1 2 3 4 5 6 Weather: Pt. sun; high 81, low 59 Index, Page 2 Online at chicagotribune.com HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! COVERAGE IN METRO By Kathy Bergen Tribune staff reporter Mayor Richard Daley says Chicago won’t use local tax rev- enue to host the 2016 Olympics. That might sound absurd, giv- en that the city would need to build several mega-structures, including a track-and-field sta- dium that can seat 75,000, a state-of-the-art aquatics center, and an Olympic Village for thousands of athletes and offi- cials. But the Olympics has given birth to some creative financing schemes—some extraordinari- ly successful, some disastrous failures—and individuals close to the planning process think they’ve got a winning idea. They say the city likely will rely on a series of partnerships with developers and universi- ties, together with corporate and private donations, to fi- nance the Games, should the city ultimately win the right to host them. And the total cost, they say, should be significantly less than the $5 billion to $9 billion that has been bandied about by out- side observers. More likely is a total of $4 bil- lion or less. This includes $2.5 billion to $3 billion for oper- ations—a sum that any U.S. city could expect—and another $1 billion for construction. Olympic revenue—from tick- et sales and merchandise, spon- sorships and broadcast rights— should cover operations and then some. The three Olympics on U.S. soil in the past two dec- Olympics won’t be taxing, Daley says The mayor has big plans for 2016, but they run toward partnerships, gifts, not taxpayers’ wallets PLEASE SEE OLYMPICS, PAGE 2 By Ray Long and John Chase Tribune staff reporter A human resources manager brought in to direct hiring at a state agency said he struggled to curb the political muscle that Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s patron- age office flexed there. A confidential investigation by the governor’s own executive inspector general corroborated the views of Timothy Walker, who was brought in to be the head of human resources at the Illinois Department of Employ- ment Security after the person recommended by Blagojevich’s patronage office proved unqual- ified. Walker, 50, said his private- sector experience was unlike what he faced from rivals in state government. “It wasn’t about what was right,” Walker said when con- tacted by the Tribune. “It was about power and politics. It was very frustrating.” Numerous e-mails corrobo- rate Walker’s account and sup- port the conclusion that he ulti- mately lost his job over his re- fusal to favor “connected” can- didates, according to a Sept. 9, 2004, report by Zaldwaynaka “Z.” Scott, who served as Blago- jevich’s first executive inspec- tor general under a law he championed. The report was obtained by the Tribune and made public for the first time in Sunday edi- tions. The watchdog found the Blagojevich administration skirted personnel laws, chal- lenging the governor’s conten- tion that qualifications always Hiring boss battled clout Governor’s inspector general backs fired manager’s claims PLEASE SEE HIRING, BACK PAGE TRIBUNE INVESTIGATION By Josh White The Washington Post WASHINGTON — A former Army soldier was charged Mon- day with the alleged rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the slayings of three of her family members in their home south of Baghdad in March, federal pros- ecutors said. Several soldiers allegedly planned the attack over drinks after noticing the girl near the traffic checkpoint they manned in Mahmoudiya, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for western Ken- tucky. The soldiers allegedly worked out an elaborate plot to carry out the crime and then cover it up, wearing dark clothes to the home, using an AK-47 assault ri- fle from the house to kill the family and allowing authorities to believe the attack was carried out by insurgents, according to investigators. Former Pfc. Steven Green, 21, and other members of 1st Pla- toon, B Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, allegedly carried out the crimes March 12. Several soldiers told authorities that Green killed all four people and that he and an- other soldier raped the girl. The plot worked, at least until soldiers began discussing the incident last month while going through stress counseling after two other members of their pla- toon were captured at a check- point and beheaded by insur- gents. Army officials began in- vestigating the day after hear- ing about the events in Mah- moudiya. Green had been honorably discharged from the Army for an unspecified ‘‘personality dis- order’’ before U.S. officials were Charlotte Observer photo by Patrick Schneider U.S. marshals take former Pfc. Steven Green, 21, to a federal courthouse Monday in Charlotte. Ex-GI held in Iraq rape, killings of 4 U.S. alleges that soldiers plotted assault, cover-up Flash point: Mahmoudiya Violence flares in Iraqi town where neighbor says U.S. sol- diers stalked, raped girl be- fore killing family. PAGE 10 MORE INSIDE PLEASE SEE SOLDIERS, PAGE 10 By Michael Cabbage Tribune Newspapers CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— NASA gave the go-ahead for a Tuesday launch of shuttle Dis- covery, deciding that the loss of foam insulation off the ship’s fuel tank didn’t endanger its crew. Detailed inspections of the shuttle’s tank at the launch pad convinced NASA that the foam loss did not pose a safety hazard. As a result, officials late Mon- day cleared Discovery for flight without ordering further in- spections. “There were no dissenters when we went around the room,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s head of space oper- ations. “There were really no concerns raised, but lots of dis- cussions from many people dur- ing the review.” NASA stressed that the deci- sion was not driven by schedul- ing. “We’ve laid out the data. We’ve looked at it calmly,” Ger- stenmaier said. Tuesday’s five-minute launch Foam loss on fuel tank won’t stop shuttle liftoff PLEASE SEE SHUTTLE, BACK PAGE By Aamer Madhani Tribune staff reporter Fearing a vast overhaul of immigra- tion laws, people who are in the country legally but fear that doors might close on them are racing to become U.S. citi- zens, according to immigrant advocacy groups and federal officials. Applications for citizenship have soared 18 percent in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The agency also noted a similar burst in traffic on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site, where applications for citizenship can be downloaded. Immigrant advocates have set a sum- mer goal of helping 10,000 Illinois resi- dents become citizens and registering 15,000 new immigrant voters. Activists in Chicago launched the effort Satur- day at Little Village Lawndale High School, 3120 S. Kostner Ave., with an event that helped more than 500 legal permanent residents fill out their citi- zenship applications. The surge in interest is illustrated by packed citizenship preparation classes throughout the city. On a recent morn- ing at the Chinese American Service League in Chinatown, 40 potential ap- plicants filled every seat in one class- room to improve their English, and 25 more advanced students crammed into a small room two floors above. Uncertainty over immigration has legal residents packing citizenship classes Tribune photo by Chuck Berman Dao Tai Liang follows an English lesson at the Chinese American Service League in Chicago. Becoming American takes on new urgency PLEASE SEE CITIZEN, BACK PAGE INSIDE TEMPO The best video games—so far Eric Gwinn picks his favorites from the first half of the year. PAGE 5 BUSINESS Designing cars for fuller figures Ford’s virtual mannequins reflect Americans’ bigger girth. SPORTS BULLS NAB WALLACE Detroit’s defensive star coming to Chicago 50¢ City & Suburbs; 75¢ Elsewhere FINAL TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2006 ~ CHICAGOLAND 160TH YEAR — NO. 185 CHICAGO TRIBUNE