July 2011 Archives

If you’ve ever visited an animal shelter, you’ve probably seen plenty of cute dogs you’d love to adopt. But when you adopt an animal, you are never too sure of the animal’s past. You pretty much have to rely on what the people at the shelter tell you. So you could potentially adopt a family pet, and later find out that your pet is in fact a vicious dog that could expose you to Illinois dog bite law.

While this scenario may seem a little far-flung, it actually happened in Kendall County.

The next time you step into a McDonald's, you may notice the crisp smell of apples wafting in the air along with the smells from French fries, McFlurries, cheese burgers, and chicken nuggets. McDonald's has announced that they are going to step up the sale of apples as part of Happy Meals, perhaps due to the Happy Meal lawsuit.

According to the Daily Herald, McDonald's customers can currently order apples with their Happy Meals. However, only 11 percent of customers are doing so. Instead, the vast majority of customers still opt for French fries to go along with their cheese burgers. But now, in an effort to make the apple option more appealing, McDonald's plans to offer a half-order of apples to go along with a half-order fries, so that customers will no longer have to choose between the two. Customers can still order all fries or all apples if they want.

Mexican papaya has been linked to a salmonella food poisoning in Illinois and several other states. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, 17 people in Illinois have been affected after eating papayas from Mexico tainted with salmonella. This includes eight people who were hospitalized. It's believed that 97 people in 23 states have been affected so far. No deaths have been reported.

An importer of Mexican papayas, Agromod Produce Inc., has already issued the recall of all Blondie, Yaya, Mañanita, and Tastylicious brand papayas distributed nationwide, reports the Sun-Times. State health officials have urged consumers to throw out or return papayas bearing these brand names.

There was a fatal Metra train accident in Oak Forest involving a car and the train. Apparently, a car went under the train-crossing bar and was struck by the speeding train. The two passengers in the car were killed. Eight people in the train were injured, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Had the story ended there, the story may not be that noteworthy, given the past Metra accidents and even deadlier car-train accidents. But the story has a twist that could involve suing the estate of a dead person. But first, the details of the accident …

Elizabeth Burns, a 16-year old girl from Lake Forest, died in a camping accident in Teton County Wyoming while camping with Wilderness Ventures, a Wyoming-based backpacking company.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Burns died after a 75-foot tree fell on her. Burns was reportedly setting up camp with other campers 66 feet away from the base of the dead tree when the accident happened. Other campers apparently attempted to hang a bear bag in the tree when the tree fell over and struck Burns.

The Jenna Jameson lawsuit just got a lot more complicated. Jameson has now countersued Ted Bulthaup, owner of Hollywood Palms and Hollywood Boulevard Cinemas, for extortion and blackmail following Bulthaup's original lawsuit against Jameson for breach of contract.

And all this over "Zombie Strippers!"

Jameson, the adult-film star, had agreed to make a personal appearance at Bulthaup's two Chicago-area cinemas to promote her Zombie/love story, reports the Daily Herald. Jameson was to be paid $10,000 for the appearance, but she backed out last minute claiming an illness.

Lifetime's made-for-TV Drew Peterson movie starring Rob Lowe may not happen after all. According to the Chicago Tribune, Peterson has demanded that the movie stop production arguing that it invades his privacy and is a "character assassination" as he stands trial for the murder of his third wife.

Peterson, the former suburban Chicago cop, was accused of killing his third wife Kathleen Savio in 2004, reports Reuters. Savio was found dead in the couple's bathtub. Later on, in 2007, Peterson's fourth wife disappeared, and many suspect he may have played a role in her disappearance.

Two people died in separate fatal motorcycle accidents in Cook County.

Earlier this week, 52-year old James McFall was killed while riding his motorcycle when he struck a truck in suburban Matteson. Two days later, 28-year old Diane Clancy died riding as a passenger on a motorcycle when she struck a car in Worth.

Both accidents were reported in the Chicago Tribune, and while Matteson police are still investigating the accident that killed McFall, Worth police have determined that the driver of the car that struck Clancy was at fault in that fatal accident.

Amtrak is suing John Davis Trucking Company in the deadly train truck accident caused by a big rig crash operated by a Davis Trucking employee.

Last month, Davis Trucking employee, Lawrence Valli, plowed his truck through a railroad crossing gate into the side of a speeding Amtrak train travelling from Chicago to California.

According to Reuters, Valli slammed on his breaks just 320 feet before striking the train — demonstrating that he ignored or failed to see the numerous train warnings signs, flashing lights, and the train itself.