Jon Yates

The Las Vegas trip was to be a celebration for Lorraine Lierman's niece, who was turning 40, but the festivities never got off the ground. Amid driving rains that flooded the Chicago area, American Airlines canceled the April 18 flight. Lierman was told...

Chris Lewandowski wasn't sure he wanted to live in student housing next school year, so the Northern Illinois University freshman did some due diligence. In December, the Naperville native called the school's housing department in DeKalb, he said. His...

Jean Nieth worked 32 years at Wilson Sporting Goods, much of that time making golf clubs at the company's River Grove plant. When she retired in 1973 at age 59, she was given a pension and health insurance benefits. It wasn't until more than three...

As the Allegiant airline employee pushed Valerie Roberts down the ramp to her airplane at the Clearwater, Fla., airport May 3, she reminded the man to take good care of her property. "I said to him: 'Now remember, this is my wheelchair,'" she said. "He...

Tony La Piana's days of visiting the laundromat are over. The Lombard resident, featured in the April 28 column, originally wrote to What's Your Problem? after his Kenmore washer broke in March. He could handle that the machine broke less than two years...

The attack happened so quickly that neither Elizabeth Morrissey nor her dog, Mia, had a chance to react. The two were out for a walk near their Bridgeport home Dec. 21, 2011, when an unattended dog raced across the street and began biting and scratching...

Who took Harriet Hausman's $4,643.75 state tax refund check remains a mystery, but the 89-year-old River Forest resident has gotten her money back. Hausman said the entire amount was deposited into her account Friday. "I have the money and I'm...

There are several things Bob Saville enjoys about the "Wait Wait … Don't Tell Me!" radio show. "I just think it's a nice, clever show," the Oswego resident said. "It's pertinent. I keep track of all the news and stuff. I always enjoy guessing the...

Stacey Kemerer tried to be proactive. Before moving to Oak Park from Michigan earlier this year, the massage therapist went on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation website and downloaded the forms to apply for a license....

One of the first things Tricia Klebba did when she moved into her new Portage Park apartment Feb. 15 was call ComEd to put the electric bill in her name. The ComEd representative then transferred her to Peoples Gas so she could set up her gas service....

By the time Peter McNamara discovered his mistake, it was too late. The Mount Prospect resident paid his Nicor Gas bill online April 12 but didn't notice he had entered an extra number until days later, when he saw a large debit from his bank account....

After raising five children on her own, Mary Agnes Lang understood the challenges of parenting without a partner, especially the difficulty of taking on college costs. When one of her sons died at 32, she and her family established a foundation to...