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Reports that the state of Florida has fired a probation officer and a three supervisors, saying that the had failed to keep control of an ex-convict charged in the deaths of six people in August 2004.

Reports that television actor and icon Bob Newhart was immortalized on July 27, 2004, when a bronze statue created in his likeness was unveiled in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

Reports on a court ruling in Kansas in July 2004 citing that medical professionals, teachers and others who are required to report sexual abuse in children do not have to report to the authorities the consensual sexual activity of girls younger than 16 if they are having sex with a partner of similar age.

Reports that the Chicago fire department in Illinois has designated a June 25, 2004, fire in the secretary of state's office as intentional.

Reports that a measure to have Madison, Wisconsin, enter a sister-city agreement with Rajah in Gaza failed to get the votes needed for adoption at the City Council. Arguments raised by supporters and opponents of the measure.

Reports that the Chicago Teachers Union in Illinois has decided to hold another election after the results of the June 11, 2004 election were rejected because of suspicion of fraud.

Reports on the findings of a commission that investigated a fatal high-rise fire which occurred in October 2003 in Chicago, Illinois. Lack of coordination among firefighters; Lack of sprinklers; Recommended overhaul of fire department procedures.

Reports that Audrey Seiler was sentenced to three years of probation and must pay the Madison Police Department at least $250 per month for faking her abduction in Wisconsin.

Reports on the turmoil created for the Chicago Teachers Union by a dispute over the results of a recent election. Questions raised over the legitimacy and accuracy of election results.

Reports on fire officials' claim that the blaze that killed six people in a downtown high-rise building in Chicago, Illinois in October 2003 was incendiary and that traces of gasoline had been found on objects removed from the site. Highlights of the results of inquiry into the Chicago fire; Examination of the supply room which revealed no indication of electrical activity or heat-producing appliances as factors in the fire.

Reports that more than 150 students who were accepted by the University of Illinois at Chicago were told to find a different college in the fall of 2004.

Reports on the decision of Mayor Richard M. Daley to close several worst-performing schools in Illinois and replacing them with charter and contract schools.

Edward V. Hanrahan, a former Cook County state's attorney who built his reputation by prosecuting high-profile criminals only to see his political career derailed by a deadly police raid on Black Panthers in 1969, died Tuesday in River Forest, Ill. He was 88. The cause was complications of leukemia and old age, said his nephew Tom Wheeler. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Profiles small businesses in Main Street in central Illinois. Strategy of S&W Supermarket for customer service; Services to households by State Farm agent Daniel A. Lutz; Description of the shop of barber Wiley Galloway.

Discusses Kraft Foods' financial problems. Effect of the rising cost of milk; Kraft's elimination of 6,000 jobs and the closure of 20 plants; Rise in the cost of the prices of other commodities that Kraft buys including coffee and cocoa.

Reports on the arrest of Gale W. Nettles, who was suspected to plot the blow up of the Everet M. Dirksen Federal Building in the U.S. with a truck bomb containing ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Investigation of the case of Nettles; Knowledge of Nettles in bomb making; Conviction of Nettles.

Reports on the selection of Alan Keyes to be the Republican candidate for the Senate in Illinois.

Reports on the decision of Republican Party to reduce its search for a United States Senate candidate in Illinois.

Reports on the possibility of Mike Ditka, the former professional football player and Chicago Bears coach, to be added to the Illinois Republican Party's short list of possible candidates for the U.S. Senate.

Reports on the power failure in O'Hare International Airport due to a small explosion and fire originating from routine electrical work in Illinois.

Reports on the plan of Republican Jack Ryan to return campaign donations to any contributory institution asking for refunds after his decision to withdraw from the state's Illinois Senate race based on the release of court documents that shed negative light on his persona.

Reports on the debate surrounding the government's decision to deny the requested loan guarantee that will be provided to the financially ailing Elk Grove, Illinois-based airline, United Airlines Inc. Critics' arguments as to why the government should not help the airline; Factors believed to have caused the financial troubles of United.

Reports that Illinois senatorial candidate, Jack Ryan, has lost his legal battle to keep his divorce records sealed.

Reports on local residents' opposition of the proposed building of a casino in Illinois. Reasons behind the residents' campaign against the plan; Potential economic benefits of the planned casino; Number of jobs that can be made available through the construction of the casino.

Reports on the drowning of a man and three children all on a trip with a Chicago church group in a Texas water garden. Precautions taken by the church to increase safety of delegates in Fort Worth; Initial investigation to the cause of drowning; Vigil attended by members of the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.

Reports that Richard Connors, a lawyer from Chicago, Illinois, who was convicted in 2002 of smuggling cigars from Cuba, was sentenced to prison and fined.

Reports that thousands of pelicans have vanished from their nesting grounds at the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Fargo, North Dakota.

Comments on the manner by which American families deal with the death of a loved one serving in Iraq. Official count of American soldiers who have died in iraq; Commemoration of the soldiers who perished during the 2004 Memorial Day celebration.

Presents an obituary for Prentice H. Marshall, a federal judge in Chicago, Illinois.

Reports on zoning changes in Chicago, Illinois.

Reports on the flood affecting residents in Gurnee and Des Plaines in Illinois. Source of the flooding; Damage; Effect on the residents; Plans of asking for assistance from the federal government.

Presents an obituary for Samuel Curtis, an innovator who served as the head of S.C. Johnson.

Reports on the decision of the Illinois State Supreme Court to compel the state government to pay back wages of its 900 judges, including those of the high court. Violation of the state constitution after a veto on the cost of living increase for judges; Impact of the decision on laborers during the state's worst fiscal crisis.

Reports that former South Dakota legislator Bill Janklow was released from prison after serving 100 days of his sentence for second-degree manslaughter. Janklow was found guilty of speeding, reckless driving, and other charges in the death of motorcyclist Randy Scott; Janklow has appealed his manslaughter and reckless driving convictions to the State Supreme Court.

Reports that Missouri State Senate has passed a bill to require all convicted felons to submit to DNA testing so that their genetic material can be compared with evidence found at crime scenes.

Reports that John Ramsey whose daughter JonBenet, was killed in 1996, announced his candidacy for the statehouse in Michigan.

Reveals that Chicago, Illinois mayor Richard Daley asked the state legislature to approve the state's first land-based casino. Different reactions to the proposed project.

Reports that Dixie Shanahan, a woman who fatally shot her husband in August 2002 after what she said was years of abuse, has been found guilty of second-degree murder. Mother of three who left the body of her husband in a room in their house in Defiance, Iowa for more than a year; Sentencing on May 10, 2004.

Reports that the police in Saint Paul, Minnesota concluded that arsonists caused a fire that destroyed Hmong community leader Cha Vang. Estimates of the value of damage; Explanation of the suspected causes of the violence; Reaction from the city's Hmong community.

Reports on the Illinois court ruling on the case of white supremacist, Matthew Hale for soliciting the murder of a federal judge and charges of obstruction of justice. Imprisonment; Court trials; Administration of criminal justice.

Reports that Rachel and Charity Witmer, members of the Wisconsin National Guard serving in Iraq, have been granted additional days of leave to decide whether to seek reassignment after their sister, Michelle, was killed in Baghdad. Bonds between soldiers created by serving in a military unit; Allegiance felt by the two remaining sisters to their family in Wisconsin and their unit outside Baghdad.

Reports that eight people in Utica, Illinois who sought protection from a tornado in the basement of the neighborhood Milestone Tap bar and restaurant were killed when the building collapsed and buried them under thousands of pounds of debris. 14 tornadoes had been confirmed in Illinois and several others were reported in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma; Residents with tired eyes and solemn expressions walked through the wreckage of what had been a picturesque town.

Focuses on charges against Lorenzo Gilyard for the sexual assault and strangling of 12 women in Missouri.

Provides list of U.S. soldiers who were killed in Iraq. Jerry Zovko, an army veteran; Mike Teague, a Blackwater employee; Scott Helvenston, a Navy veteran.

Reports on the payment to a former inmate Miguel Castillo pardoned by Chicago, Illinois government due to unrelated charge at the time of the killing.

Focuses on the absence of evidence of criminal conduct in connection with a porch collapse killing thirteen people in Chicago, Illinois. Background of the incident; Role of the incident with inspection of porches.

Reports on the support of Governor Rod R. Blagojevich to the youth gun bill in Illinois. Possession of firearm by teenagers without parental consent; Preliminary approval of the bill in the Legislature.

Presents news briefs related to national issues in the U.S. Tracking of the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico, which was found 72 miles south of Galveston; Nesting by bald eagles in southern outskirts of Chicago, the first in 100 years; Returning of a shipwreck to the owner, Odyssey Marine Exploration, by a federal court; Charging staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, a National Guardsman for criticizing the "oil driven war" in Iraq; and Denying of pension to Edward DiPrete, former governor.

Reports that the State Senate in South Dakota ha killed a measure that would have banned abortions except where a woman's life or health was in danger.