Patch Flash: Union-Busting WI Gov. Criticizes IL During Visit

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was greeted in what is likely, by now, a familiar manner when he addressed business leaders in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday morning: By thousands of protesters. Walker used the opportunity to deride the state's financial health when compared to his own state's. "Illinois and Wisconsin, like nearly every other state, had big deficits. We had a $3.7 billion deficit," Walker said, according to NBC Chicago. "A year later, after we balanced a $3.6 billion budget deficit, things haven’t gotten any better in Springfield. When you raise taxes on business and individuals, it drives away wealth."

Governor Pat Quinn responded to Walker in a statement: "One would wonder what a governor with a terrible economic record could have to say about jobs and economic growth . . . While Governor Walker might be fond of anti-worker and tea party rhetoric, the facts aren't on his side."

The searches began at the start of the 2011-12 school year, with police dogs checking student lockers within the school.  Now, the District is planning to expand its searches to include student parking lots, as well.

A bakery owner and former baker are facing off in a lawsuit the defendant is calling "Muffin-Gate" in Evanston. When Mary Ann Huppert left her job at Evanston's Fraîche Bakery, located at 815 Noyes St., she took with her two cookbooks she had used while working there. Now, she's engaged in a battle with her former boss, shop owner Susan Davis Friedman, over recipes the latter claims are proprietary.

The Parks and Forestry Department of Lake Forest estimates that, based on previous tree inventory numbers, about 15,000 trees were lost to Dutch elm disease in Lake Forest over 20 years. . Parks and Forestry staff plan to start a new tree inventory and hope to hire more staff or interns to help with identifying infested trees. A five-year plan also is being developed and will be brought before the City Council in the fall.

Glencoe, along with the seven other communities involved in the consortium, will receive "one of the largest aggregation groups under a single form agreement in Illinois," according to a press statement released Tuesday.