Bruce Rauner leads GOP race for Illinois governor - chicagotribune.com

By Rick Pearson

Clout Street

8:31 p.m. CST, March 7, 2014

A new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows Rauner, the wealthy first-time candidate from Winnetka at 36 percent support — down 4 percentage points from a month ago amid a blitz of labor union-backed TV ads attacking his business dealings as a venture capitalist.
But Dillard, a state senator from Hinsdale with the backing of major public employee unions, has emerged as the new chief alternative to Rauner. The poll showed Dillard at 23 percent, doubling his support since last month, especially among Downstate voters.
Dillard’s gains came as state Sen. Bill Brady and Treasurer Dan Rutherford lost support in recent weeks. Brady was at 18 percent, down from 20 percent in early February. Rutherford, who was hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former employee last month, was at 9 percent — a 4-percentage-point drop from the last poll.

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Jury awards Brown's Chicken killer $451K in civil rights case - chicagotribune.com

By Jonathan Bullington

Tribune reporter

9:27 p.m. CST, March 8, 2014

A federal jury awarded a man serving a life-sentence for the 1993 massacre of seven workers at a Brown’s Chicken restaurant in suburban Palatine nearly a half-million dollars in his civil rights lawsuit against a former Cook County Jail guard accused of beating him in 2002.

When told by the Tribune Saturday of the jury's decision in favor of James Degorski the day before, the families of the victims expressed outrage…

In May 2002, a few hours after he arrived in the maximum-security tier at Cook County Jail,  Degorski, now 41, was allegedly beaten by Thomas Wilson, who was a Cook County Sheriff's deputy.

The blows left Degorski with facial fractures that required surgery to insert two metal plates in his face. Wilson was placed on unpaid leave and eventually fired in 2004 by the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board.

Wilson claimed his actions were in self-defense, and a Cook County circuit judge acquitted him in 2003 of aggravated battery and official misconduct charges.

In May 2004, Degorski sued Wilson, another correctional officer, and former Sheriff Michael Sheahan. The suit accused Wilson of using excessive force and the others for failing to stop him.

The civil case was postponed while Degorski’s criminal case played out in court. During that time, his attorney in the civil suit died, Bonjean said, and it appeared he might not find another willing to represent him. He was convicted of the mass murders in 2009; his accomplice Juan Luna was convicted in 2007…..

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Veteran reporter starting blog at rrstar.com - Blogs - Rockford Register Star

Rockford Register Star’s new Boone County Reporter.

 

By Susan Vela

Susan Vela covers regional issues with a particular focus on Boone and Stephenson counties.

m.

Hello!
This is my first blog, and it’s fair to say I’m curious about the possibilities of this personal and professional enterprise.
In practically 20 years of print journalism, I’ve written a column here and there. While my formative years were about reading the columns of Chicago’s Mike Royko and Detroit’s Mitch Albom and, later on, New York’s Maureen Dowd, I haven’t necessarily always known where to take my columns.
I’ve touched on a few hot-button issues and sometimes drawn upon my family for material. But I’ve never had to worry about consistently and regularly finding fodder for such writing enterprises.
Now, it’s the wave of the future, and I accept the challenge willingly and happily. Your problem, Dear Reader, is that this is bound to be a learning experience for myself.
To start, I’ll probably delight in some of the local residents who cross my path. Then, once I get to know the region, I’m not sure what will happen.
I certainly hope to draw upon the communities that I’ll be covering: Boone County, Belvidere, Poplar Grove, Caledonia, Capron, Timberlane and New Milford.
For now, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I’m a native Michiganian who resisted journalism because she was accepted into the University of Michigan’s engineering program. And that oddball choice was because, like most students who did well in sciences and math at my high school, I felt obligated to try joining the ranks of the state’s manufacturing force.
(Hindsight? They say it’s 20-20.)
I tried. But, I couldn’t put behind a love for reading and writing. Journalism was the bug that buzzed into my ear and then, after Michigan State University journalism classes, I interned/worked at the Alma Morning Sun.
So, um, I’ve been practicing print journalism for nearly 20 years. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind with several beats and communities.
I look forward to getting to know this one more.
Have a great day!

Above is from:  Veteran reporter starting blog at rrstar.com - Blogs - Rockford Register Star