Morning drive podcast and news roundup: Debt, guns and Blagojevich redux

Morning drive podcast and news roundup: Debt, guns and Blagojevich redux

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Senator Kirk (R-IL) is optimistic about the chances a debt compromise will pass through the House. Agreement, Kirk said, is in the best economic interest of the country. The Obama-approved compromise raising the ceiling by $2.1 trillion and slashes government spending by over $2 trillion over the next decade.

Lawyers for former Governor Blagojevich are seeking a third go around for Blagojevich. The 158-page motion documents the perceived “avalanche of errors” in the retrial. The lawyers are scheduled for a status hearing today to find out what issues are contested, what discovery must be completed and what future hearings are needed.

A 73-year-old Aurora man has died in a small plane crash in northeast Illinois. The cause of the crash is unknown for the small, experimental plane.

In the first installment of the series “Under the Gun,” WBEZ looks at how gun violence in Chicago stacks up against Toronto, a city of about the same population. One of the worst homicide years for the Canadian city was in 2005, where they saw over 70 homicides. By contrast, Chicago’s banner year, last year when crime rates were down, saw more than 400 homicides. WBEZ’s Rob Wildeboer digs into why there is such a stark difference between Chicago and Toronto gun violence.

Bears and center Olin Kreutz parted ways over the weekend when they couldn’t agree on a contract. The Bears signed former Seattle Seahawks center Chris Spencer.

White Sox lost to their series against the Red Sox. Cubs broke a 5-game losing streak when they beat the St. Louis Cardinals last night.

It’s going to be another scorcher – heat index has temperatures around 99 degrees. Upside: the chance of rain is only 20 percent.

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