U.S., state to fund battery research at Argonne

The U.S. Department of Energy has chosen Argonne National Laboratory, in suburban Lemont, to become America's capital for battery technology.

The announcement, to be made Friday, will include building a research facility to coordinate the clout and brainpower of five Department of Energy national laboratories, five universities and four private companies that independently have been working to advance battery technology.

Funded with $120 million from the DOE and a $35 million commitment from Gov. Pat Quinn, the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research is expected to develop lighter, cheaper batteries for everything from smartphones to electric vehicles that store more power and charge faster.

Chicago would be the fourth so-called Energy Innovation Hub that the DOE has established since 2010. The concept is modeled after research and development programs that spurred breakthroughs in the past, such as the Manhattan Project, which produced the first atomic bomb.

Other hubs have been devoted to modeling and simulating nuclear reactors, developing fuels from sunlight, and improving energy efficiency in buildings.

Like the space race of the 1960s, the U.S. is battling other nations to be at the forefront of a rapidly growing $42 billion worldwide market for rechargeable batteries that's growing 8.6 percent per year. That number comes from research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, which predicts the industry's growth rate and revenues to double by 2018.

A breakthrough in battery technology would have major implications for the auto, wind and solar industries. In particular, the wind and solar industries are looking for affordable batteries to store intermittent power so they can provide power even when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining.

Batteries that store electricity from the electrical grid are also in demand in countries where outages are frequent or in the case of natural disasters that black out cities for days.

"We're going to be the center of the universe when it comes to charging batteries and storing energy," Quinn told the Tribune in an interview Thursday.

Quinn committed the state to giving $5 million to the project through a capital construction budget he controls designed for job creation and said he will work with legislators to garner an additional $30 million in state funding to help with the building's construction.

The DOE will dole out the $120 million over five years. News of the hub was first reported by Crain's Chicago Business.

A successful battery hub in Illinois, Quinn said, would drive companies in the industry to set up shop nearby and encourage scientists and engineers to stay in the Midwest.

"These people would have the opportunity to change the world. It's transformational," Quinn said.

Earlier this week, Smith Electric Vehicles announced it would make battery-powered trucks in Chicago and hire about 200 workers. Wanxiang, a Chinese automotive company with North American headquarters in Chicago, is vying to purchase bankrupt Massachusetts-based battery-maker A123. As of last week Woodridge-based Palladium Energy became the largest independent battery pack-maker in the Americas and Europe after acquiring competitor MicroSun Technologies LLC.

The Chicago-based Clean Energy Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the development of clean-energy businesses in the Midwest, will be responsible for ushering technology from Argonne to the marketplace with the help of Dow Chemical Co., Applied Materials Inc. and Johnson Controls Inc., which all have a financial interest in seeing batteries advance. Johnson, based in Milwaukee, also is vying for the A123 battery assets.

In addition to its own scientists, Argonne would be coordinating the research and development from Lawrence Berkeley, Pacific Northwest, Sandia and SLAC National Accelerator as well as students and researchers at Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Michigan.

"I think this is probably the greatest opportunity that we have seen in a long time to bring federal funding that's intended to promote the creation of new companies and jobs," said U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill.

Tribune reporter Ted Gregory contributed.

jwernau@tribune.com

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Officials: Winning Powerball tickets sold in 2 states

Powerball officials say tickets sold in Arizona and Missouri matched all six numbers to win the record the record $579.9 million jackpot; now the wait for winners has begun.

The numbers drawn Wednesday night are: 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and Powerball of 6.

A lottery official said late Wednesday that the jackpot increased to $579.9 million by the time of the drawing, making the cash option $379.8 million. The jackpot was boosted to $500 million on Tuesday and raised again Wednesday morning to $550 million.

Powerball officials said they believed there was a 75 percent chance that the winning combination of numbers would be drawn Wednesday night.

But many of the customers who lined up at a 7-Eleven store at Wacker and Wabash believed they had a 100 percent chance of winning.

"I've got it," Marvin Harvey, 48, told the store clerk. "This is it."

And Harvey has plans. First off, having a private jet fly him and about 40 others to the SoHo neighborhood in New York City to eat and shop.

"Then take it to Paris and then go on a Mediterranean cruise," he said. "Then come back and share it with the world."

He would also give about 10 percent to churches and maybe start an organization to help the homeless. "You have so much money you have to share it," he said.

Martin Ho, 34, said he has given more thought about how to better his chances at winning the jackpot than he has about what he would do with the money.

"My goal is to have 100 different numbers between all the pools," he said. "I think I'm at (about) 90 numbers."

Ho popped into the 7-Eleven store this morning with colleague Whitney McKedy to purchase about 10 tickets jointly.

Ho said he is part of a handful of pools, including one with 50 numbers split between 10 people. He has also bought some tickets for himself.

As for what he would do with the money? "Change my name, hire a lawyer," he joked.  "I don't really think about it. It's more about the energy."

Zafer Aksit, 63, was a long way from home when he threw in $10 for lottery tickets. The radiologist flew into the city last week from Instanbul, Turkey for a medical conference. While he was in his hotel room in the Loop, he saw on the news that the jackpot had gotten up to $500 million and thought it was worth a shot.

"I thought, 'Why not?' "

Aksit insisted he wouldn't spend the money on lavish gifts on himself. "I wouldn't go on a shopping spree," he said.

He thinks the money would be better spent as investments in local businesses and non-profits, like a breast cancer clinic.

Powerball has not had a winner for two months.  Powerball is sold in Illinois and 41 other states, as well as Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The chance of winning the Powerball jackpot are about one in 175 million, compared to about one in 280,000 for being struck by lightning.

Despite the long odds, the record payout has drawn interest from around the world, said Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery, where Powerball is based. Lottery officials have received calls and emails from people outside the United States asking if they can buy a ticket from afar. They cannot.

"Sales across the country are just through the roof. It means lots of people are having fun with this, but it makes it difficult to keep up with the (jackpot) estimate."

The previous top Powerball prize of $365 million was won in 2006 by ConAgra slaughterhouse workers in Nebraska.

A $656 million Mega Millions jackpot set a world lottery record in March. That prize was split three ways. One of the winning tickets was held by Merle and Patricia Butler of Red Bud in southern Illinois. The retired couple took home nearly $119 million.

Tribune reporter Naomi Nix, the Associated Press and Reuters contributed

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X Factor judge Louis Walsh settles defamation case

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Television personality and pop music producer Louis Walsh on Wednesday settled a 500,000 euro ($ 640,000) defamation case against News Group Newspapers in Ireland.

The deal came after Walsh, best known for his role as a judge on the hit television show “The X Factor”, sued the group for publishing a story last year based on false allegations that he had groped a man in a Dublin night club.

Leonard Watters, who made the accusations before later retracting them, was jailed for six months earlier this year.

Paul Tweed, Walsh’s solicitor, said: “The publishers of the Irish, UK and online editions of the Sun have this morning unreservedly apologized to Louis Walsh.

“They have also agreed to pay very substantial damages of 500,000 euros together with his legal costs.”

Walsh, who managed Irish boy bands Westlife and Boyzone, said the story had a “terrible effect” on him.

“I’m very satisfied with this morning’s total vindication for me, but I remain very angry at the treatment I received at the hands of the Sun,” he said outside court.

“I have the utmost respect and time for most journalists with whom I’ve always enjoyed a good relationship, and I’m therefore absolutely gutted and traumatized that these allegations should have been published

“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

The Sun said it apologized “unreservedly”.

(Reporting by Sarah O’Connor)

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Recipes for Health: Roasted Sweet Potato and Crispy Kale Salad — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

This is a great salad to make with leftover roasted sweet potatoes but you can also roast them just to make the salad. The trick to succeeding with crispy kale is to make sure it is completely dry before you put it in the oven. If you are using bunched kale I recommend that you stem and wash it, spin it twice in a salad spinner, then set the leaves in single layers on a few layers of paper towels and roll them up. You can then refrigerate for up to a day or two. Once the salad is assembled, the portion of kale that you toss with the sweet potatoes will soften, and the kale that surrounds the sweet potatoes will remain crispy.

2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes

1 generous bunch curly kale (about 1 pound), stemmed, leaves washed and dried thoroughly (see above)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

1/4 cup broken pecans, lightly toasted

For the dressing:

1 small garlic clove, pureed

2 ounces Roquefort or blue cheese, crumbled

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

Freshly ground pepper

1. To roast the sweet potatoes, heat the oven to 425 degrees. Rinse the sweet potatoes and pierce in several places with the tip of a paring knife. Line a sheet pan with foil and place the sweet potatoes on the foil. Bake 40 to minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the sweet potatoes. They are done when they are soft and beginning to ooze. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

2. Meanwhile make the dressing (or you can make it a day ahead). In a mini-processor or in a mortar and pestle blend together the garlic, cheese, thyme, buttermilk, and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. For best results, leave it to sit for at least an hour.

3. To make the crispy kale, heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Make sure that your kale leaves are dry and tear them into medium-size pieces and toss with the olive oil. Gently knead the leaves between your thumbs and fingers to make sure they are coated with oil. Place in an even layer on the baking sheets. Do this in batches if necessary. Place in the oven and roast for 16 to 22 minutes, until the leaves are crisp but not browned. If some of the leaves crisp before others, remove them to a bowl or sheet pan and return the remaining kale to the oven. Watch closely as once the kale browns it will taste bitter. Season to taste with kosher salt or fine sea salt. Allow to cool.

4. Peel the sweet potatoes, quarter lengthwise and slice. Place in a salad bowl and add the pecans and half the crispy kale.

5. Line the edge of a platter with the remaining crispy kale. Toss the sweet potato mixture with the dressing, place in the middle of the platter and serve at once.

Yield: Serves 4 as a main dish

Advance preparation: The crispy kale will remain crisp for a day at room temperature. Sweet potatoes can be baked and refrigerated for up to four days. The salad should be served right away once assembled.

Nutritional information per serving: 378 calories; 17 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 14 milligrams cholesterol; 49 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 431 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 11 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

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Groupon CEO Mason offers to step down

Groupon Inc Chief Executive Andrew Mason, under fire for a plunging share price and tapering growth, declared on Wednesday he would fire himself if he ever thought he was the wrong man for the job.

Mason, whose performance at the helm will come under scrutiny from his board of directors during a regular board meeting Thursday, said it would be "weird" if they did not. But he said he believed the board was comfortable with his strategy.

Shares in the company, once touted as innovating local business advertising t hrough the marketing of Internet discounts on everything from spa treatments to dining, surged 8 percent to $4.25 i n the afternoon.

"It would be more noteworthy if the board wasn't discussing whether I'm the right guy for the job," Mason said in an interview from a Business Insider conference in New York. "If I ever thought I wasn't the right guy for the job, I'd be the first person to fire myself."

"As the founder and creator of Groupon, as a large shareholder ... I care far more about the success of the business than I do about my role as CEO," he said.

Groupon has shed four-fifths of its value since its public trading debut as an investor favorite during last year's consumer dotcom IPO boom, and Mason himself has presided over a string of high-profile executive departures.

Wall Street has grown uneasy about the viability of its business as fever for daily deals has cooled among consumers and merchants, hurting its growth rate.

In the interview broadcast from the conference, the outspoken and sometimes-zany co-founder argued his company was going through a period of volatility but believed it was on the right path. Groupon's efforts to reduce its reliance on plain vanilla deals include bumping up its "Goods" retail business, increasing the selection of "persistent" or long-running deals, and allowing users to search for such deals on demand.

Shares in Groupon spiked after the interview and were up 8 p ercent at $4.2 6, still way below its $20 market debut price.

Groupon and rivals in the daily deals business, like Amazon.com-backed LivingSocial, were supposed to change the very nature of small-business advertising. Instead, they were forced to revamp their business models as evidence mounts that their strategy was flawed.

This month, Groupon reported another quarter of disappointing earnings, and its stock went as low as $2.60 on Nov. 12.

Europe has been a particular problem for Groupon, partly because the sovereign debt crisis has sapped demand for higher-priced deals. Groupon was also offering steeper discounts, turning off some European merchants.

International revenue, which includes Europe, grew just 3 percent to $277 million in the third quarter, while North American revenue surged 80 percent to $292 million.

Adding to its difficulties, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into Groupon's accounting and disclosures, areas that raised questions among some analysts during its IPO.

But Mason shrugged off speculation that the company might run into a cash crunch and go bankrupt. The company has said it had $1.2 billion in cash and equivalents with no long-term debt.

"There was a period when those stories started that I'd go to my CFO and say: 'How would that happen, walk me through what would be required for us to actually go bankrupt'," Mason said. "And it's like an end of days, apocalyptic scenario. The business would have to go into severe negative growth for something like this. The scenario is so absurd there's no evidence for it."

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Charges dropped against NIU officer

Sex assault charges against a former Northern Illinois University police officer were dropped Tuesday after new revelations of possible irregularities in the investigation surfaced, the officer’s attorney said.

The charges against Andrew Rifkin were dropped following a hearing where a campus police IT specialist testified that he was summoned around 10 p.m. on Nov. 9, by NIU Police Chief Donald Grady and was told to remove between 60 and 70 files from the chief’s computer, Rifkin attorney Bruce Brandwein said.

Earlier that day, university administration had appointed a new supervisor to oversee Grady and the department. That same day, a DeKalb County judge had ordered the NIU police to sign an affidavit confirming that all evidence in the Rifkin case had been handed over to county prosecutors, following a previous finding that the department had withheld evidence.

Grady was placed on administrative leave the following day.

Brandwein said the specialist did not know whether the files he removed pertained to the Rifkin investigation, but Brandwein said he found the timing curious.  After hearing about the removal of the files, DeKalb County State’s Atty. Clay Campbell told the judge that prosecutors would drop the charges against Rifkin, Brandwein said.

“It was incredible,” he said. “I applaud the state’s attorney for doing the right thing.”

An attempt to reach Campbell for comment was not successful Tuesday night.

Rifkin, 25, was fired from the department in October 2011 after it was alleged he sexually assaulted an NIU student. However, the NIU police’s investigation of the case came under fire this month when it was learned that the department had failed to turn over reports of witnesses who indicated that Rifkin and the student had engaged in consensual sexual activity.

Those reports ended up in a personnel file in what the NIU police said was an oversight. But DeKalb County Judge Robin Stuckert called it an “egregious” error and ruled that the department had purposely withheld the evidence.

That prompted university officials to place Grady on leave, pending a final disciplinary action. NIU also said it plans to terminate the officer who conducted the investigation against Rifkin.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @chicagobreaking

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In elf ears and wizard hats, ‘Hobbit’ fans rejoice

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Wearing elf ears and wizard hats, sitting atop their dad’s shoulders or peering from balconies, tens of thousands of New Zealanders watched their favorite “Hobbit” actors walk the red carpet Wednesday at the film trilogy’s hometown premiere.

An Air New Zealand plane freshly painted with “Hobbit” characters flew low over Wellington’s Embassy Theatre, eliciting roars of approval from the crowd.

Sam Rashidmardani, 12, said he came to see Gollum actor Andy Serkis walk the red carpet — and he wasn’t disappointed.

“It was amazing,” Rashidmardani said of the evening, adding his Gollum impression: “My precious.”

British actor Martin Freeman, who brings comedic timing to the lead role of Bilbo Baggins, said he thought director Peter Jackson had done a fantastic job on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

“He’s done it again,” Freeman said in an interview on the red carpet. “If it’s possible, it’s probably even better than ‘The Lord of the Rings.’ I think he’s surpassed it.”

While is unusual for a city so far from Hollywood to host the premiere of a hoped-for blockbuster, Jackson’s filming of his lauded ‘LOTR’ trilogy and now “The Hobbit” in New Zealand has helped create a film industry here. The film will open in theaters around the world next month.

One of the talking points of the film is the choice by Jackson to shoot it using 48 frames per second instead of the traditional 24 in hopes of improving the picture quality.

Some say the images come out too clear and look so realistic that they take away from the magic of the film medium. Jackson likens it to advancing from vinyl records to CDs.

“I really think 48 frames is pretty terrific and I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction,” Jackson said on the red carpet. “It’s been talked about for so long, but finally the film is being released and people can decide for themselves.”

Jackson said it was strange working on the project so intimately for two years and then having it suddenly taken away as the world got to see the movie.

“It spins your head a little bit,” he said.

Aidan Turner, who plays the dwarf Kili in the movie, said his character is reckless and thinks he’s charming.

“I don’t get to play real people it seems, I only get to play supernatural ones,” he said. “So playing a dwarf didn’t seem that weird, actually.

Perhaps the most well-known celebrities to walk the carpet were Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood, who reprise their roles in the LOTR in the “Hobbit.”

“Mostly I came here to see everyone. I like them all,” said fan Aysu Shahin, 16, adding that Wood was her favorite. She said she wanted to see the movie “as soon as possible. I’m excited for it.”

At a news conference earlier in the day, Jackson said many younger people are happy to watch movies on their iPads.

“We just have to make the cinema-going experience more magical and more spectacular to get people coming back to the movies again,” he said.

Jackson said only about 1,000 of the 25,000 theaters that will show the film worldwide are equipped to show 48 frames, so most people will see it in the more traditional format. The movie has also been shot in 3D.

A handful of animal rights protesters held signs at the premiere.

The protest by the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals comes after several animal wranglers said three horses and up to two dozen other animals had died during the making of the movies because they were housed at an unsafe farm.

Jackson’s spokesman earlier acknowledged two horses had died preventable deaths at the farms but said the production company worked quickly to improve stables and other facilities and that claims of mistreatment were unfounded.

“No mistreatment, no abuse. Absolutely none,” Jackson said at the news conference.

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Recipes for Health: Spinach and Turkey Salad — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Turkey or chicken transforms this classic spinach salad (minus the bacon) into a light main dish, welcome after Thanksgiving and before the rest of the holiday season feasting begins.

2 cups (12 ounces) shredded cooked turkey, chicken breast or chicken breast tenders

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach

6 white or cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup cooked wild rice

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 to 2 hard boiled eggs (to taste), finely chopped (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, tarragon or marjoram

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, tarragon vinegar or sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small garlic clove, pureed

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt

1. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil and yogurt. Toss with the salad just before serving.

Yield: Serves 4 as a main dish

Advance preparation: The salad can be assembled and the dressing mixed several hours before serving. Refrigerate and toss together when ready to serve.

Variation: Add 1 ripe but firm persimmon, peeled, cored and sliced, to the mixture.

Nutritional information per serving: 375 calories; 25 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 53 milligrams cholesterol; 14 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 119 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 26 grams protein

Martha Rose Shulman is the author of “The Very Best of Recipes for Health.”

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Grim recovery forecast for U.S., global economies

WASHINGTON — In a grim new forecast, a leading international economic group sharply cut its outlook for U.S. and global growth next year and warned that the debt crisis in Europe and fiscal policy risks in America could plunge the world back into recession.

As it stands now, the industrialized world is looking at a muted and uneven recovery over the next two years, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The Paris-based OECD projected gross domestic product across its 34 member nations — which include the U.S., Japan and the 17-nation Eurozone — to grow a sluggish 1.4% next year. That is down from 2.2% that the group had forecasted six months earlier.

Growth prospects in the U.S. also were slashed for next year. Experts at the OECD now see inflation-adjusted GDP, the broadest measure of economic activity, rising 2% next year in the U.S., roughly equivalent to this year and down from its earlier forecast of an increase of 2.6%.

The new projections are all the more sobering in that they are based on assumptions that Europe's debt crisis won't get much worse and that the U.S. won't go over the so-called fiscal cliff — a combination of more than $500 billion in automatic tax hikes and federal spending cuts slated to begin at the start of next year.

Quiz: How much do you know about the 'fiscal cliff'?

"If key adverse risks cannot be averted, and especially if the Eurozone crisis were to intensify significantly, the likely outcome would be considerably weaker, potentially plunging the global economy into deep recession and deflation, with large additional rises in unemployment," the OECD said.

The report, released Tuesday, is on the pessimistic side.

Although economists widely agree on the recession risks in the event that the U.S. isn't able to solve the fiscal impasse, a number of experts now say that the U.S. and global economies could see considerably stronger growth next year if Washington can reach agreement on tax and spending policies that avoid a big fiscal contraction in 2013.

"The economy in the U.S. is really poised to grow," said Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group, noting that GDP growth in the U.S. could surge to a solid 3.5% or higher next year if the budget issues are resolved.

The latest forecast from the Federal Reserve, compiled in mid-September, sees U.S. GDP increasing 2.5% to 3% next year.

Baumohl's reasons for greater optimism include a recovering housing market, improving job growth and healthier personal finances, all of which should help drive stronger consumer spending.

Total consumer debt, which has fallen for four years, dropped by $74 billion to $11.31 trillion in the third quarter from the previous quarter, and it is now down $1.37 trillion from the peak in September 2008, according to a report Tuesday from the New York Fed.

Reflecting these trends, the Conference Board said Tuesday that its latest survey showed consumer confidence at its highest level since early 2008, results similar to a survey by the University of Michigan.

American business sentiments, however, have been more cautious of late, and many companies have held back on making investments in recent months. But banks are generally in good shape, and big companies are sitting on mountains of cash and are expected to ramp up investments once the fiscal and tax pictures become clearer.

The OECD report nodded to these factors, but noted that the global recovery slowed markedly over the last year amid faltering confidence and weakening world trade, in part because of problems in the Eurozone, which contributed to an unexpectedly strong slowdown in developing countries such as China.

The 17-nation Eurozone will probably remain in recession well into next year, the OECD said.

Meanwhile, Japan, the world's third-largest economy, has fallen back into a downturn after a growth spurt last year aided by massive reconstruction spending following the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The Japanese economy is expected to move at a lumbering pace over the next two years.

The outlook for China, Brazil and India — three of the biggest developing economies, none of which is a member of the OECD — looks comparatively brighter:  Growth will probably accelerate next year and in 2014, with China, the world's second-largest economy, again leading the pack.

The OECD forecast sees China's GDP expanding 8.5% next year and nearly 9% in 2014 after slowing this year to about 7.5%.

Although far from immune from the troubles in the U.S. and Europe, which still account for much of the global demand for goods, China and other major emerging economies have more wherewithal to boost growth than their more-indebted developed counterparts by ramping up government spending and lowering interest rates.

The report notes that spending cuts throughout OECD member countries have taken a toll on economic growth, particularly in the Eurozone, where GDP growth for next year was slashed to -0.1% from a positive rate of 0.9%.

Many developed countries are now struggling with financial and economic challenges related to an aging population, large public debts and high unemployment.

Assuming Europe's debt crisis stabilizes, the Eurozone is forecast to recover in 2014. For OECD countries overall, GDP growth is projected to pick up in 2014 to 2.3%.

The U.S. economy is expected to outperform most other OECD nations in 2014, with its GDP stepping up to a more sturdy growth of 2.8%. That compares with the Fed's forecast of 3% to 3.8% growth in 2014.

Either way, U.S. economic growth isn't likely to come close to keeping up with the rapid advance of developing countries, notably China.

Last year, the U.S. accounted for 23% of the global economy, with the Eurozone and China tied for second, each with a 17% share each.

But by 2030, the OECD estimates, China's share of the global economy will rise to 28%, while the U.S. will slip to No. 2 with 18% of world GDP, and the Eurozone's share will fall to 12%.

don.lee@latimes.com

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Gunfire at gang funeral: 'It s broad daylight,' says stunned neighbor

Rev. Corey Brooks talks about shooting after a funeral in Chicago on Monday, November 26, 2012. (Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune)

Shots rang out, causing panic and chaos as hundreds of mourners were leaving a Catholic church on the South Side following funeral services Monday for a slain reputed gang member.

As people scattered for exits, a woman knocked Deborah Echols-Moore, 59, to the floor and fell atop her. Her shoes were thrown off her feet. When she stood back up, she fled barefoot out a door.

“When I came outside, you still can hear shooting. Boom! Boom! Boom! I still ran…people was running behind me,” the longtime CTA employee said not long after the 12:30 p.m. shooting. “You didn’t know which way to go or what to do. All I knew to do was run for my life.”

Chicago police said one man was killed, another critically injured in the bloodshed at St. Columbanus Church. Police identified both as Gangster Disciples members and convicted felons, illustrating once again the high risks of gang membership in a year in which rising homicides have brought Chicago unwanted national attention.

GDs alone make up more than a quarter of the city’s approximately 470 homicide victims. About 60 percent of this year’s homicide victims were gang members, according to department statistics.

Police were still investigating who was responsible for the shooting, but investigators said the neighborhood has long been rife with conflict between GDs and rival Black Disciples.

Illustrating the sudden, often unpredictable nature of the violence, police Superintendent Garry McCarthy just a couple of hours earlier was touting the department’s crime-fighting strategies in tamping down the city’s rate of violence since earlier in the year when homicides soared. Through Sunday, homicides have risen more than 19 percent over the same period a year earlier, department records show.

There were five fewer homicides during the first 25 days of November compared to the same period in 2011, according to department statistics. But shootings during the first 25 days of this month have risen sharply by 45 percent.

From November 1 through Sunday there were 161 shootings compared to 111 during the same period in 2011, department statistics show.

Rev. Corey Brooks, a well-known South Side pastor who officiated at Monday’s services for James Holman, 32, said a church would have been off-limits for gangbangers at one time.

“Now we are living at a day and time where these younger criminals have no regard for life or for street rules,” he said.

Holman, identified by police as a gang member, was gunned down last week at an apartment building in the Washington Park neighborhood.

The shooting took place just outside St. Columbanus, the same church where gangster Al Capone’s wife and mother attended mass daily more than half a century ago.

A Cook County Medical Examiner's spokesman identified one of the two victims as Sherman Miller, 21, and said he was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. A 26-year-old man was shot in the back and listed as in “extremely critical condition,” a hospital spokesman said.

Miller, who is also identified in court records as William Miller, was on parole for being in possession of a stolen vehicle and escaping from police custody, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections Web site.

The surviving victim has a 2004 felony weapons conviction in his criminal background, court records show.

Police said two guns were recovered, one down the block from the church at East 71st Street and South Prairie Avenue and another on one of the victims.

About a dozen bullet casings littered the steps outside the church where yellow evidence markers were placed. Beat cops blocked off traffic with their squad cars and sealed off the church’s entrance with yellow and red tape. As evidence technicians took photos of the crime scene, detectives went door-to-door to nearby homes scouring for witnesses.

April Smith, 30, said she looked out a second-floor window of her home when she heard her car alarm sound off and noticed a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans walking toward the church entrance on 71st Street. She then heard about a dozen gunshots and saw two passersby crouch for protection.

Moments later, the same man in the sweatshirt ran back onto Prairie and fled south, said Smith. Mourners then frantically exited the church.

“To know that something like that happened right across the street...it’s terrible,” Smith, who has lived at her home for seven years, said in disbelief. “It’s broad daylight.”

Brooks, who is pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago in the Woodlawn neighborhood and is considering a run for former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s vacant congressional seat, said about 500 people attended the funeral, including about 50 children. The church was so crowded that people were standing in the back.

Brooks had finished the eulogy and Holman’s family and close friends had gone out the front door of the church when shots rang out.

“That's when all the gunfire broke out and it was just crazy,” Brooks said. “People were hollering and screaming and kids running everywhere.”

Charles Childs, a co-owner of the A.A. Rayner and Sons Funeral Home across the street from the church, held an uneventful visitation for Holman on Sunday. On Monday he said he saw the gunman firing his weapon as he came down the front steps outside the church.

“No place is safe,” he said. “It’s just despicable.”

Tribune reporter Naomi Nix contributed to this story.

jgorner@tribune.com
lford@tribune.com
csadovi@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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