Need to Read if you get a Speeding Ticket

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Uncategorized

I got this as an email and it seemed interesting enough to post. Could be a bunch of BS, but hey it might work. Plus, I am not even sure if Chicago has a point system, but read below.

This advice was sent by a retired State Farm agent! This system has been tried and it works in every state.

If you get a speeding ticket or went through a red light, or whatever the case may be, you’re going to get points on your license and a surcharge on your auto insurance. This is a method to insure that you DO NOT get the points.

When you get your fine, send in a check to pay for it. If the fine is $79.00 make the check out for $82.00, some small amount over the fine. The system will then have to send you back a check for the difference. However, here is the trick: DO NOT CASH THE REFUND CHECK! Throw it away! Points are not assessed to your license until all Financial Transactions are complete. If you do not cash the check, then the transactions are NOT complete. The system has received its money and is satisfied and will no longer bother you.

This information comes from an unmentionable computer company that sets up the standard databases used by every state.

When Are You Getting Stimulus Check

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Uncategorized

For everyone who is expecting a Stimulus Check from good old Uncle Sam, but has no idea when that little gift will be in the mail, here is a link that will show you the date you’ll get your check. The main component is the last two digits of your social security number. My check will be mailed out no later than July 4th. That is a double dose of America love in early July for me.

Stimulus Check Calculator

I-PASS loophole allows some to escape fines

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago

If you, like many Chicagoans, have received a fine from the illinois tollway, this is an article you have to read. The Illinois Tollway has been sending out over 10,000 old tollway violations a day because they were previously not sending out anything. Each violation costs you $20 and for some it is amounting to hundreds of dollars. The loophole is that if you have a family member with an I-Pass account you can pay the toll (without the fine) using their account. Score!
Read the full story here - I-PASS loophole.

Michael Jordan Smashes Backboard

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago, sports

Wrigley to be sold to Mars for $23 billion — chicagotribune.com

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago

Wm. Wrigley Jr., in a move it said will provide ‘enhanced prospects for growth,’ confirmed this morning that it has agreed to be acquired by privately held candy-industry giant Mars Inc. for a hefty $80 a share, or nearly $23 billion.

The Chicago chewing-gum company said its board has already approved the all-cash offer, although the transaction still will require clearance from regulators and Wrigley stockholders.

‘First and foremost, this is a great transaction at a great price that provides tremendous value to Wrigley sto”

(Via Full Article Here.)

Chicago Riverwalk extension to begin in July — chicagotribune.com

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago

Chicagoans have a vital connection to the waterfront, whether it is the shoreline of Lake Michigan or the banks of the Chicago River.

That link will become stronger—and longer—by the end of the year when the riverwalk trail downtown is extended.

Construction is scheduled to begin in July to literally bridge the riverwalk beyond the Wabash Avenue bridge to State Street.

It’s an intermediary step toward eventually extending the riverwalk promenade west to Lake Street along the south bank of the river, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.

Full Article Here

Boy, 14, struck and killed by train in Hoffman Estates — chicagotribune.com

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago

A teenager was struck and killed by a train Sunday afternoon in Hoffman Estates, apparently as he crossed the railroad tracks, police said.

The 14-year-old boy was walking when he was hit at about 12:50 p.m. by a Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Co. train about 500 feet north of Columbine Boulevard near Pratum Avenue.

Police believe he was walking alone, and it does not appear as though he was pushed onto the tracks, said Hoffman Estates Police Lt. Rich Russo.

The train conductor saw the boy after he was hit and called police. Fire and police officials responded, and the boy, who was found between the tracks, was pronounced dead at the “

(Via Full Article Here.)

NY’s Zuckerman bids on Trib’s Newsday - Crain’s

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago

(Crain’s) — New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman made a formal offer to buy Tribune Co.’s Newsday just days after News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch seemed to have clinched a deal for the paper in a complex transaction worth $580 million.

Crain’s sister publication Crain’s New York Business reported Friday that Mr. Zuckerman’s offer for the Tribune paper stresses the one advantage the real estate developer has over his rival: Mr. Zuckerman does not own television stations.
‘It’s a significant advantage,”

(Via Full Article Here.)

Trial closing of Blue Line’s Cermak branch starts — chicagotribune.com

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago

The Chicago Transit Authority begins a controversial six-month experiment on Monday when it eliminates all remaining service on the Blue Line’s 54th/Cermak branch.

The move—long opposed by some West Side residents and students at the University of Illinois at Chicago—was prompted by declining ridership on the 54th/Cermak (formerly Douglas) branch ever since the CTA introduced the Pink Line in 2006, CTA officials said.

In addition to Pink Line trains, more frequent service is being added on the Forest Park and O’Hare branches of the Blue Line during rush periods to make up for the loss of 54th/Cermak service, the CTA said. Bus service is also available.

The Pink Line operates for most of its route on “

(Via Full Article Here.)

Comcast tells AT&T to lay off its coax, seeks restraining order

Published by Blake Macleod | Filed under Chicago, Technology

If you live in Chicago and your Comcast has been acting op recently it might be AT&Ts fault. Especially if you live in a condo or apartment where another unit has AT&T and you have Comcast. Check out the below article I found on Engadget.

Never one shy to pick a fight, Comcast is now taking square aim at AT&T, which it alleges is wreaking havoc with its internet service as a result of shoddy installs of the company’s U-verse TV service. More specifically, as Ars Technica points out, while both companies use different lines outside of the home (copper coax for Comcast and twisted pair for AT&T), they each use the same coaxial wiring inside the house, which Comcast says causes ‘feedback’ to leak back out onto its network, possibly as a result of the two services using similar frequencies or filters. That, Comcast says, has caused service disruptions for some 20,000 users in the Chicago area, with it particularly affecting those that mix and match Comcast and U-verse services. To put a stop to that, Comcast is now seeking a restraining order against AT&T, although it apparently hasn’t received one as of yet. For its part, AT&T not only unsurprisingly says that ‘the suit lacks merit and that the company intends to vigorously fight it,’ but that it plans to significantly ramp up the roll out of U-verse in Illinois.

Via Online Media Daily