Regional Summary, Wednesday 2/20

Indiana Summary --- Good Samaritan From Villa Park Rescues Gary Man From Crash (Michigan City) -- Indiana State Police credit a trucker from west suburban Villa Park with rescuing a Gary man from a crash in Porter County. Police say 49-year-old Ernesto Soto was driving eastbound on Interstate-94 about two miles west of the U.S. 421/Michigan City exit when his car hit a patch of black ice. The car slid off the highway, down an embankment and into a ditch filled with water. The car landed upside down and filled with water. Trucker Leonard Roach of Villa Park was driving behind Soto. Police say Roach stopped his truck, ran down to Sotos car and opened the car door to get Soto out. Police tell the "Northwest Indiana Times" that the crash should serve as a reminder about black ice, especially on bridges and overpasses. Motorists are reminded to drive carefully and wear seat belts. --- Early Morning Pile-Up Kills One, Closes Road For Hours (LaPorte County) -- Indiana State Police say lake effect snow is believed to be at least partially responsible for an early-morning crash on the Indiana Toll Road east of LaPorte which killed one person. The "Northwest Indiana Times" reports a pile-up involving four semi tractor-trailers and a car occurred around yesterday in the eastbound lanes of the Toll Road near mile post 57. Eastbound traffic was blocked in the area for about ten-hours as crews cleaned up the scene and conducted an investigation. --- Dismissal Hearing Set For Ockomon Case (Anderson) -- A hearing has been set to discuss a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon. Judge Michael Peyton, has set a hearing for 2 p.m. Thursday in New Castle for the proceedings. At the hearing, the judge will decide whether to dismiss the case completely or continue it until March 31st, which is the hearing date for the case in which five Anderson residents joined by former mayor Kevin Smith, claim Ockomon was ineligible to be mayor of the city because of residency requirements. Ockomons attorney, Tim Lanane, says he is grateful the judge scheduled a hearing for his motion to dismiss. --- Here Are Tuesdays Winning Numbers From The Hoosier Lottery Daily Three-Midday: 3-0-2; Daily Three-Evening: 5-7-9; Daily Four-Midday: 5-9-2-3; Daily Four-Evening: 4-6-8-3; Lucky Five-Midday: 2-4-17-21-26; Lucky Five-Evening: 4-7-9-24-29; Mix & Match: 5-8-29-40-46. Kentucky Summary (Frankfort, KY) -- Senate Bill One would replace the CATS tests. The bill would replace the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System with nationally standardized tests. Sponsors say the change would save money and add 21 days of instruction to the school years, days now used for testing. Critics caution about changing a system that has taken years to develop. (Frankfort, KY) -- A number of students from Kentucky public universities are expected to rally at the capitol this afternoon. Its the annual higher education rally, but is expected to draw a greater crowd this year because of the proposed cuts to higher education funding. (Frankfort, KY) -- Dozens of women rallied at the capitol on Tuesday to show their non-support for expanded gambling. The crowd was estimated at several hundred people, with women in the majority. One of those attending said, quote, "More of something does not make it right. And having to drive to Indiana makes me think twice." (Frankfort, KY) -- A House committee takes a first cut at the governors proposed amendment to expand gambling. The casino gaming sub-committee voted to reduce the number of permitted casinos from 12 to nine and with "no more than five by horse tracks." (Morehead, KY) -- Police have arrested 50-year-old James Kent Conn and his wife, 38-year-old Kathrene Conn, at an RV campground in Dade City, Florida. Kentucky State Police say the pair are charged in connection with the murder of 28-year-old Timothy Scott Riggs in October. (Frankfort, KY) -- Kentucky Army National Guard officials say an MP group is going to Iraq. One-hundred-80 soldiers in the Louisville based 223rd Military Police Company are heading to Fort Dix, New Jersey for final training for deployment to Iraq. (Frankfort, KY) -- State lawmakers will celebrate Black History Month tomorrow. A special ceremony will be held at 11:30 in the capitol rotunda. Governor Steve Beshear will address those assembled and Senator Gerald Neal of Louisville will recognize the late Joie Ray. Ray was the first African-American AAA sanctioned stock car driver. Racy is being recognized as being the first black driver to start a NASCAR sanctioned event. Illinois Summary --- Second Son Allegedly Set On Fire By Dad Dies (Maywood) -- The second Glendale Heights boy allegedly set on fire by his father has now died. A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiners office says seven-year-old Vishv Patel died Tuesday night. He had been hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood since November, when he and his four-year-old brother Om were allegedly doused with gasoline and burned by their father. Om Patel died in January. Bond will remain at ten-million-dollars for 34-year-old Kaushik Patel, who could face life in prison if convicted on several charges. --- NIU Victim Funerals Continue Today (DeKalb) -- The final funerals for Northern Illinois University shooting victims are today. Twenty-year-old Gayle Dubowski of Carol Stream and 32-year-old Julianna Gehant of Mendota will be laid to rest. Gehant, a U.S. Army veteran, will be buried with full military honors. Hundreds of mourners bid farewell to 20-year-old Dan Parmenter of Westchester yesterday. Witnesses have said Parmenter shielded his girlfriend from the hail of bullets fired by a lone gunman during class. She was injured, but is out of the hospital. Parmenters burial takes place today in Milan 1/81/8MYE-len3/83/8, Illinois. --- Shooter Worked To Confuse Investigators (DeKalb) -- The shooter in last weeks Northern Illinois University killings tried his hardest to confuse police. NIU Police Chief Donald Grady says Steven Kazmierczak took the hard drive out of his laptop and removed a data card from his cell phone. Grady says investigators do not have anything "to know or even begin to assume a motive yet." Police also say the statements made by the gunmans girlfriend on CNN differ from what she told police. Grady says Jessica Baty told investigators that her Kazmierczak had acted erratically after going off his medication. Kazmierczak killed six-people including himself last Thursday at NIUs Cole Hall. --- Daley Promotes Gun Control In Wake Of NIU Shootings (Chicago) -- Mayor Daley has unveiled the annual package of gun control legislation he hopes Springfield and Washington lawmakers will consider. The legislation includes requiring background checks for private gun sales, require handgun dealers be licensed by state police, ban semi-automatic assault weapons, allow an individual to buy no more than one handgun a month, and require people with children in their home to have triggers locks on their guns or keep their guns broken down and locked up. The city also supports legislation requiring all semiautomatic pistols contain a mechanism to stamp the guns make, model and serial number on the shell casing of the bullet every time the weapon is fired. --- Icy Roads Threaten Morning Commute (Chicago) -- Its shaping up to be a rough commute for many in the Chicago area. Many of the areas expressways and toll roads are extremely icy, especially in open areas or on elevated roads. Interstates-55 and 80 near Joliet are reportedly very bad, as are the Bishop Ford and Dan Ryan Expressways. There are also problems on side streets and in parking lots. The city of Chicago had 75 snow fighting trucks working main streets and Lake Shore Drive overnight. Trucks also patrolled area expressways and toll roads through the nighttime hours. --- Obama, McCain Win More State Primaries Barack Obama and John McCain continued their winning streaks yesterday. The senators both picked up wins in both Washington state and Wisconsin, and Obama won Hawaiis Democratic caucuses. Obama had already picked up Washingtons delegates in a caucus earlier this month. The wins extend the Illinois Senators post-Super Tuesday winning streak to ten. On the Republican side, McCain already has his eye on the general election. The Arizona senator took aim at Obama with his comments at a rally in Ohio, saying the Illinois senators inexperience would hurt the country in a time of war. Obama continued to champion his theme of change in a speech at a Texas rally, saying the Iraq war needs to end and veterans need better care upon their return. --- Lombard Astronaut Returning To Earth (Chicago) -- Lombard native Dan Tani will set foot on solid ground today. Hes on board Space Shuttle Atlantis after several months at the International Space Station. Atlantis is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center this morning, and NASA scientists say the skies should be clear. Tani went into space aboard Shuttle Discovery in late October. While aboard the International Space Station, Tani missed the death of his 90-year-old mother Rose. Her car was hit by a train in December. --- Governor Presents 2008 Budget Today (Springfield) -- Governor Blagojevich will unveil his 2008 budget today, and while his office isnt sharing much advance information the spending plan is expected to repeat some common themes. The Governor last month again insisted he would not accept tax increases. He also told a crowd in Decatur the state has almost three-billion-dollars in special funds. Hes swept those funds before, and is likely to do it again. Big business can expect to be a budget target. Blagojevich says hed like to end what he calls "corporate welfare". But lawmakers have turned down the Governors "loophole closings" in the past. A possible carbon tax and new user fees for state parks are rumored inclusions as the state faces serious financial troubles. Lawmakers need to come-up with 750-million-dollars to make it through the rest of this year, and as much as a billion dollars more for next years bills. --- Hanson Trial Closing Arguments Today (Wheaton) -- Eric Hansons fate could fall to a jury today. The Naperville man is accused of shooting his parents to death and beating his sister and her husband to death in 2005. Prosecutors say Hanson did so because his family discovered he was stealing thousands of dollars from them. The 31-year-old Hanson has acknowledged taking some money without consent, but says he had nothing to do with the murders. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. --- Hoffman Estates Okays Outdoor Amphitheater (Hoffman Estates) -- The Hoffman Estates Village Board has given its okay to a new outdoor concert venue near that citys Sears Centre. Construction on the 34-million-dollar amphitheater will begin next month, and its scheduled to open by Memorial Day of 2009. Some neighbors werent happy with the boards decision last night, saying the venue will be too loud. But the Village Board decided that changes to the blueprints, including a decision to have the stage face away from nearby homes, will keep the area quiet. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-02-20-08 0641CST