CHICAGO, IL -The Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Chicago and Northern Illinois reports a 51-percent increase in the number of people contacting the BBB in 2010, topping 13 million people.

“The Chicago BBB continues its growth as a significant resource for consumers who are following our advice to review a business before signing a contract or making a purchase,” said Steve J. Bernas, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois. “More and more people are using our database as shown by over 12.3 million internet visits alone to the Chicago BBB.”

By utilizing the BBB’s resources consumers have reduced the need to file a complaint; that number was down 8.7-percent.

Bernas added, “One reason for the varied increases is the intensive educational campaign the BBB has sponsored using billboards, print and online advertising, speakers and publicity.”

Last year the 10 most asked about businesses in northern Illinois were: Roofing Contractors, Contractors-General, Construction & Remodeling Services, Attorneys, Heating & Air Conditioning, New Car Dealers, Movers, Insurance Companies, Windows-Installation & Service and Financial Services.

Consumers seeking Free BBB Business Reviews can visit, www.bbb.org

New DNA testing in a 27-year-old unsolved Chicago homicide has resulted in murder charges being filed against a convicted felon now charged with stabbing and killing a CTA bus driver in his South Side home during a home invasion in 1983, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced.

Anthony Kemp, 45, has been charged with First Degree Murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of Hosey Reynolds, 37, who was slain in February of 1983 in his apartment in the 8100 block of South Maryland. At the time of his murder, Reynolds was employed by the Chicago Transit Authority as a bus driver.

The charges against Kemp are the result of an investigation by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Cold Case Unit and the Chicago Police Department’s Detective Division. A new round of scientific testing was recently conducted by investigators working on the case and a DNA profile was discovered on a black leather glove that had been left at the victim’s apartment. The DNA profile on the glove matched the defendant’s DNA profile. In addition, a blood stained t-shirt recovered from inside the victim’s car, also was analyzed and matched to Kemp.

According to prosecutors, between February 2 and February 3 of 1983, Kemp entered Reynolds’ apartment and attacked him inside the kitchen. Reynolds suffered slash wounds to his left hand and multiple stab wounds to his chest, neck and lower back. An autopsy later determined the victim died as a result of multiple stab wounds.

According to prosecutors, Kemp then stole the victim’s stereo, speakers and record player as well as his 1983 Toyota Celica. The victim’s car was found abandoned near his apartment. Police investigated the murder but it remained unsolved.

Kemp was arrested by investigators as he exited an Illinois Department of Corrections facility in downstate Illinois, where he had been serving a sentence for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Judge Donald Panarese entered a no bond order for Kemp and set his next court date for February 15.

State’s Attorney Alvarez thanked Chicago Police Department Detectives and Assistant State’s Attorneys from her Cold Case Unit for their work on the case.

A Chicago woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for severely burning the feet of her 10-month-old infant son and neglecting to provide immediate or proper medical treatment for the child, according to the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Damaira Roman, 27, plead guilty to one count of Aggravated Battery of a Child, a Class X Felony, in connection with the crime which occurred on April 5, 2008.

According to prosecutors, Roman immersed the feet of her 10-month-old son in scalding hot water in her apartment located in the block of 4900 N. Kedzie. Approximately two days later, Roman called the victim’s father to complain that the child would not stop crying and had a blister on his foot. When the victim’s father arrived at the apartment, he noticed severe blisters on the victim’s feet and took the infant to the hospital.

A subsequent investigation concluded that the child’s burns were caused from direct exposure to scalding hot water and that the child had not received medical attention for at least 24 hours after suffering the injuries.

Judge Lawrence Flood sentenced Roman to 12 years in prison for the crime.

Chicago high school named to Illinois Honor Roll more than any other school in state

Chicago, IL — Illinois State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch will present the 2010 Spotlight and Academic Excellence Awards to Jones College Prep in Chicago on Monday, Jan. 31. Jones College Prep has earned 14 Illinois Honor Roll awards, more than any other school in the state, since the Illinois Honor Roll program began in 2003.

Jones College Prep will be honored at a 1 p.m. school assembly with Superintendent Koch and Chicago Public Schools Interim CEO Terry Mazany. This is the first of several visits across the state that Superintendent Koch will make to schools on the 2010 Honor Roll. The Honor Roll program recognizes schools for their accomplishments in making progress toward or maintaining academic excellence.

Kirk: “These Senate Committee assignments line up perfectly with an economic growth agenda for Illinois.”
 

Washington, DC —  U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) announced he has been appointed to four U.S. Senate committees that deal with issues ranging from federal expenditures to the elderly.

“These Senate Committee assignments line up well with an economic agenda for Illinois,” Kirk said.  “As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will fight to reduce the size and spending of the federal government.  My position on Banking will provide Illinois a stronger voice in expanding jobs in the financial centers of our state, while the Health and Education Committee could help repeal and replace the heath care law while making our students ready to win against competitors from Asia and Europe.  On the Committee on Aging, I will be able to advocate on behalf of our 1.6 million Illinois seniors.” 

Appropriations:  One of the most powerful committees in the U.S. Congress, the Appropriations Committee has authority over all discretionary expenditures made by the federal government. Senator Kirk will be an advocate for ending earmark spending and cutting overall spending.   

 
Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs:  The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs plays a major role in crafting legislation on banks, credit unions, and credit cards.  Senator Kirk will be a strong avocate for expanding small business employement, especially through improved access to credit.  Illinois is one of the nation’s largest hubs of commercial banking with approximately 437 state-chartered commercial banks with assets in excess of $200 billion.   

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP):  This Committee has jurisdiction over a wide range of concerns, including health care, education, employment, and retirement policies.  Senator Kirk will set a priority on repealing/replacing the health care law as well as finding ways to boost education performance.  Illinois has 500,500 residents employed in the health care sector, 143 hospitals, 24,300 active patient-care physicians and 126,000 licensed registered nurses.    

Special Committee on Aging:  With the Baby Boom population now hitting retirement age, the Special Committee on Aging studies issues, conducts oversight and investigates reports of fraud and abuse.  The Committee also reviews Medicare’s performance, pension coverage and employment opportunities for older Americans.  It also has conducted oversight of major programs such as Social Security.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates more than 1.5 million Illinois residents—or 12 percent of the state’s population—are over the age of 65. By  2020, the agency estimates the over-65 population will grow to 31 percent of the state’s population.   

Chicago, IL – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today sent a letter to federal financial regulators, urging them to include a critical step in an upcoming rulemaking process that will establish safety standards for residential mortgage loans sold on Wall Street in the aftermath of the mortgage meltdown.

Attorney General Madigan’s letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, U.S. Treasury and other federal financial regulators was also signed by her counterparts in 10other states.  Madigan calls on the regulators to demand tighter mortgage servicing standards as they implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Act was passed by Congress last year to prevent risky home loans from being bundled and sold to investors – a leading cause of the housing market’s crash in 2008.

The Act requires banks and lenders to maintain at least a 5 percent ownership interest in a home loan unless it meets a high safety standard. This requirement is designed to ensure banks and lenders make safe, high quality loans (and avoid the risky loans that led to the housing crisis) because they have a financial interest in the loans or, in other words, because they have “skin in the game.” Under the Act, there is an exception to the requirement that banks and lenders have this 5 percent ownership interest in a home loan: If a mortgage loan is considered a safe investment and deemed a “qualified residential mortgage,” the bank or lender does not have to keep an ownership interest in it. In other words, banks and lenders do not need to have a financial stake in mortgages that meet a “gold standard” for safe investments.

Federal regulators are now writing rules to implement the Act. The rules will define the kind of mortgages that meet the gold standard and are considered to be “qualified residential mortgages.”   

In the letter to the regulators, Madigan and the attorneys general are asking that standards for servicing a loan – the act of managing homeowners’ payments for the life of the loan – be included in the rules defining when a loan meets the “qualified residential mortgage” safety standard and could be exempted from the ownership stake. 

“Federal regulators are in the process of setting the gold standard for home loans. If a loan meets that standard, banks and lenders won’t have to keep any skin in the game for that loan,” Attorney General Madigan said. “Regulators must ensure that banks and lenders aren’t allowed to again create risky products then sell them off as safe investments without any consequences. By requiring rigorous underwriting and servicing standards, regulators can protect both the homeowner and the investor.” 

Madigan said including servicing standards in defining what loans are deemed qualified residential mortgages will give potential investors a better idea of how a loan will perform down the road. How a loan is serviced over its lifetime, and a servicer’s willingness to help a struggling homeowner, go hand-in-hand with a homeowner’s ability to stay in their home – an important factor for homeowners but also for mortgage investors who suffer substantial losses when homes enter foreclosure.

Signing on to Attorney General Madigan’s letter today were attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont.

Attorney General Madigan has been at the forefront of protecting Illinois homeowners during the mortgage foreclosure crisis and holding Wall Street banks and mortgage lenders accountable. Madigan is currently serving on the executive committee in the ongoing 50-state investigation into the nation’s largest mortgage servicers for alleged widespread abuses in the foreclosure process.

In 2008, the Attorney General led a nationwide $8.7 billion settlement with Countrywide over its predatory lending practices. Madigan has also filed suit against both Wells Fargo and Countrywide alleging widespread discrimination against African American and Latino borrowers, which caused them to pay disproportionately more for their mortgages than other borrowers.

Madigan urged homeowners to visit her website, www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov, for resources available to assist homeowners in crisis. Included on the site is her Illinois Mortgage Lending Guide, a resource manual containing step-by-step instructions for those struggling to make their loan payments and a list of HUD-certified counseling agencies that offer default counseling services. Homeowners who do not have easy access to the Internet should call the Attorney General’s Homeowner Helpline at 1-866-544-7151 to receive the guide by mail.

Money Raised From the License Plates to Support Public Schools

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and the Chicago Cubs unveiled the new Chicago Cubs permanent Illinois license plate.

The Cubbie Blue license plate, which features the Cubs logo, was on display during a press conference at Wrigley Field.  Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts and Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks were on hand for the unveiling.

“For many years I played in the wonderful Chicago Cubs organization as a center fielder,” White said.  “I feel a special bond and history with the team.  I am not alone.  The Chicago Cubs are a legendary franchise and boast of diehard fans throughout the country who will be excited to show their team spirit and support education with these plates.”

Twenty-five dollars from each license plate goes to the Professional Sports Teams Education Fund and is earmarked for the Common School Fund which supports public schools throughout the state of Illinois.

Public Act 095-0331, enacted in 2002, allows for Illinois sports teams to have license plates, designated as Professional Sports Teams license plates. The Chicago Cubs are the second sports team in the state to take advantage of the law.

“We are thrilled to help the state of Illinois in its effort to raise funds for public education and to give Cubs fans the chance to display their loyalty on an official Illinois license plate,” said Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts. “We thank Secretary White for his efforts in making this possible and hope all Cubs fans will show their loyalty by reserving their plate today.”

Beginning today the public can preorder the license plates by visiting www.cyberdriveillinois.com.  Fans can order random number, personalized or vanity license plates. Those plates will be sent out on March 1^st.

The cost to purchase a random number Cubs plates for a currently titled vehicle with valid Illinois registration is $69.

Pricing varies for vanity and personalized license plates.

Fans who attend the Chicago Auto Show beginning on February 10^th at McCormick Place will be able to purchase and walk away with a random number Cubs plate.  The Secretary of State’s mobile unit will also be able to register people for personalized and vanity license plates at the show.

Chicago, IL – Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced she has appointed Amalia Rioja as Acting Public Access Counselor to succeed outgoing Deputy Chief of Staff and Public Access Counselor Cara Smith, who recently was named Chief of Staff for the Illinois Department of Corrections.

As the Acting Public Access Counselor, Rioja will oversee 11 dedicated Assistant Attorneys General and 6 support staff members who work in the Attorney General’s Public Access Bureau while the Office of the Attorney General conducts a search for a permanent PAC.

Rioja has served as Chief Deputy Public Access Counselor since the amended Freedom of Information Act went into effect Jan. 1, 2010, and, prior to that, worked as an Assistant Attorney General on policy issues. Previously, Rioja worked in the Illinois Comptroller’s office as Deputy General Counsel and as its FOIA officer. Rioja also worked for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and Northwestern University School of Law.

Attorney General Madigan, lawmakers and other open government advocates revamped the state’s open government laws in 2009 to bring about long overdue transparency and openness to government operations in Illinois. In the year since the new laws went into effect, Madigan said more than 5,200 new matters were submitted to her Public Access Bureau by the public and the media, demonstrating the need for strong, enforceable open government laws. The overwhelming majority of the requests and inquiries came from members of the public, showing that Illinois’ sunshine laws continue to be used most by the general public rather than the media.

Further information and educational materials on the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act can be found at Attorney General Madigan’s website, www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov. Anyone seeking assistance from the Public Access Bureau can contact its hotline at 1-877-299-FOIA (3642) or send an email to publicaccess@atg.state.il.us.