Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-2

2 CHICAGO TRIBUNE METRO SECTION2 Earn your Northwestern University degree by attending part-time, evening, and weekend courses in Chicago orEvanston. Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and Master of Arts in Literature students explore interdisciplinary coursework across a range of subjects including English, philosophy, political science and history. Master of Arts in Creative Writing students work closely with the faculty and focus on fiction, creative poetry through a combination of workshops and individual mentor- ing.Nondegree options such as graduate certificates and the opportunity to take individual courses are also available. at orthwestern evening graduate programs Apply today The fall quarter application deadline is July 25. 312-503-4682 www.scs.northwestern.edu/grad AnnualPercentageYield(APY): anddepositamountsubjectto availability.Penaltyforearly withdrawal.Depositsexceeding otherthanadvertised.FDIC- includedtoobtainyield.

insuranceindustryandarenot agencyorinsuredbytheFDIC. youradvisorfordetails. I A A I AMERIFIRSTDIRECT i 8 4 7 5 9 7 7 0 0 6 i a 8 4 7 9 8 1 6 9 8 0 a i 6 3 0 7 9 9 8 2 5 0 a i i i AVG. APY 7 4 2 Callforanapppointmenttoday! Monday-Friday9AM-5PM 4 5 0 A FDIC-INSURED 1 Susan Keaton, bureau chief 2000 York Road, Suite 115 Oak Brook, IL 60523 Call: 630-368-4269 Fax: 630-368-4266 How to contact us Tribune photo by Michael Tercha The Sox and biggest fan Workers install a combination White hat Monday on the Picasso statue in Daley Plaza as part of Ball The event, co-sponsored by the city, celebrated the beginning of the baseball season. By Lolly Bowean TRIBUNE REPORTER The City of Markham must pay $400,000 to settle a disability and housing discrimination suit that alleged the mayor and others tried to block the opening of a group home for six developmentally disabled men, officials said Monday.

Markham must pay St. of Illinois Inc. the full amount by next Monday and acknowledge that the group home is operating according to city regulations, under the agreed order entered last week by U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur. think this is a great victory for St.

residents and developmentally disabled residents who are still forced to struggle to enjoy the benefits of the fair- housing said Nicholas Anaclerio, an attorney for St. is exceptionally pleased and looks forward to continuing to be good In the order, Markham does not admit wrongdoing but agrees to pay compensatory damages, fees and punitive damages. St. a non-profit operator of group homes for the developmentally disabled, bought a newly constructed house in November with plans to relocate six men who were sharing an apartment, Anaclerio said. Before moving the men into the house, St.

needed to install a sprinkler system and fire alarm. But when officials went to the city to get permits, they were met with stall tactics, including bogus interpretations of ordinances and unnecessary city meetings, Anaclerio said. Markham officials denied the permits, allegedly saying the home needed business licenses even though city ordinances said otherwise. At one point Mayor David Webb Jr. ordered that water to the home be shut off, Anaclerio said.

That action also delayed installation of the sprinkler system. ran into very staunch opposition at every turn of the he said. Because the apartment lease was expiring, St. needed to move them into the house by the end of January. So it sued the city in federal court to get the permits, Anaclerio said.

But after the court ordered the city to issue permits, that direction was not followed, and the city was held in contempt and fined $2,000 a day, court documents show. The six men were able to move into the house in February with the backing of a Jan. 30 temporary restraining order. On Monday, Webb would not speak about specifics but said the lawsuit stemmed from were some things blown out of proportion and things taken out of he said. think it was ever said that we want them in our community.

I think it was more about following our ordinances and Webb acknowledged that he did terminate water service but said that was because he mistakenly thought the group home pay the proper deposit. Group home, Markham settle City agrees to pay $400,000 in suit By Sara Olkon TRIBUNE REPORTER A minimum-wage earner would have to work 97 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, in order to afford a modest two- bedroom apartment in the Chicago area, according to a study released Monday. The report, of Reach released by Housing Action Illinois and the Washington, D.C.-based National Low Income Housing Coalition, paints a grim picture in which affordable rental housing is increasingly out of reach for area families. rents continue to rise across the state, Illinois workers are spending more and more of their income on their housing and have less money for food, clothing, transportation and other basic said Mimi Chedid, policy coordinator for Housing Action Illinois. persistent shortage of affordable rental housing combined with the current economic caused by the mortgagefore- closure the economic security of Illinois In the Chicago-Naperville- Joliet metropolitan area, the monthly fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $944.

In Illinois, the minimum wage is $7.50 an hour. By traditional measure, housing is no longer affordable when individuals or families must spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on it. Julie Dworkin, director of policy at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said the supply of affordable housing is rapidly shrinking. She pointed to several factors, including gentrification and the $1.6 billion for for public housing. The ultimate result is units affordable to extremely low-income Dworkin said.

William Wilen, of the Sargent Shriver Center on Poverty Law, said the shortage is reaching a precarious stage. and more families are losing their he said. puts additional pressure on the already inadequate supply of affordable housing. Thousands of families are on the cusp of Affordable rental housing increasingly of By Matthew Walberg and Erika Slife TRIBUNE REPORTERS Lisa husband and his attorneys were in court Monday to reclaim a car that was seized during the investigation into the Plainfield disappearance and to try to stop her parents from seeking visitation rights with their grandchildren. Will County Judge Richard Schoenstedt allowed Craig Stebic, 42, to pick up his 2004 Saturn Ion from Plainfield police Monday after he agreed to waive any right to dispute the validity of photos of his car or evidence gleaned from it if they are used in a future case against him.

Meanwhile, in a courtroom one floor below, his at- torneyDion Daviunsuc- cessfully argued that Judge Robert Brumund should reconsider a prior ruling in a petition by in-laws to pursue visitation rights with the two children, ages 11 and 13. The next hearing is scheduled for April 18. Lisa Stebic was 37 when she vanished from the Plainfield home April 30, 2007. She and her husband had begun divorce proceedings before her disappearance. Plainfield police have called her husband the focus of their investigation and say they believe Lisa is probably dead.

No charges have been filed in the case. In May, authorities executed a search warrant at the Stebic home, seizing the Saturn, a 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck and 24 firearms. In February, Steb- attorneyGeorge Lenardfiled a motion asking Schoenstedt to order authorities to return his property, saying they had more than enough time to examine the items and were depriving his client of the right to his property. Prosecutors agreed to give up the Saturn but continue to fight the return of the truck and firearms. Schoenstedt is expected to rule April 24 on whether the remaining items should be returned.

agreement to reclaim his Saturn does not prohibit him from challenging the relevance of any evidence found there. Lisa parents, Lawrence and Judith Ruttenberg, and grandparents Milton and Charlotte Rut- tenbergfiled a petition in November asking the court to appoint a counselor to meet with them and the children. Stebic has said he will allow her family to visit with the children under his supervision. said Melanie Greenberg, Lisa cousin and family spokeswoman, who was at court Monday. taking so long.

about grandparents and great-grandparents wanting to see those Davi said the Stebic children have not seen their grandparents, who live in Florida, in years, and their great-grandparents, who live in Wheeling, since last summer. He would not say why the children have not seen them in so long, adding the facts would come out in court. Lisa family will observe the anniversary of her disappearance with a fundraiser walk in Plainfield on April 27. Proceeds will go to the Guardian Angel Community Groundwork Domestic Violence Program, Sexual Assault Service Center and the Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. More information is available at www.findlisa stebic.com.

Stebic wins back his car Child-visitation fight with in-laws goes on By Dan P. Blake TRIBUNE REPORTER A Sauk Village man who joined the Army after graduating from Bloom Trail High School last year was killed, apparently by sniper fire, while guarding a post in Iraq over the weekend. Pfc. Shane Penley, 19, died at Patrol Base Copper, Iraq, of wounds suffered while on duty at a guard post Sunday, according to the Department of Defense. The Army said the incident is under investigation and could not provide further details.

Friends said military officials told the family that Penley was fatally wounded by sniper fire. Neighbors near his home in the 22200 block of Brookwood Drive said Penley attended Bloom Trail, in Chicago Heights, and joined up in June right after graduating. joined the Army because he wanted to serve his country. His mother begged him not to, but he knew that if he stuck around, he would be just hanging out, and he do said Renee Caminker, who watched Penley grow up over 10 years. parents, David and Dena, could not be reached for comment.

Caminker said they were devastated by news of their only death. Linda White, another neighbor who said she had known Penley since he in said his death has been difficult for the neighborhood, already reeling over the slaying of Brashai Griffin, who lived down the block. Griffin, a sophomore at Bloom Trail, was found strangled in a creek bed Friday about a mile from her home. community is just devastated right now. a small community, and all right down the White said.

Caminker said that among passions was rooting for the Chicago Bears, but she also remembered his sense of humor and one time when he dressed up as a sumo wrestler for Halloween. was just hysterical. He had a very dry but funny sense of she said. Penley, who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division out of Ft. Campbell, last spoke with his family Saturday, Caminker said.

In addition to his parents, Penley is survived by three older sisters. Iraq death is another shock for Sauk Village Penley Product: CTMETRO PubDate: 04-08-2008 Zone: Edition: HD Page: 2-2 User: rhochgesang Time: Color:.