Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 1-1

123456 MIDWEST 157TH CHICAGO TRIBUNE 50 By Andrew Martin Washington Bureau an effort to win back its largest customers for beef exports, U.S. agriculture officials are considering a vast expansion of the program for testing cattle for mad cow disease, a measure they have previously dismissed as unnecessary, cumbersome and expensive. U.S. consumers seem largely unfazed by the case of mad cow disease that was discovered in Washington state just before Christmas. But Japan, the biggest foreign customer for American beef, has cut off all imports and suggested that it reopen its borders unless the U.S.

adopts a much tougher testing regimen. we test more, or they change their eating said Chuck livestock an- alyst for Alaron Chicago-based firm. can do without U.S. In the three weeks since federal officials announced the discovery of mad cow disease, the U.S. Agriculture program for testing cattle for the disease has come under increasing fire.

Besides the demands of foreign governments, consumer groups and members of Congress have criticized the program as inadequate and called on the USDA to significantly increase the number of cattle that are tested. On Thursday, at a newsconfer- ence sponsored by the advocacy group Public Citizen, several USDA inspectors said crucial aspects of the mad cow testing program were left in the hands of slaughterhouse officials. More mad cow tests weighed to calm Japan PLEASE SEE MADCOW, PAGE5 By Liz Sly Tribune foreign correspondent NEW DELHI The advertisements are everywhere, on television, in newspapers and in magazines. the slogan proclaims, over pictures of happy-faced people talking on their cell phones, going shopping and reading newspapers trumpeting the latest good news about the booming economy. is awakening to a new croons the voice on the television ads.

dreams were small, but now anything is possible. Across India, you can feel a new The advertisements mention the hundreds of millions of Indians who read newspapers, let alone afford a television set, and the cam- paign has drawn criticism from social activists for overlooking the chronic poverty. But the ads, soon to be broadcast globally, nonetheless capture the spirit of a rapidly changing India that is starting to redefine its image. Buoyed by a surging economy, an expanding network of international relationships and the prospect of peace with Pa- kistan, a newly confident India is asserting its aspirations to become a global power, as a nuclear-armed nation and as a potential market of 1billion people. the 20th Century belonged to the West, the 21st Century will belong to the deputy prime minister, Lal Krishna Thanks to an expanding economy and Pakistan peace initiatives, a nation that once had modest dreams now has a big goal: To be on par with U.S.

Buoyant India aims to become global power AP photo by Aman Sharma Pakistani passengers shower rose petals on Indian troops Thursday as rail service between India and Pakistan resumed. PLEASE SEE INDIA, PAGE4 By James Janega Tribune staff reporter Thousands of anxious people have signed petitions over Big Chicks, an Uptown gay bar within the 100-foot limit that prohibits taverns near schools, hospitals and houses of worship. The thing is, they want to save the place, not close it. In a saga that says as much about Uptown and the bar popularity as it does about liquor licensing, activists from across the political spectrum have spent months flooding phone lines and sending e-mails urging that the bar remain open. But the story also says something about the power of gay activism, especially in Uptown, as well as the gay desire to have a place where they are welcome.

Even people who around when Michelle Fire bought Big Chicks in the mid-1980s understood that bar was informal gay community center. Founded as a gay bar but welcoming everyone, Big Chicks offers a sophisticated atmosphere of bright paintings, vintage photographs and whimsical signs. Most of the artwork features amply proportioned women. Its patrons are gays and lesbians, but also neighbors and members of community groups on their way home from meetings. Gays, straights agree: Bar worth fighting for MAP AREA Chicago ARGYLE ST.

KENMORE AVE. 100 FEET Tweet Agudas Achim North Shore Congregation Chicago TribuneSource: ESRI Big Chicks Approximately 100 feet Liquor license ban PLEASE SEE BAR, PAGE5 By Ray Long and Diane Rado Tribune staff reporters a stinging indictment of the education bureaucracy, Gov. Rod Blagojevich launched an ambitious plan Thursday to strip the State Board of Education of its authority and give himself direct oversight of Illinois schools. In his second State of the State address, the Democratic governor called on House and Senate lawmakers meeting in a joint session to join him in ripping apart a board that he condemned as a accountable to no one and replacing it with a new cabinet-level Department of Education. the Berlin Wall eventually came Blagojevich said.

the State Board of Education to be a barrier to progress is like throwing money down the The governor used the bulk of his 86-minute speech to relentlessly hammer away at the board as an sorely in need of reform. At one point he held up 2,800 pages of rules from the board to govern schools and said that was more pages than are contained in the Bible, Torah and Koran combined. The red tape caused by the board, he complained, was a nightmare of biblical He blamed the board for a litany of problems, from grade school children who read to children getting sick on tainted school lunches. He also cited high administrative salaries and consulting con- Governor lambastes school board Tribune photo by Charles Osgood Gov. Rod Blagojevich holds 2,800 pages of state school pages than the Bible, Torah and Koran combined, he says, adding that the red tape is a of biblical Blagojevich calls agency to PLEASE SEE GOVERNOR BACK PAGE By Mark Skertic Tribune staff reporter Months were spent crafting the sale of Bank One Corp.

to J.P. Morgan Chase Co. On Thursday, the more intimate work of stitching together two vastly different cultures began. Wall Street appears to have embraced the $58 billion combination, which creates the second-largest bank. For the architects, the equally crucial work of convincing employees and customers that the deal is a good one is under way.

have a certain said William Harrison, J.P. Morgan chief executive and chairman. have differences. You have issues you have to work out. You have cultural issues.

You have different business models. all aware of Bank One CEO Jamie Dimon also has lived through the messy business of meshing different corporate cultures while trying not to alienate customers and investors. This new challenge will be merging the East Coast, investment bank culture of J.P. Morgan Chase with Bank Midwestern, retail banking roots. Harrison will remain the CEO, with Dimon assuming the role of chief operating officer.

By 2006, Dimon will take over for Harrison, according to the agreement the pair reached. They will be leading a financial giant with an estimated Tribune photo by M. Osorio Bank Jamie Dimon (left) and J.P. Morgan William Harrison met Thursday with workers in Chicago and New York. Bank deal sews a culture clash Bank employees fretting about their future.

IN BUSINESS PLEASE SEE BANKONE BACK PAGE By Lisa Anderson Tribune national correspondent NASHUA, N.H.—Electability, one of the most-bandied of buzzwords on the lips of political pundits these days, is emerging as one of the most compelling issues on the minds of Democratic voters across the nation and particularly here as they prepare to cast the first ballots of the 2004 presidential race. The headlines on recent letters to the editor published in the Manchester Union-Leader, New largest newspaper, tell the story. From day to day, and letter to letter, the names of the candidates may change but the objective remains the same. Dick Gephardt can beat President topped a letter from Hank Thibaultof Manchester. matter what Democrats may want in a nominee, nothing is of much use if we elect another George McGovern, Michael Dukakis or Walter wrote Thibault, referring to three past Democratic Campaign 2004 Voters keep asking: Who can beat Bush? PLEASE SEE ELECT, PAGE7 Braun may help Dean in South.

PAGE 6 Hear audio from campaign at chicagotribune. INSIDE NATION Chicago schools accused of waste Probe finds $5 million in computersleft unused. PAGE 4 BUSINESS SEC. 3OBITUARIES SEC. 3 P.

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1 P. 3 Weather: Flurries; high 31, low 27 Online at chicagotribune.com Spirit starts to move The Mars rover Spirit rolls off its lander. PAGE 5 TEMPO 1 2 Michael Caine leads brilliant cast in oddly quiet thriller. CAME Comedy starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston is a dud from the start..