Driving down the bumpy streets of Cicero the last thing I expected to see was the majestic building and grounds of Hawthorne Race Course. My fellow CLTV producer Lindsey Nesselbush and I, along with two Executive Producers, Jeimmie Nevalga and Frava Burgess, were invited to watch CLTV anchor/reporter Monica Schneider act as the "celebrity guest announcer" for one of the horse races.

I got a kick out of her being called a celebrity -- which I guess to the average person she is, but to me- her producer, she's just Monica (this must be how Angelina Jolie's assistant feels).

CLTV Producer Afua Owusu is braving the crowds and fans, and is attempting to view the Oprah Show taping on Michigan Ave. She is live blogging from the filed.

WOOOOOO! I am back at work... seems like I've spent the last 13 hours in a dream. But really, I got the opportunity to experience the Oprah Factor in all its glory. Yesterday, I began my journey from the WGN TV Studios in Roscoe Village all the way down to the Michigan Avenue Bridge -- after a full work day which began at 3am to see the one and only Oprah Winfrey. Those of you that know me well- know she is my hero.

This is a story that evokes a lot of emotions in people. I understand both sides of the coin. But I also find it very hypocritical that we have a system that punishes people for their crimes and supposedly rehabilitates them for their crimes; but when they are released back into society we hold their past crimes against them. Thus, blocking any attempt at personal or professional growth. I understand some crimes are just so vicious – they are deemed unforgiveable. But I think there is a difference between forgiving and forgetting.

I remember my first trip to Brookfield Zoo.
I was in the 4th grade.

My class took a bus there all the way from Markham. It seemed liked such a long trip.

Faithful Michael Jackson fans started flocking to his childhood home in Gary, Indiana at 4 this morning.

Samantha Moritz and her dad drove from the town of Highland, Indiana to pay their condolences to the king of pop.

Now, 15, Samantha swears she fell in love with Jackson's music at the tender age of 3. Samantha clutched a laminated photograph and autograph of Jackson. She got them during Jackson's last visit to Gary in 2003.

It was in May, 1983 that millions watched "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever"

The special had legends of music, including Michael Jackson.

He performed with the Jackson 5, but also solo with the hit "Billie Jean"

Take a look at the video. It was the first time he performed his famous "moonwalk" in public.

Please share your favorite song, video, or moment from Michael Jackson's life here. We may use it on the air.

Original Video- More videos at TinyPic

Today is one of those moments in history we will never forget. Say what you want about the man, but he was undeniably the MOST talented man to ever entertain a crowd. His death has shocked the WORLD. I woke up from a much need nap to text messages, ims, and facebook messages asking me to confirm the news that Michael Jackson was indeed dead.
I am at a complete loss for words. Those of you that know me personally know, that rarely happens. I have been a MJ fan since the moment I walk. My older sister and I used to tape his videos off MTV and learn the moves. I am sure thousands of others have done the same thing. To this day, I can not hear "Thriller", "Beat It". or "Remember the Time" without busting a move.

Clarence Justice spent his Father's Day thinking positive thoughts about his missing daughter.

Jada Justice, who is almost 3 years old, has been missing for almost a week.

She was last seen Tuesday night with her 18-year-old babysitter - who is also her cousin. Angelica Castillo has told authorities that she left Jada in her unlocked car while she ran into a Gary gas station to grab a gallon of milk.

Ronald Holt walked into the Cook County Criminal Courts Building this morning with his son still fresh on his mind.

Jury selection soon was to get underway today for the trial of a 17-year-old accused of gunning down Holt’s16-year-old son, Blair, on a CTA bus in May 2007.

Holt expected to sit through hours of jury selection; instead, he received an unexpected surprise.

Just what is in the water being served up in Chicago City Council chambers?

For decades now, the place has been a magnetic pull for the ethically challenged.

This morning, 29th Ward Alderman Ike Carothers pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges that include bribery and fraud.

President Obama reached out followers of Islam this morning with a much-anticipated speech in Cairo, Egypt.

The president called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims."

He said the cycle of suspicion and stereotypes must end.

Stacy Peterson, Lisa Stebic, Irma Rodriguez?

Rodriguez disappeared from her Oak Forest home Sunday night.

Last night, her car was found in nearby Midlothian with a woman’s body stuffed in the trunk. The woman had been shot to death.

It's wasn't the first time we've seen Patti Blagojevich on television.

But instead of reading to children or cutting a ribbon to open a hospital, Mrs. Blago was eating a tarantula and chatting with Spencer and Heidi Pratt from the Hills.

Yes, folks, I watched (some of) "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!" on Monday night.

It was interesting. It was amusing. It was embarassing.

Did you watch the show? What did you think?

I'll be interested to see what the ratings were for Chicago.

Today is a sad day for the Chicago Police Department.

This morning, a 27-year-old officer was shot twice in a drive-by shooting on the South Side.

The 3-year veteran is in extremely critical condition with a bullet lodged in his head.

America, we have a new Spelling Bee Champion.

13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar won the entire enchilada Thursday night with the word Laodicean.

After spelling the winning word, which means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics, Kavya received huge hugs from her father, mother and little sister.

I find the spelling bee so interesting and inspiring.

On the news, we see so much of what's wrong with the world--especially when it comes to our children.

The National Spelling Bee, which started in the 1920s, shows that there's still a younger generation to believe in.

Do you agree?

I’m not a political reporter, but I occasionally cover politics. I’ve talked to Roland Burris numerous times over the past two years and he always seemed like a genial person – and an honest person, at least by Chicago standards.

But this morning, I saw a very different side of the man who is now the junior senator from Illinois.

If you believe what you read, Senator Roland Burris may be in a heap of trouble.

Transcripts of phone conversations, secretly recorded by the FBI, show that Burris may have begged the brother of former Governor Rod Blagojevich for an appointment to the U.S. Senate.

In exchange, Burris agreed to make a campaign contribution to Blago.

I haven't read the transcript yet. But a federal judge Tuesday said the recordings should be given to a Senate Ethics Committee looking into Burris' appointment.

Rod Blagojevich, of course, was impeached in January for, among other things, trying to "sell" Barack Obama's former seat in the Senate to the highest bidder.

What do you think of this allegation? Do you think Burris lied when he said he didn't make an offer of payment of some sort?

Do you think the news media should leave Roland Burris alone and let him serve out the rest of Obama's senate term until January 2011?

I didn't even know this existed.

A museum dedicated to my first and favorite childhood doll: Raggedy Ann.
The Raggedy Ann & Andy Museum is located in downstate Arcola, Illinois.

This morning I was disheartened to learn that the slumping economy is forcing the museum to close.

It's hard to imagine what the loved ones of Stacy Peterson and Lisa Stebic must be going through right now.

This morning, an autopsy will be performed on the badly decomposed body found yesterday by a cleanup crew on the banks of the Des Plaines River near Channahon and Interstate Highway 55.

That's an area where searchers have looked for Peterson since she disappeared Oct. 28, 2007.

Bus drivers who don’t stop to pick up passengers.

That’s the top complaint right now for the Chicago Transit Authority, according to new statistics released by the agency.

There is good news for the CTA and its riders, however -- complaints are down in most other areas.

It was an on again, off again affair with the Cook County Board.

President Todd Stroger, who pushed through a one percent sales tax hike last year, last week vetoed a vote to do away with the tax increase.

He did so, facing a possible veto override by commissioners.

The cards were stacked against him.

Two weeks ago, the Board voted 12-3 to rollback the one percent tax that gave Chicago the dubious distinction of having the highest sales tax in the country. Two commissioners were not there for that vote.

Stroger said doing away with the one percent sales tax would leave a $400 million dollar budget hole which would mean closing down county supported hospitals and medical clinics.

In order to override the veto, the Board needed 14 votes. Not only didn't it have that. It didn't have the 12 original votes.

Here's how commissioners voted in this round:

What a Friday this has been for one Hanover Park family. Their home was devastated by a fast-moving fire earlier today, but the family of four managed to escape unharmed.

As I walked up to the burned out shell in the 2100 block of Laurel Avenue I could see what looked like a kitchen chair but not much else in the charred rubble.

I was quickly taken back to October of 2001.

Would you have the will to keep living if you suddenly became paralyzed?

That’s the question I asked myself before my interview with Jim Mullen, a former Chicago police officer who was shot in the line of duty and paralyzed from the neck down. Jim’s been confined to a wheelchair for more than a decade, but his disability hasn’t stopped him from living a fulfilling life and spreading his positivity to whomever he meets.

It's a story out of science fiction. A woman, without a face re-emerging with another woman's face after 30 intensive surgeries.

Above, you can see the before and after photos of Connie Culp. In 2004, her husband shot her in the face with a shotgun then turned the gun on himself. He survived and got 7 years in jail.

Below, you can see what Connie looked like before the shooting.

"This isn't going to be the next pandemic."

That is what I heard from a physician I talked with over the weekend about swine flu. The virus that has everyone abuzz because it's a new strain of the influenza bug which kills thousands every year.

Now, Google Maps has come up with a searchable map mashup of the current confirmed and suspected cases of swine flu. It's actually pretty cool and can give you a world view of what's going on with this virus.

Click around this map and find out more on the locations seeing activity.

View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map

Be sure to watch your stuff if you ride the CTA. Recent statistics from the Chicago Police Department show robbery has soared 77 percent on CTA trains, platforms and buses in the past three years - from 246 incidents in 2006 to 436 in 2008, according to a report in today's Sun-times.

I spoke with some riders in the South Loop today and many said the struggling economy is to blame. They said times are tough and people are doing whatever they can to survive and that includes stealing!

Caught on Camera!

Our former governor, Rod Blagojevich, suspended in mid-air as cameras rolled in Los Angeles Thursday.

It's apparently part of the NBC Reality Show that a federal judge this week said he couldn't leave the country to be a part of.

Now Blago says there may be another way to be a part of the show afterall.

Watch the video. Then tell us, is Blago doing this to make money for his family and defense fund or is he just hanging by more than just a legal wire these days?

10 years ago today, two boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a killing spree at Columbine High School. Prior to April 20, 1999, Littleton was virtually an unknown small town near Denver, Colorado. But, at 11:10 a.m. everything changed; the boys arrived at school and prepared to unleash a string of violence that my generation had never seen before.

We'll calmly file this into Bizzare Medical Stories:

A man in Russia thought he had cancer. His doctor thought he had cancer. Turns out, he had inhaled a seed and a tree sprouted in his lung.

The full story and pictures follow but BE WARNED they're not for everyone!

I am an animal lover. I love them so much that, when I get tired of covering news, I just might go back to school to become a veterinarian or at least volunteer at an animal shelter.
Over the years, I have adopted everything from a chicken and green iguana to snakes, turtles and rabbits.

Tomorrow kicks off a crucial six-day visit for Chicago. International Olympic Committee evaluators arrive to size up everything promised in Chicago’s 2016 bid book and determine if the Windy City should be awarded the summer games instead of Rio, Madrid or Tokyo. Evaluators are likely to run into a number of unhappy protesters.

A coalition of community and labor groups plan to stage a protest. The activists want the city to guarantee community jobs, minority contracts and affordable housing. They are upset that a formal agreement hasn’t been approved by Team 2016 before tomorrow’s big visit.

Rapper T.I. was sentenced to serve one year and one day in jail after pleading guilty to weapons charges. T.I (whose real name is Clifford Harris, Jr.) was arrested October 2007 attempting to add guns to an already large illegal arsenal, which is wrong on so many levels.
Federal sentencing guideline state that T.I should spend at least four year and nine months in prison for his crime, but the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports T.I.'s legal team was able to work out an "experimental plea bargain" on the his behalf.

Did you see Valerie Bertinelli in a bikini on the cover of People Magazine?

Good for her. It takes guts to pose in a bikini at age 48. I guess this shows it's never too late in get into shape and start living a healthier lifestyle.

As a 40-something woman, I'm inspired.

Check out her cover.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20267734,00.html

I’m always amazed at how many people think violent crimes only happen in the Chicago or in other neighborhoods. This morning, I was in the south suburban community of Homewood covering the fatal shooting of a parole jumper from Michigan.

The shooting happened near the Homewood Metra Station, so I headed out to talk to commuters and get their take on what had happened, see if they still feel safe.

If you haven’t heard by now, some 16 Whitney Young High School students were among 27 Chicago-area teens arrested Saturday in a downstate hotel and charged with underage drinking. The teens were there for the high school basketball championship tournament, which Whitney Young captured later Saturday night. I ventured to Whitney Young on Chicago's West Side this morning to get the students take on what happened to their classmates over the weekend.

This is turning out to be a trying year for Yolan Henry. A few months ago her daughter and infant granddaughter were murdered. Then yesterday, she begrudgingly relinquished custody of her beloved grandson to his father, former Bulls player and Thornwood High school standout, Eddy Curry.

I really feel bad for Shaun Gayle. I also feel bad for 41-year-old-Marni Kay Yang, the woman police say killed Gayle’s pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child in October of 2007.

A friend and business associate of Gayle’s, Yang appeared in bond court this morning in Waukegan. I was seated in the second row of the courtroom. Her name was called and police led a tiny woman in blue jeans, with tussled brown, shoulder length hair in front of the judge. The prosecutor began going over the details of the case, to make a point as to why bond should be denied for the mother of three turned murder suspect.

If you didn't get tickets the first time for the Billy Joel and Elton John concert at Wrigley Field this summer don't worry you are getting a second chance. A second show has been scheduled for July 16th. The original show, scheduled for July 21st, is still on and if ticket holders for that show would like to attend the concert on the 16th they can swap those tickets for "comparable" ones no later than 5 P.M. this Saturday February 21st. Just go to this website. Tickets for the second show will go on sale on Monday February 23rd at noon on tickets.com. The decision to schedule a second show came at the request of the Cubs and elected officials after the first show sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale.

The annual Chicago Auto Show rolls into town on Friday. Here's info to help plan your visit:
Date: February 13-21, 10:00AM-10:00PM & February 22, 10:00-8:00PM
Location: McCormick Place, 2301 South Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60616
Tickets: Adults $10, Seniors (62 and older) $5, Children (age 7-12) $5, Children (age 0-6) Free.
For more information, visit www.chicagoautoshow.com/

CLTV would like to congratulate this year's Chicagoans of the Year.

CLTV's Judy Wang looks at the crisis affecting local food pantries. The featured organizations' contact information is below

Christ Universal Pentecostal Church
9039 South Ashland - Chicago
773-298-1209

Gilgal Ministries
9050 South Ashland - Chicago
773-233-3177
gilgalministries05@yahoo.com

Mother Jones Food Pantry
711 West 120th St - Chicago
773-660-1500
http://motherjonesfoodpantry.com/

Now that the Presidential election is over with, voters can focus on more important voting. Rio, a Palos Heights dog with his eyes on fame and fortune, is a finalist to be the official spokes-dog of Milkbone. You can help him by voting at milkbone.com

We all know that sex sells. But a college grad from California is adding a twist. She’s selling her virginity.

Folks, it seems that being a daddy has meant some house cleaning for Clay Aiken. Specifically, when it comes to his closet.

In the latest issue of People magazine, Aiken finally acknowledges he's gay.

A new health study of Italians shows that a small square of dark chocolate daily protects the heart from inflammation and subsequent heart disease.

Those researchers even have the amount you should eat down to 1/10th of a gram.

It’s a situation we see more often than we would like to in this country.
And once again, the issue of teen pregnancy is back in the national spotlight.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have heard the news that presumptive Vice Presidential Nominee Governor Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter –Bristol - is 5 months pregnant.

Eternity Gaddy should be picking out an outfit to wear on the first day of school. Eternity Gaddy should be thinking about what she wants to become when she grows up.

There are so many things this precious little girl should be doing right now. But sadly enough, she will never get the chance.

The 13-year-old practical joker, who loved her friends, music and makeup died yesterday. She was struck in the head by a stray bullet early Sunday morning during a visit to her old Humboldt Park neighborhood.

On Friday, when Governor Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain's VeePee pick, no one really knew who she was.

One fact I found doing a fast google was that her degree (the only one) is a bachelor's in journalism.

Another fact... she actually worked in television news.

Now... here's the video to prove it.

Tonight, Senator Barack Obama will take his place in history when he accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for president.

Obama is set to become the first African-American to accept a major party presidential nomination. His big moment happens to coincide with the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech.

This moment is certainly one for the history books.
Some would like to believe Obama's nomination is proof that the issue of color is behind us, but not so fast.

Michelle Obama, the woman who could become the nation's first African-American first lady, is tonight's keynote speaker for the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Known as "the rock" in the Obama family, she wrote her own stump speech. It's expected to humanize her other half and to show up her own critics.
It is indeed Michelle's big night to shine.

Spanking, swats and licks.
A quarter of a million schoolchildren got them last year - and a new study says African American, American Indians and kids with disabilities got a disproportionate share of the punishment.

While a majority of states have outlawed corporal punishment, it remains widespread across the south, according to the study by the Human Rights Watch. The national P-T-A believes paddling should be banned everywhere.

And I wholeheartedly agree.

Michael Phelps keeps finding gold at the Beijing Olympics.

The American swimmer has claimed five gold medals at the summer games so far, and he still has three more events to go.

I think his achievements in the pool are awesome and incredible.
But I also think more attention should be paid to the accomplishments of all the other talented athletes - especially those who don't win medals.

In 1996, my oldest brother, Derrick, competed in the summer games in Atlanta.
He was a Greco-Roman wrestler and 37 years old.

Governor Rod Blagojevich signed a bill into law Monday, it was to make sure that those who violate orders of protection have GPS tracking bracelet--so victims know if their abuser is nearby.

The bill is named in honor of Cindy Bischof, the Arlington Heights woman who was shot and killed by an ex-boyfriend outside her office.

That was the news story.

What didn't make the news that night was the tardiness of Governor Blagojevich.