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The Mineral Meteor Man

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:05 -0500

Some young boys collect baseball cards, others collect coins. But when Lawrence Grossman was growing up in Toronto, Canada, he collected minerals.

"I built a nice mineral collection, rare minerals," said Grossman. "I still have the collection but it stopped growing way back when." Little did Grossman know that his career would be all about minerals, found in meteors, no less.

Congressman showcases tax-credit eligible alternate-fuel cars

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:05 -0500

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) showcased 10 vehicles at the Museum of Science and Industry Wednesday that promise to significantly reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

The car show, featuring several kinds of hybrid, electric and alternative fuel vehicles, came one day before Kirk's push for legislation to make alternative vehicle tax credits permanent, while, he says, reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil by 86 percent.

Chicago coalition worries 2016 Olympic hopes overlook community needs

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:42:12 -0500

As the city develops the South and West Sides in the hopes of winning its bid for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, the Communities for an Equitable Olympics (CEO 2016) rallied today to ensure every Chicagoan will benefit.

Teaching Law, Testing Ideas, Obama Stood Apart

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:47:48 -0500

The young law professor stood apart in too many ways to count. At a school where economic analysis was all the rage, he taught rights, race and gender. Other faculty members dreamed of tenured positions; he turned them down. While most colleagues published by the pound, he never completed a single work of legal scholarship.

At a formal institution, Barack Obama was a loose presence, joking with students about their romantic prospects, using first names, referring to case law one moment and “The Godfather” the next. He was also an enigmatic one, often leaving fellow faculty members guessing about his precise views.

Mr. Obama, now the junior senator from Illinois and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, spent 12 years at the University of Chicago Law School. Most aspiring politicians do not dwell in the halls of academia, and few promising young legal thinkers toil in state legislatures. Mr. Obama planted a foot in each, splitting his weeks between an elite law school and the far less rarefied atmosphere of the Illinois Senate.

Before he outraised every other presidential primary candidate in American history, Mr. Obama marched students through the thickets of campaign finance law. Before he helped redraw his own State Senate district, making it whiter and wealthier, he taught districting as a racially fraught study in how power is secured. And before he posed what may be the ultimate test of racial equality — whether Americans will elect a black president — he led students through African-Americans’ long fight for equal status.

Feds: racial slurs, discrimination go covert with coded words

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:49:43 -0500

Terms such as "welfare queens" and "crime-ridden neighborhoods" have long been used to refer to African-Americans, Dawson said. In recent years, other analysts said, discussions about patriotism have increasingly become coded with phrases such as "full-blooded Americans" used to exclude certain ethnic groups, particularly Latino immigrants.

South Side unwind for Obama

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:39:19 -0500

Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama spent a day off from campaigning by relaxing with his family, getting a haircut and playing hoops.

Bank returns woman's $300K

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:50:18 -0500

By early Tuesday, news of 86-year-old Jessie McDonald's fight to get her money back from Chase Bank had reached Washington.

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) was just signing a formal request to the bank asking why, after acknowledging nearly a year ago that a teller had scammed McDonald out of $300,000, the bank still hadn't given her back her money.

Then, the Chicago Democrat got the news: Chase Bank had agreed to repay McDonald $301,494.41 -- the amount her attorneys believe was removed from her savings accounts at the bank's downtown branch.

Gutierrez said he still plans to press the bank about why it didn't return the money sooner and what can be done to protect customers.

"I'm very happy,'' Gutierrez said. "But how did this happen? This is an 86-year-old woman. It begs the question: What were you waiting for? For her to disappear?"

Comedian George Carlin dead at 71

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:05:06 -0500

The comedian, who toured college campuses for years and made a name for himself using dirty language and delivering biting social commentaries, had released 22 solo albums and three bestselling books.

U of C professor salaries rank fifth in the nation

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:57:30 -0500

University of Chicago professors earn higher salaries than most of their peers, according to a report released by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) in April.

The average salary for a full-time professor at the U of C during the 2007-08 academic year was $170,800—the fifth highest in the nation. Only professors at Rockefeller University, Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton earn more on average.

The University’s high salaries correlate with the University’s achievements and individual faculty members’ national and international reputations, said Dean of the College John Boyer.

“The University of Chicago has long been one of the four or five top universities in the United States in terms of scholarly reputation and prestige, and one of the top ten universities in the world,” Boyer said in an e-mail interview. “It is thus not surprising that our salaries are strongly competitive.”

Listen to your Mom: wear sunscreen

Sun, 25 May 2008 10:24:11 -0500

The weather in Chicago may not be anywhere near tropical, but this Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. For many, the long weekend means taking time to enjoy the great outdoors.

But as mom always warns, don't forget to wear sunscreen.

However, dermatologist Sarah Stein at the University of Chicago Medical Center doesn't necessarily agree with the age-old sunscreen advice. Stein maintains that smart sun safety begins with educating people on methods of skin protection other than simply slathering on the lotion.