Chicago Current archives

The ruling had been made, and everyone was leaving Judge Michael Toomin’s courtroom Friday at 26th and California, but Nanci Koschman remained, sitting in the front row, quietly weeping. Nearly eight years had passed since her 21-year-old son, David Koschman, had died after being punched in the face in a drunken confrontation with Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley. And finally someone in a position of authority agreed with her that something should be done.

Sheila O'Grady, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, is moving to the executive search firm Spencer Stuart. O'Grady, previously Mayor Richard M. Daley's chief of staff, established the Chicago Gourmet festival and has been credited with leading the restaurant industry's opposition to an expanded food-truck scene in Chicago. 

The Chicago High School for the Arts will get a new home in 2015 — the old Malcolm X College — when the college moves into its new, $251 million home next door.

Those involved in negotiations over gambling laws in Illinois believe some sort of expansion will be debated again this spring in the General Assembly. But no one knows what form that could take.

Cook County Commissioner William Beavers is scrambling to raise money to defend himself against federal tax-evasion charges. Today, Beavers will hold a $125-a-ticket event at the McDonald’s on Navy Pier. City records show the owner of the Navy Pier McDonald’s on Navy Pier is Blanton Canady, whose company has given money to the political campaign funds of Beavers and his daughter, who briefly was Chicago’s 7th Ward alderman. 

To help keep its iconic Loop tracks running for possibly another 100 years, the Chicago Transit Authority will start a seven month, $39 million track-replacement project later this month. The renewal work, affecting about 11,500 feet of track, includes the stretch along Wells and Van Buren streets; a small portion above Wabash Avenue; the Hubbard Curve, just north of the Merchandise Mart station; and the junctions at Lake Street and Wells and Wabash and Van Buren, CTA officials said.

Cook County's pension fund will go broke in 26 years without changes that could include an increase in employee contributions and later retirement ages, according to a new analysis. The report, done under the direction of county Commissioner Bridget Gainer in her role as chairwoman of the board's pension-oversight panel, shows that it's not just state and city pension funds that have perilous futures.

The Chicago Board of Education’s inspector general is investigating the school system’s largest milk-delivery company, McMahon Food Corp., which recently lost its certification as a woman-owned business/ The company — owned by Frank J. McMahon and his five children — controls the $20-million-a-year contract to deliver milk to more than 600 public and charter schools in Chicago.

A judge in Chicago plans to announce Friday afternoon whether he will appoint a special prosecutor to re-examine the April 2004 death of David Koschman, who died of brain injuries after being punched in the face by Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Yes folks, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel still is riding the "L." In fact, he says he rides the Brown Line twice a week from his home in Ravenswood Manor. 

An ordinance aimed at ending permit-fee freebies for larger profitable events could also result in thousands of dollars n extra fees this summer for smaller neighborhood festivals. In November, City Council passed an ordinance that bars aldermen from asking the body to approve fee waivers for festivals in their wards. Two hundred of the city's 700 festivals received the waiver last year. 

The publicly funded Chicago State University has instructed its faculty and staff that only authorized university representatives can share information with the media and that everything from opinion pieces to social media communications could require prior approval. Employees who violate the new policy could lose their jobs, according to a copy of the rules.

Last month when a furor erupted over a beef product opponents dubbed "pink slime" being served in schools and fast-food restaurants, Chicago Public Schools officials quickly assured the public that "none of our food contains any of this substance. Not so fast.