Eligible frequent fliers would have to provide certain background information on themselvesSome passengers on United Airlines will soon have the option to undergo expedited security screening at O'Hare International Airport in exchange for volunteering certain background information about themselves, the Transportation Security Administration announced Wednesday.

Desperately seeking someone to take on the unions and Boss MadiganAs you sit here in Madiganistan, the wind-swept and debt-ridden wasteland once known to foreign travelers as Illinois, and look northward to the free lands of Wisconsin, the question arises:

'Consolidated power and secrecy are not ingredients for effective government,' former prosecutor saysUnder Illinois state ethics law, lawmakers are not banned from having a financial relationship with people whose interests come before the General Assembly. Instead, the law contains caveats against accepting financial benefit if the lawmaker "knows or should know" it was offered in exchange for in...

Media visitors marvel at 'gleaming city on the lake'The first visit to Chicago for Michelle Stockman, a video journalist for French news agency AFP, made quite an impression.

After visiting a metropolis with so many sides, which face of Chicago will NATO visitors take home?On Thursday, I asked a French journalist, freshly arrived from Paris, what she planned to cover while she was in Chicago for the NATO summit.

At luncheon in Chicago, she says international system still coping with triple shock since 9/11, describes 3 major policy focus points in AfghanistanThe international system is still grappling with the triple shocks of the Sept. 11 attacks, the global economic crisis of 2008 and the Arab Spring, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a Thursday luncheon hosted by The Executives' Club o...

The spelling and pronunciation of some 65 international leaders have been checked and rehearsed. A circular table so massive a school bus could fit on it has been custom-built. And dozens of doors have been examined — do they swing in or out? — to ensure nothing trips up a foreign dignitary.

Whatever you do, don't forget the palm greaseTo our most gracious foreign guests from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization:

Likely candidate for town president focuses on issueFor years, an appointment to a board or commission in Cicero came with financial benefits not found in most other municipalities, including annual salaries as high as $10,000 and family health insurance, all in exchange for working on panels that typically meet once a month.

Hundreds of soldiers from the Illinois National Guard will be deployed in Chicago during next month's NATO summit to help move foreign dignitaries around the center of the city, among other duties, guard officials said Tuesday.

Fledgling group aims to inspire its members to take first step toward health and fitness Along South Ashland Avenue, Marketa Whitaker slowly jogged past the White Castle restaurant and the crowds outside the currency exchange and stamped her feet on the oil-soaked concrete sidewalk in front of the Englewood transmission shop.

Angalia Bianca had everything growing up, but soon life went in a downward spiral. Now she volunteers for CeaseFire, helping youths keep out of trouble.Angalia Bianca grabbed the young man by the jacket and affectionately shoved him against the window of a currency exchange.

Others say events could be 'disaster' The May summits of world leaders in Chicago are an unmatched opportunity to build the city's global image and to attract more foreign visitors, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his supporters said Wednesday in a pitch for cooperation that stayed away from potential downsides like the violent protests that have marred similar meetings in the past.

Montgomery woman spent some of cash on designer purses, prosecutors sayErica Salgado cashed checks at a Montgomery currency exchange so often that she became friendly with the manager.

In her own home and abroad, Bolingbrook woman promoted foreign exchange opportunitiesDeanne de Langlade's introduction to foreign student exchange programs came through the prism of her teenage daughter's over-the-moon reaction to a presentation at her high school in Bolingbrook in the mid-1970s.

Illinois' junior senator lauds former Massachusetts governor's 'managerial talent,' foreign policy stanceMark Kirk will endorse former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's bid for the GOP presidential nomination Monday, sources close to the political operation of the first-term Illinois Republican senator said Sunday.

A student-exchange program between Thornton Township High School and Schaumburg High School fosters common ground between kids who lives in different worlds when it comes to education.

High school kids find common ground between Schaumburg and HarveyWith trepidation, the teens boarded buses to travel to the unknown, their minds swirling with preconceptions about their two Chicago-area high schools some 50 miles apart.

School district bringing in expert to advise on all grade levelsNaperville Unit District 203 is bringing in an outside expert to explore the possibility of improving and expanding its foreign language programs.

U.S. also lacks agreements with some nations that have gotten millions of dollars in aidA major impediment to hunting fugitives who flee across U.S. borders is America's patchwork of more than 100 extradition treaties with foreign governments.

Cullerton 'disappointed' in governor's exclusion of racetracks in casino expansion Illinois Senate President John Cullerton said Thursday night that he's "disappointed" in Gov. Pat Quinn's rejection of a plan to put slot machines at horse-racing tracks in exchange for expanding casino gambling to Chicago.

'In Europe, it's very much the epic American road trip'PONTIAC, Ill. — The honeymooners from Spain spoke limited English, but that didn't stop Mayor Bob Russell from giving them a hearty welcome to his community.

A high school trip to Qatar has become more than just a cultural exchange for a group of Lindblom Math and Science Academy students.

Membership falls as new vets have other prioritiesWhen Linda Flaherty began bar tending at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Wheaton 14 years ago, the weekly bingo nights drew as many as 100 players. When 30 show up now, it's considered a good night.

Lombard resident had been president of National Federation of Republican WomenMary Jo Arndt met presidents and foreign dignitaries, but her heart was always in Lombard, where she lived for most of her life and where she was a community volunteer, activist for women's rights and leader in local Republican politics.

Mayor needs to eliminate shortfall put at $636 millionMayor Rahm Emanuel's administration has asked all 50 Chicago aldermen to offer ways to close a looming budget gap, as long as the ideas don't raid the city's reserves or rely too much on quick fixes, according to an email the Tribune obtained Tuesday.

He wanted $5,000 to not testify against lawyer's client, prosecutors sayA North Side man was charged Wednesday with trying to extort prominent Chicago defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. by offering to refuse to testify against a man Adam was representing in exchange for $5,000.

CPS floated compromise after rescinding 4 percent increaseThe Chicago Teachers Union has formally rejected a 2 percent pay raise for elementary school teachers in exchange for working longer school days, putting pressure on Chicago Public Schools to improve the offer or risk a standoff.

School officials refuse to consider requests union made in exchange for forgoing across-the-board raisesNegotiations between Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union hit a snag late Monday, when the two sides failed to come to agreement over teachers' raises and other concessions by the school district.

Tribune Tower security guard allegedly allowed landlord to have sex with girls in exchange for rentA man who worked as a security guard at Tribune Tower is in jail on charges that he forced two teenage girls to have sex with him, his landlord and another man in exchange for food, money and rent, authorities said.