Abstinence-only education is now illegal in Illinois. A bill passed two days ago by the state senate will require that schools with sex education classes include units on birth control. Schools can opt out of sex education altogether if they so desire (as they can now), and they’ll still have to teach that abstinence is the only absolute, surefire way to prevent pregnancy and STIs, but now they’ll have to provide information on contraceptives as well. The governor is expected to sign the bill. source
Ten-year-old Nathaniel Pendleton Jr. recalled the way his big sister Hadiya would often greet him with a few gentle slaps on his cheeks whenever she came home from school.
“She said it was with love,” he said.Nathaniel etched “I miss you” and “I love you” on his arm Wednesday, a day after losing his only sibling when a gunman opened fire on a group of students just blocks from King College Prep on the South Side.
While it’s hard to say any single death is more important than another (particularly in a place where young people are dying so frequently), we suspect that Hadiya Pendleton’s time in Washington D.C. last week will make her death an intense topic of discussion as the gun control debate continues around the nation. Our hearts go out to the Pendletons, and all of Hadiya’s other family and friends, during what we can only imagine to be one of the most difficult times of their lives.
I scratched the ticket, then I kept on saying, ‘I hit a million!’ over and over again. I jumped two feet in the air, then ran back into the store and tipped the clerk $100.46-year-old Urooj Khan • Discussing his initial joy after winning $1 million from a scratch-off lottery ticket. The joy turned into something sad and dark recently, after Khan was found to be fatally poisoned just a day after receiving his check. While coroners described his death as natural causes initially, investigators took a closer look at the request of a relative. “They had concerns that it was deemed a natural cause of death and wanted us to look harder,” said Cook County, Illinois, Medical Examiner Stephen Cina. “And we did.” After an investigation, they found that Khan had died of cyanide poisoning. The office may exhume his body as a result of the ne findings, which is now being reclassified as a homicide.
I just find it is so painful at this point for me not only to know he won’t be in the Congress but to know he is still struggling with a serious very serious mental health issue.Rep. Bobby Rush • Discussing the fate of Rep. Jesse Jackson III, who is about to resign from Congress in the wake of a federal investigation and a series of mental health issues that have prevented him from having an active role in Congress for nearly six months. Rush is taking the situation hard. “He just said, ‘Bobby I’m not going to be with you anymore. I can’t carry this thing through,’ and that was it,” he said, noting that “he sounded very, very sorrowful.”
They’re not happy with the agreement. They’d like it to be a lot better for us than it is.Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis • Discussing the union’s decision not to vote on the contract placed in front of them. Also among the concerns: The possibility of 120 school closings in the next few years. The decision means that teachers will remain on strike until at least Wednesday.
BuzzFeed knows how to create traffic from thin air. (Related: This Chicago teachers’ strike deal is actually a pretty serious story, kids.)
I knew it. Now I can go out there and say he’s a murdering bastard. You can print that. You can put it in a headline.Kathleen Savio’s brother-in-law, Mitch Doman • Regarding the guilty verdict handed down to Drew Peterson Thursday. Peterson, a former police officer in Illinois, was first indicted in 2009 in the death of Savio, his third wife. (Savio was found dead in 2004, in a death that was initially ruled an accidental drowning, though later concluded to be staged.) Peterson first drew national media scrutiny after his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, went missing in 2007, leading to renewed interest in Savio’s drowning death, heavy tabloid coverage and a Lifetime original movie based on the cases. Peterson’s lawyers plan to appeal.
At approximately 1:20 p.m. today a megabus.com bus struck a pillar on southbound Interstate 55 at mile marker 57, just north of Litchfield in Montgomery County, Illinois.
The bus was traveling along the Chicago - St. Louis - Columbia - Kansas City route with 81 passengers booked to be on board.
We can confirm that a few passengers suffered injuries. There has been one fatality reported at this time.
Megabus.com is working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the cause.
Safety remains our number one priority.
The thoughts and prayers of our entire staff go out to the passengers involved.
Megabus.com will continue to provide more details as they become available.
Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of the woman killed. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available. More on the story here.
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State officials have confirmed that the Megabus, which crashed into a concrete pillar off of I-55, lost control as the result of a flat tire. Firefighters have been forced to use four ladders to try and free passengers trapped in the top of the bus, and more than 30 ambulances have reportedly arrived on-scene. 15 patients have been sent to surrounding hospitals, but no word yet on the severity of their injuries. A live, but audio-free, stream of the continuing events is available here. (Photo via Jennifer Feldman) More on the story here
Multiple injuries reported as Mega Bus crashes in Illinois
(Photo: KSDK-TV)
A double-decker bus plowed into a bridge support Thursday in southern Illinois, injuring several people and closing an Interstate highway in both directions, state officials told NBC News.
The exact number and severity of the injuries remained unclear, but at least 18 ambulances and several emergency helicopters responded to the scene on Interstate 55 a few miles north of Litchfield.
This is a breaking news story. Click here to check back for more details.
Hoping everyone is safe and that there are no fatalities.
Not doing so hot these days: Jesse Jackson, Jr., the Illinois congressman whose fortunes have declined following an extended medical absence from Congress. Jackson, the son of a civil rights icon, was expected to follow Obama into his former Senate seat. That didn’t happen — a little scandal broke out, with ties to his former fundraiser, that led to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich going to prison, and prevented Jackson from a Senate-appointed crisis. Now, with the latest rumor-laden crisis over his health, many of his colleagues expect him to eventually resign. Anyone know what’s going on?
The Congressman is receiving intensive medical treatment at a residential treatment facility for a mood disorder. He is responding positively to treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.A statement from the office of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. • Regarding the congressman’s condition, which has been shrouded in secrecy since he took leave from office a month ago. Jackson’s medical leave wasn’t announced until weeks after he left, and his condition has been described using vague wording ever since, causing an outcry from other representatives asking for information. “Mood disorder” is as specific as they’ve gotten.
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