http://poll.suntimes.com/news/index.html http://poll.suntimes.com/images/cst_logo_300.gif http://poll.suntimes.com/news/index.html Copyright 2009 Digital Chicago News en-us Joe Ferguson is the eldest son of a working-class single mom and a father he never knew who survived that rejection -- and the mean streets of Boston -- to become a dogged federal prosecutor in Chicago.

]]> FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com ]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Gov. Quinn took office nearly 10 months ago saying he'd "fumigate state government" in the wake of his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, being booted from office.

]]> DAVE McKINNEY, TIM NOVAK AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 MARY WISNIEWSKI Staff Reporter]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 The body of white man in his 40s was pulled from Lake Michigan on the Near South Side Monday morning.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Nearly 12,000 Illinois public school seniors skipped the mandatory 2009 Prairie State Achievement Exam -- a test that can trigger school or district sanctions -- and will have to take it this spring, state education officials say.

]]> ROSALIND ROSSI Education Reporter/rrossi@suntimes.com ]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Handbags and several pieces of clothing were stolen early Monday when four suspects broke into a designer clothing boutique in the Wicker Park neighborhood.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 A Hyde Park neighborhood man who was approaching patrons entering the Goodman Theatre was arrested after he told police he was a federal agent in the Loop Friday night.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 For the people at the heart of an uproar a decade ago over the expulsions of six black boys from a Decatur school, reminders of the national scrutiny the town endured and the divide the situation created are never far away.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Three students with Chicago area ties -- Stephanie Bell, Russell Perkins and Daniel Shih -- are among the 32 American men and women named Saturday as 2009 Rhodes Scholars, considered one of the world's most prestigious academic honors.

]]> LEWIS LAZARE Staff Writer/llazare@suntimes.com ]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Last year, Shari Sopourn was trying to find a way to teach her kids about the recent government bailout of financial institutions. In the process, she and her husband, Jordy, created Bailout!, a board game that is a sort of anti-Monopoly.

]]> MARY HOULIHAN Staff Reporter/mhoulihan@suntimes.com ]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Four people, including two children, were critically injured in a pin-in crash Monday morning in the West Side Humboldt Park neighborhood.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Young people are the most likely to engage in text messaging while driving, according to a survey conducted by FindLaw.com, a legal information Web site.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration wanted Louis Bertucci hired. So the clout-heavy Bertucci got hired.

]]> DAVE McKINNEY, TIM NOVAK AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 MAUREEN O'DONNELL Staff Reporter/modonnell@suntimes.com ]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the small amount of radiation detected at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is not significant.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 BROMONT, Quebec -- A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 CALABASAS, Calif. -- Authorities say a 12-year-old boy assaulted by a group of middle school classmates in Southern California may have been targeted after an Internet posting urged students to beat up redheads.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A pair of astronauts stepped out on the third and final spacewalk of their mission Monday to take care of some odd jobs at the International Space station.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronaut Randolph Bresnik jubilantly welcomed his new daughter into the world Sunday as he floated 220 miles above it.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty in what prosecutors said was a case of scaring a 79-year-old North Carolina grandmother to death.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 NEW ORLEANS -- The creatures living in the depths of the ocean are as weird and outlandish as the creations in a Dr. Seuss book: tentacled transparent sea cucumbers, primitive "dumbos" that flap ear-like fins and tubeworms that feed on oil deposits.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 VINCENNES, Ind. -- Firefighters have found one body and rescued several people from a fire at a southwestern Indiana motel.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin promises to limit her enthusiasm during her visit to North Carolina's Fort Bragg.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Kentucky Historical Society has been displaying and publicizing a pair of earrings as having belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln, but others aren't as sure about their authenticity.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Comedian Stephen Colbert took the "Night Train" and it nearly left him speechless.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 NEW YORK -- The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 LAS VEGAS -- A lawyer for Michael Jackson's former personal physician says the doctor is returning to work at his Houston clinic.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Sarah Palin on Sunday dined and prayed with the Rev. Billy Graham at Graham's home in Montreat.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 NEW YORK -- Fewer people are expected to fly this holiday season, but travelers shouldn't expect a full reprieve from the horrid flight delays of Thanksgivings past, especially if they need to land anywhere near New York City.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 GENEVA -- Charlie Chaplin's last home in Switzerland will be turned into a permanent place of pilgrimage for fans of the actor who immortalized the "Little Tramp," one of his sons said Monday.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 KHAR, Pakistan -- Pakistani troops killed nearly 40 suspected militants Sunday in a series of operations in northwestern tribal areas near the Afghan border, officials said.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 BEIJING -- A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a veteran dissident to three years in prison after he criticized the government's response to a 2008 earthquake that killed about 90,000 people.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 NEW YORK -- The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 MOSCOW -- Russia's Defense Ministry says eight military personnel were killed when a truckload of ammunition exploded as they cleaned up after a huge conflagration at a munitions depot earlier this month.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Nearly 12,000 Illinois public school seniors skipped the mandatory 2009 Prairie State Achievement Exam -- a test that can trigger school or district sanctions -- and will have to take it this spring, state education officials say.

]]> ROSALIND ROSSI Education Reporter/rrossi@suntimes.com ]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 For the people at the heart of an uproar a decade ago over the expulsions of six black boys from a Decatur school, reminders of the national scrutiny the town endured and the divide the situation created are never far away.

]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009 Three students with Chicago area ties -- Stephanie Bell, Russell Perkins and Daniel Shih -- are among the 32 American men and women named Saturday as 2009 Rhodes Scholars, considered one of the world's most prestigious academic honors.

]]> LEWIS LAZARE Staff Writer/llazare@suntimes.com ]]> 4:00 AM, Nov 23, 2009