Pension, a stolen radioactive truck, more pension and the rest of the morning’s news

SHARE Pension, a stolen radioactive truck, more pension and the rest of the morning’s news

1 Pension benefits

In the spirit of true compromise, nobody’s happy about the pension reform bill passed Tuesday. Nobody except Gov. Pat Quinn, whose public persona was transformed in an afternoon from milquetoast into effective. [Sun-Times]

2 Union soldiers

As expected, the public unions will not go quietly into the night. With serious cuts to their benefits in the offing, they’re vowing to take their fight to the courts, calling the bill unconstitutional and “theft.” Senate President John Cullerton is inclined to agree with the former. [Sun-Times]

3 Predictable opposition

You know who else thinks the bill might be unconstitutional? The guys who are running against Pat Quinn for governor. In other news, it’s often cold in the winter in Chicago and Lake Michigan is still large. [Sun-Times]

4 Dangerous heist

The U.N. has reported that a truck carrying “extremely dangerous” material has been stolen in a town near Mexico City. If the thieves open the cargo hold, they’ll be putting themselves in serious harm. [Sun-Times]

5 Our turn next?

With a compromise to the state pension crisis finally on the table, it may finally be time to fill in Chicago’s hole. You know, the one that caused the city’s credit rating to be downgraded three times, including a particularly ominous day in July when Detroit declared bankruptcy. That, in the parlance of 11th-grade English class, is “symbolism.” [Crain’s]

6 A friend in the highest place

While everyone’s mad at Ventra and most people are mad at CTA chief Forrest Claypool, he does have at least one stalwart ally: Rahm Emanuel. And in this town, that should be enough. [Sun-Times]

7 Sandy Hook calls

The 911 calls stemming from the Sandy Hook shooting last year are expected to be released today after a judge last week ruled that the tapes are not exempt from public information laws. [USA Today]

8 Gross/cool

If you want to gaze into the future, head the to Chicago Auto Show, where a pavilion run by Streamline Publishing will show you all sorts of goodies, from interactive tattoos to diapers that let you know when they need to be changed. Let’s hope those diapers are not otherwise sentient. [Grid]

The Latest
A 22-year-old man named Christian I. Soto was charged with murder, attempted murder and home invasion, official said during a Thursday media briefing. Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd said earlier investigators haven’t determined a motive for the attacks.
Can a message generated by an algorithm ever match hearing from a human?
White Sox fans from all over will flock to Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday for the team’s home opener against the Tigers.
Despite the addition of some new characters (human and otherwise) the film comes across as a relatively uninspired and fairly forgettable chapter in the Monsterverse saga.
Unite Here Local 1, representing the workers at the Signature Room and its lounge, said in a lawsuit in October the employer failed to give 60 days notice of a closing or mass layoff, violating state law.