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Illinois plans reforms for processing DNA

A forensic scientist demonstrates the processing of a sex assault evidence kit to extract the DNA profile at the Illinois State Police Forensics Laboratory in Chicago on Thursday , February 4, 2010. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Tribune)

Ill. plans reforms for processing DNA

Illinois is moving to reform the way DNA evidence from sexual assaults is processed after a Tribune review found that many rape kits were being placed in police storage untested, robbing the state of opportunities to solve crimes and exonerate the wrongfully convicted.

DNA problems hamper investigations

Bishops change feeding tube guidelines; Catholic hospitals face choice

If ever Carol Gaetjens becomes unconscious with no hope of awakening, even if she could live for years in that state, she says she wants her loved ones to discontinue all forms of artificial life support.

Graves to move for new O'Hare runway

Pace route cuts hit suburban bus riders

Green Line panhandler arrested again

Hit man's case used in bid to overturn Cardamone verdicts

Snow, CTA cuts could leave commuters struggling

Attorney: Stacy Peterson asked about extorting money from husband

26 years after woman's murder, family sees suspect who says he aided attacker

Feds may close locks to stop carp

Parents sue over Northwest Side crash that killed 1-year-old boy

Chicago schools pile up lunch waste

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High school students plan King memorial Victor Harbison begins the school year by asking students in his high school civics class a...	Wheaton man's Family Truckster to star in Super Bowl ad The Griswolds and their Wagon Queen Family Truckster ride again, thanks to a Wheaton man's...
CTA's Doomsday service faces its first rush hour Predictable as it was that the threat of previous CTA service cuts would not be carried out,...	Unregistered sex offenders roam Chicagoland Many criminals are hard to track because of police's uncoordinated efforts and a lack of arrest...
Pace route cuts force riders to scramble For years, Danny Colilla's two-hour-plus commute meant taking a CTA bus, subway train and two Pace...	Black History Month: Immortal, yet invisible I am Henrietta Lacks.
Customer to donate kidney to cashier Dan Coyne had the surprise all planned out: Near the end of Myra dela Vega's Friday night shift...	CTA bus barn shut as cuts loom
Chicago medical teams' hearts and thoughts still in Haiti When Dr. Mildred M.G. Olivier walked onto the grounds of a hospital in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince...	Nursing home to lose federal funds Federal health care authorities on Friday moved to terminate funding to the troubled Somerset...

The City

Chicago wins cemetery land for new O'Hare runway The City of Chicago on Monday was awarded possession of a 161-year-old cemetery that lies in the path of a future runway at O'Hare...	Suspect charged in 1984 slaying DNA evidence helped authorities charge a South Side man in connection with an unsolved murder from nearly 26 years ago.
In the social media spirit Call them blogs on a mission.	New group's mission: Prevent sex assaults The women whose faces are pictured on the Web site are real sexual assault survivors, not models. And that's the point.
My experience in a Chicago school lunchroom On a cool fall morning in a North Side lunchroom, tiny Chicago Public Schools students lined up for breakfast.	Brookfield Zoo seeks a companion for its lone elephant, Joyce Home to Share. West Suburbs.
Chicago medical teams' hearts and thoughts still in Haiti When Dr. Mildred M.G. Olivier walked onto the grounds of a hospital in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince 10 days after Haiti's earthquake, she...	South Loop School at crossroads Ten years ago, South Loop School was struggling with low test scores and on the verge of probation. But after a staff turnaround and the...

North & Northwest

Pace route cuts hit suburban bus riders Across the suburbs Monday, some commuters were sharing the pain of CTA riders in the city, even though the cuts to Pace bus service weren'...	New group's mission: Prevent sex assaults The women whose faces are pictured on the Web site are real sexual assault survivors, not models. And that's the point.
Missteps, oversights let criminals roam free Inaccurate lists, few warrants	Evanston gives reprieve to branch libraries Evanston aldermen late Wednesday reversed their decision to close two branch libraries, giving the libraries another six months to find...
A look at sex offenders who slipped through the cracks Otis Povaleri, age 40	DNA ties Chicagoan to burglaries A Chicago man was charged last week in seven Skokie residential burglaries after police said they lifted his DNA from a water bottle at...
Unregistered sex offenders roam free At age 18, Marcus Dixon choked and raped an 11-year-old.	Tolls are no sweat for tollway workers More than 1,400 employees of the Illinois Tollway, nearly 90 percent of the agency's work force, get a little-known bonus: toll-free...

West

Supporters of early education center look for new site Although plans have fallen through to place a proposed $8.7 million early learning center on a site between Winfield and West Chicago,...	Court documents stolen from car in Naperville Court documents and other paperwork were stolen Jan. 26 from a car parked in the 800 block of South Washington Street in Naperville.
Oswego chalks up a 3rd high school for 2014 Continued enrollment growth and imminent overcrowding have convinced Oswego District 308 officials that a third high school can no longer be...	6 DVDs stolen from Batavia library Six DVDs were reported stolen from the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave., on Jan. 27. The cases and security labels were found...
Oak Park farmers market focuses on Midwest growers, not retailers The Oak Park Farmers' Market, a Saturday morning institution for 35 years, will remain focused on selling goods grown or made by Midwest...	40 cannabis plants seized in Westmont home Two men were arrested after Westmont police, assisted by the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group, confiscated over 40 cannabis plants,...
54 shirts stolen from Geneva store Fifty-four shirts valued at $1,593 were stolen from Aeropostale, 502 Commons Drive in Geneva, on Jan. 23. The shirts were on a two-tier...	8 perfume bottles stolen from Downers Grove store Eight bottles of perfume valued at $841 were stolen Jan. 24 from Ulta, 1310 75th St. in Downers Grove. Police said a man was caught on video...

South & Southwest

Man charged with breaking into Palos Heights school's computer lab An Oak Forest man was charged with burglary last week after a custodian caught him breaking into a computer lab at Independence Junior...	Parishioners find way to help with burials of Haitian children The powder-blue pillowcase has been laid out like fresh laundry. On it, someone has stamped words in ink: Hope, Love, Dream.
Gym shoe leads to arrest in purse snatchings Patrick J. Sullivan, 23, of the 10500 block of Fitzsimmons Drive in Palos Park, was charged with robbery and theft after he was stopped...	Heroin bust in Bolingbrook Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad officers seized 29 grams of heroin, a 2000 Dodge Neon and $860 in cash from two Chicago men during an...
4 from Joliet area charged in robbery Will County Sheriff's police recently arrested four Joliet-area residents who used baseball bats and metal pipes to chase their victims...	Community briefs from Homer Glen, Homewood, Alsip, Mokena
Library district turns a page with vote On a night when tax-weary voters across the Chicago area rejected pleas to help ailing school districts and parks, an ambitious library...	61 LCD TVs stolen from semi parked in Bolingbrook One or more thieves took $120,000 worth of LCD televisions from a semitrailer parked on the 300 block of East Crossroads Boulevard in...

Obituaries

Marilyn J. Genz, 1932-2010: Longtime TWA flight attendant flew with soldiers to Vietnam As a flight attendant for more than three decades, Marilyn J. Genz flew aboard everything from prop planes to 747s. Over the years, she...	Hiroshi Harry Hasegawa, 1919-2010 Hiroshi Harry Hasegawa worked as a printer for many years before settling into a second career as a teacher for the Chicago Public Schools.
Robert F. DeFreitas, 1924 – 2010 Robert F. DeFreitas had been shot down over China during a reconnaissance mission and rescued by Chinese allies in World War II.	Edward F. Dillard Jr.,1928-2010 Edward F. Dillard Jr. taught history for nearly 40 years at Hinsdale Central High School, where he also enjoyed coaching baseball.
Karen "Katie" Degerberg: 1949-2010 Karen Degerberg was able to mend bones, not break them, which perhaps made her an ideal partner for the owner of a busy North Side martial...	Carl Hansen, 1926-2010: Former Cook County Board member
Gwendolyn Mastin, 1941-2010 Gwendolyn Mastin filled a gap in services to people suffering from HIV/AIDS when she started a scattered-site housing program for women...	Walter Klein Jr., 1950-2010: Former owner of Vic Theatre The enduring image of Walter Klein Jr. may have been etched the night Steppenwolf played the Vic Theatre, the Lakeview concert venue he...

Local news columnists

Jon Hilkevitch CTA 'doomsday' bluster loses its luster - January 31, 2010	John Kass Pawnbroker slammed, power broker skates - February 7, 2010
Vikki Ortiz Healy Time marches on, but at 87, former Benet band director is still keeping up - January 22, 2010	Mary Schmich Father makes heartbreaking trip to Haiti - February 7, 2010
Dawn Turner Trice Cutting through red tape for Haiti victims - January 31, 2010	Jon Yates Insurer OK'd surgery coverage, then wouldn't pay - February 9, 2010
Eric Zorn Feeling sorry for Cohen and other pols - February 9, 2010

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