Author: staff

A 41-year-old passenger was taken to Stroger Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The driver was taken in fair condition to the same hospital, and three other passengers, two men and a woman were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Rahm Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago, was confirmed to serve as ambassador to Japan by a vote of 48-21. Nominees to be ambassadors to Spain, Vietnam and Somalia were among those confirmed by voice vote soon afterward. The votes came after an agreement was reached to hold a vote concerning Nord Stream 2 sanctions before Jan. 14.

For older kids, the trends are similar, with troubling signs heading into the winter break. Suburban Cook County, for example, now has the highest daily rate of kids age 12 to 17 testing positive, topping 80 per 100,000, when the rate was just half that heading into Thanksgiving break. Most other parts of the region are seeing similarly stark rises.

Nurturing a vigorous, healthy boxwood is the best way to protect it against winter damage. Any boxwood planted over the previous three years should be watered as needed in late fall, if conditions are dry. Recent rains may have been enough to benefit your boxwood, and the soil in my garden has now frozen, so it’s too late to water.

Toy shopping has transformed over the past 100 years, whether because of advancements in the products themselves or the marketplace. Using national toy archives and data curated by The Strong, from 1920 to today, Stacker searched for products that caught hold of the public zeitgeist through novelty, innovation, kitsch, quirk, or simply great timing, and then rocketed to success. Here are the top holiday toys from the year you were born, counting up from 1920 to today. May they fill your heart—and stockings!—with joy. Visit thestacker.com for similar lists and stories.

Colton Sissons’ goal gave the Predators a 2-1 lead with 8 minutes, 27 seconds left in the third. Filip Forsberg found a seam to Sissons, who fired to Marc-André Fleury’s glove side. Fleury made a diving play on the puck, but it dribbled underneath his pad.

Thomas, who had 65 yards on 13 carries, scored both touchdowns in the third quarter on runs of 15 and 3 yards as the Cru (15-0) extended a two-point halftime lead. Brandon Cunningham kicked a 20-yard field goal, his third of the night, to open the fourth quarter. Kenneth Cormier added an 11-yard run just two minutes later after an interception.

Joaquin Martinez, of Des Plaines, holds a flag of the Virgen de Guadalupe as he and other immigration rights supporters walk in the 16th annual posada through the streets of downtown in Chicago on Dec. 17, 2021. The one mile journey, which symbolizes Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, started at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Center and ended at St. Peter’s Church. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Even though gas costs about $1.25 more per gallon, or about $3.45 per gallon of regular, about 5.1 million Illinoisans will be driving while around 290,000 will opt to fly. The rest — just over 146,000 — would be taking trains, buses or cruises, according to AAA.

But major “non-lobbying costs” were included in refunds. For example, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, who’s under indictment, was listed in a chart as being paid $1.8 million in compensation and benefits in 2011 for “non-lobbying activity.” John Hooker, a former top executive and lobbyist also indicted, received $1.15 million in compensation and benefits in 2011 for similar “non-lobbying” activity. And Fidel Marquez, an ex-executive who oversaw lobbying and who has pleaded guilty, earned $748,000 in 2012, also for “non-lobbying activity.” Those payments are included in ComEd’s proposed refund, ComEd said.