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Gov. Pat Quinn's top aides are briefing reporters today on the mix of spending cuts, "revenue increases" and borrowing that are expected to be part of the governor's budget speech tomorrow, with much of the focus on whether Quinn will try to get reluctant lawmakers to pass a tax increase before the November election.

Everything the governor proposes is in essence an opening bid in a political process where the stakes have been raised by the state's record $13 billion budget hole and the looming election that will decide who sits in the governor's office and which party controls the legislature.

Read more in Clout Street on chicagotribune.com.

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Reminding everyone that April 1 will bring a downloadable co-op mission for its buddy-shooter Army of Two: The 40th Day, publisher EA has passed along a new trailer: [video]17534[/video] Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Dubbed "Chapters of Deceit," the add-on grants two new campaign maps to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players, provided they're willing to pony up 800 Microsoft Points / $10.

The Aurora Beacon-News reports: Police are investigating the discovery today of what appeared to be human skeletal remains in a wooded area near the intersection of Remington and Woodward drives in St. Charles.

Get the full story: suburbanchicagonews.com.

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He's also sharing it with a rookie. Billed as an advertisement of the game's Ryder Cup features, some take the pairing with Rory McIlroy as more fallout from Tiger's inability to abstain from sex with women not named Mrs. Woods.

An EA Sports news release described the new cover but, understandably, said nothing about his marital infidelity scandal - which has sent Woods to rehab, indefinitely delayed his return to the PGA Tour, and sent big-name sponsors running for the hills, EA not among them.

Instead, the statement focused on the inclusion of Ryder Cup play, allowing players to choose from U.S. or European teams and participate in the tournament's varying competition formats. As for the cover, "Tiger Woods denotes the U.S. team and Rory McIlroy represents the Europeans." And he's a perfectly goo...

A portion of the northbound Dan Ryan Expressway is shut down after a female jumped off of the 95th Street overpass and was struck by a vehicle, officials said.

Chicago police are conducting a death investigation, a spokesman said. A witness said they saw the woman jump from the overpass and she was alone.

Officials from the Cook County medical examiner's office said they were notified about the death at 2:30 p.m. No other information was available about the woman.

The two left lanes of the northbound 90-94 expressway were open as police investigate the incident, according to an Illinois State Police official.

No other details were available.

-- Staff report

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Let's take a brief break from today's media blitz and Game Developers Conference craziness to see what digital distribution outlet Steam has on offer today, shall we?
RUSE and Battlestations: Pacific

For starters, anyone with a Steam account can now join in on the RUSE multiplayer beta, though those that played in the last beta may need to do a bit of extra work.

Next, let's see what deals day two of Square / Eidos Publisher Week brought with it: Order of War and Battlestations Bundle -...

Chicago police scoured a usually quiet Southwest Side neighborhood Tuesday to inform residents that a rapist has assaulted two women and exposed himself to a third victim in the last five days in the area.

Police and residents canvassed the Wrightwood neighborhood between the 7900 block of South Kedzie Avenue and the 8300 block of Western Avenue, distributing fliers with a composite sketch of the suspect.

"We can't sit back and wait for police to do something," said Pastor Kenneth Little, who with his wife, Lorraine, slipped fliers into neighbors' mailboxes. "We have to work together."

According to an alert issued Monday, the man sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl in the 8200 block of South Sacramento Boulevard about 7:15 p.m. Thursday after he forced...

Chicago police are investigating a shooting near a South Side high school that left a teen injured, officials said.

The person who was shot was reported to be a male in his later teens, Chicago Police Spokesman Daniel O'Brien said.

The shooting happened about 3:08 p.m. on the 500 block of East 51st Street, O'Brien said. The teen was shot in the left arm, he said.

The shooting occurred on the same block as Dyett High School, 555 E. 51st St., but there is no indication that the shooting occurred on the campus, O'Brien said.

-- Carlos Sadovi

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