Chicago police responded to a well being check around 3:30 p.m. in the 7100 block of S. Oakley where the discovered the bodies in the trunk of a vehicle.

No other information was given.

The investigation is ongoing.

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“How lucky we were that Brian Urlacher was a Chicago Bear.

“Brian announced his retirement in the same, understated way in which he carried himself at Halas Hall the last 13 years – he simply wanted to be one of the guys and play the game he loves.  But his rare ability, work ethic and passion for football put him among the greats to ever play the game.  Besides superlative play on the field, he was also the unquestioned leader in the locker room, as well as the sometimes reluctant face of the franchise.  Brian is a special person who represented our team and our city with skill and humility while never seeking acclaim or recognition.

“In the pantheon of Bears, Brian has earned his place alongside Halas, Grange, Nagurski, Ditka, Payton – and yes, Bill George, Butkus and Singletary.

“We congratulate Brian on a brilliant career and he will continue to be a welcomed member of the Bears Family in retirement.”

Altgeld
Armstrong
Attucks – 2 year delay
Banneker
Bethune
Bontemps
Buckingham
Calhoun
Canter – 1 year delay
De Duprey
Delano
Dumas
Emmet
Fermi
Garfield Park
Goldblatt
Goodlow
Henson
Herbert
Key
King
Kohn
Lafayette
Lawrence
Marconi
May
Mayo
Morgan
Near North
Overton
Owens
Paderewski
Parkman
Peabody
Pershing MS
Pope
Ross
Ryerson
Sexton
Songhai
Stewart
Stockton
Trumbull
Von Humboldt
West Pullman
Williams ES
Williams MS
Woods
Yale

These schools will remain open
Ericson
Garvey
Manierre
M. Jackson

After hearing from aldermen, angry parents and community members in a meeting interrupted several times by protesters, the Chicago Board of Education today approved a plan to close 49 elementary schools and one high school program.

The board voted 4-2 to close Von Humboldt Elementary, then unanimously approved the rest of the closings in a single vote.

Before that, the board voted 6-0 to approve a last-minute recommendation by the district to spare four elementary schools: Manierre Elementary on the Near North Side, Mahalia Jackson and Garvey on the South Side and Ericson on the West Side.

After more than two hours of public comments, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and board members defended the plan to close the highest number of schools the city has ever shut down in a single year.

“We can no longer embrace the status quo because the status quo is not working for all Chicago school children,” Byrd-Bennett said before the vote was taken. “It is imperative that you take the difficult decision but essential steps.”

The district says it needs to close schools to address a looming $1 billion deficit and declining enrollment.

Blaise Sewell and his son Emery, 6, join activists as they sit and chant in the corridor adjacent to the Chicago Public Schools headquarters lobby as the Chicago Board of Education prepares to vote on school closings. (Tribune photo)

Board President David Vitale, in his remarks before the vote, said that while closing schools is difficult “ultimately it is our responsibility to choose.”

“Today’s reality requires change,” he said.

One by one, board members cited the necessity of closing schools to deal with the district’s fiscal challenges.

“We have to fix our schools and in order to do that we can’t continue to operate with the number of schools we have,” said board member Andrea Zopp said.

Board member Mahalia Hines said she wondered if CPS should wait another year and related it to a recent trip she made to the dentist’s office when he recommended an unpleasant procedure and she thought about waiting a year.

“He said it will continue to decay and the pain will be unbearable,” she said. “The decay can no longer continue.”

Board member Carlos Azcoitia said he wouldn’t have supported any of the actions if he felt CPS wasn’t going to fully support the remaining neighborhood schools.

“Now our big responsibility is to make this work and make neighborhood schools stronger as an option within our communities,” he said.

Board member Andrea Zopp said she is moved by the passion of protesters but that doing nothing is not an option.

“We have to fix our schools and in order to do that we can’t continue to operate with the number of schools we have,” Zopp said.

Before the meeting, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said that she thinks Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has lobbied for closings, all along that he wanted to shut down 50 schools.

“Four schools is a start,” Lewis said of the district’s decision to spare four schools at the 11th hour. “It’s a good start but it’s not enough.”

An hour and a half before the start of the meeting, about 30 protesters formed a circle in front of school board headquarters at 125 S. Clark Street and chanted, “Education is a right. Not just for the rich and white.”

The board room was packed with about 200 people, and during the public comment portion of the meeting, several aldermen spoke up for schools slated to be closed in their wards.

Ald. LaTasha Thomas, 17th, chairman of the education committee, asked the board to take “a step back.”

“How are the children and families better prepared to make positive change in their lives as a rult of the decision you make?” she asked.

“We’re talking about grammar school kids. We’re talking about babies,” said Ald. Walter Burnettt, 27th.

The school closings would be the most by an urban district in recent history, a fact noted by Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th.

“I urge you this is not a record we want to set,” he said. “We don’t want to look back in five years and say, ‘What did we do?’“ Pawar said.

A group of about 15 people came up to the podium and as one of them, Rebecca Martinez, spoke, a man standing with her, Shannon Bennett of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, started yelling.

“This board is illegitimate!” he said.

Security quickly moved in and tried to pull Bennett away from the podium. As security continued to try to pull the people out of the room, the group of 15 began singing, “We shall not be moved” while security tried to usher them out of the board room.

They continued signing as they were being ushered out of the room.

Parents at schools taken off the list by Byrd-Bennett expressed joy and relieve. Sherise McDaniel was at a meeting to discuss security at Jenner Elementary, where Manierre students were expected to go if there school was closed, when she learned that Manierre had been saved.

“We were jumping up and down, the kids were screaming. It was just a gift,” said McDaniel, who has two children at the Near NorthSide School.

“I had so many highs and lows with this situation,” McDaniel said. “One minute it was looking like there was no hope for us, no matter what was said, no one was listening, no one cared. And then in the next moment when the independent review board agreed with us, we thought, yes, we did it, we have a chance.”

“We feel extremely blessed. Our prayers were answered,” said Tyisha Whitmore, 34, whose daughters are in the 3rd and 8th grade at Garvey Elementary. “We are ecstatic, grateful, still sad about the other 50 schools that will still be closing, because no school should be closed.”

By law, the board was supposed to have a school closing plan in place by last Dec. 1. But Byrd-Bennett won an extension from the General Assembly, saying the district needed to engage the community before undertaking such a massive endeavor.

Months of hearings drew often angry crowds through the winter as CPS gradually whittled down an initial list of 330 schools it said were underenrolled.

The CTU, whose members stand to lose jobs, has led the opposition along with parents and community leaders. While some high performing teachers will follow students to new schools based on need, the vast majority will now be forced to look for jobs.

The CTU has filed two federal lawsuits challenging the closings, arguing that discriminate against special needs children and African Americans, since most of the schools slated to be shut down are predominantly black.

-Chicago  Tribune Reporting

Unfortunately the show isn’t open to the public, but my video feature will be posted here after it airs. Here is the link to learn more about the candy and snacks we talked about today.

- Mars Snickers & Milky Way Bites – Available now

- Starburst Minis – Coming Soon!

- Jelly Belly Tobasco flavored jelly beans – Available now

- Hammond’s Candies, Red Velvet, Smores, Pigs and Taters Chocolate Bars – Available now

- Fizzies candy beverage tablets – Available now

- Van Holten’s Big Papa Pickle Popcorn – Coming this June

- Lemonheads – Celebrating 50 years

- Perky Jerky Ultra Premium Beef Jerky – Available now

That vote passed unanimosly, so the board all together voted to close 49 elementary schools and one high school program.

Updates:

The CPS board votes to close 49 elementary schools.—
  (@ChicagoBreaking) May 22, 2013

CPS board votes to keep Jackson Elementary School open.—
  (@ChicagoBreaking) May 22, 2013

CPS board votes to keep Manierre Elementary School open.—
  (@ChicagoBreaking) May 22, 2013

CPS board votes to keep Garvey Elementary School open.—
  (@ChicagoBreaking) May 22, 2013

CPS board votes to delay closing Canter Elementary School by a year.—
  (@ChicagoBreaking) May 22, 2013

From Earlier:

Opponents of Chicago Public Schools’ proposal to shut-down 49 schools are voicing their opinions at CPS headquarters on Wednesday.

60 speakers, including Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis, aldermen, and parents, are among those speaking out against the plan. Security had to remove one parent for trying to speak without being on the official list.

Once all of the speakers are done, the Chicago Board of Education is expected to vote on whether to close 49 schools. The number used to be more than 50, but CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett withdrew her recommendations to close Manierre Elementary School, Mahalia Jackson Elementary School, Garvey Elementary School, and Ericson Elementary School. She is also requesting Canter Elementary School be closed through a phased-in approach. She is also not trying to get the Academy for Urban School Leadership to run Barton Elementary School.

Several protesters packed into the lobby and attempted a sit-in, but police officers forced them out.

If the board votes to shut-down all of the schools, that would be the largest mass school closing in U.S. history. Tens of thousands of children will be affected.

CPS says it needs to close underutilized schools to fix a deep deficit. But, opponents say closures will put the safety of students at risk.

WGN News Writer C. Hayes published this report.

Matt Garza returned to action for the first time in 10 months and was terrific.  I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Matt after such a long layoff, but his stuff was electric, his command was very good and the results were great:  5 innings, 1 hit, zero runs.  The pitch count got him, but that was only because it was his first start.

Garza’s performance will be arguably the most important topic of conversation the next 6-8 weeks as the Cubs try to sort out what to do with a guy in the prime of his career who is due to become a free agent (and turn 30 in the off-season).  The conventional wisdom is that the Cubs will look to deal him for prospects, but the mitigating factor here is the Cubs’ lack of high-end pitching in the upper levels of the minors.  So, unless they can bring a huge return on a deal for him, you may see the Cubs at least kick the tires with Garza on a multi-year deal.

Would he be willing to take 3 years and not go for 4 or 5 on the open market?  That’s a question only he can answer.

The bad news was obvious.  The bullpen’s rollercoaster season hit a big dip once again as Shawn Camp gave up the game-winning grand slam on a hanging changeup.  The Cubs could (should?) be 4 games under, but haven’t been able to hold leads the last 2 games because of 2 bad change-ups.  To say it’s frustrating is a big understatement.  This team is so close, yet keeps coming up just a little bit short.

len

*Only the Cardinals, Reds, Nationals, and Diamondbacks have a lower ERA among starters than the Cubs 3.42.

*The Pirates lead all MLB teams by holding opponents to a .204 batting average at PNC Park.

*Starlin Castro is a career .345 hitter vs. Pittsburgh.

Attorneys are giving closing arguments Wednesday in the case involving real estate mogul Donald Trump and 87-year old Jacqueline Goldberg.

Goldberg’s lawyers say this is not a case of breach of contract.  Instead, they say it’s a case of consumer fraud and deceptive practices as well as a violation of the Interstate Land Sales Act.

Goldberg bought two condos at Trump Towers in 2006 for $1 million a piece. She says they were an investment.

Goldberg’s attorneys say the incentives in the contract basically called for condo owners to share in the profits from hotel health clubs, laundry rooms, meeting rooms and ballrooms.

Trump’s attorneys say the contract also reserved the right for them to change the terms of the amenities.

Goldberg is suing to get out of the original contract.  She wants the $500,000 she put down on the condos and no less than $5 million in punitive damages.

After closing arguments, jurors will be given instructions from the judge and then begin deliberations.