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THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 l Questions? Call 1-800-TRIBUNE l 24 hours at chicagotribune.com
$1.00 CITY & SUBURBS, $1.25 ELSEWHERE—163RD YEAR NO. 77 © CHICAGO TRIBUNE


“Great presidents are not born, they have to be made,” radio and TV host Tavis
Smiley said. “They have to be pushed.”
FREDERICK M. BROWN/ GETTY PHOTO

Health bill wins more supporters
With political pressure rising, new commitments provide energy as Democrats, Obama
push ahead
Energized by commitments of support from House Democrats, President Barack Obama
and Democratic leaders worked to put the finishing touches on health care legislation
Wednesday. Concerns about defections on the left were allayed as Rep. Dennis Kucinich,
D-Ohio, who voted against the bill passed by the House last fall, said he would support
the measure. And the legislation gained the enPresident Barack Obama chats with Speaker
Nancy Pelosi. Obama later talked up health care on Fox News. HARAZ N. GHANBARI/AP
PHOTO

Obama losing black leaders?
Approval ratings high, but critics want more action
By Dahleen Glanton and Katherine Skiba
TRIBUNE REPORTERS

dorsement of dozens of leaders of Catholic nuns. NEWS FOCUS, PAGE 4
Kucinich

After turning out in record numbers to help elect the first black president, some
AfricanAmericans have begun to criticize President Barack Obama for failing to develop
economic and social policies targeting the black community which , has suffered disproportionately
from the recession. The debate over whether the president should address a “black
agenda” has deeply divided African-Americans and created a rift between some civil
rights activists who prefer to work behind the scenes with the president and prominent
leaders who have chosen to voice their concerns publicly . Much of the discussion
in recent weeks has centered on a symposium scheduled Saturday at Chicago State University
sponsored by radio and , television personality Tavis Smiley a critic of Obama’s
, policies, to bring attention to issues he and others said have been ignored by
the president. The South Side event will be broadcast live on C-SPAN and is expected
to draw 7,000 to 10,000 people. African-Americans have consistently given Obama record-high
approval ratings, though they dropped from a high of 96 percent in August to 89 percent
last week, according to Gallup polls. Still, some blacks have expressed growing concerns
that the president has ignored their plight, and they are airing their gripes on
black radio talk shows. Questions over whether Obama should be held accountable for
the staggering unemployment rate, home foreclosures and economic and education disparities
among African-Americans have created a dilemma for some black leaders who are
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7-year-old girl shot in head
Two teens were being questioned by authorities late Wednesday after a 7-year-old
girl was shot in the head, an unintended victim of what police say may have been
a gangrelated shooting. Relatives said Desaree Sanders was riding her scooter outside
her grandmother’s home in South Chicago when the girl was wounded. Desaree’s
11-year-old sister had tried to pull her out of the line of fire. PAGE 6

Greg Rodriguez, left, and Ryan Krantz are among the military veterans who have stepped
up efforts to help out the Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse in Chicago after agency
funding was cut. ALEX GARCIA/TRIBUNE PHOTO

Wounded veterans heed call for help
Soldiers taking on additional responsibilities in effort to help brain injury center
keep afloat
By John Keilman
TRIBUNE REPORTER

Exhibit will take Chicago by storm
Take it from a weather expert, WGN’s Tom Skilling, the new 26,000-square-foot “Science
Storms” exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry is high on the “wow”
factor. Skilling and Tribune reporter William Hageman give you a tour. PLAY

Greg Rodriguez was once a strong young Marine who dreamed of becoming a drill sergeant.
But that was before a pickup truck slammed into his car, causing brain damage that
ended his military career and afflicts him to this day . He is only 26, but walks
with the stiff shuffle of an old man. He forgets things easily His speech is muddled
. and difficult to understand. But when he took the floor recently at Chicago’s
Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse, a day center for people

who have suffered similar damage, he stood a little straighter, spoke a little louder,
as the Marine Corps in him burst to the surface. “I will try to use my grown-up
voice so that … so that … so that … everyone can hear me,” he said, his neural
system laboring to turn thought into words. “Today’s course will be on … on
… dealing with stress.” Despite the lingering effects of his injuries, Rodriguez
has taken a central role at the clubhouse, which, like many social service agencies,
has
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Influential singer, guitarist Chilton dies
Alex Chilton, who sang on the Box Tops’ No. 1 single “The Letter” and whose
guitar playing with Big Star was widely influential, has died. PAGE 28

Cubs owners seek OK for Wrigley Field sign
The Ricketts family was finalizing a deal Wednesday with Toyota for a billboard rising
above the left-field bleachers, but the plan first must gain approval from the city
because of the ballpark’s landmark status. And that might be a tough sell to the
ward’s alderman, preservationists and legions of passionate fans. BUSINESS, PAGE
23 PROPOSED TOYOTA BILLBOARD I 22.5 feet wide I 16 feet high Top of structure would
be 38 feet above bleachers.
MICHAEL TERCHA/TRIBUNE PHOTO

WEATHER




Forecast on the back of Live! SECTION 3