Illinois

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Jobless Illinois Man Wayne Sabaj Finds $150K in Garden
 Jobless Man 
 Finds $150K 
 in Garden 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 4, 2011 6:49 AM CDT

Jobless Man Finds $150K in Garden

Illinois carpenter may get to keep cash after a year

(Newser) - Wayne Sabaj went into his backyard garden looking for broccoli and found $150,000 instead. The unemployed and very honest Illinois carpenter—fearing the cash packed into two duffel bags might have come from a bank robbery—alerted police to the discovery. Investigators have been unable to find the source...

Floating 'Foot' Spurs 10-Hour Lake Search

Boy thought he saw a human foot...

(Newser) - A boy fishing in a northern Illinois lake hooked—and then lost—what he thought was a human foot, but a search determined the appendage had belonged to a mannequin. Divers and sonar teams spent nearly 10 hours searching Lake Marie, near Antioch, before they located the fake foot last...

Girl's Body Exhumed 54 Years After Murder

Investigators hope new DNA techniques will help nail prime suspect

(Newser) - A little girl's body has been exhumed 54 years after her murder, by cops who now think they can nail the killer using new forensics techniques. Prime suspect Jack McCullough, a former neighbor of the 7-year-old girl, has already been extradited from Washington to Illinois to face charges. "...

US Sizzling in Record Heat
 US Sizzling in Record Heat 
Jul 4, 2011 2:20 AM CDT

US Sizzling in Record Heat

Fireworks canceled as skiers hit slopes above sweating throngs

(Newser) - The US is still sizzling in triple-digit temperatures as record heat threatens fireworks displays. Santa Barbara County has set up special cooling centers in libraries, senior centers and other community facilities as California struggles in 100+ degree heat, along with much of the Southwest and the lower Mississippi Valley. Several...

Illinois Shuts Down Death Row

State no longer executes criminals

(Newser) - After spending years at the center of national debate over capital punishment, Illinois' death row officially died yesterday when a state law abolishing the death penalty quietly took effect. The fate of executions in the state was sealed in March when Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation ending the death penalty,...

Rahm Wants Gay Marriage in Illinois

Calls New York's gay marriage law 'very important'

(Newser) - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel hopes that the land of Lincoln will follow New York's lead on gay marriage, reports Politico . “I would hope that the state would move in that direction,” said Emanuel. “Tremendous progress has been made across the country on a value statement. And...

200 Methodist Clergy Flout Church Ban on Gay Unions

Illinois group will risk jobs to perform same-sex ceremonies

(Newser) - An Illinois coalition of some 200 Methodist clergy has agreed to bless same-sex unions in defiance of church policy. Clergy members risk their jobs by doing so, but they’re urging the worldwide Methodist Church to limit punishment to a 24-hour suspension, reports the Chicago Tribune . Civil unions were legalized...

Teen Dies in Getaway With Dying Pooch

15-year-old Taylor Stinchcomb, dog Romulus killed in car accident

(Newser) - An Illinois teenager’s attempt to stop her dog from being put down ended tragically early Tuesday in a rollover car accident, the Lake County News Sun reports. Taylor Stinchcomb, 15, and a friend ran away with Taylor’s sick Doberman in her parents' minivan, after learning the dog had...

Blagojevich: 'F***ing Golden' Remark Was 'War-Gaming'

Ex-gov is less than crystal clear in his testimony

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich finally got a chance to explain his infamous description of Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat as "f---ing golden" but he did a pretty poor job of it. "I'm afraid to answer this, but I'm not quite sure how to answer it," the...

Illinois Senate Approves Anti-Westboro Bill

Bill would require funeral protesters to stay extra 100 feet away

(Newser) - Westboro Baptist Church could soon find itself foiled in Illinois. The state Senate passed a measure yesterday that broadens the protection granted to funerals, requiring any protesters to remain at least 300 feet away from the site rather than the currently required 200 feet. The original House bill, proposed by...

As Trial Resumes, Blagojevich Worries About Daughters

Former governor says he's preparing the girls

(Newser) - Jury selection resumes Monday in the retrial for Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges, and the former Illinois governor tells the Chicago Tribune that he's mostly worried about how daughters Annie, 8, and Amy, 14, will handle a possible jail sentence for their dad. "I explained to her that...

Illinois to Inmate: You Owe Us $455K for Jail Stay...

So we'd like that $11K you earned in prison

(Newser) - Since being jailed in 1982, Kensley Hawkins has saved $11,000 from working while behind bars. Now the state of Illinois wants that money—it's suing Hawkins to cover the cost of his prison stay, the Chicago Tribune reports. According to Illinois law, the state can start collection procedures against...

Illinois to Ban Death Penalty

Gov. Quinn expected to sign repeal bill today

(Newser) - Capital punishment is facing its end in Illinois and a last-minute reprieve from the governor is highly unlikely. Pat Quinn is expected to sign legislation today abolishing the death penalty in the state, and abolition supporters have been invited to a private bill-signing ceremony, reports the Chicago Tribune . "They...

Blagojevich to Judge: Too Many Gaps in Wiretaps

Ex-governor's lawyers cite too many gaps in tapes

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s lawyers have asked a federal judge to forbid prosecutors from playing FBI wiretaps of the former Illinois governor during his upcoming retrial, the AP reports. The lawyers say the tapes—key evidence for the prosecution—are unreliable because of long gaps in the recordings, which remove the...

Chicago's Population Dips Below 1920 Level

People are leaving for suburbs, Southern US

(Newser) - Chicago's population fell 6.9% during the decade that ended in 2010, leaving it with fewer people than lived there in 1920. The US Census Bureau reports a population of 2,695,598 people, just under the 2.7 million that were reported nearly a century ago, the Wall Street ...

Civil Unions Legalized in Illinois

Gov. Quinn: 'We believe in civil rights'

(Newser) - Illinois has become the sixth state to recognize civil unions between same-sex couples. A bill signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn Monday afternoon gives gay and lesbian couples many of the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, including the right to visit a loved one in hospital, the Chicago ...

Income Taxes Go Up 67% in Illinois
Income Taxes Go Up
67% in Illinois
Jan 12, 2011 12:51 PM CST

Income Taxes Go Up 67% in Illinois

Lawmakers approve last-minute increase for strapped state

(Newser) - Budget trouble in Illinois will hit residents' wallets: Lawmakers approved a 67% increase in the personal income tax rate (from 3% to 5%) along with a 46% hike for businesses (from 4.8% to 7%), reports the Tribune . The Legislature did so in the wee hours as its final act...

Butt Dialer Sends SWAT Team to Middle School

Garbled phone call leads wife to believe husband is in danger

(Newser) - Butt dialing: We all know it’s annoying, but apparently it can also be kinda dangerous. When a husband unknowingly called his wife as he was driving home from his job at a school Monday, “he was listening to music and he had, I don't know, hip-hop … or...

Alfalfa Sprouts Linked to 16-State Salmonella Outbreak

Organic farm contamination spreads to 16 states

(Newser) - Momma didn't say eat these greens: Alfalfa sprouts have been linked to 94 cases of salmonella poisoning in 16 states. The contaminated sprouts stem from Tiny Greens Organic Farm in Illinois, CDC officials said yesterday. California is the latest state to join the salmonella contamination, although half the cases were...

6 Dead as Snow, Big Chill Shut Down Midwest

Highways closed, flights canceled amid sub-zero weather

(Newser) - Temperatures have plummeted across the upper Midwest after a storm pounded the region with snow and strong winds this weekend, the AP reports. Six weather-related deaths were reported as the storm closed major highways in some states, canceled some 1,600 flights in Chicago, and collapsed the inflatable roof of...

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