Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 4-1

CHICAGOLAND SECTION4 By Erika Slife TRIBUNE REPORTER Judy Ruttenberg moves through her day focused on one task at a time: get out of bed, make breakfast, wash dishes, check in with police. This has been her life since her daughter Lisa Stebic disappeared one year ago. She and her husband rarely muster the energy to even go out for dinner. And when they do, conversation revolves around what we could do, where can we go from here to help bring Lisa home. day and every she said.

Since April 30, the mystery of disappearance has unleashed crushing grief on those who loveher, while a small cadre of Plainfield and Will County investigators works full time to find answers. The case remains the No. 1 priority of Plainfield police, who say they always have at least one detective working it. The office has enlisted a special grand jury to help. Leads still trickle in.

taken it personal. I know that our investigators have taken the case on as per- said Detective Sgt. Troy Kivisto. owe it to Lisa and all of her family members to find out where she is and what happened to her and who is responsible for her Though the trail may seem cold and the case overshadowed by the more sensational missing-woman saga of Stacy Peterson in nearby Bolingbrook, Lisa family and local authorities say confident it will be solved. The Peterson case, with its scores of investigators, has stolen the spotlight that can generate leads, but PLEASESEE MISSING PAGE5 1 year later, disappearance of Stebic haunts Amid the pain of an unsolved mystery, her parents hold out hope that their daughter will be found Photo courtesy of Ruttenberg family Lisa Stebic (left) is shown in a 2002 family photo with her parents, Lawrence and Judith Ruttenberg.

By Jon Yates TRIBUNE REPORTER It was a crime against nature, something so ugly Barbara Philiotis could barely look at it. Armed with a hacksaw and an apparent disregard for leafy life, a ham-handed tree trimmer sneaked into Philio- back yard last month and hacked her prized maple to a stump. She consulted an arborist from River Forest to see if the loss might be temporary, but he confirmed her worst fears. Her mulberry and Chinese elm trees were both badly damaged. Her maple, an estimated 10 to 15 years old, was essentially dead.

might sprout out and become a said Mark Janopoulos, superintendent of River Public Works Department. it will never be a tree again. Not in the same PLEASESEE PROBLEM PAGE5 YOUR PROBLEM? NOT GETTING RESULTS? WE CAN HELP Hatchet job on trees turns into whodunit By Vanessa TRIBUNE REPORTER been slow going for Armando as he hits up Latino-owned businesses to drum up donations for next immigration march in Chicago. He leaves a Mexican restaurant with $20. He gets another $10 from a beauty parlor.

The Azteca bakery ponies up $620, but rejections are more common. getting a lot of no, no, he said. The massive immigration marches of 2006, including the May 1 rally that brought 400,000 people to Grant Park, helped drive immigration reform to the top of the national agenda and gave new focus to the immigrant community in the Chicago area. Two years later, Spanish- language morning talk shows are buzzing about a new march. But some community leaders in the suburbs, a vital source of support in past demonstrations, are expressing doubts about whether massive rallies are the right tactic this year.

With five days, supporters point out that there is still time to organize a strong showing. Earlier marches picked up much of their momentum in the final days and hours. Interest wanes for immigrant marches But some leaders say rallies still important PLEASESEE MARCH PAGE4 ill Adams discovered a tiny colony of half-million feral cats last summer on a walk in a Hyde Park alley with Mr. Bojangles, her Welsh terrier. She hurried home to her studio apartment and came back to the alley with food.

Adams was out of work and had no car, but soon she was feeding the cats every day and routinely walking or riding the bus to shop for Friskies, pet vitamins and sanitizing wipes for the water dishes. really related to these she says, I was orphaned when I was Summer waned. The days got shorter, cold. she thought, am I going to do? going to She lined a big green garbage can with newspaper, secured the top with duct tape, cut an opening in the top and nestled the can on its side next to a brick wall. Through the winter, on snowy mornings before dawn, she carried a broom to the alley and swept the snow away from the cat shelter.

At night she came with a flashlight, undeterred by the fact that the neighborhood, even with all the new signs promising luxury condos in the vacant lots, was a place where, too often, people get shot. been living on my own since I was she says. not Adams scare easily, but she was often sad. One day in June 1971, at the age of 12, she boarded a train called the City of New Orleans for a family wedding in New Orleans. The train crashed.

Her mother and her 3-year-old sister, Gigi, died. Who knows whether why, but something about making a home for these unclaimed cats made Adams strangely happy. By mid-winter some PLEASESEE SCHMICH PAGE2 Tribune photo by Phil Velasquez Feral cats keep an eye on Jill Adams as she prepares food for them in the Hyde Park alley where the colony of animals lives. For feral cats, a blanket of kindness Mary Schmich By Joel Hood and Gerry Smith TRIBUNE REPORTERS They were two lives intersecting at a Red Line station crowded with rush-hour travelers. It was an appropriate setting for two women on the move, both fast approaching new chapters in their lives.

Eloisa Guerrero, 47, had put the darkness of her death in 2004 behind her and was months from getting married. Delisia Brown, 18, was a cheerleader and straight-A honor student months from her high school graduation. They converged at the Red Cermak-Chinatown Red Line elevated train station Friday afternoon as a semitrailer truck inexplicably barreled off the expressway and slammed into the CTA stop. Guerrero, who was at a bus stop under the station, and Brown, who was on an escalator, were declared dead at the scene. At least 21 others were hospitalized, with at least 14 treated and released since the acci- dent.

On Saturday, the Chicago Transit Authority barricaded the damaged entrance with plywood and swept debris from the sidewalk as city officials and grieving family and friends came to terms with the horrific crash. really extend my condolences to those who lost their life in this terrible tragedy at Mayor Richard Daley said. we also pray for those who are recovering at all the hospitals. Police and Fire Department did a tremendous job. And also it took mean, amazing what citizens did, pulling people off the truck, moving people Police said charges are pending against the truck driver, identified as Don Wells, 51, who was still in police custody Saturday night.

Investigators are reviewing CTA surveillance tapes. Wells is a driver for Michigan-based Whiteline Express. A secretary of spokesman said his office had not been able to determine, based on public information, whether Wells was licensed to drive in Illinois. Police would not say where Wells was headed when he exited the ramp to Cermak Road from the Dan Ryan Expressway. They did say there were no indications drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.

Meanwhile, the Federal Tribune photo by Zbigniew Bzdak Angelica Ortega, 19 (from left), Eloisa cousin; Elsa Guerrero, 42, sister; and family friend Judy Raya, 17, comfort one another on Saturday. Elsa Guerrero said her sister was a devoted mother and hardworking employee who pride in everything she Eloisa Guerrero, 47: Was going home to her fiance, whom she was to marry this summer. Delisia Brown, 18: An honor student who was leaning toward attending North Carolina State. Women killed when truck hit CTA station were approaching milestones PLEASESEE VICTIMS PAGE3 Mayor Richard Daley is supporting a plan by police Supt. Jody Weis to arm the rank-and-file officers with semiautomatic assault rifles.

PAGE 3 City may beef up weapons for police Expect highs to be 14 degrees below normal, Tom Skilling says. PAGE 9 Unseasonable chill coming in the air 2 lives, 1 horrific moment Product: CTMETRO PubDate: 04-27-2008 Zone: ALL Edition: BDOG Page: CMETRO1-1 User: croyer Time: Color:.