Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-3

123456 TRIBUNE 3 METRO A Markham man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for trying to kill a Harvey police officer. The sentence was issued more than eight years after Corey Safford, 32, shot Officer John Marcano twice, once in the shoulder and once in the face. A Cook County jury convicted Safford in April. Assistant Atty. Ted Lagerwall Jr.

said the life sentence without possibility of parole was mandatory because of armed robbery convictions in 1989 and 1992. glad that justice has finally come for the officer that was shot and for Corey Safford as Lagerwall said. been a long wait for the police COOK COUNTY Gunman gets life for wounding cop Wheaton College has gone on a property-buying spree in the last 10 months, paying more than $3.2 million for three properties in the college neighborhood. The acquisitions have been Wheaton first land purchases since 2000, when it bought two houses in the 400 block of North Howard Street, one of which it has since demolished. Most recently, the college in May paid $360,000 for a American Foursquare-style house at 809 College Ave.

It was the last single-family house on the north side of College Avenue that was not already owned by the school. Last October, Wheaton College paid $450,000 for a single-family house at 725 Irving which the school plans to use to house eight female students. And last August, the college paid $2.4 million for the President-University apartment complex, a three-building, 32-unit development at the southwest corner of President Street and University Place that was built in 1963. WHEATON College acquiring land to expand its campus An ice cream vendor on the Northwest Side was ordered held on $200,000 bond Thursday in the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl who prosecutors say was lured to his home for a religious Juan Ponce DeLeon, 44, of the 3100 block of North Sawyer Avenue, appeared before Cook County Criminal Court Judge Colleen Hyland. At about 6 p.m.

Wednesday, DeLeon was pushing an ice cream cartwhen he and thegirl began talking after she inquired about a religious medallion he had, said Cook County Assistant Atty. Tracy Senica. He invited herto his home to look at more religious artifacts, Senica said. Thegirl refusedand left, Senica said, but she ran into DeLeon a second timeand agreed to go with him. Arriving at his home, he told his wife that he was going to take thegirl to the attic for a cleansing, Senica said.

DeLeon then forcedthe girl to remove her clothingandassaulted her, Senica said. CHICAGO Ice cream vendor held in sexual assault of teen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago will find a way to keep Notre Dame High School for Boys open after the religious order that runs the Niles school withdraws its support next spring, the head of the archdiocesan school system said Thursday. school is very important to the church because located in an area that really needs a Catholic high school for said Nicholas Wolsonovich, superintendent of schools for the archdiocese. Students, parents and alumni expressed disappointment after the Indiana Province of the Congregation of the Holy Cross announced Friday that the order would withdraw its sponsorship of the 51-year-old all-boys school in the north suburbat the end of the 2006-07 school year. NILES Archdiocese vows to save Notre Dame High School Associated Press A Marine reservist back from a tour in Iraq has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of three teens in Aurora.

Michael Smith, 22, of Aurora was arrested after police said he led officers on a 15-minute chase. He was carrying his military identification card at the time, police said. He and Cevin Stanford, 24, have been charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery. Police said the two opened fire on three teens on an Aurora street at about 11p.m. Tuesday.

A 17-year-old boy suffered injuries on his face and legs, while an 18-year-old was hit in the leg. A 16-year-old boy declined treatment for a graze wound. not sure why this said an Aurora police spokesman. AURORA Marine reservist accused of attempted murder Metropolitan DIGEST By Jon Hilkevitch Tribune transportation reporter Flights departing both of airports were late more often than anyplace else in the country in May, according to airline performance data released Thursday. Flights arriving in Chicago were also chronically behind schedule in May.

The Chicago numbers reflect a nationwide drop in on- time flight performance in May by airlines serving the 31 busiest airports, compared with April 2006 or May 2005, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The data also indicate a continuing congestion problem at International Airport, where government-imposed flight caps are expected to remain in place until new runways are built. The statistics also serve as a warning sign about future gridlock at Midway Airport, which handled 3 percent more flights, and 13.5 percent more passengers, in the first six months of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005. Only 69 percent of departures backed away from the gate on time at in May, putting in 31st dead last, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said.

In May 2005, when ranked 30th, 78 percent of flights left on schedule. In the first half of 2006, regained the title of busiest airport for total number of flights. recorded the largest number of takeoffs and landings in the U.S., edging Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which was the busiest in 2005. At Midway, 70 percent of departures were on time in May 2006, placing the Southwest Side airport 30th. The previous May, 84 percent of flights left Midway on time, the government said.

The on-time arrival rate in May 2006 was somewhat better than departures at Midway. Seventy-seven percent of Midway arrivals parked at the gate on time in May, for a 25th place ranking. Midway finished first in May 2005, when 88 percent of arriving flights were on time. At 68 percent of arrivals were on time in May. The 28th place ranking was two spots lower than May 2005, when 79 percent of arrivals were on schedule.

City airports latest of all Midway lag behind rest of nation in on-time statistics By Michael Higgins Tribune staff reporter In a courtroom packed with legal and political heavyweights, the newest Supreme Court justice, Anne Burke, took her oath of office Thursday and spoke reverently of the justice she will be replacing on the court. Former Justice Mary Ann McMorrow, the first woman to serve on the highest court, was a and said Burke, an Illinois appellate judge for 11years. has been a kindred Burke said. will always be a heroic symbol for what women have accomplished in our In April, McMorrow announced she would step down from the court and selected Burke, the wife of influential Chicago Ald. Edward Burke (14th), to serve the remaining years of her term.

The other justices approved the choice. As has been true of many past members of the court, political connections helped her ascent. But speaking to reporters afterward, Burke pledged to be independent and not to rule on cases in which her impartiality could be questioned. constantly on the lookout for any possible appearance of impropriety or Burke said. of my colleagues on the appellate bench always said, you have to ask the question, you already know the So my More than 200 people crowded into a courtroom on the 20th floor of the Daley Center, including at least five other current or former Supreme Court justices.

Speakers included former Govs.Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar, Senate President Emil Jones, House Speaker Michael Madigan and state Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan. Television journalist Bill Kurtis was master of ceremonies. The speakers praised McMorrow as a legal trailblaz- er and good colleague.

The audience stood to applaudwhen she entered the courtroom and again after she spoke. Speakers praised Burke for her work for Edgar, who named her his special counsel for child welfare services in 1994, and for her service as the head of the U.S. Catholic review board on sex abuse in the church. was a woman who reached out into the community and said, will expend my efforts on behalf of those with the least Thompson said. Burke took the oath of office with her husband at her side.

The couple were enmeshed in controversy several years ago when they tried to gain legal guardianship over their foster child, known in court papers as In 2000, the couple were awarded permanent guardianship of the child. At the ceremony on Thursday, the the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Tribune photo by Heather Stone Anne Burke stands with her husband, Ald. Edward Burke, as she takes the oath of office to become an Illinois Supreme Court justice. Justice Charles Freeman administers the oath.

Anne Burke is sworn in as newest justice Key wife joins Supreme Court By Dan Gibbard Tribune staff reporter After more than a year in a holding pattern, a museum devoted to the former Glenview Naval Air Station finally lands in a new home Saturday. Tucked in an industrial park on what was the eastern edge, the Naval Air Station Glenview Museum tells the history of what was once an important training facility for military aviators. a unique Midwestern said Bill Marquardt, president of the non-profit Glenview Hangar One Foundation, which is dedicated to keeping the history alive. an opportunity to display artifacts that show what went on at the base throughout its The base, whose 60-year history stretched from biplanes to the jet age, reached the height of its importance during World War II, when about 16,000 Navy carrier pilots trained there on their way to the Pacific theater. After the war, it became a Navy Reserve base.

The museum first opened in June 2004 in The Glen, the upscale development built on the site of the base, which closed in 1995. But after less than a year, the developer decided to lease the space, and in March 2005 the displays and memorabilia were put in storage. group, which toyed with giving up on the museum, eventually landed space at 2040 Lehigh Ave, about a half mile from the former site. In the year since it closed, the museum has added new pieces, including dozens of model planes and the centerpiece: a huge 14-cylinder Wright airplane engine recovered a few years ago from atorpedo bomber that crashed in Lake Michigan during training in World War II. Dozens of vintage photographs line the walls.

There are shots of the aerobatics squadrons that used the base during three decades of Chicago Air Water Shows. Other pictures show dignitaries who either trained at the base, like former President George H.W. Bush, or who visited, like former President Dwight Eisenhower and actress Kim Novak, who signed her cheesecake pose. sailors like that said curator and former Navy electrician Bob Coffin, 73, who is a tour guide. There are also insignias of the squadrons that used the base, along with uniforms, books, a video about aircraft-carrier training in Lake Michigan during WW II and other memorabilia.

The group has not given up on raising enough money to returnto The Glen and regards its new home as temporary. A bigger space would allow the group to add its dream exhibits: real airplanes. is a step along the Marquardt said. gets back into a working museum, which brings people in to learn what doing and what all Tribune photo by Jim Robinson Bob Coffin, director of the Naval Air Station Glenview Museum, checks exhibits in advance of the Saturday reopening. It closed March 2005.

A year later, museum flies again Glenview non-profit seeks to expand Navy collection with planes What: Naval Air Station Glenview Museum Where: 2040 Lehigh Glenview Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; noon to 5 p.m. Sundays; special groups and evenings by appointment Admission: Free; donations accepted For more information: 847-657-0000 or www.HangarOne.org If you go A mannequin at the museum wears a WW II flight suit and goggles..