Train crash caused by human error

Human error apparently caused the collision of two Metra trainslast month just outside Union Station, an official of the commuterrail said Tuesday.

"It appears to be human" as opposed to mechanical or switchingproblems, Metra Deputy Executive Director Rick Tidwell said after aboard meeting.

He would not be more specific, noting that the investigation isn'tover and a "probable cause" has not been determined.

Although he stressed no disciplinary action has been taken againstanyone, he said the engineer of the SouthWest Service Line train thathad been departing Union Station on July 21 "is not operating trainsat this time." The engineer passed a drug and alcohol …

Idaho plane crash in Sawtooth forest kills 2

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Officials in Idaho's Twin Falls County say both people on board an airplane that went down in the Sawtooth National Forest were killed.

The sheriff's office says search crew members discovered the bodies in the aircraft Wednesday afternoon. They were tentatively identified as 55-year-old Danny Joe Summers, of Sugar City, and 47-year-old Jodi Wyatt, of …

PSG facing testing challenges on and off the pitch

Paris Saint-Germain is approaching the new season with trepidation and excitement, hoping that new recruits such as Nene can help it challenge for the title and anxious to overcome the hooliganism and racism that have scarred the French club.

Last season ended in turmoil for PSG, with one fan dying after a fight outside Parc des Princes …

Doctor fulfills lifelong desires

Dr. Courtney Hollowell has trained at the University of Chicago's famed Pritzker School of Medicine, and received job offers from some of the country's finest medical facilities, but the 39-year-old Stroger Hospital surgeon has dedicated himself to educating African American men on issues of health.

Growing up in Detroit, Hollowell always had a desire to contribute to the African American community, but as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, he could not decide how best to do it. He studied English Literature, African American Studies and Pre-Law before finally making the decision to become a doctor. He got his medical degree from the University of Illinois, and …

Survey: Energy execs believe sustainability is critical, but companies not embracing concept

Many energy executives say sustainability is critical to the success of their operations, but far fewer believe that their companies have embraced the concept, a new survey shows.

Sustainability is an evolving business ethic in which companies set and achieve objectives based on financial, environmental and social performance.

It is often linked with environmental issues but can include ethics, work force diversity and other nonfinancial measures.

More than two-thirds of 81 energy industry executives surveyed by KPMG LLP said they regarded sustainability as an important element of their businesses, but only about one-half said their organizations …

State set to invest in technology $50 mil. fund will back venture capital to launch tech firms

After five years in incubation, the Illinois TechnologyDevelopment Fund, a $50 million taxpayer-funded boost aimed atlaunching tech companies and creating jobs in the state, finally waspushed out of the nest at a press event called by state TreasurerJudy Baar Topinka.

The Illinois Technology Development Fund "is open for business,"she said.

Topinka said the state faces "minimal risk" in investing otherwiseconservatively invested funds in venture funds with Illinois tieswhile enjoying "auxiliary benefits," including creation of companiesand jobs and retaining bright graduates.

"Nothing from nothing is nothing. Here we have something," saidthe treasurer.

Under state law, less than 1 percent of the state's $8 billioninvestment portfolio, which typically includes corporate paper,Treasury bills, economic development programs and certificates ofdeposit in banks, can be invested in the Technology Development Fund.No more than 10 percent of the money can be invested in an individualventure fund, which in turn will help finance start-up businesses,primarily in the tech sector.

The fund is expected to invest in four to five venture funds overthe next year and 15 to 20 over the next three years.

All proposed investments have to be approved by an externaladviser, Robert Morgan, director of private equity at Northern TrustGlobal Advisory Services, and a board that includes representativesfrom major Chicago area VC funds. Topinka said the state preventspotential conflicts of interest by prohibiting these VCs fromreceiving the investments.

Topinka believes the fund will help reverse the state's "braindrain" to Silicon Valley and the East Coast. She said Illinoisschools educate top talent, "yet when they graduate, there is notenough venture capital around" to keep them working in Illinois.

She said the new program will help Illinois become "the SiliconValley of the Midwest."

State Sen. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg, the Evanston Democrat whosponsored legislation creating the fund, said he hoped that theprogram would give Illinois biotechnology a boost, especiallycontroversial stem cell research.

Ed Condon, who is administering the fund and is former treasurerof Sears, Roebuck and Co., said the private equity funds in which thestate invests will be tracked closely to assure that they areinvesting in Illinois companies.

Steve Beitler, senior managing director of Chicago-based DunrathCapital and immediate past chairman of the Illinois Venture CapitalAssociation, said, "The state is making a wise investment bydiversifying its portfolio. Venture capital provides excellentreturns. There is a good chance here for the state to make some moneywhile developing the economy."

Martin Noven, deputy chief of staff for law and policy in thetreasurer's office, said the state over the next three years willinvest $50 million in venture funds.

He said the state is aiming to send out the message toentrepreneurs, who might be considering leaving the area, that statefunding is available for them in Illinois.

fund managers

The $50 million taxpayer-financed Illinois Technology DevelopmentFund will be managed by Robert Morgan, director of private equity atNorthern Trust Global Advisory Services, and a board that includesrepresentatives from major Chicago area VC funds.

Ellen Carnahan, managing director, William Blair Capital Partners;Michelle Collins, managing director, Svobada, Collins LLC; KeithCrandell, managing director, ARCH Venture Partners; Aimee Daniels,senior vice president, LaSalle Bank; Robert Finkel, managing partner,Prism Capital Corp.; Wilbur Gantz, chairman and chief executive,Ovation Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Oliver Nicklin, president and chiefexecutive, First Analysis Corp.; Carl Thomas, managing partner, ThomaCressey Equity Partners.

Also, David Baker, vice president of external affairs, IllinoisInstitute of Technology; Indrani Mukharji, executive director oftechnology transfer, Northwestern University; Duane Stucky, vicepresident for financial and administrative affairs, Southern IllinoisUniversity; Robert Rosenberg, assistant vice president forpartnerships and technology, University of Chicago, and DavidChicoine, vice president for economic development and corporaterelations, University of Illinois at Chicago and at Urbana-Champaign.

Homeless numbers include more families

The face of homelessness in the United States is changing to include more families and more people who live in the suburbs and rural communities.

The number of homeless has remained steady since 2007, but within the overall count are trends that can tell officials where federal resources would do the most good, the Housing and Urban Development Department says in its annual report to Congress being released Thursday.

About 1.6 million people used a homeless shelter or lived in transitional housing between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008 _ about the same as the year before. But within that group, the number of families grew 9 percent, from about 473,000 to 517,000.

Officials said they also saw more demand for transitional housing in the suburbs and in rural areas of the country. Residents of suburban and rural communities made up about a third of those in need of housing, up from about 24 percent the year before.

HUD also attempts to count the number of homeless at a single point in time. In January 2008, about 664,000 people were in homeless shelters or in the streets on a single night. That's a drop of about 7,500 from the year before, but officials point out that the count occurred just as the nation's economic woes were beginning and did not account for soaring unemployment and other economic problems that have kicked in during the subsequent months.

The time lag associated with the national survey has led HUD to try a scaled-down, regional approach in hopes of obtaining more timely information each quarter. The first installment of that effort will also be released Thursday as part of the congressional report. The report showed that the number of people entering homeless shelters in nine regions of the country grew from 60,371 in January to 61,280 in March. Four regions experienced an increase in shelter counts. Five saw a decrease.

Participants in the quarterly reporting include New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as smaller cities like Richmond, Va., and Shreveport, La., and more rural regions, such as 118 of Kentucky's 120 counties, excluding the state's two largest cities of Lexington and Louisville.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said the annual report to Congress sheds light on how today's housing crisis and job losses are playing out in shelters and the streets. With the quarterly reporting, "we will be able to better understand the impact of the current economic crisis on homelessness across the country," Donovan said.

The quarterly report includes anecdotal summaries. For example, the case manager at a Richmond shelter reported seeing a greater number of "individuals who have held professional, skilled-craft positions."

An official in Kentucky said, "One day last month, we had to turn away three families due to full capacity." Officials in Shreveport reported a decrease in demand that they attributed to hurricane victims gradually moving back to New Orleans.

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On the Net:

Housing and Urban Development Department: http://www.hud.gov