he Aurora Housing Authority has, for the second year in a row, been designated “troubled” under a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program.

Housing authority officials attributed the label largely to failure to submit an audit, which caused the agency to receive a score of zero on the financial portion of its review. Documents recently obtained by the Beacon-News show the authority was also docked significant points in categories that measure its capital fund and management, and note the low scores were due in part to a low public housing occupancy rate.

Randy Belville said he’s a sponsor at the Illinois State Fair “really just to help the community out.”

His New City Greenhouse in Pawnee donated 400 flats of flowers to help beautify the fairgrounds this year. The donation was worth at least $10,000, the fair said in its agreement with the business.

Chicagoans know that a CTA bus ride can be slow and frustrating, especially during rush hour or when there is construction.

A new report has given letter grades to bus service in all 50 wards and on some of the busiest routes, rating them on speed, bus “bunching” and delays. Not many make the honor roll.

Motorists who park their cars in the booming West Loop and Near West Side have gotten the boot more times this year than other neighborhoods, according to figures released to aldermen last week.

The 27th Ward, which includes parts of the Near West and North sides and is represented by Ald. Walter Burnett, topped the list with 1,374 boot scofflaws from Jan. 1-June 30 of this year.

Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser has been ordered to appear at a December court hearing to defend himself against a charge that he should be held in contempt for failing to sort out grievances related to the firings and wages of several union workers he dismissed after taking office.

On Sept. 20, a Lake County judge in Waukegan granted a request from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 to compel arbitration after the dismissal of a lawsuit Gasser launched in an attempt to invalidate a union contract his predecessor signed.