Illinois News Digest
Good morning. Here's a look at how AP's general news coverage is shaping up in Illinois at 12 a.m. Questions about coverage plans are welcome and should be directed to the AP-Chicago bureau at 312-781-0500 or chifax@ap.org. Caryn Rousseau is staffing the desk. AP-Chicago News Editor Hugh Dellios can be reached at 312-920-3624 or hdellios@ap.org.
A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories and digests will keep you up to date. All times are Central.
Some TV and radio stations will receive shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with all updates.
NEW ON THIS DIGEST: EXCHANGE-SWIM TEAM; SAT EXAM-ILLINOIS; ILLINOIS FLOODING; ROCKFORD-BOY SLAIN; HOME INVASION-ARREST; FREEPORT-CHILDRENS MUSEUM.
TOP STORY:
BURNING COAL MINE-EXPANSION
HILLSBORO, Ill. - Some central Illinois residents are asking state regulators to reject a proposed expansion of a coal mine where an underground fire has smoldered for nearly a year. Opponents of Foresight Energy's planned Deer Run Mine expansion testified at a Thursday public hearing in Hillsboro that the company's inability to quell the ongoing fire should lead the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to deny the request. The St. Louis-based company ceased mine production in early January because of the elevated carbon monoxide levels below ground as well a depressed market. It also responded by cutting 100 jobs and says it's uncertain when - or if - production will resume. By Alan Scher Zagier. SENT: 580 words.
STATE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS:
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY-RELOCATION
MASCOUTAH, Ill. - Members of Illinois' congressional delegation are appealing to the head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in support of Scott Air Force Base's bid to host its new facility. This week, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk and other Illinois congressmen wrote a letter to NGA Director Robert Cardillo, urging him to select a 182 acre site in St. Clair County as the location of the agency's new $1.6 billion campus. The two-page letter was meant to show there's "unified support for the proposal from the bipartisan group representing communities across Illinois," according to a news release issued Wednesday by Durbin's office. SENT: 350 words.
AROUND THE STATE:
CHICAGO-BODIES FOUND
CHICAGO - Authorities have no suspects and a motive remains elusive one week after six family members were found dead in their Chicago home, police said Thursday, with investigators now focusing on video evidence, the weapons used and interviews with relatives and acquaintances to try to glean clues about why the family was targeted. The wounds indicate that three knives or knife-like weapons were used to kill five of the victims, including two children; one woman was shot, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. By Michael Tarm. SENT: 415 words, photo.
CHICAGO VIOLENCE-TEEN'S SHOOTING
CHICAGO - Two years after a Facebook feud over a boy ended with one 14-year-old girl dead and another 14-year-old girl charged with murder, the aunt of the accused Chicago teen was arrested on federal charges that she supplied the gun. Vandetta Redwood, 34, appeared in federal court Thursday, where she pleaded not guilty and a judge ordered her held without bond. Redwood is charged with transferring a firearm to a juvenile while knowing that teen intended to use it in a violent crime, and possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school zone. By Don Babwin. SENT: 345 words.
CHICAGO POLICE-LAWSUIT
CHICAGO - A Chicago man won a $1 million verdict this week in a lawsuit that accused police of rigging a photo lineup to ensure he would be wrongly identified as an armed robbery suspect. Jermaine Durdin was 18 when he was charged in the 2010 robbery of several hundred dollars from an ice cream truck in the Lawndale neighborhood on the city's West Side. He spent nearly two years awaiting trial in the Cook County Jail before he was found not guilty - an experience he said in court this week deeply affected him and left a "stain" on his brain. By Jason Keyser SENT: 440 words.
EXCESSIVE FORCE-VERDICT
BENTON, Ill. - Jurors in southern Illinois have found in a federal civil lawsuit that an Olney man was the victim of excessive force when law enforcement officers stopped him near Benton in April 2012. The jury verdict comes after a four-day trial at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis. It includes more than $32,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for 35-year-old Isaac Capps, who initially sought a $3.6 million settlement, the Southern Illinoisan reported. Named as defendants in the case are three Illinois State Police troopers, two Franklin County deputies and a West Frankfort police officer. SENT: 335 words.
BANK SETTLEMENT
ALBANY, N.Y. - Morgan Stanley will pay $3.2 billion in a settlement over bank practices that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, including misrepresentations about the value of mortgage-backed securities, authorities announced Thursday. Illinois will get $22.5 million in the settlements announced Thursday. By Michael Virtanen. SENT: 360 words.
OPEN TEXTBOOKS
STORRS, Conn. - Universities and state governments are lining up behind open source textbooks as a way to make college more affordable. The open textbooks, produced with publicly available material, are issued to students for free or a small fraction of the hundreds of dollars they typically spend annually on books. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, has proposed a federal grant program to expand the use of open textbooks. By Michael Melia. SENT: 740 words, photo.
EXCHANGE-SWIM TEAM
PEORIA - The family atmosphere is stronger than ever this season for the Richwoods boys swimming and diving team. And at the core of the team chemistry are four sets of brothers swimming for the Knights, giving the team a strong pool of talent and togetherness. The brothers on the team are Ben and Daniel Matlock, Rowan and Emmett Hanold, Sam and Will Swain, and Rob and Ted Lewis. "What are the odds that you'd have four sets of brothers on a team?" Richwoods coach Lynn Thompson said. "And they are all such utter different personalities. By Johnny Campos. Peoria Journal Star. SENT: 995 words, photos.
IN BRIEF:
- SAT EXAM-ILLINOIS: A new college entrance exam is coming to Illinois. The test known as the SAT is replacing the ACT.
- ILLINOIS FLOODING: Illinois has received additional time to determine whether to seek a federal disaster declaration for early-winter floods.
- ROCKFORD-BOY SLAIN: An attorney for a Rockford woman accused of stabbing her 8-year-old son to death says he might pursue an insanity defense on her behalf.
- HOME INVASION-ARREST: A man who was wanted in connection with a 2014 suburban Chicago home invasion has been captured in Mexico and returned to the United States.
- FREEPORT-CHILDRENS MUSEUM: Organizers of a children's museum in Stephenson County need funding and a place to put it, but they're moving ahead with their planning.
- ILLINOIS BUDGET-NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The head of Northern Illinois University says the school won't lay off anyone for now despite the lack of state funding due to a budget impasse.
- SCHOOL GUARD-SEXUAL ASSAULT: A Chicago Public Schools security guard is being held in lieu of $300,000 bond for allegedly having sex repeatedly with a girl who was a student at the school where he worked.
- LAWMAKER-PORN CHARGE-LAWSUIT: Former Illinois state Rep. Keith Farnham has been sued by two children who say they appeared in pornographic videos he was sent to prison for downloading.
-BOEING STOCK: Shares of the Boeing Co. plummeted Thursday after a report said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the aircraft manufacturer's accounting.
SPORTS:
HKN--STARS-BLACKHAWKS
CHICAGO - The top two teams in the Central faced off when the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks battled the Dallas Stars on Thursday. Chicago and Dallas split their first two meetings of the season. By Jay Cohen. 700 words, photos.
With:
-HKN--BLACKHAWKS-WHITE HOUSE: President Barack Obama will host his hometown Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks at the White House next week. SENT: 90 words.
HKN--NHL DRAFT
CHICAGO - The 2017 NHL draft is coming to the United Center. And there is no coach's challenge to take that one away from Chicago. The Blackhawks had another goal tossed out during Tuesday night's 2-0 loss to San Jose when Sharks coach Peter DeBoer made a successful video challenge for goalie interference, prompting Chicago coach Joel Quenneville to cut short his postgame press conference likely out of fear of drawing a big fine for criticizing the officiating. But NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday the league is "extraordinarily pleased" with the how the challenge system is working in its first year. By Jay Cohen. SENT: 675 words, photos.
BKW--US TRAINING CAMP
UConn senior Breanna Stewart is taking a break from her season to participate in a three-day training camp for the U.S. women's national basketball team. Stewart is the only college athlete among the 16 players competing. Joining Stewart at the training sessions from Feb. 21-23 on UConn's campus are former Huskies Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Maya Moore. WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne will be there too. By Doug Feinberg. SENT: 420 words, photos.
Also:
-BKC--WRIGHT ST.-ILL.-CHICAGO
-BKC--MURRAY ST.-SIU-EDWARDSVILLE
-BKC--ILLINOIS ST.-EVANSVILLE
-BKC--W. ILLINOIS-DENVER
-BBY--LLWS-JACKIE ROBINSON WEST-LAWSUIT: The parents of 13 members of the Chicago Little League team stripped last year of its 2014 U.S. championship have filed a lawsuit against team officials, Little League Baseball, ESPN sportscaster Stephen Smith and the man who exposed the team's irregularities.
- U OF ILLINOIS-ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: University of Illinois interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson now says the school hopes to name a new athletic director by the end of February.
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