Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-3

3 NWCHICAGO TRIBUNE METRO SECTION2 A 3-year-old pit bull was euthanized Wednesday, a day after it broke through a patio screen door in Crystal Lake and attacked a Labrador retriever, according to police and a relative of the pit owner. The incident happened about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, when the pit bull, Shady, charged into an apartment in the 300 block of First Court and attacked the 11- year-old lab owned by Cristina Orton, Crystal Lake police said. The pit bull was playing in the street before it was attracted by the barking, said Sharon Paulsen, who lives in a nearby apartment with the mother of owner. heard the dog barking and went after Paulsen said.

Paulsen and her mother, Linda, pulled Shady off the lab, which police say had cuts on its head and ear. Orton, the owner, could not be reached for comment. David Wuich had the dog euthanized Wednesday afternoon, Sharon Paulsen said. had to do Paulsen said. were told petitions were being signed, that the neighborhood was afraid.

We called every pit bull rescue we could find, but no one would help. It was the only thing we could CRYSTAL LAKE Pit bull put down after attacking dog The Cook County office said Wednesday it will seek the death penalty against a cable TV repairman charged in the rape and murder of two women last year. Prosecutors made the announcement during a status hearing for Anthony Triplettbefore Criminal Court Judge Thomas Sumner, according to office spokesman Andy Conklin. Triplett, 26, is charged withseveral counts of first-degree murder and criminal sexual assault in the October death of Janice Ordidge, 39, of Hyde Park and the December death of Urzula Sakow- ska, 23, Southwest Side. His lawyer has said he is innocent of the charges.

Triplett was arrested Dec. 14 and charged with slaying after police matched him to DNA evidence. Although Triplett gave a DNA sample to authorities in October, it was not sent to the state crime lab for testing until after death, according to police. Triplett, an employee of Premier Cable Communications, a subcontractor of Comcast, wasbeing held without bail in slaying when he was charged with murder. CHICAGO State to ask for death in cable repairman case The April 1 death of a Bartlett motorcyclist who crashed into a car driving in the wrong lane was ruled a reckless homicide Wednesday.

The Kane County jury blamed the death of Eric A. Fredenburg, 48, on a Naperville woman, whose car was heading west in the eastbound lane of Illinois Highway 72 at Illinois Highway 47 near Hampshire, authorities said. But Fredenburg, who was not wearing a helmet, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.146, above the legal limit of 0.08, according to testimony. Driver Pamela Nalon-Thompson, 49, and her 17-year-old daughter were injured. Nalon-Thompson was cited for failure to yield and traveling in the wrong lane, authorities said.

juries determine the manner of death; their rulings do not determine whether criminal charges are filed. The investigation continues, authorities said. KANE COUNTY collision ruled reckless homicide A Richmond doctor charged with prescribing narcotics without conducting medical exams said Wednesday that police set her up. Thanam Paramanandhan, 73, of the 9000 block of Winn Road, was charged by McHenry County police with six counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. The charges were filed Tuesday after a six-month investigation in which an undercover police officer was prescribed painkillers and other drugs without being examined by the doctor, according to Lt.

Donald Carlson. would walk in and talk to her, and she would prescribe narcotics without performing an Carlson said. Paramanandhan, who is free after posting $5,000 bail, said she is not guilty and will fight the charges. reason she gave is that she had back Paramanandhan said Wednesday of the undercover officer. you going to say believe to everyone who comes Paramanandhanwas licensed in Illinois in 1972, according to state records.

Paramanandhansurrendered her Drug Enforcement Administration registration and prescribe drugs. RICHMOND Drug sting was a set-up, charged doctor alleges METROPOLITAN DIGEST By Kristen Kridel Tribune staff reporter Growing up, Americans are taught not to stare at the disabled. As a result, they train themselves not to notice people who are different, said Chris Waddell, a Paralympics gold medalist. really need to open the eyes and see a lot of the people who are out he said. In an effort to raise awareness and give the disabled poor some of the opportunities he has had since a paralyzing ski injury, Waddell joined the Chicago leg of the Ride for Mobility at the Daley Center on Wednesday.

The ride, sponsored by Digest, is a campaign publicizing Free Wheelchair Mission, an international nonprofit that provides wheelchairs to developing nations. Co-founders Don Schoendor- fer and Michael Bayer are pedaling bicycles from New York to California as they raise money for 15,000 wheelchairs. The odd-looking wheelchairs, designed by Schoen- dorfer, cost only $44.40 each to build, ship and deliver. The plastic patio chairs propped on mountain bike been distributed in 64 developing nations, Schoendorfer said. Free Wheelchair Mission has handed out more than 215,000 wheelchairs, but it has a long-term goal of placing 20 million in needy hands.

There are more than 130 million people who need wheelchairs, Schoendorfer said. people even know wrong with them except they he said. They go to school, go out to get medicine or get healthy food, he said. Many of them even get out of bed. Unless relatives help them, the disabled in these countries are completely neglected.

To follow the progress of Ride for Mobility or donate, visit www.ride4mobility.org. Tribune photo Milbert O. Brown Don Schoendorfer (left) shows Dave Hanson, of the Office of Workforce Development, the wheelchair he has designed. Schoendorfer is riding so he can pay for 15,000 of the chairs, which will go to developing nations. Cyclists cross U.S.

to empower disabled By Brian Cox Special to the Tribune Police added patrols near the Evanston Civic Center on Wednesday after a Northwestern University student was forced into her nearby apartment and sexually assaulted, authorities said. The 22-year-old woman told police she was approached from behind about 11:25 p.m. Tuesday as she was entering the front door of her apartment building, a few blocks from the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Deputy Police Chief Joseph Bellino said. Bellino said a man put his hand across the mouth and pushed her into the foyer of the building. The man threatened to kill her if she screamed, and he demanded money, Bellino said.

The man stayed behind the woman so his face could not be seen and once inside the apartment, he put a piece of clothing over her head, Bellino said. The man searched the apartment for money and valuables, then took the woman into her bedroom and sexually assaulted her, Bellino said. Bellino said the man tied the hands behind her back with a telephone cord and fled with her cell phone. She was taken to Evanston Hospital, where she was treated and released. Investigators are treating the crime as an isolated incident, Bellino said.

appears to be a crime of he said. The man was described as African-American with a medium build, 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-6, wearing a black sweat shirt and light-colored pants, Bellino said. Northwestern posted an alert on its Web site Wednesday morning urging students and faculty to be cautious at night, university spokesman Alan Cubbage said. Northwestern is advising students to use university ride services, Cubbage said. Student assaulted near NU Woman attacked in her apartment By Jo Napolitano and Hal Dardick Tribune staff reporters Family and friends of Lisa Stebic held a vigil near her home Wednesday night, while Plainfield police and FBI agents continued investigating the whereabouts of the mother of two who vanished 10 days ago.

About 100 people gathered in prayer around a gazebo less than a half-block from the Stebic home. Her husband, Craig, last reported seeing Stebic, 37, in the home about 6 p.m. April 30. The Stebics were getting a divorce but still lived together. Craig Stebic attended the vigil, standing beside sisters and leaning on his son and daughter.

Holding his hand in front of his face at times, he wiped away tears. His daughter, clinging to her aunts, also wept. Supporters created a makeshift memorial with candles, roses and and posters that read miss you and hope you come Family members had expressed some frustration Tuesday that Craig Stebic, on his advice, had declined to take a polygraph test. Asked whether they still supported him, cousin Mark Greenberg said, is a part of the family. In times of crisis, we need to stick together and support each He also said the family still would like Craig to take a polygraph test and cooperate fully.

Melanie Greenberg, a cousin, would not say what police have told the family. want to impede the Police Department by speculating on anything they may be working on. We have full confidence in Deputy Chief Mark Eiting said that the FBI was providing aid and that there was no indication of the case crossing state lines. asked the FBI to assist us in the Eiting said. have assisted in the search of the There still has been no use of Lisa credit card or cell phone since her disappearance, he said, and police had no persons of interest in the case.

The Stebic family is offering a $20,000 reward and has a Web site, www.findlisasteb- ic.com. Relatives said they do not believe she would have left her children or her grandparents, whom she called three times a week. Also attending the vigil were about a dozen co-workers of from Lincoln Elementary School in Plainfield, lunch as they called themselves. Lorie Dinovo said, too close to home. I live in the next subdivision over.

I go jogging by myself. a little Linda Trepto, a co-worker for four years, said, made the day go by a lot faster. I pray to God OK. My fear is that not with us any longer, but I try to be Tribune photo by Phil Velasquez Lisa husband, Craig (striped shirt), and two children are among family at a vigil for the Plainfield woman. Disappearance in spotlight Plainfield family holds vigil By Ofelia Casillas Tribune staff reporter Unpaid bills, poor bookkeeping and untracked absenteeism all contributed to deteriorating conditions at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, according to an audit released Wednesday.

The audit, conducted by the county auditor beginning in February, found that the staff at the beleaguered center sometimes ordered food without knowing whether there was money to pay for one point there were $500,000 in unpaid food bills. Cash that was held for teenage residents at the center and never reclaimed became mixed with money for expenses. Employee attendance was tracked only sporadically. overall theme of the report would be that there are no financial controls, and, where they did have policies and pro- cedures, they were not widely distributed and Cook County Auditor Laura Burman said at a news conference Wednesday. there was no The lack of financial policies also could have led to financial Burman said.

In response to the audit, officials announced that Jennifer Koehler, a senior policy adviser to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, has been dispatched as a full-time senior administrator to oversee reforms at the facility as it tries to comply with a federal plan. The audit comes during a superintendent search for the center, which has been the subject of ongoing federal litigation and repeated findings of violent, unhealthy and unsanitary conditions. absence of financial controls is a symptom of a larger the facility has failed to provide the leadership, oversight, accountability and consistency that is essential to creating an environment of safety and adequate services for the said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Benjamin Wolf. Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool (D- Chicago), a frequent Stroger critic and former candidate for County Board president, said Stroger is learning now what others have known for years. detention center is a cesspool of financial mismanagement and physical abuse.

This place has been a patronage dumping ground for years and continues to be under his Claypool said. only thing that is going to change the situation is if Todd Stroger puts in charge a person who is independent of politics and is qualified to reform that institution, and so far he has been unwilling to do The audit recommended that procedures be developed to address purchasing, inven- tory control, petty cash and overtime. A protocol also is needed for monitoring supplies, it said. Procedures should define what items can be purchased with petty cash, the audit suggested. Instead of automatically granting overtime to fill vacancies, supervisors should look at how many residents are at the center and find the ideal number of staff members to supervise them, the report found.

Stroger said the audit was an important part of moving forward reforms at the center. the results show that we have a lot of work to do, this audit represents the beginning of the end of a status quo culture that has existed for too long at the he said. In March, Stroger testified in favor of legislation that would formally authorize Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans to replace county government as overseer of the facility. The state House bill could go for a vote before the full state Senate as early as this week, according to county officials, and will then go before Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

of mismanagement Audit finds financial at juvenile center Tribune photo by Milbert O. Brown Cook County Board President Todd Stroger discusses findings of an audit of the juvenile detention center Wednesday. Product: CTMETRO PubDate: 05-10-2007 Zone: NW Edition: HD Page: METROP3-3 User: bfletcher Time: Color:.