Tornado survivors finish National 9/11 flag
Survivors of the massive tornado that devastated Joplin in May put the final stitches yesterday in the National 9/11 Flag. The large American flag, which will become part of the National 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City, was heavily damaged in the attacks on the World Trade Center 10 years ago. Survivors of a 2008 tornado in Kansas began repairing the flag using remnants of flags in their community. Other disaster survivors have continued the work. New York City police officers and construction workers from Ground Zero accompanied the flag to Joplin.
Quinn starts shutdown process for seven Ill. state facilities
Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn says he's submitted the necessary paperwork to start closing seven state facilities, which will result in the layoffs of 1,900 workers. The entire plan will take several months to implement, but the first closures could take place by November. Quinn says the closures and layoffs, which will save about $55 million, are necessary because the General Assembly failed to appropriate enough money to keep the state running.
Quinn says lawmakers can avoid the closures by making other cuts and giving him more spending authority. But the Chicago Tribune is reporting that House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Democrat like Quinn, will only agree to shifting money from other areas of the budget - not to giving the governor additional funds.
Univ. of Illinois law school dean on leave over inflated data
The University of Illinois has placed a dean of admissions from its law school on leave after receiving complaints that grade point averages and LSAT scores were inflated on the school's website and promotional materials for the class of 2014. The university's ethics office received a complaint about the data problems last month, and discovered the inaccuracies last Friday. Officials did not explain the delay. An independent advisory firm will conduct a review of the inflated data.
Report says Carpenter, Cardinals reach new deal
Reports in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals and pitching ace Chris Carpenter have reached a deal on a two-year contract extension. The team is expected to officially announce the deal later this week. The Post-Dispatch says the extension is worth $21 million, but is structured in a way that saves the team money over Carpenter's current deal. The 2005 winner of the Cy Young award has a 9-9 record this year with a 3.57 earned run average.
