the wgn news election special begins at seven. and as always you can follow all of our coverage online at wgn tv dot-com slash decision 20-12. >>next the true financial cost of this year's election. making it the most expensive ever. and, still to come this midday. why experts are warning consumers food prices are about to go up even more. and later in lunchbreak: a twist on a lunch classic. instead of a when it is all said and done this election is the most expensive today. it is expected to cost more than $6 billion. that is according ton. can actually end up being even more because many outside groups to not disclose their spending. in new jersey people displaced by superstar sandy are allowed to vote by e-mail or fax. that is raising a lot of skepticism. we will likely hear a lot more about that. expect to pay more for food. he says food has been cheap in the past. over the next 20 years that is going to be changing. suzuki is exiting the u.s. car market as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. the automaker will no longer se

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hashtag wgn 20-12. coming up next. the tragedy at a zoo in pittsburgh, after a young boy falls into an exhibit. also ahead, just as victims of hurricane sandy try to pick up the pieces, another storm is expected to bring even more problems to the east coast. the death toll is rising and will continue to rise one week after hurricane sandy slammed the east coast. right now, authorities say at least 110 people were killed in the u.s. at least 67 people were killed in the caribbean two reported dead in canada. property damage is not yet estimated but insurance companies say they have the means to honor the claims that will be filed. the white house said more than $137 million dollars in direct assistance has already been approved for those in need. some east coast residents are still digging themselves and their neighbors out of floods and destroyed homes. the numbers vary but reports say anywhere from one million to more than two million homes and businesses are still without power. in new jersey alot of

wgn's robert jordan is live at city hall with the latest. latest report on congressman jesse jackson jr. and the investigation into the alleged misuse of campaign funds is spreading to possibly include the congressman's wife. according to the wall street journal federal prosecutors are reviewing evidence suggesting that sandy jackson was complacent. involved. congressman jackson returns to the mayo clinic a few months ago for treatment of bipolar disorder. caracoling on jackson to step up and be accountable. >> i think congressman jackson it is incumbent upon him to have a conversation with his constituents about his intentions. >> we're in a position of public trust when we run for office. we are held to higher levels. >> congressman jesse jackson jr. was a big supporter of that effort. >> congressman jackson has been a great champion and partner of this airport. we're holding his news conference because we want to raise the profile of the airport and let the people now that this airport benefits all of the people of chicago land. i spoke w

wgn's judy wang is live downtown with details. after the teachers' strike ended in september the union president predicted that school closings would be the next big fight. the fight is under way. even though there is no list of schools to be closed yet. that list might not come out for several more months. >> several labor and community groups participated in the protest. they call their movement stand-up chicago. they staged a sit-in inside of the mayor's office november 2nd. police arrested 10 of them for trespassing. i have dealt with failing schools by closing them or replacing the faculty and staff. protesters argue that this tends to hurt lower-income minority students. protestors are blasting the use of public dollars for private run charter schools. they have to make public a list of schools that want to close by december 1st. the school chief last the general assembly to extend that to march 31st. she said she wants to give it the new commission time to communicate with people who are going to be impacted. >> we are afra

. >> wgn american viewers are now joining us, thanks for coming on board. let's go right to what you are most interested and that is the presidential battleground state florida. it looks like president obama has a smidgen more overall vote. now we go to pennsylvania, 62 percent barack obama. in ohio that is very similar to the type of voter in pennsylvania 36% of the precincts reporting a slow going their 54-46 for the president at the moment. and as they say no republican goes to the white house without ohio now let's check in with the hometown crowd. you are on jackie. >> i am here with the co-chair of the obama campaign bill daley also former chief of staff welcome just a few minutes ago so,. so calm. >> there has been no major change. >> are you hearing more than what you are seeing at the media? >> things are rolling out as was expected virginia is the same way, ohio is still early into that looks very close with the president is in a strong state what you think the keys were so far in getting these votes? >> i think they are incredible campaign operat

we welcome our viewers who are watching us around the country on wgn america and on the web. president has lots of hurdles to overcome. including the high unemployment rate. the stock market is off to a rough start. here's a live look at the big board. stocks are trading sharply lower. if your web it could be tough for lawmakers to avoid a fiscal crisis. >> that looming fiscal showdown is just some of the big issues facing the president as he heads back to work. >> there are signs here that the president may be on the move. i'm going to step out of the way. there's been a lot of activity. within the last 20 minutes or so. we saw the senior white house advisor or ride. so did the white house official photographer. he is a former chicago tribune photographer the police motorcycle escort typically leads the presidential motorcade also standing at the ready. the it is very exciting on here. there's a crowd growing in anticipation to see president obama. >> supporter stopped by his home the morning after his reelection victory. hoping to get a glimpse of the commander in chief. th

. >> sean lewis, wgn news. >> and there are more questions than answers tonight about the resignation of general david petraeus as head of the c.i.a. citing an extramarital affair for reason for quitting, petraeus handed in his resignation to president obama on thursday. petraeus' affair reportedly with his biographer came to light after possible hacking of the general's personal email account. that investigation reportedly started after broadwell sent threatening emails to another woman. former c.i.a. director general michael hayden says the resignation is sad but the c.i.a. is in good hands. >> it's a tragedy it's a tragedy for the nation, it's a tragedy for the agency, and clearly a tragedy for the petraeus' family. now, they'll move on and wish them all the best but this is very sad. the agency is healthy. >> and hayden was in charge of the c.i.a. from 2006 to 2009. >> reverend jesse jackson did not comment today on reports that his son congressman jesse jackson jr. may be negotiating a plea agreement with federal authorities. the senior jackson spoke at the rainbow push coalition

we welcome our viewers who are watching us around the country on wgn america and on the web. first, our top story. apparently wrapping up their operations here. they have refused to say much about their ongoing search. day five of this effort comes five years after the mysterious disappearance of stacy peterson. state police tell us that there is now tip or lead that instigated this week's efforts. the availability of fbi resources was apparently ideal for following up on old leads. >> hope they find her. her husband remains a prime suspect. a former officer was convicted of killing his third wife. back in 2007 police pinpointed activity. >> bring my daughter here all the time. just to know that there may be remains here, i hope they could find her. >> would be nice if the family had closure. >> operation seem to be wrapping up for today. there's no indication whether the search will continue again at any point. so far today there's no indication that they have found anything significant >>a prayer vigil will be held tonight for a mother missing for nearly three weeks. the ce

wgn's tonya francisco reports from city hall with details. he may have also bought a $40,000 gift for a female friend with campaign money. that is on top of the house ethics investigation on whether he offered to raise money for the girl is in exchange for being appointed to obama's old senate seat. pictures of him were released while he was receiving treatment for bipolar disorder over the summer. he has been spotted hanging out in a couple of washington d.c. bars after being released. >> a series of events came together in my life at the same time. they have been difficult to sort through. i'm human. i'm doing my best and i'm trying to sort through them all. >> just give the man a chance to heal. >> his father and his wife even she was missing in action from today's city council meeting. >> if reports are true that jackson is indeed working on a plea deal with federal prosecutors and if those negotiations are successful he could possibly keep his seat in congress. state representative-elect derrick smith says he's excited about returning to

wgn's larry potash tells us how some people are trying to change that. >> l.his start in and he got his start here in illinois... he was not an intimidating force. he was a leader of men through character . law clerk for abe lincoln. >> they were pretty much acrobats on the battlefield. there were gymnasts. barry deadly on the battlefiel >> he issued a challenge for other units... when no one responded he took his men across the country to perform 22 shows. people were stunned. >> historians have said he was the most famous man in america at that time. >> april 18th 61 tensions rose between north and south... an eight ellsworth was the first officer to lead the march into virginia... he marched to the top and tore down the flag and draped it over his shoulder. >> elmer was shot... first martar of the union caused >> little has been written about ellsworth... only two books. >> he started a foundation >> he says is the perfect place for an ellsworth statue... >> he is a hometown hero, a friend of lincoln's. abraham lincoln would want theat >> he may have been f

coming up on wgn news... updated information on the funeral of captain herbert johnson.. the chicago firefighter who died friday night. a horrendous accident at a pittsburg zoo leaves a little child dead. and the newest addition to chicago's o'hare airport....the dreamliner has arrived. hello jim... i will have details and the forecast just ahead... break [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks or jumping into the market, he goes with people he trusts which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade. fatal hit and run crash. a 240 yr old was struck as he was crossing the street around 930 saturday night. he suffered traumatic injuries to the head and face. he was taken to the hospital where he later died. police are looking for a dark colored mercury >> funeral service

arrested last spring on federal bribery charges but derrick smith is giving his side of the story to wgnother new report against him. he runs for his old seat against the democratic machine now. >> the former state rep doesn't dispute the new report that during his term with the city he was fired from streets and sanitation do to shake down allegations. >> i was the one that was let go as a result of allegations which they had on other individuals and it wasn't actually anything i did. no criminal charges resulted but democratic leaders say it's systematic of a problem that have dogged derrick smith. >> expelled from the general assembly 100 of his colleagues voted against him... >> jesse whitey and other top democrats rallying behind smith's opponent attorney lance tyson the former mayoral aide to richard daley and public finance specialist is a lifelong democrat but he is forced to run as a unity party can of it. i am a true democrat here before the choice and the choices of my opponent the democratic party wouldn't have had a creative brandon to run against this guy. i strongly suppor

it is our top story seen or round the country tonight seen on wgn america. he was an 18 year veteran of the chicago fire department. the work continued tonight at engine company 121 where flags flew at half staff to remember walter jr. died of heart attack sunday night at the little company of mary hospital after responding to a fire earlier in the night. he is an excellent father, the best father that my children could have. his widow today told us that her husband who most knew by his childhood nickname of bobble realize that his lifelong dream of being a chicago firefighter when he was 43 years old. he liked helping people and so he really wanted to be with the firefighters that's where he thought he could help people. some told us that he always had a smile on his face and a good word for others and he served as a mentor for many and shared his love of cooking, especially dry rub. he was renowned for his barbecue and there are a lot of guys that can really cook well he can really put it together. he was willing to help you in any way that he could. he wa

are not sure where your election polling place is too confined out at: we will check on the polls at wgnews that 5:00 tomorrow. the entire team begins at 7:00 and as always you can follow all of this throughout the evening with/decision 2012. zeroing in on immigrants leaders put in party politics aside in an effort to get more immigrants to go to the polls and a high- profile search near joliet that has attracted the attention of stacy peterson. peterson's family. we're taking downy to the streets. which shirt feels more expensive? that one's softer. it's the same t-shirt. really? this one was washed in downy. why spend a lot of money when you can just use downy? downy's putting our money where our soft is. try downy softness. love it or your money back. [ female announcer ] over every holiday season your mouth has been sipping, snacking, yellowing. nutcracking, gift stacking yellowing. mistletoe'ing, ho ho ho'ing yellowing. and every holiday season, your teeth have been yellowing. fact is if you're not whitening, you're yellowing. crest 3d white whitestrips remove over 10 years of stain

it is our top story seen or round the country tonight on wgn america. good evening to the both of you the 40 year-old mother on suicide watch sitting in jail tonight with no bond there was no history of violence and no previous abreast police are trying to figure out what made her snapped naperville police calling it one of the worst most brutal scenes they have witnessed. she made both victims neil and begin prying, she began stabbing her son justin and told him he was going to happen tonight. prosecutors detail what tonight is hard to imagine for so many a mother inside this naperville home accused of stabbing and killing her seven year-old son and then turning to a five year-old girl she was babysitting and stabbing her at least 50 times those children begging for their lives as it was happening why she did police heard a long list of reasons from the 40 year-old she changed her story again and stated that she in fact had stabbed both victims because they were poisoned by society and to did not listen like they should have, in cleaning lady first sai

. >> this is corruption at its best >> at the criminal courts building wgn news. >> drew peterson asked a judge to throw out his conviction for the murder of his third wife kathleen savio. the appeal sites ineffective legal counsel at his trial and one of his lawyers was accused of incompetence and could be called to testify in the trial his date was originally set for january 10th but the judge postponed it given both sides time to file new motions. the cia director set to testify in front of the house intelligence committee today about the attack that killed four americans in benghazi. the hearings were closed doors so all's we know is what we're hearing from lawmakers and the impact of his testimony depends on who you ask congressman gutierrez who was on the inside said that what detritus said today was pretty consistent with what he told congress in the days following the attacks that claimed four american lives including ambassador chris stevens. >> it is clear that for some people the election is not over and they want to continue to mince words about what he said or did not say.

in chicago, sean lewis wgn news. >> republican candidates met ryan and paul ryan are blitzing the battleground states on this final weekend before election day. romney was an iowa for an early-morning rally today. moving on to new hampshire he reminded supporters of what he has called obama is broken promises to the american people >> he was going to get unemployment down to 5.2 percent right now. we just learned it is up to 7.9% >> he then moved on to colorado. his running mate paul ryan wasn't pennsylvania introducing his family to supporters. then he was off to virginia >> meanwhile president obama is pushing his campaign through the midwest with stops in milwaukee in ohio. the president disputed romney's charges of partisanship and divisiveness >> when we cut taxes for middle- class families, that was bipartisan. there are some republicans in the senate who voted with us >> moving on to mentor, ohio -- mr. obama touted his administration's bailout of the auto industry. ohio relies heavily on the auto industry -- and republican romney has criticized the government-orchestrated rescue as ult

we welcome our viewers who are watching us around the country on wgn america and on the web. w-g-n's nancy loo is live in wheaton with our top story. >> the alleged killer provided numerous explanations including driving out the devil and getting back at her husband. the seven year-old victim was stabbed 100 times. the five girl was stabbed 50 times. both of them had their throats slashed. there were told they were about to go to heaven. >> she told them multiple stories about the deaths of the two children in her care on tuesday. there were too many inconsistencies. she shook her head a few times and she heard the accusations against her. both children on the extent to death tuesday night. at one point she told police that just an and the five year-old had evil inside of them and she needed to drive the devil out. according to prosecutors she had both children kneel down to pray. >> she began stabbing her son and told him that he was going to heaven. he pleaded for his life. she continued stabbing and until he was dead. she then turned her attention to the five year-old and

we welcome our viewers who are watching us around the country on wgn america and on the web. >> alderman said the jackson told the beauty in last night that despite her problems she is working hard for the people for war. >> all i can do is stay focused on the work there were doing. that is how i feel my days. i know that there are other families out there that go through personal tribetrials and tribulations and they have to continue working just as mine does. that they say she was a no show for today's big budget vote. in fact she has missed several city council hearings in the past four months. according to city clerk reckitt she has the worst attendance records when it comes to city council members parishes worst record of all 50 alderman. they said her attendance as of late has to do with her husband's legal woes. her husband is under federal under investigation for misuse of campaign funds to redecorate their washington home and to buy a rolex watch for a female friend. the investigation says that ealdorman jackson has been pulled into parents of a per colleagues were asked about h

fifth overall they will face a stiff test over the next couple of weeks from lake forest rich king wgnd news from the peanut camp, he and his wife jackie were honored with the champions for children's award charles and jackie of course are expecting their fourth child on monday, he tweeted today that the baby is coming monday i will be playing sunday night against texas, i don't know how he knows that for sure. tomorrow night notre dame and lake forest have the spotlight all to themselves it's the only game of the entire weekend on friday night. chris james is running for almost 500 yds they will be ready for anything tomorrow night. following a strong season and we think that that has tested us well we had a great game and a good second round game we are really happy to be playing with quarters. it will be a great atmosphere out there tomorrow night, five more hours of negotiating and no settlement in the nhl lockout. it may continue throughout the weekend nobody is saying much about it but it seems they're making at least a bit of progress i would say they have at least three or four

. >>> the tribune company has taken another step closer to emerging from bankruptcy the parent of wgntv and 22 other stations received the okay to transer its broadcast licenses to the new owners. tribune filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008 and plans to transfer ownership to its main creditors. >>> sending a package with united parcel service will become more expensive come the new year. ups is increasing the rate for items sent by air by 4 1/2%. items sent overseas from the u.s. will rise the same amount and ground rates will rise by nearly 5%. that's the latest from fox business network, giving you the power to prosper and my daughter loves the santa. oh, ah sir. that is a customer. let's not tell mom. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. fedex office. at e-trade, our free online tools and retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan d execute it with a wide range of low cost investments. get a great plan and low cost invtments at e-trade. liz: successful ceo is simply someone that gives them great advice to build what is already there. we have the

. >> tony's bosses at wgn loved the result. their miniature chicago has become a youtube hit.popular on-air promo. >> i think i've gotten so many hits on a video like this is because people love their city. i mean, chicago's a great town. >> it's just the pure pleasure of seeing the city look different. so sort of charming and harmless in a way. >> sam calls his new york video the sand pit. in its first seven months, it has more than 750,000 online hits. >> i didn't really expect the response to be as big and positive as it has been. it's something i thought would maybe generate interest for me and be popular, but i didn't expect it to kind of explode in the way that it did. >> you almost get to this point where every city wants to have it. when you're seeing your own city that way, it's familiar yet different. it lets you see your own city in a different light. >>> gee whiz, i sure do love counting. i wonder how high i can go. let's find out. one, two, three, four, five, six. >> and so it will go for more than 70 hours. no flash, no tricks. john is simply going to keep counti

. >> well, whatever you think of that, "chicago tribune"/wgn poll last week shows tammy duckworth leadingperson by ten points now and a ppp poll the same week showed a 14-point lead for duckworth, his challenger. and yet the conservative superpac freedom work is pouring another $1.7 million into the race and the pro-tea party now or never superpac is spending another $1 million. with me, the democratic candidate for the illinois' eighth district, tammy duckworth. colonel duckworth, it's an honor to have you on. thank you for your service to our country. why are they pounding your race with this dirty, angry money? >> they know they can buy him. they have a history of him voting exactly the way they want. we wondered why he was the only one to vote against the transportation bill, a bill that brings thousands of jobs into the district and $300 million specifically to our district until we realized that now or never it's funded by a group that is anti the transportation bill. that's why they're coming in. they want to buy this election. >> are they working with your opponent? >> well, you k