UIC student arrested for e-mail threat
A 24-year-old University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
senior was arrested in connection with anonymous e-mails that threatened a
violent attack at UIC similar to the recent shooting at Northern Illinois
University.
The threat was sent to several UIC e-mail accounts on Feb. 15.
Mahtab Shirani, of Wheaton, was arrested Feb. 16 and charged with a Class 4 felony of disorderly conduct, UIC Police Commander Frank Cappitelli said.
The e-mail message said a group of UIC students was
planning a violent attack on campus in the spring, Cappitelli said.
“When we did locate her and interview her, we found that she had no
confederates, and she had no instrumentation to carry out the threat,”
Cappitelli said. Shirani was released on $75,000 bond; her student status is
suspended until a disciplinary hearing is scheduled.
In recent weeks, nearly 2,000 UIC students, faculty, and staff have signed up for the campus’s emergency alert system, which sends text messages to subscribers’ cellular phones.
Alerts can be sent about emergencies such as severe weather or a serious crime in progress, said Ahmed Kassem, director of the Academic Computing and Communications Center.
--Christy Blandford
Shamrocks for Kids helps Mercy Home
The annual Shamrocks for Kids campaign raises awareness and funds for Mercy
Home for Boys & Girls by distributing shamrock pins in exchange for
donations that go directly to Mercy Home.
Volunteers will distribute pins along the routes of the South Side Irish
Parade on Sunday, March 9, and the Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade on
Saturday, March 15. They also will be on hand at O'Brien's Restaurant on
Wells Street on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, and at several other Chicago
area locations this month through March 17.
In addition, the event's sponsor, Jewel-Osco, enables its shoppers to participate in Shamrocks for Kids through Monday, March 31, by buying specified Kellogg's, Edy's, and Kimberly-Clark products; ten cents of the price for each of these items sold will go to Mercy Home. Also, shoppers using their Jewel-Osco Preferred Cards when buying these products will be entered automatically in the Shamrocks for Kids Family Vacation Sweepstakes for the chance to win a trip to Ireland.
Mercy Home invites the public to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the Hilton Chicago for its 13th Annual Shamrocks for Kids post parade celebration. This family-friendly party kicks off immediately following the downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday, March 15. Adults will enjoy a traditional Irish buffet, and children will receive leprechaun lunch bags; the celebration also includes live musical and dance entertainment and costumed characters. General admission costs $50, teen tickets cost $25, and children younger than 12 are admitted free. For more information call (312) 738-8331.
To volunteer by distributing pins and collecting donations, call (312) 738-7578, visit www.mercyhome.org, or text the word 'CARE' to 56376.
New child development center in Bridgeport
Bridgeport Child Development Center II, a program of Kids Hope United, opened recently. The new child care program will serve 51 children ages two to five years in three classrooms. The center is located in Kids Hope United’s Annie Jo Dawson Service Center, 514 W. 31st St.
Bridgeport Child Development Center II provides child care that encourages the social, emotional, intellectual, and moral development of children. It also offers a unique learn-by-doing approach.
The center also offers Head Start programs. It uses a sliding scale fee based on income and family size. Subsidized tuition is available to qualifying families through the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Its sister site, Bridgeport Child Development Center I, is located nearby at 3053 S. Normal Ave. and has been serving the needs of children and families for 28 years.
For more information, call (312) 949-4000.
RE/MAX Platinum group opens Near South office
RE/MAX Platinum, the newest of 25 RE/MAX offices in Chicago, celebrated its grand opening recently. Located in ground-floor space at 1931 S. State St., it serves the Loop, South Loop/Near South Side, and Bridgeport. Brokers—and spouses— Sylvia Martinez-Johnson and Eric Johnson own the office, which employs 13 agents.
Martinez-Johnson, who serves as manager, anticipates adding more agents in
the near future. “This is such a dynamic area, in terms of residential and
commercial development, and agents want to be here for that reason,
especially as the pace of sales in other areas has slowed,” she said.
Martinez-Johnson said the office’s priorities include providing an
environment that helps keep real estate agents energized and upbeat on new
trends in a rapidly changing market.
“Our agents will have access to top quality equipment, including a choice of desktop or laptop computers, as well as a dedicated support staff,” said Martinez-Johnson. “We are also going to help agents pay for advertising and offer sales incentives. Real estate agents today have to deliver a high level of service if they are going to succeed. To do that, they need a level of support that will let them do what they do best, which is to list and sell real estate. That’s why we want to do all we can to keep them happy and productive.”
Martinez-Johnson is an experienced real estate agent who chose to open an office in the Near South area after building a successful career in the northwest suburbs. Eric Johnson noted, “The regional RE/MAX Web site, www.illinoisproperty.com , offers consumers unexcelled access to Chicago, Rockford, and Quad Cities homes and real estate and provides agents with a full complement of tools to serve their clients and attract new business from all over the world.” For information, call (312) 842- 2600.
