ILLINOIS
Judge delays sentencing for Rezko
A federal judge in Chicago delayed sentencing for convicted fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko as one of his lawyers said he was working with prosecutors in hopes of getting a reduced prison term. Sentencing is now set for Dec. 16.
"We are trying to work toward an agreement that would affect sentencing," attorney Bill Ziegelmueller said after the hearing.
Rezko was a major political fundraiser who bankrolled campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich. He did not supply any money to Obama's current campaign, and the Democratic presidential nominee has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Rezko was convicted in June of mail fraud, wire fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering.
WISCONSIN
Death at foster home questioned
A Milwaukee couple are waiting for answers after their baby boy died in foster care last week, two days after being removed with three other children from their home.
"A week before he was taken from the home, we had taken him to the doctor and he was as healthy as can be," the boy's father, Robert Whitman, said Tuesday night. "Today was supposed to be his two-month checkup."
The county medical examiner's office reported Oct. 2 that the infant, Robert R. Whitman, was found dead that day in a crib at a foster home.
The report listed the cause of death as undetermined pending an autopsy.
A worker from the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare removed the couple's four children Sept. 30 because of filthy conditions in the residence and bruises on one child, the medical examiner's report said.
MISSOURI
Man convicted in 3-year-old's death
A man who kicked his girlfriend's daughter in the head and dumped her headless body in the woods was convicted of murder, resolving a case that haunted the Kansas City area during the four years that Erica Green, 3, was known only as "Precious Doe."
Harrell Johnson, 29, faces life in prison without parole.
The child's mother, Michelle Johnson, 33, testified against him. She has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
From Times Wire Reports
