metra writers will be paying higher fares starting wednesday.ces for one-way trips are going up an average of 15 percent of people who use the monthly passes and can ride tickets will be paying about 30 percent more. fines are going up for drivers used disabled parking placards the legally. anyone caught with a false stolen or altered placard can now be fined up to $1,000 and police can also encounter vehicle. it can cost up to $3,000 to get your vehicle back and anyone who lets someone else used their disabled parking placards can also be fined. >> community mental health and substance abuse centers across chicago will be offering a routine hiv testing and counseling. it has been funded by nearly $1 million in grants to the city from the substance abuse and mental health services administration. mayor emanuel is announcing reforms to the city's program tif today that he says will make it more accountable. >> the city of chicago will be providing tif funds to help move for the nursing school into chicago to st. elizabeth's hospital. the money wi

winter storm warning has in effect right now commuters are making plans for the big rush hour departure metra will add extra crews and extra trains for today's rush-hour ... the city department of streets and sanitation has 183 plows patrolling the main streets and lake shore drive ... chicago shovel dog or cat is a program you can use.org is a program you can use to get some information ... >>i have been here in chicago for 10 years and i am still not used to the winters here ... it's not like this and ireland >>i'm going to go to the gym and then head home ... >>i will leave early tonight highway could be treacherous and tonneauswho knows whether this equipment will be available ... i am wondering if i should just leave now ... >>traffic along lake shore drive is relatively light as it was along the express was this morning perhaps many people decided to stay home today ... >>today was a good day to stay home today ... >>there are several schools that are closing and you can see them listed on the bottom of our screen or you can just go to the web site wgntv.com the chicago public schools a

getting the candidates to focus on domestic and metra priorities is important.m to think about investment and the ongoing housing crisis, these are the issues we hear about. yesterday we had a meeting with president obama to discuss these priorities. we invited major republican candidates to be with us, but they were a bit busy out campaigning. in south carolina, as a matter of fact. to help understand how this election is going, we have invited some of the nation's top political experts to frame the current debate. i am very pleased that today we have with us, steve schmidt, campaign strategist and adviser to john mccain in 2008. he is a friend of mine and someone who has also advised a very close friend, governor schwarzenegger. i am also extremely pleased that we have anita dunn, who served as senior communications strategist for president obama in both the campaign and at the white house. and we are most fortunate to have as our moderator today, mike allen, the chief white house correspondent from politico. he came to political front "time" magazine where he