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]