Regional Summary, Tuesday 1/8

Indiana Summary: First City-County Council Meeting Last Night (Indianapolis) -- The first City-County Council meeting of 2008 was last night. The new mayor and many new councilors met officially for the first time. This is also the first time in eight-years that a Republican has led the city, now that Greg Ballard is in office. The City-County Council also used to hold a Democratic majority. Now, the Republicans hold more seats by 16-13. About one-third of the councilors are also new to the office. --- State Representative Mays Announces Run For District 7 (Indianapolis) -- Indiana State Representative Carolene Mays announced yesterday her intention to run for District 7 House left vacant by the death late last year of Julia Carson. She is now a candidate in the Saturday caucus that will determine a nominee for the special election on March 11th. She joins Carsons grandson, Andre Carson, political newcomer Randle Pollard, and Marion County Treasurer Mike Rodman. --- Man Found Dead In Fountain Square Home (Indianapolis) -- A man was found dead in his burning home in the Fountain Square south of Indianapolis yesterday. Investigators are still working to identify the victim. He was discovered in the house in the 900 block of Prospect Street. The fire struck around 2:20 p.m. Neighbors saw smoke and called the fire department. --- Charlestown Boy Collapses In Classroom (Charlestown) -- A southern Indiana middle school student was rushed to the hospital yesterday afternoon by a helicopter, after he collapsed in a classroom. The helicopter rushed the Charlestown Middle School student to Kosair Childrens Hospital. Officials from the school say they believe the collapse was health-related, but, the boy says he was shocked before collapsing. Theres no official word on his condition. --- Mondays Winning Hoosier Lottery Numbers Daily Three-Midday: 0-8-6; Daily Three-Evening: 1-4-5; Daily Four-Midday: 2-5-2-8; Daily Four-Evening: 3-8-4-4; Lucky Five-Midday: 13-15-24-28-31; Lucky Five-Evening: 6-18-27-32-35. Kentucky Summary: (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor Steve Beshear has asked most state agencies to plan on upcoming budget cuts. Beshear says the cuts to any agency of 12-percent would be the worst case scenario. He says no decisions have been made as of now but cuts could come in the upcoming years. (Louisville, KY) -- SWAT team officials took a man into custody after an incident at his home. Police officials say the man was threatening to kill himself. The team was dispatched to the home at Taylor and Reservoir Avenues, off of Poplar Level Road. SWAT team members spoke with the man and took him into custody just after 9:30 a.m. Police say no hostages were involved in the incident. (Louisville, KY) -- A Louisville man has been sentenced to two-years in prison for copywrite infringement and firearms charges. Christopher Hinkle was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to willfully infringing the copywrites of sound recordings by reproducing copies of compact discs. Officials say those compact disc copies were valued at a little over 32-thousand-dollars. Police also say Hinkle confessed to having a ROMO revolver after having been convicted of burglary, a felony, in Dallas, Texas. (Louisville, KY) -- Officials say last week, Louisville recorded two shootings and two murders. Activists say education and anger management are possible solutions to the recent wave of violence in the area. Police recorded seven murders in Louisville for January of last year. Metro Police are currently searching for information about shootings that occurred earlier this year. Anyone with information can contact 574-LMPD. (Charlestown, IN) -- A southern Indiana middle school student was rushed to the hospital yesterday afternoon by a helicopter, after he collapsed in a classroom. The helicopter rushed the Charlestown Middle School student to Kosair Childrens Hospital. Officials from the school say they believe the collapse was health-related, but, the boy says he was shocked before collapsing. Theres no official word on his condition. (Frankfort, KY) -- The General Assembly session begins today. The House and Senate will go into session at noon. Lawmakers have pre-filed over one-thousand bills. The Governor will present his State of the Commonwealth address on January 14th and deliver his budget address on January 29th. (Frankfort, KY) -- Kentucky State Police say preliminary statistics show 17 people died in 13 separate crashes along Kentucky roadways last week. Officials say 15 of the victims were traveling in motor vehicles and 13 of them were not wearing seat belts. Police believe alcohol was the result of three of those fatalities. Anyone who would like to report erratic driving can do so by calling Kentucky State Police at 1-800-222-5555. (Fort Knox, KY) -- Fort Knox and the U.S. Army Armor Center and School celebrated the arrival of its new leader yesterday. A change of command ceremony was held yesterday to welcome Commanding Brigade General Donald Campbell. Campbell comes to Fort Knox while the BRAC realignment process is in full swing. He will lead Fort Knox and the posts tank training and will also play a key role in the realignment process at the base. Campbell was previously stationed at Fort Knox from June 2004 through May of 2005 as deputy commanding general for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. Illinois Summary: --- Tornadoes Touch Down In Boone, McHenry Counties And Wisconsin Clean-up will continue today for residents of two northern Illinois counties and one southern Wisconsin county hit by rare winter tornadoes overnight. Tornados touched down yesterday afternoon in Boone and McHenry counties in Illinois and Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Damage was reported in all cases, with the worst coming near Kenosha. More than a dozen homes were damaged or destroyed by high winds there. About 500 people were evacuated from the McHenry County town of Lawrence after a tornado lifted a train off its tracks. That train was carrying some hazardous chemicals, but none of the chemicals leaked. Clean-up crews will be on the scene for most of today. There have been no reported fatalities or serious injuries as a result of storms in Illinois or Wisconsin. --- States Attorney Candidate Had Slum Suits Filed Against Him (Chicago) -- The city of Chicago sued Cook County States Attorney candidate Howard Brookins three times for municipal code infractions before he became an alderman. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports Brookins was sued for not providing heat, hot water, and carbon monoxide detectors at buildings he rented out. Brookins says he sold the buildings to a man named Joseph Miller before the lawsuits were filed. The lawsuits were filed in the late 1990s. Two of the suits were dropped when the owners made necessary repairs. Brookins was ordered to pay 300-dollars in the other case. In November of last year, Brookins was sued for not paying rent on his law office. A spokesman says the two sides are trying to settle that case. --- Governor Asks Transit Riders To Send Messages To Springfield (Chicago) -- For the second time in as many weeks, Governor Blagojevich called on legislators to send him a mass transit funding bill. This time, he brought CTA riders into the picture. Hes urging train and bus riders to go to the states website at www.illinois.gov and send a message to legislators. His office has also set up a video camera near the Clark and Lake CTA station for riders to tape their messages. Lawmakers go back into session later this week, and two bills could come up for a vote. One would hike the sales tax in a six-county region near Chicago to pay for CTA, Metra and Pace. Blagojevich has threatened to veto that bill in the past, but now is saying that if lawmakers send it to him, hell try and "improve" it. The other bill takes 400-million-dollars in gas tax revenue, but that would leave a large budget hole. --- Education, Olympics, Economy On Bush Docket In Chicago (Chicago) -- President Bush pushed for the 2016 Olympics, honored a North Side grade school, and urged patience with the economy during his trip to Chicago yesterday. The President praised Mayor Daley and the staff at Horace Greeley Elementary School for turning the school around. The mostly Latino school was named a Blue Ribbon School under the No Child Left Behind Act last fall. Bush also said Daley has formed a strong Olympics committee and submitted a solid bid for the 2016 Games. He says the city would represent America well if the city is chosen to host. During an address on the economy, the president acknowledged "economic uncertainty." He also urged Congress to keep taxes low. The president leaves for the Middle East today. --- First New Hampshire Precincts Go To Obama, McCain (Dixville Notch, NH) -- Illinois Senator Barack Obama and Arizona Senator John McCain picked up the early New Hampshire lead during the countrys first primaries. Voters in the small town of Dixville Notch traditionally cast their ballots at midnight, local time. The Democrat Obama picked up seven votes, more than any contender from either party. Republican McCain got four votes. The rest of New Hampshires voters will continue voting throughout today. Polls in that state will close at 8 p.m., Eastern time. --- Weis Grilled At Police Confirmation Hearing (Chicago) -- Chicago City Council members got their first chance to size up the citys next police superintendent yesterday. Jody Weis, the career FBI agent who is Mayor Daleys choice to head the citys sometimes-troubled department, promised at a city council confirmation hearing to hold officers to high standards. Weis said he would institute a zero-tolerance policy for even the most minor infraction. He also vowed to overhaul the Departments Internal Affairs division and assemble a diverse staff of insiders. Yesterdays hearing lasted nearly five hours. There is no apparent objection among city council members to Weis appointment. --- Double-Murder Suspect Remains At Large (Villa Park) -- A taxi cab belonging to the main suspect in a Villa Park double murder case was located in Chicago yesterday. Police are still looking for 33-year-old Artur Shehu 1/81/8 AHR-tur SHAY-hoo 3/83/8. He is wanted in the deaths of his parents, 66-year-old Syrja and 67-year-old Safo Shehu. They were found at the familys home on Ridge Road yesterday morning. Police arent saying how they died or when the homicide happened. Autopsies are scheduled for today. Artur Shehu should be considered armed and dangerous. Hes described as white, five-feet-nine, 195 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Shehus cab was found in the 37-hundred block of North Recreation Drive, but he may still be driving a 2001 Volkswagen four-door car with Illinois license plate 945-3372. Anyone with information is asked to contact police. Authorities shut down an elementary school near the Villa Park home as a precaution while they investigated the killings. --- Prosecutors: Victim "Filleted" In Knife Attack (Rolling Meadows) -- Prosecutors described the gruesome stabbing death of 46-year-old Palatine native Cindy Wolosick yesterday as her longtime friends murder trial got underway. Bloomington native Diana Thames allegedly stabbed Wolosick 62 times hours after the two had returned from a vacation together. Prosecutors say Thames attacked her friend after an argument over money. But defense attorneys say size differences would have kept Thames from overpowering Wolosick. The bench trial continues today. --- Ex-Death Row Inmate Sues To Stop Lawyers From Collecting (Chicago) -- A former death row inmate freed with the help of a Chicago-based law firm is now suing to stop that firm from collecting on his settlement with the city. Aaron Pattersons current lawyers filed suit yesterday against The Peoples Law Office. That group represented Patterson from 1994 to 2006, and a spokesman tells the "Chicago Tribune" they were the ones who got the one-time convicted murderer a pardon, a torture hearing before the Illinois Supreme Court, and the five-million-dollar settlement currently before a federal judge. Pattersons current lawyers are claiming breach of contract and extortion. Patterson was freed after claiming he had been tortured into a murder confession by detectives under former Police Superintendent Jon Burge. He is back in jail on federal drug and gun counts. --- Driver In Attempted Robbery, Invasion Sentenced (Wheaton) -- The getaway driver in a combination home invasion and attempted bank robbery in 2006 was sentenced to six years in prison yesterday. Larisa Martin pleaded guilty to driving the car for her husband and another man. The men broke into a Glendale Heights home in July of 2006 and tried to force the resident to open a Downers Grove bank. Gregory Martin has pleaded guilty to two charges and faces up to 45 years in prison. The third suspect, William Hancock, is awaiting trial. Prosecutors say the scheme unraveled when a child of the bank employee called 911. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-01-08-08 0634CST