Regional Summary, Wednesday 3/5

Indiana Summary --- Road Crews Out Clearing Routes After Snow, Winter Elements Hit (Indianapolis) -- Road crews continue dropping the melting mix and scraping where necessary after snow fell overnight. Around an inch fell after drivers and pedestrians had to contend with sleet and freezing rain yesterday afternoon in central Indiana. This morning, main routes such as interstate highways are clear with some slick spots while secondary routes are more covered with freezing precipitation. Drivers are advised to use caution. --- Single Vehicle Crash On I-65 Leaves One Dead (Indianapolis) -- Indiana State Police responded to a single vehicle crash on I-65 southbound Tuesday morning that left the driver dead. The preliminary investigation showed that 47-year-old Elvin Stanley of Chicago was driving his trailer southbound on I-65 when for an unknown reason he left the roadway on the west side, struck several small trees, drove through a wooden fence coming to a final rest behind a business located at 7510 Rosegate Drive in Franklin. As the trailer drove through the fence, a fence post flipped up, and came through the windshield, impaling the Stanley. He was pronounced dead at the scene. --- Gophers Take On Hoosiers (Bloomington) -- The Gopher mens basketball team is in Indiana to face the Hoosiers tonight. With just two regular season games remaining, the Gophers are 18-and-10 overall and even at 8-and-8 in the Big Ten. The schedule wraps up with the Gophers in Illinois to face the Illini on Saturday. The Big Ten Tournament begins on March 13th. --- Here Are the Latest Winning Numbers From The Hoosier Lottery Daily Three-Midday: 9-9-3; Daily Three-Evening: 1-6-4; Daily Four-Midday: 9-0-9-3; Daily Four-Evening: 9-3-2-6; Lucky Five-Midday: 6-7-12-16-31; Lucky Five-Evening: 5-9-20-28-30; Mix & Match: 3-22-34-36-38 Kentucky Summary (Frankfort, KY) -- House Speaker Jody Richards has acknowledged hes still working to garner enough votes for the casino amendment to put it up for a vote in the House. The "Herald Leader" surveyed 99 House members and finds 37 say they support the amendment, 12 say theyre undecided, and five wont reveal their position. It will take 60 aye votes for the amendment to pass. Senate President David Williams repeated what hes been saying, the amendment would not pass in the Republican-controlled Senate. (Frankfort, KY) -- Kentuckys education reform has come under scrutiny with a bill proposed in the Senate to change the testing. Education Commissioner Jon Draud says he is creating a task force to study the issues of "assessment and accountability and maybe the total issue of school reform." Draud was testifying before a Senate committee hearing the proposal to drop the CATS tests in favor of another testing system. (Frankfort, KY) -- A seven-person Kentucky Air National Guard crew is flying a C-130 transport south. They will load 162 flood cleanup kits at a Georgia air base, then continue on a humanitarian mission to Ecuador. Ecuador has been hit hard by flooding in its western and central provinces. (Frankfort, KY) -- Forty-nine-year-old Randy Darren Kendall Sr. is in the Franklin County Detention Center, charged with trafficking. Kentucky State Police are holding 12-hundred pounds of marijuana. Federal agents working undercover learned about the shipment from Mexico and intercepted it when it came off a cargo ship in Charleston, South Carolina. Federal agents delivered the marijuana wrapped in bundles and hidden in bags of a chemical. They watched the load and say it was picked up by suspects and taken to a farm in Franklin County. State and federal authorities moved in and took Kendall into custody. Investigators say more arrests could be made. (Frankfort, KY) -- Governor Steve Beshear says "The right to vote is a fundamental foundation of democracy." Beshear is removing certain barriers in the application process to restore felony voting rights. The changes ensure inmates have fulfilled all sentencing requirements before they get to vote again, but it streamlines the process. (Frankfort, KY) -- The Kentucky Department for Public Health reports the level of flu cases in the Commonwealth remains "widespread," the highest level of flu activity. Officials say 772 cases have been confirmed across the state. Officials say there is still time for people to get a shot, as the flu season runs into May. (Frankfort, KY) -- Kentucky youngsters are being invited to the Governors Mansion on Saturday, March 15th for an Easter Egg Roll. The 10 a.m. event is free and open to the public but can accommodate only the first 500 children under ten-years-old. In its fourth year, the event included a series of egg roll races across the lawn of the mansion. Illinois Summary --- McCain Earns GOP Nod, But Dem Race Goes On Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will continue to battle it out for their partys nomination. Clinton swept critical showdowns with Obama in Ohio and Texas yesterday to keep her in the race for the White House. Clinton also pulled off a victory in Rhode Island, while Obama won in Vermont. The pair will have other duels in contests Saturday in Wyoming and next week in Mississippi. The next major showdown is in Pennsylvania on April 22nd. Meanwhile, John McCain swept all four Republican primaries held last night. That gives him enough delegates to officially lock up the nomination. --- Jury To Be Seated In Rezko Case (Chicago) -- The jury in fundraiser Tony Rezkos fraud trial will be seated this afternoon. Lawyers will choose 12 jurors and six alternates from a pool of 44 potential jurors. The trial could take several months, and the judge in the case has already excused several possible jurors whose employers wouldnt pay them during their service. Rezko is accused of demanding campaign contributions from companies wanting to do business with the state. --- Feds: Rezko Offered Iraqi Bribe (Chicago) -- Federal prosecutors are claiming political fundraiser Tony Rezko paid a one-and-a-half million-dollar bribe to an Iraqi official in order to win a 50-million dollar contract. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports prosecutors allege Rezko paid off Iraqs Minister of Electricity so his start-up company would be chosen to train Iraqi power-plant guards. Aiham Alsammarae, who now lives in Chicago, was forced out of power shortly after the 2005 agreement because of a change in Iraqs leadership. Iraqs new government cancelled the deal. Rezko is not charged in connection with the Iraqi deal, and his defense team says the claims are false. Federal prosecutors alleged Rezko demanded campaign contributions from companies wanting to do business with state government. --- Lawmakers To Probe Church Donation, Pardon (Chicago) -- Exactly how the one-million dollar state grant Governor Blagojevich promised for a landmark South Side church ravaged by fire ended up in the coffers of a private school is something state legislators will be looking into. The Governor pledged the cash to help Chicagos Pilgrim Baptist Church rebuild after a 2006 fire. But the money instead went to the Loop Lab School, a private school that had rented space at the church. The school used the cash to buy space in a condo building. It still hasnt re-opened. Governor Blagojevich blames underlings, and has promised another one-million in grant money for the church. But the "Chicago Tribune" reports the Governor also pardoned the schools director, Chandra Gill, at the same time the money was doled out. She had been convicted of felony aggravated battery in 2002. Lawmakers will hold hearings about both the pardon and what happened to the grant money. --- Report: School That Got Church Money Lost Sex Suit (Chicago) -- The private school that got one-million dollars in state funds because of its affiliation with a fire-damaged Chicago church lost a sexual harassment case shortly before it received the grant. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports Illinois Human Rights Commission found in favor of a kindergarten teacher at Loop Lab School. She alleged that a school administrator put his hand in her shirt and on her buttocks, kissed her, and placed a candy bar between her leg. When the teacher complained, the schools director allegedly threatened her job. The teacher was awarded 40-thousand dollars in damages, but her lawyer says she hasnt seen any of the money. The lawyer says his client will stake a claim on some of the state grant money. --- Support For Cole Hall Demolition Dwindles (DeKalb) -- Add Northern Illinois University President John Peters to the list of people now unsure about the future of Cole Hall. Peters, Governor Blagojevich, and others last week unveiled a 40-million dollar plan to bulldoze the site of the Valentines Day shootings at the DeKalb campus and replace it with a new building. But the university community and general public expressed strong opposition to the plan. That led one state Senator to say the plan was "off the table." The NIU President is now calling for a campus-wide discussion on the buildings fate. The Governors office says it will follow the schools lead. A gunman opened fire on a Cole Hall classroom last month, killing five students and injuring 18 more before turning the gun on himself. --- Surveillance Tapes Erased As Search For Chinese Woman Continues (Chicago) -- Theres been a setback in the search for a Chinese national who disappeared at OHare Airport. Sumei Hus family tells the "Chicago Tribune" some airport surveillance tapes that officials hoped to examine have been taped over since her disappearnace last week. But authorities have been able to determine that Hu did not get on any other planes, and say her luggage was picked up. The 38-year-old Sheboygan, Wisconsin woman met her husband through an internet dating service. She flew back to Chicago after a visit with her family overseas. Officials spent last night interviewing her husband and other family members in the Chicago area. --- City Signs Deal With New Midway Manager (Chicago) -- Midway Airport workers have a new boss. Skyline Management Group, which includes three separate companies, will manage Midway until the airport is privatized. The "Chicago Sun-Times" reports Skyline has signed a two-year, 21-point-two million-dollar contract with the city. The company replaces Midway Airport Management, which was a combination of three companies criticized for their clout connections to the Daley administration. --- Prosecutors To Seek Death Penalty In Franklin Murder (Chicago) -- Cook County prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty against a man accused of murdering a Chicago pharmaceutical representative last fall. Thirty-one-year-old Reginald Potts has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including first-degree murder, in the death of Nailah Franklin. Prosecutors say Potts killed the 28-year-old Franklin and dumped her body in a wooded area in Calumet City, where her body was found September 27th. Cook County states attorney Andy Conklin said Potts previously planned to represent himself in court, but instead will be represented by a public defender. A status hearing is scheduled for April 24th. --- Village Officials Consider County Secession (Palatine) -- Officials in one suburb are so upset about the Cook County Boards decision to raise the sales tax by one-percent that theyre looking at seceding from the county. Palatine Village Council members asked the village manager and attorney to look into new options. One suggests forming a new county, Lincoln County, with other nearby suburbs. That option was first suggested in the 1970s, but did not succeed. Palatine officials arent the only ones upset. The Mayor of Hoffman Estates and the Village President of Burr Ridge are both voicing concerns about the hike. They say their tax rates will be much higher than those in neighboring towns that are part of other counties. The tax hike wont take effect until November. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-03-05-08 0717CST