Dawn Patrol: Southern Santorum wins; big U-46 forum; horse abuse allegations

Santorum’s southern wins increase Illinois primary’s significance

Rick Santorum’s southern primary sweep of Alabama and Mississippi last night adds weight to next week’s Illinois primary, which could provide a major boost for the winning camp. The victories are expected to push Newt Gingrich out of the race, as he put heavy emphasis on winning both states. Mitt Romney remains the faraway leader in the delegate count. Full story.

U-46, Daily Herald host five state Senate districts’ candidates

Candidates in Illinois Senate primary races in districts that include Elgin Area School District U-46 talked about education issues ranging from pension reform to school funding Tuesday evening during a forum at Streamwood High School. The debate was sponsored in part by the Daily Herald and was moderated by Kerry Lester, its politics and projects writer. After the decennial redistricting, there are now five Senate districts — 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 28th and 33rd — that cover U-46. See what the candidates had to say.

Volunteers allege horse abuse at Wheaton center

A group of 34 volunteers at the Danada Equestrian Center in Wheaton signed onto a nearly 5-page letter that urges an investigation into mistreatment of the horses. The letter is asking the DuPage Forest Preserve District to look into the mistreatment. The letter states one staff member hit a horse in the leg with a hammer and “hit the horse in the stomach with a metal rasp so hard the rasp broke.” Full Story.

Blago to bid public adieu tonight before prison

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to give one final goodbye from outside his home tonight, less than 24 hours before he heads to federal prison. Blagojevich will make a statement from outside his home at 5:02 p.m., which would enable evening news programs to lead with the remarks. Blagojevich will begin serving his 14-year sentence for corruption in a prison outside Denver Thursday. Full story.

Illinois, suburbs getting ready for presidential candidates

Ÿ If former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s Illinois campaign had followed through with challenging the petitions of former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s delegates, he might have faced a much less strenuous campaign in Illinois. Instead, Republicans in Illinois agreed to a “mutual nonaggression pact.” Full story.

Ÿ GOP hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum will be making visits to the Northwest suburbs this week that are as prominent and well publicized as they are hastily arranged. Full story.

Ÿ Judson University officials were prepared to treat the arrival of presidential candidate Newt Gingrich the same way they’d handle a graduation — namely with security guards directing traffic on campus to Herrick Chapel, where he’ll be speaking Thursday. Full story.

Racetrack continues to see attendance, revenue slide

Declines in attendance and the amount of money bet on horses at Arlington Park continued in 2011, according to the Illinois Racing Board’s recently released annual report. Last year, bettors gambled more than $426.7 million on horses via Arlington Park, whether it was on live races at the track or simulcast races elsewhere, the report shows. That’s a drop of about 6.2 percent from 2010. Full story.

Derrick Rose OK after crash on highway

Just hours after being fined $25,000 for criticizing Monday night’s referees, Derrick Rose was rear-ended while driving on the Kennedy Expressway. Rose was not injured in the crash, but his 2011 Bentley was damaged, according to police. The Maryland man driving the 2002 Saturn that struck Rose’s ride late Tuesday afternoon was ticketed. Full story.

U-46 superintendent takes the stand in bias case

Elgin Area School District U-46 Superintendent Jose Torres took the stand yesterday during the racial bias lawsuit, which has been in federal court for almost six years. Torres was the first witness for the school district, which is accused of formulating gifted programs that an expert said “severely underrepresented” black and Hispanic students. Full story.

$6 million settlement in Naperville dance teacher’s death

The family of a Naperville dance instructor killed in a train accident in 2010 has reached a $6 million settlement with the railroad company. Katie A. Lunn was 26 when her vehicle was struck by a train at a malfunctioning crossing. Neither the signals nor gate went down before the train struck her SUV. Lunn lived in Chicago and was an instructor at the School of Performing Arts in Naperville and at the Joffrey Ballet School in Chicago. Full story.

Weather

It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for as temperatures are expected to reach at least 80 degrees by the end of the day. To begin, it’ll be about 60 degrees when you head out the door this morning, then temperatures will climb throughout the afternoon until the thermometer reaches 80 at about 2 p.m. From there, though, temperatures will slowly drop until storms move in overnight. But, the good news, while the rain may hit, the storm will not cause temperatures to drop too much because it’ll remain in the 70s tomorrow. Full story.

Traffic

Some accidents are affecting travel times in DuPage County. Crashes are being reported at Butterfield and Naperville roads in Wheaton and 75th Street and Route 53 near Naperville. Otherwise, roadways seem to be moving along as well as can be expected for a Wednesday morning rush hour. Next week, people should be prepared for construction on the I-94/I-294 Tri-State Tollway ramp to OB I-90 Jane Addams Tollway. The ramp will be closed early on Monday, March 19th through early July. So, be prepared to seek an alternate route. Full story.

Bears trade for WR Brandon Marshall

The Bears landed their first legitimate No. 1 wide receiver yesterday when they traded two third-round draft picks for Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall. Although Marshall comes with some character-related baggage, his production is comparable to the league’s elite receivers. He is just one of three NFL receivers to rack up more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last five years, and was Jay Cutler’s go-to target in Denver during his 2008 Pro Bowl year. Full story.

Brought to you by the Daily Herald, one of 10 newspapers that do it right

The Daily Herald has been named one of the country’s “10 Newspapers That Do It Right” by Editor & Publisher magazine, the newspaper industry’s leading trade publication. The Editor & Publisher staff was impressed with how the Daily Herald efficiently combined its online and editorial departments — to speed up and smooth out the process of posting news stories on dailyherald.com — and developed a Web-first mentality in the newsroom. The paper was selected from a field of more than 100 newspapers, including all of the nation’s top publications, Editor & Publisher Managing Editor Kristina Ackerman said. Full story.