"Chicago Tribune" Reader

"Chicago Tribune" Reader

Wisconsin budget battle rallies continue >> Photos

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 06:15 PM PST

MADISON, Wis. — In opposing rallies that were both peaceful and spirited, an estimated 60,000 demonstrators surrounded the Wisconsin State Capitol on Saturday, the largest crowd yet in a weeklong clash that has become the center of a broader ideological battle over union rights and taxes.

Thaw? What thaw? Winter weather returning

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 04:14 PM PST

A winter storm expected to dump ice and snow on Wisconsin Sunday could also bring 2 inches of snow and sleet on a snow-fatigued Chicago area, according to the National Weather Service.

Retailers tapping into iPad

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 03:58 PM PST

Expect to find electronic tablets on store counters, in sales associates' hands as merchants try to wow shoppers

At a time when shopping has lost most of its glamour, Apple's iPad has retailers' hearts beating faster. Merchants from Gucci to J.C. Penney are experimenting with ways to use electronic tablets to boost sales and dazzle jaded shoppers. No retailer has the formula quite figured out yet, so most have limited their tests to just a few stores. But experts predict that within the next year iPads and other electronic tablets will make their way into all manner of merchants, from supermarkets to mattress stores to luxury jewelers.

Bears' Duerson shot himself, asked that his brain be studied

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 05:00 PM PST

Hawks coach out of hospital

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 01:00 PM PST

Rose lets game do his talking, but not off court >> Video

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 11:30 AM PST

'I want to be like Magic or Kobe or Mike who have 5 or 6 rings'

All season, opposing coaches have lauded Derrick Rose for his even-keeled demeanor, for how he shows little emotion but stoic determination to do whatever is necessary to reach victory.

Chicago City Council headed for a makeover

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 12:11 AM PST

Many aldermanic seats in the mix in this year's election; 10 or more races likely to end in runoffs

Faced with economic malaise and city budget shortfalls that could top $1 billion a year, nearly a third of Chicago's aldermen decided in recent months to call it quits or move on in life.

Oak Brook fires Drew Peterson's son Stephen

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 10:55 AM PST

In a unanimous decision Saturday, Oak Brook village officials fired Drew Peterson's son, Stephen, from his police department job.

Federal budget cuts could thwart efforts to clean up Metra trains

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 08:15 PM PST

President, Republicans both want to reduce funding to diesel pollution program

Budget battles in the nation's capital are threatening Metra's efforts to clean up toxic diesel pollution breathed every day by hundreds of thousands of Chicago-area commuters.

Population drops in most Chicago neighborhoods

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 09:57 PM PST

Census shows central Chicago grew, while outlying areas lost

Census data show that central Chicago grew, but outlying areas lost.

'Come get me, papa. Come get me'

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 07:09 AM PST

Anthony Bradford was a Peace Corps volunteer from the South Side in the 1990s when he first saw Chelot, a skinny orphan whirling in the tropical sun on a dust-caked street in Haiti. He ended up caring for Chelot like a son, and even tried to adopt him, but failed. Then came the astonishing message on his answering machine. "Papa, I'm at Union Station," a familiar voice said. "Come get me, Papa. Come get me. Come get me."

Highland Park man charged with Taliban weapons deal

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 06:48 AM PST

Federal agents search local home of man arrested in Romania

A 52-year-old Highland Park father is one of two U.S. citizens charged with agreeing to sell missiles and other weapons to the Taliban for their use against American troops in Afghanistan, according to a complaint unsealed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week.

GOP-controlled House passes sweeping domestic cuts

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 09:31 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jolted to action by deficit-conscious newcomers, the Republican-controlled House passed sweeping legislation early Saturday to cut $61 billion from hundreds of federal programs and shelter coal companies, oil refiners and farmers from new government regulations.

Pirates hijack U.S. yacht

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 10:46 PM PST

Jean and Scott Adam have been roaming the world for six years, using Marina del Rey as their mail drop.

Pirates off the coast of Somalia have hijacked the yacht of a couple on a worldwide voyage distributing Bibles, according to Somalia's U.N. Mission.

Not the pizza: Giordano's says real estate led to bankruptcy

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 08:04 PM PST

Family that owns pizza chain owes $45.7 million to bank

It wasn't the pizza, it was the real estate.

Competition for Dewey decimal system

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 04:44 PM PST

Some suburban libraries begin turning away from the longtime classification system

A handful of suburban libraries are transitioning from the librarian-loved Dewey to a layout that groups books by subject rather than number, uses signs to highlight popular categories and displays books by their covers.

Man in fatal crash testifies cop ordered him to drive drunk

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 06:13 PM PST

Steger resident says he feared arrest

The Steger man accused of a drunken-driving crash that killed a 5-year-old passenger took the stand Friday and said a Chicago Heights police officer ordered him to drive or be arrested.