David Schaper

Goat's Head Sent To Cubs Owner Not From The 'Rahm-Father'

David Schaper — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:34:00 +0000

While many in Chicago immediately thought of the famous "Billy Goat curse," when a severed goat's head was delivered to Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts at Wrigley Field this week, I immediately wondered if it was a message from the "Rahm-father," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

After all, Ricketts is in the midst of intense negotiations with Emanuel's administration over renovating the iconic 99-year old ballpark, as I reported last week.

The famously short-tempered Emanuel may be gr

A Battle For Rooftop Views Near Chicago's Wrigley Field

David Schaper — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:38:00 +0000

Legendary Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, seems magical for some fans — with its red brick walls, green ivy and sun-splashed bleachers. But the nearly 100-old-building is falling apart. The Cubs want to spend $300 million to renovate Wrigley if they are allowed to change the landmarked structure. That's got Wrigley's neighbors crying foul. Nearby buildings have bleachers on their rooftops and the owners charge admission to watch games from there. The owners fear a renovation would include jumbotrons and the like, which would block their rooftop views. And they could be right.

SEC Charges Illinois With Fraud Over Pensions

David Schaper — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:17:00 +0000

For only the second time ever, the Securities and Exchange Commission is charging a state with fraud, for allegedly misleading investors about the health of its pension funds. The SEC says the state of Illinois did not properly inform investors that its pension funds were significantly underfunded when selling bonds from 2005 to 2009. This is the latest fiscal black eye for a state with a pension shortfall approaching a whopping $100 billion. The state has agreed to settle the charges.

Chicago Commuters Brace For Delays During Bridge Repair

David Schaper — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:45:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHBK-v4LSco

Checking In On Chicago Schools' 'Safe Passage' Program

David Schaper — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:18:00 +0000

In Chicago on Friday, President Obama explored his home city's gun violence problem at an appearance at a South Side high school — the same school NPR's David Schaper visited two years ago to report on its "safe passage" program to help students get to and from school safely. Schaper returns to see how the program and other anti-violence initiatives are working.

Illinois Claws At Mountain Of Unfunded Pension Liability

David Schaper — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 10:26:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H62W9iLfKv4

Near-Replica Of Sandy Hook Made Nearby For Students

David Schaper — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:01:00 +0000

The surviving students of Sandy Hook Elementary will not be returning to their school in Newtown, Conn., where 20 first-graders and six educators were shot to death on Dec. 14.

Instead, when classes resume after the holidays, they'll attend a school in the neighboring town of Monroe. Parents, teachers and administrators in both towns are working to make the new school as similar as possible to the one Sandy Hook students left behind.

The Monroe Congregational Church is helping prepare for the transition.

N.J. Spars Over Free Beach Access Post-Sandy

David Schaper — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:33:00 +0000

At an oceanfront park in Long Branch, N.J., Tim Dillingham looks out over the beach in awe of how much the pounding waves and high waters of Hurricane Sandy have changed the Jersey shore.

Dillingham is the executive director of the American Littoral Society, a coastal conservation group. Before the storm, he says, the U.S.

Post Sandy: Atlantic City Wants Its Tourists Back

David Schaper — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:12:00 +0000

A month after Hurricane Sandy pounded the New Jersey Shore, Atlantic City is back in business. Even though most of the casinos and restaurants sustained very little damage in the storm, they're now suffering from a lack of visitors.

In Chicago, Violence Soars And Witnesses Go Silent

David Schaper — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:32:00 +0000

It's an old problem and an old code — "don't snitch." And it exists everywhere.

But in Chicago, where homicides and shootings are up significantly this year, that old code is leaving a rising number of violent crimes unsolved.