Federal authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the man who has been charged in the bombing death of a City Colleges janitor last month in his South Side apartment.
Sienky Lallemand, 29, whose last known address was in Dolton, has eluded federal agents and Chicago police and is considered a fugitive, authorities said. He is described as black, 26, about 6 feet tall and 220 pounds. He may be of Haitian descent and speak French.
Authorities today said a second man was arrested March 7 in Pennsylvania in connection with the identity theft and mail bombing that killed Marcus Toney, 37.
Jessie L. Jackson, 31, of Aliquippa, Pa., allegedly submitted a change-of-address form to the South Chicago post office, rerouting Toney’s mail to a private mailbox, so he could use Toney’s identity to lease a car and make credit card purchases.
* From this morning’s paper
Man charged after 3-year-old found wandering street
Police today charged a 24-year-old Chicago man with child neglect he left his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter unattended late last night in their Northwest Side apartment. Police found the child wandering the street in her pajamas at 11:54 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Kedzie Avenue and Argyle Street, said police spokesman Patrice Harper.
Officers put her in their squad car and drove her through the neighborhood until she pointed out her residence in the 4900 block of North Kedzie. As they pulled up, Dwayne White was returning home to learn the girl apparently had let herself out a window, Harper said.
White is scheduled to appear in court on the misdemeanor charges on April 5.
Some pots of gold can be found in Springfield, too
Gov. George Ryan and veteran Democratic state Rep. Art Turner (9th) announced that the state earmarked $260,000 in grants today for various West Side social service programs. Part of the governor’s $12 billion Illinois FIRST building program, the grants still require approval from the General Assembly before being instituted.
Metamorphisis, Inc. would receive a $100,000 grant to fund transitional housing programs for pregnant teens. AGAPE is eligible for $85,000 in grant money to improve its youth development program for children. The I Am Able Foundation was allocated $50,000 to fund a mental health study and the West Side YMCA would receive $25,000 to improve tutoring services and create a computer center.
Feds: Expect more arrests in gang crimes unit investigation
Over the next several weeks, federal prosecutors said they expect more arrests in a 20-month investigation into allegations that a band of rogue Chicago cops for years shook down drug dealers and planted evidence. The investigation came to light last year after ex-Chicago cop Joseph Miedzianowski was charged with running a Miami-to-Chicago drug ring.
Gang leader and confessed killer Nelson Padilla, who worked in Miedzianowski’s alleged ring, Thursday testified in U.S. District Court in Chicago that officers regularly ripped off drug dealers, fixed criminal cases and several times sprung him from jails so he could visit his girlfriends.
Miedzianowski’s longtime partner, John Galligan, and three other Chicago officers have been stripped of police powers and assigned to desk duty. A Cook County sheriff’s correctional officer also has been transferred from his job on the firing range to a non-sensitive one.
* From this morning’s paper
With hands that size, it’s easy to have a finger in everything
Ex-Bulls star Michael Jordan has agreed to promote Divine Interventures, a Lisle-based holding company that offers business and technology expertise to Web startups. Jordan will tout the company in television and/or print ads twice a year for three years.
In return, Jordan will receive 1 million shares of Divine stock at $1 per share. The company expects to offer its stock in its April IPO for between $6 and $8. Tribune Co. has a small investment in Divine as well.
In other news regarding His Airness, his attorneys are eager for a trial to decide whether Jordan’s partners in his now-closed restaurant have the right to move it to another location. And in basketball, the Jordan-run Wizards pulled off some magic last night in stopping Ex-Bulls coach Phil Jackson’s Lakers’ 19-game winning streak, 109-102.
* From this morning’s paper
Robbers foiled in third act as stolen Oscars to be replaced If this were a mystery movie script, R.S. Owens, the Chicago company that makes the Oscars, would be the hero. The box carrying the gold-plated statuettes to be presented at the Academy Awards March 26 vanished Thursday night from a trucking company loading dock in suburban Los Angeles.
A R.S. Owens spokesman said the company would manufacture replacement Oscars through March 25, and, if necessary, the precious cargo would be flown to Los Angeles.
Academy President Robert Rehme told The Hollywood Reporter that the uninscribed statuettes — each 13 1/2 inches tall, covered with gold-plated britannium and weighing about 8 pounds — were being shipped from Chicago when they vanished.
* Latest news update
CBOE reviewing Tribune trading activity
The Chicago Board Options Exchange is reviewing unusually heavy trading activity on Tribune Co. stock and options last Friday. That was the last trading day prior to the company’s announcement on Monday that it planned to acquire Times Mirror Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers and magazines.
Securities industry regulators customarily review any heavy trading that takes place prior to mergers or acquisitions in an effort to uncover evidence of illegal insider trading.
* From this morning’s paper
Tale of two cities
Thousands of rental apartments could drop out of a federally-subsidized housing program in the next few years even as the Chicago Housing Authority plans to rehab or replace most of the public housing in the city, which will displace 24,000 residents at least temporarily.
As federal contracts on 22,000 rental apartments used for Section 8 housing expire over the next four years, this could set up a scenario where demand for affordable housing could be surging at the same time the supply is sharply dropping, according to the Illinois Assisted Housing Research and Action Project.
* From this morning’s paper: Affordable rentals decreasing?
Meanwhile, a $200-million residential, hotel and office complex planned for the hot River North area won approval from the Chicago Planning Commission despite concerns over the project’s impact on local traffic. It could face opposition from residents of the nearby Marina City condominiums when it goes to the City Council Zoning Committee.
* From this morning’s paper: River North growing
Award recipient a crime-fighter to the bone
A winner named Nikki got a special first-time award at Thursday’s Cook County Arson Crime Fighters’ ceremony: a bone. Nikki, a black Labrador, belongs to state fire marshals and sniffs for accelerants used to start fires.
Prosecutors said she helped build a case against Chante Crawford, convicted of starting a fatal fire at the Budget Americana Hotel in Stone Park in 1998. Crawford was sentenced last summer to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder and aggravated arson, court records show.
The awards recognized citizens and law-enforcement officers who helped in recent arson cases. Each received a cash award ranging from $500 to $2,500, financed by a group of Illinois insurance companies.
In sports
Illinois beat the Penn Quakers today, 68-58, in the East Region’s preliminary round. Other games include DePaul taking on Kansas at 6:40 p.m. In the women’s tournament, Illinois takes on Utah at 6 p.m.
* For updated results
March Mat-ness: Northwestern University 141-pound wrestler Scott Schatzman will wrestle second-seeded Michael Lightner of Oklahoma tonight in the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament in St. Louis. Also qualifying for the semifinal round: 157-pound Mt. Carmel graduate T.J. Williams of Iowa and Chicago native 149-pounder Tony Davis of Northern Iowa.
* From this morning’s paper
* Updated wrestling results from ncaawrestling.org
The Hawks made it four straight, beating the Bruins, 5-4. The Bulls host Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Full schedule in Sports.
DAYWATCH.
Coming up today …
Check out the Metromix guide to St. Patrick’s Day. … Elgin Community College hosts a Celtic Fiddle Fest, 6 p.m. … Symphony Center hosts Siamsa Na Ngael, in a benefit for Chicago’s oldest public building, Old St. Patrick’s Church; 8 p.m. … Old St. Patrick’s, meanwhile, hosts an Irish Art Exhibit; through Saturday. … Arlington International Racecourse unleashes the Chicagoland Family Pet Show; through Sunday. … The Chicagoland Power Boat Show docks at the Rosemont Convention Center; through Sunday. … Third Eye Blind sees its way to the Riviera Theatre for a couple of sold-out shows, tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. … Victory Gardens Theater presents the world premiere of “Voice of Good Hope,” a dramatic tribute to the late Texas congresswoman Barbara Jordan; through April 24. … Bailiwick Arts Center presents “Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts,” and exploration of the life of composer Stephen Foster; through April 23. … Pilsen Theater stages “Durang/Durang,” a collection of playwright Chrstopher Durang’s one-act plays; through April 15.
… Saturday Folk legend and social activist Joan Baez plays Elgin’s Hemmens Cultural Center, 8 p.m. … The Vic Theatre welcomes Luka Bloom. … House of Blues hosts Buckwheat Zydeco. … Martyrs presents Jorma Kaukonen. … Profiles Theatre stages “Popcorn.” … The Chicago Theatre hosts Brian McKnight. … The Paramount Arts Centre presents “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.” (The show moves to the Rialto Square Theatre on Sunday.)
… and Sunday The Vic presents Mary Black. … The Icarus Quartet takes wing at the Mexican Fine Arts Center. … Chicago Theatre Company stages “Love Talk.” … Double Door presents Groove Armada.
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