Illinois Democrats Woo Voters Before Obama Rally

CHICAGO -- Democrats were out early Saturday trying to fire up voters before President Barack Obama's Chicago rally, where he was expected to make another push to fend off Republicans who want to claim his former U.S. Senate seat and the Illinois governor's mansion.

Gov. Pat Quinn and Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias, both Democratic candidates on the top of the Illinois ballot, implored people to vote at the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition. That gathering that was televised and broadcast on the radio.

"Please don't waste our votes," Quinn told about 200 people at the PUSH headquarters on Chicago's South Side. "We're running against the right wing that wants to tear down President Obama. They want him to lose the office of governor in his own home state of Illinois."

Quinn and Giannoulias, who's in a tight race for Obama's seat against Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, were gearing up for an Obama get-out-the-vote rally later Saturday evening. It's the president's latest effort to bolster his party ahead of Tuesday's election.

Like the Democrats, Republicans were busy as well on this final weekend before Election Day. Kirk and GOP candidate for governor Bill Brady were making stops around the state before wrapping up with a rally of their own in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook.

More of the same was planned for Sunday, with a GOP rally in Chicago with Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who claimed the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat in a special election.

Illinois Republican Party chairman Pat Brady said Republicans in the state have mounted an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort over the past year and have made about 4.4 million outreach calls.

"I think this year we've beaten them at the get-out-the-vote effort," Brady said.

Obama's Chicago visit shows the Democrats are still trying to rally their base with just a few days to go before the election, which Brady said is "not good."

If Kirk wins Obama's old Senate seat it would be an embarrassing loss for Democrats and another big win for Republicans who are trying to shift control of Congress in Tuesday's election.

Giannoulias said he wants to help advance Obama's agenda to move the country forward and blasted Republicans for saying they want to take back America. He said Obama has been unfairly blamed for the country's problems, which Giannoulias said started under Republicans.

"How far back do you want to go? We saw what happened when they were in charge," he said.

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Man Charged With Murder, Sexual Assault in Killing of Illinois College Student

DE KALB, Ill. -- An Illinois man has been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Northern Illinois University freshman Antinette "Toni" Keller, police said Friday night.

DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen said at a news conference that 34-year-old William Curl of DeKalb has also been charged with criminal sexual assault and arson. Feithen said Curl did not know Keller, and it appeared to have been a crime of opportunity.

Curl, who was arrested by U.S. Marshals at a motel in Covington, La., has been extradited to Illinois and is being held at the DeKalb County Jail on $5 million bond. He was scheduled for an initial hearing Saturday morning at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore.

Keller, of Plainfield, was last seen about noon Oct. 14 when friends said the art student was headed to a nearby park and nature preserve. Two days later, burned remains were found in the park, and a week later, forensic experts confirmed the remains were human.

Police in DeKalb, a city 65 miles west of Chicago where the 25,000-student campus is located, still haven't positively identified remains found in a park near the school as belonging to Keller, though they reclassified her case as a homicide investigation.

Keller's parents have little doubt they belong to their 18-year-old daughter, said the missing girl's cousin, Mary Tarling.

"There doesn't seem to be an alternative explanation," she said.

Among the indications the remains are Keller's is that her camera and sketch pad were found nearby, Tarling said, citing what police have told the family.

A talented watercolor painter and nature lover, Keller may have headed to the wooded park just south of the campus to take pictures or sketch drawings for an art project, Tarling said.

"She painted flowers and landscapes," Tarling said. "She loves camping and rock climbing."

Feithen said Curl was known to be among the people who frequented the 150-acre park and had been questioned, along with others, early in the investigation.

The chief said Curl became the prime suspect when he failed to show up for further questioning early this week. Feithen said a check of Curl's credit cards and cell phone records indicated that he had crossed the border into Mexico, and then proceeded through Texas to Louisiana.

After Keller's disappearance, security was increased at NIU's campus, and the school is making security escorts available 24 hours a day. NIU spokesman Brad Hoey said Friday that demand for late-night ride service has soared 30 percent since police revealed the discovery of the remains.

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Body Found in Park Believed to Be Missing Illinois College Student

Published October 24, 2010

| FoxNews.com

Investigators in Illinois are working to determine whether human remains found in a park are those of a Northern Illinois University student who disappeared more than a week ago. 

Police in DeKalb County said Saturday that they also recovered items consistent with property belonging to NIU student Antinette "Toni" Keller.

Keller, a freshman from Plainfield, was last seen in the early afternoon on Thursday, Oct. 14. She reportedly told friends that she was going for a walk in a nature area behind the Junction Center retail complex.

Chief of Police Bill Feithen said Saturday the remains have not been positively identified. But police say the search has been reclassified as a death investigation and that Keller's family was told of the change.

Investigators told MyFoxChicago.com that the remains were found in a densely wooded area of Prairie Park -- just south of the university's campus in DeKalb. Authorities have not said if the remains showed any signs of trauma. 

Feithen declined to answer specific questions about whether a killer is on the loose, only saying that students and residents of the DeKalb area should remain vigilant. 

"We're certainly concerned at any time we have a possible victim of violent crime," Feithen said. "We live in a day and age anymore no matter what community you live in -- people have to be cautious."

The university has reportedly heightened its security, offering 24-hour escort services to students and adding more access restrictions at campus residence halls. 

A Facebook page devoted to Keller's disappearance had more than 12,000 members as of early Sunday -- with well wishers posting messages of grief. 

Click here to read more on this story from MyFoxChicago.com 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Police Step Up Search for Missing Illinois College Student

Published October 22, 2010

| Associated Press

DE KALB, Ill. -- Officials at Northern Illinois University say the DeKalb County Major Case Squad has assumed lead of the investigation into the disappearance of NIU student Antinette "Toni" Keller.

Authorities said Thursday the decision to activate the Major Case Squad was made jointly by law enforcement officials from NIU, DeKalb and Sycamore police, the county sheriff and the Illinois State Police.

Keller was a freshman from Plainfield who lived in a residence hall on the NIU campus. She was last seen early afternoon Oct. 14, when she reportedly told friends that she was going for a walk in a nature area behind the Junction Center retail complex.

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Illinois Senate Candidates Spar Over Military Service Claims, Mob Ties

CHICAGO -- The candidates for President Obama's former Senate seat accused each other of lying, doing business with mobsters and driving up the nation's deficit Sunday during their first debate. 

Democrat Alexi Giannoulias said Republican opponent Mark Kirk has told "some real whoppers" during the campaign, from making false claims about his military service to calling himself a deficit hawk while supporting expensive tax cuts for the wealthy. 

Kirk responded that Giannoulias, as an executive at his family's bank, lent money to "infamous mob figures." He also repeated accusations that Giannoulias helped drive Broadway Bank into the ground, causing it to fail earlier this year. 

The debate on NBC's "Meet the Press" touched on many of the disputes and allegations that have produced an extraordinarily tight race. Polls show the two candidates essentially tied as Republicans try to capture Obama's former seat and Democrats aim to prevent an embarrassing loss. 

The candidates displayed clear policy differences. 

Giannoulias, who's currently serving as Illinois' state treasurer, defended Obama's handling of the economy, saying government stimulus programs had prevented a second Great Depression. 

"That is a reality," he said. 

Kirk, however, said the stimulus has largely failed. The five-term congressman from the Chicago suburbs said its main effect has been to drive up government debt, which Kirk called a "long-term danger to the American dream." 

But much of the debate was devoted to the candidates defending themselves against accusations of misconduct and dishonesty. 

Giannoulias denied that his decisions as a loan officer contributed to Broadway Bank's failure. He also rejected Republican claims that he's a "mob banker" because the bank did business with at least two criminal figures. 

Giannoulias said again that the bank knew the men had been in legal trouble but "didn't know the extent of that activity." The Kirk campaign disputes that claim. 

Meanwhile, Kirk was pressed on his false statements about his career in the Navy Reserve. 

Kirk, an intelligence officer, claimed he personally won an award that actually went to his entire unit. He has said he took part in first Iraq war when he didn't. He also once claimed to run the Pentagon war room when his duties actually involved only one part of the center's operations. 

And, Kirk said he came under fire on flights over Iraq and Kosovo, claims he won't explain. 

"I made mistakes. I was careless and I learned a very painful and humbling lesson," Kirk said.

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