WHEATON -- The Brach trust says Indian Prairie School District 204 owes it $2.2 million plus damages for its portion of the property the district abandoned for a third high school.

Included in the total is about $1.5 million in attorney fees, $76,212 for document preparation and $24,750 for the Springfield lobbying firm hired to oppose the district's quick-take bill. That legislation would have allowed the school district to take immediate possession of the 55-acre parcel, at 75th Street and Commons Drive in Aurora, at a price to be set later by a jury.

Officials with Canadian National Railway filed a 54-page request Tuesday with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board seeking a timeline, including a Dec. 1 deadline for a final decision on its proposed purchase of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway.

The company is concerned that a dragged-out process will hinder the purchase of the EJ&E line.

"The significant public benefits of the transaction have been put at risk by the lack of certainty regarding the likely date for concluding the review process and this proceeding," CN states in the document. "The board is required, upon request, to impose time limits, and the time limits suggested by CN here are reasonable given the circumstances of this case."

John Edwards, whose populism was the anthem of his own presidential bid, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday evening in an effort to transfer his appeal among white, working-class voters to a Democratic front-runner who has struggled to win them over.

Obama's campaign hopes the endorsement, late in the process, will help buttress the aura of inevitability of the Illinois senator's quest for his party's nomination. It also served as a strong counterpoint to the contention of Sen. Hillary Clinton that Obama's weakness among blue-collar workers could cripple his effort in the fall.

While the value of any endorsement is always subject to scrutiny, both candidates had aggressively sought support from Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004 and a favorite among union voters.

Mediation between the legal counsels of Indian Prairie School District 204 and Neighborhood Schools For Our Children took place as planned Tuesday. No plans were made for a follow-up meeting. 

The two parties met with former DuPage County Circuit Judge Edward Duncan to see if their dispute could be settled without a trial.

Michael Scotti, the attorney representing District 204 against NSFOC, was not available for comment.

“I can only say that the mediation has concluded, there was no resolution, and there are no plans to meet again,” said Shawn Collins, attorney for Neighborhood Schools for Our Children.

Commuters feel even more pressure to cut back their driving as gas prices near $4 per gallon and oil rose above $126 a barrel for the first time Friday. But it's hard to escape from behind the wheel if train and bus schedules don't line up and streets lack sidewalks.

Last year, workers disembarking from three morning express trains in the downtown Naperville Metra station missed two Pace buses by only five minutes. And commuters arriving in the Route 59 station were out of luck: no Pace buses stopped by.

Barack Obama erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among superdelegates Saturday when he added more endorsements from the group of Democrats who will decide the party's nomination for president.

Obama added superdelegates from Utah, Ohio, Arizona and two from the Virgin Islands who had previously backed Clinton. The additions enabled Obama to surpass Clinton's total for the first time in the campaign.

The milestone is important because Clinton would need to win over the superdelegates by a wide margin to claim the nomination. They are a group Clinton owned before the first caucus, when she was able to cash in on the popularity of the Clinton brand among the party faithful.

Trying to solve the mortgage and credit card debt crises has dominated U.S. Rep. Bill Foster’s first two months in Congress, the former Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory physicist told the Batavia Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

Foster, who defeated Aurora Republican James Oberweis in a special election to serve the remainder of retired U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert’s term, will face Oberweis again in November to represent the 14th District for a full two-year term.

Foster said he’s using his place on the House Financial Services Committee to protect consumers from some credit card companies’ cutthroat business practices. He advocates standardizing service contracts across the industry rather than letting each company write its own.

National Democratic Party leaders are watching Naperville for the first time in recent history.

They have placed the 13th Congressional District race on the party's list of targeted races, making it one of five congressional races in Illinois to receive special attention.

Democratic candidate Scott Harper said he found out about the upgrade recently. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, committee chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had visited Harper's Naperville campaign office a week earlier.

National Democratic Party leaders are watching Naperville for the first time in recent history.

They have placed the 13th Congressional District race on the party's list of targeted races, making it one of five congressional races in Illinois to receive special attention.

Democratic candidate Scott Harper said he found out about the upgrade last weekend. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, committee chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, had visited Harper's Naperville campaign office a week earlier.

JOLIET -- The Will County Democratic Central Committee selected Joliet accountant Kevin "Duffy" Blackburn as its candidate to run for Will County auditor in the November election.

Blackburn is an accountant with the firm of Wermer, Rogers, Doran & Ruzon.

"I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for auditor and to be on the same ticket with County Executive Larry Walsh, Circuit Clerk Pam McGuire, State's Attorney James Glasgow, Coroner Pat O'Neil and Recorder of Deeds candidate Karen Stukel," Blackburn said. "Completing that ticket, the voters of Will County now have an auditor candidate who is qualified, energetic and ready to work hard."

We previously reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had targeted six Illinois districts this election cycle. To this list we can now add the 13th Congressional District. A recently updated DCCC map of the Prairie State now includes the 13th's Rep. Judy Biggert as a "targeted Republican" in the upcoming election. The DCCC notes that Rep. Biggert "will face a tough challenge from a strong Democratic candidate fighting for change."

The Democrats have added a sixth “race to watch” in Illinois -- Democrat Scott Harper’s challenge to five-term incumbent Republican Rep. Judy Biggert in the western suburbs.

Harper reported Thursday raising $247,410 as of March 1, “which is more than any Democratic candidate in this district has ever raised for an entire cycle,” Harper’s website says.

Biggert, 70, a former state representative, easily dispatched Republican primary challenger Sean O’Kane by 59,000 votes to 17,000 in February in the 13th Congressional District, but Harper, 47, a marketing expert, took 86,000 votes in that primary. And last time around, Democrat Joseph Shannon, with virtually no campaign, took 42 percent of the vote from Biggert.

And gives his support to...

Naperville drivers were hit with fuel prices as high as $3.429 a gallon at some stations Tuesday, on a day when nationwide prices spiked to a record-breaking average of $3.2272 a gallon.

Nearly two years after taking control of Congress, the Democrats have claimed another prize by capturing former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert's seat -- a development that Republicans say is not a harbinger of things to come.

Will County Republicans and Democrats have elected new chairmen of their parties, with each hoping to capitalize on momentum from the presidential election and the county's continuing growth.

Tammy Duckworth, The Director of the IL Dept of Veterans Affairs is in in Peoria today promoting a free screening program for Illinois National Guard members returning from duty. There is also a 24-hour help line for Illinois Veterans. 1-866-5544927.

This race is very close, and this commercial from Senator Obama will help us get Bill's message of change out to the people of the 14th District.

The Will County Courthouse is too small, Chief Judge Stephen White said Thursday.

It was built in 1964 to serve a population of 325,000, White said. But Will County has about 700,000 people.

Over the last two years, Gladstone Builders has used a number of methods to stay afloat in a sinking housing market.

The company cut prices on its semi-custom homes. It offered to put $20,000 in escrow to help cover the mortgage for buyers who wanted to close on a Gladstone home but couldn't sell their previous home.

Democrat, Bill Foster, is ahead of Wingnut Republican (more about that in a bit), Jim Oberweis, in the Special Election to be held on March 8 to replace ex-speaker, Republican Denny Hastert, in Illinois' 14th CD.

To Lockport High School graduate Nate Ewing, casting his first vote in the Super Tuesday primary was a matter of life and death.

"I'm in the military. I have friends in the military. I know two people who have been killed in Iraq by roadside bombs," said Ewing, an 18-year-old Prairie State College student from Lockport who is in the Army Reserves.

"It's not my right to vote," he said solemnly. "It's my duty."

The Year of the Youth Vote, as Presidential Year 2008 is being billed by Time Magazine, is happening here, Will County's young politicos say.

Like many areas of the country, Will County is facing uncertain economic times.

Soaring energy prices, higher costs for food and stagnating wages, combined with escalating property tax bills and a flood of mortgage problems have taxpayers reeling.

And now some county board members want to give themselves a hefty raise?

A proposal to increase salaries for the 27 county board members was wisely placed in the executive committee several days ago. This plan would increase a county board member's average part-time annual salary in December from $22,500 to more than $31,000, said county Finance Director Paul Rafac.

NEW LENOX — Less than three weeks after getting the Republican nomination for the 11th U.S. House District, New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann will withdraw from the race.

In a statement his campaign intends to release to all media outlets later today, Baldermann said he will file paperwork on Monday officially taking his name off the ballot. “As the mayor of New Lenox and the police chief of Chicago Ridge, I have reached the conclusion that I cannot ably serve the citizens of those two municipalities while also running a full-time campaign for Congress,” the statement reads. “Through I tried to make it work, I’ve learned that it’s just not possible to essentially have four full-time jobs — mayor, chief, father of five and congressional candidate.

JOLIET -- The Will County Board won't rush to hand out raises.

Members want more time to think about the idea. So the proposal will go back to the executive committee for more discussion, Chairman Jim Moustis, R-Frankfort, said Thursday during the county board meeting.

The subject of salary hikes emerged during the Feb. 7 executive committee meeting. It had been quite a few years since county board members had gotten a pay raise, and their salaries should be comparable to those of other countywide elected officials, Moustis suggested.

Parents of Peterson and Owen elementary schools walked away from Tuesday’s boundary meeting pleased, but parents of Fry Elementary School students left angry and empty handed.

Members of the Indian Prairie School District 204 voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the administration’s proposal for new high school boundaries with two changes.

One of the benefits of being on an elected board is that you are in a position to raise your own salary.

By the same token, one of the problems with being on an elected board is that you can raise your own salary though you may lose your seat if you do.

Of course that latter fate largely depends on how safe your position is in the first place. In areas heavily weighted toward one party or another, an incumbent may be subjected to a primary challenge, but if he or she gets through that it is almost inevitably clear sailing at general election time.