Author Image: Gerry Smith

Gerry Smith

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Erroneous message warning of gunman sent at U. of I.

An errant keystroke touched off a brief panic Thursday at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign when an emergency message accidentally was sent out saying an "active shooter" was on...
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Confidence, concern after Japan’s quake

Japan's partial nuclear meltdown may be playing out thousands of miles away, but given that Illinois has more nuclear sites and a larger stockpile of spent fuel than any other...
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Winter melt appears around the corner

For the first time in what seems a long time, today's forecast includes no hazardous weather watches or warnings, no wind chill advisories and, of course, no blizzards. All in...
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Blizzard ready to melt away

The Blizzard of 2011 came in with a roar but will go out with a long, slushy whimper. With temperatures likely to nudge into the 40s by Wednesday — and...
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Chicagoans cope with winter blues

The classified ad was written with a sense of urgency. "Going to FL this week — like ... SOON," James Douglas wrote on Craigslist the day before the blizzard struck...
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Chicagoans cope with winter blues

The classified ad was written with a sense of urgency. "Going to FL this week — like ... SOON," James Douglas wrote on Craigslist the day before the blizzard struck...
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The city that works — even in a blizzard

In the past, when major snowstorms hit the Chicago area, employees at CCH packed toothbrushes and spent long nights in their cubicles to make sure everything got done. No pajama...
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A rivalry that has no rivals

On the cusp of the Packers-Bears playoff matchup, Chicagoans stand united, Packtose intolerant, loathers of cheese in all its forms, sneering as often as possible in the direction of those...
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Low temperatures, cloudy skies for Bears game

The current temperature in Seattle is 55 degrees, with light rain. Seahawk weather? Apparently. Bear weather? Not even close. Come midday on the Chicago lakefront, the air will be nearly...
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Dad’s blog means more than words can say to son

Over Thanksgiving this year, while most families were relaxing or eating, my 81-year-old father was roaming the streets of Cape May, N.J., in a rental car, trying to piggyback off...