Is this really news?

One must wonder what other potentially important story could have run in today's Chicago Sun-Times instead of this:

Stay in jail not healthy for Tank

May 30, 2007

BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter/spatterson@suntimes.com

Three square meals just wasn't enough for Tank Johnson.

Records obtained by the Sun-Times show the Chicago Bear spent almost $700 buying assorted junk food during the 60 days he spent in the Cook County Jail.

And while the 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman is built like a vending machine, the roster of items he ordered reads like he raided one, too:

• 162 beef sticks

• 40 honey bun sweet rolls

• 35 summer sausage blocks

• 35 bags of barbecue chips

While he and other inmates were given things like a scoop of grits for breakfast, a bologna sandwich for lunch and a chicken leg for dinner, that's hardly enough for a massive professional athlete.

Instead, Johnson supplemented his diet by relying on the commissary and all the treats it offers -- though nutritionists don't advise anyone follow Johnson's food choices.
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Meet our state's youngest gun owner

Baby's first FOID card

May 12, 2007

By Howard Ludwig Columnist

My 10-month-old son has the cutest FOID card.

Howard David Ludwig -- affectionately nicknamed Bubba -- received his state-issued Firearm Owner's Identification Card two weeks ago.

The wallet-size card arrived in the mail about a month after his dear ol' dad correctly completed the online form and sent the $5 fee.

As a FOID cardholder, baby Bubba can own a firearm and ammunition in Illinois. He can also legally transport an unloaded weapon -- though he can't walk yet, so that's not an issue.

The plastic card has a picture of a toothless, grinning Bubba in the upper right corner. It includes his name, address and date of birth.

The FOID card lists his height (2 feet, 3 inches), and his weight (20 pounds).

His signature is superimposed at the bottom of the card. Bubba can't sign his name, so I simply placed a pen in his hand. He made the scribble.
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