidewalks and patios and never reimbursed their down payments. Consumers who have complaints of alleged home repair fraud may download a form at www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers.

Soldier returning to tribute:

Wounded 19-year-old Warrenville soldier Jacob Foss will return from Iraq today to a police and fire escort home. Area veterans organizing the tribute are asking residents to line the route and wave flags. Foss will arrive at the parking lot of Wal-Mart, 3S100 Route 53 in Glen Ellyn, at 6:30 p.m. Police and fire vehicles from Lisle, Warrenville, and Wheaton will escort him home by way of Butterfield Road, Winfield Road, Warrenville Road and Batavia Road, ending at the Warrenville Fire Protection District Station 1 at 3S472 Batavia Road. Foss, a private in the Army, spent 10 months in Ramadi before being wounded. He has had eight surgeries on his hand.

One primary over already

It's down to two Democratic candidates in the DuPage County board District 1 primary. DuPage Election Commission officials said Wednesday they removed Addison candidate Michael Braun from the ballot because he submitted paperwork for a 2-year position instead of a 4-year position. That leaves Democrats Rita Gonzalez and James Sivisoglu uncontested. Both will face Republican incumbents Paul Fichtner and Yolanda Campuzano in the November election.

District considers levy

DuPage County Forest Preserve District financial planners announced their levy request for 2007 will be $47.7 million. About $25 million of that will be for bond and interest payments while the remainder goes to salaries, supplies, equipment and other expenses. The tax rate per $100 of equalized assessed valuation will be 11.78 cents, which means a resident with a home valued at about $270,000 would pay slightly more than $100 in property taxes to the district next year. Two new staff positions are anticipated: a sponsorship/marketing coordinator and a grants writer.

Roselle gets smoking room

Roselle village officials approved a special-use permit this week for a smoking room at Tobacco Oasis, 259 E. Irving Park Road. It will allow its customers to smoke cigarettes, cigars and hookahs even after the state's smoking ban goes into effect in January. The planning and zoning commission recommended against it. The village board unanimously approved the permit Monday. Trustee Barbara Hochstadt, who was the only trustee to initially oppose the permit, was not present.

DeVry open house

DeVry University will sponsor a free open house, featuring an information fair and tours, from 6 to 9 p.m. today at its Addison campus, 1221 Swift Road. Participants also can attend financial aid workshops and college planning sessions with DeVry admissions representatives. For details, call Margaret Hajduch at (630) 652-8205 or e-mail mhajduch@devry.edu.