Local News

Check out the WBBA    LATEST POLL    tell us what     YOU think

CLOSINGS & CANCELLATIONS

MetroSource News 03/18/2010
Illinois Summary (1st)

>>The Latest

(Undated) -- Here's the latest on stories making news at this hour. Illinois' next primary election will be held in March, not February. AIDS Advocates are lobbying for a tax increase to fund services. Rod Blagojevich's [[ bluh-GOY-uh-vich ]] corruption trial will proceed as scheduled. And a man convicted of a Central Illinois murder has killed himself in his jail cell.

>>Primary Pushback Bill Signed By Gov. Quinn

(Springfield, IL) -- Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a bill that would push the Illinois primary back from February to the third Tuesday in March starting in 2012. That's where it had been for years, but the general assembly moved it to February to help Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential president. After the record-low turnout in last February's election, many lawmakers pushed to move the primary back to its former date. Governor Quinn said the March date would allow voters to enjoy the holidays without campaign ads, as well as help candidates gather support in warmer weather.

>>HIV/AIDS Advocates Call For Gov. Quinn's Income Tax Increase

(Springfield, IL) -- Advocates for people with AIDS and H-I-V gathered with Democratic lawmakers to lobby for the passage of Governor Pat Quinn's income tax proposal. They said their programs would go under and leave thousands of people without lifesaving medication if the state did not find new revenue. The group is one of several social services calling for the income tax increase. Republicans have vocally opposed it, saying it will drive jobs out of the state.

>>Judge Denies Blago Trial Delay

(Chicago, IL) -- Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich [[ bluh-GOY-uh-vich ]] will go to trial on federal racketeering conspiracy charges in June. U.S. District Judge James Zagel today denied a request by Blago's attorneys to push the trial date back to November. The defense had argued that they needed more time to prepare and that cases pending in the U.S. Supreme Court could affect the constitutionality of some of the charges against the ousted executive. Blagojevich's trial is set to get underway June 3rd.

>>Suspected Mumbai Plotter Expected To Enter Guilty Plea

(Chicago, IL) -- A 49-year-old Chicago man is expected to enter a guilty plea this week in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attack that killed 170 people. David Headley allegedly travelled to India between 2006 and 2008 to research targets, the "Chicago Sun-Times" reports. Headley has reportedly been cooperating with the FBI since October. Another Chicago man is also charged in connection with the attack. Headley could face the death penalty if he's convicted.

>>ISU Basketball Player Faces Sex Abuse Charges

(Bloomington, IL) -- An Illinois State University basketball player is accused of sexually assaulting a 16 year girl. Twenty-two-year old Bobby Hill has been suspended from the team during the investigation. Hill was arrested by Normal Police Monday and charged him with criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. The St. Louis native has not played for the Redbirds since the 2006-07 season due to injuries. He remains on scholarship pending the outcome of the case.

>>Man Convicted In Lacon Slaying Commits Suicide In Jail Cell

(Joliet, IL) -- The man convicted of brutally killing his estranged ex-girlfriend to death has hanged himself to death in his jail cell. Stateville Correction Facility workers found 40-year-old Tony Smith Saturday night. He had been sentenced to a life in prison without parole for torturing and shooting Judith Berchtold in a highway intersection near Peoria in April of 2009. Smith had attempted suicide last week in the Marshall County Jail while awaiting transfer to Stateville in Joliet.

###
Steve Butera/Andrew Mitchell/Ben Norris/jm STL) SCC)

Copyright © 2010
Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company

03-18-2010 03:57:36