Chicago Daily Observer

Indiana regulators on Thursday issued the final environmental permit needed for BP PLC to start work on a planned $3.8 billion expansion of its oil refinery along Lake Michigan.

The air emissions permit still needs approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but the state action allows BP to start construction work at the Whiting refinery.

An environmental group that fought the project called the state’s review “drive-by permitting” and said it was considering its options for appealing the decision.

Project foes have raised concerns about increases in carbon dioxide and other pollutants coming from the expanded refinery about 20 miles southeast of downtown Chicago.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich has lined up some high-profile helpers to get his $11-billion state capital plan through the Legislature.

The governor’s office says former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Southern Illinois University President and former Congressman Glenn Poshard will lead a coalition to help pass the plan.

The governor’s capital plan was the centerpiece of his recent budget address. It relies on a partial lease of the state lottery to come up with necessary money to fix and build roads, bridges and schools.

Let the breakup begin for Sun-Times Media Group Inc.

Piecemeal sale of the publisher of the city’s No. 2 newspaper is the likely outcome after the struggling company on Monday said it was entertaining selling any or all of its assets, plus joint ventures or partnerships.

Industry analysts say few bidders are likely to want the company’s entire portfolio, which includes the Chicago Sun-Times and a string of weekly and daily papers in the suburbs.

The suburban papers could attract greater interest from potential acquirers, says industry analyst John Morton, president of Morton Research Inc. in Silver Spring, Md.

With the economy stalling, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s chances of winning the White House depend more on convincing voters he can save their jobs than on promising to change Washington’s ways.

For all his rhetoric about moving beyond partisanship, his economic policies hew closely to classic Democratic lines and differ little from those of his primary opponents. Except for a few business-friendly wrinkles, he mostly caters to the party’s traditional base.

Chicago billionaire and businessman Lester Crown is among the 32 members of a new commission introduced Friday by Mayor Richard M. Daley to find ways to solve the city’s pension shortfalls.

Called the “Commission to Strengthen Chicago’s Pension Funds,” the group of business, labor and city leaders will conduct an analysis of pension funds for Chicago’s fire, police, laborers and municipal employees and make recommendations within 18 months on how to reach and maintain higher funding levels.

Eight northern Illinois counties are suing the state over the special election called to fill the seat vacated by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. County election officials in the 14th congressional district are seeking more time between the February 5 primary and March 8 special…