Arlington Hts. man killed at rail crossing

An Arlington Heights man was killed Tuesday when his car was struck by a commuter train. Arlington Heights police said the driver apparently ignored flashing rail signals and a closed crossing gate. 

Witnesses said the car, driven on Northwest Highway by Dean R. Hartman, 24, 1415 E. Central, Arlington Heights, was hit at 2:40 p.m. by the eastbound Metra commuter train at the Arthur Street crossing. The Harvard-to-Chicago express was traveling about 50 m.p.h. and pushed the car approximately 1,480 feet, police said. Hartman was the only person in the car. 

There were no other injuries, police said. Benefit set for injured Billy Crowley, 2

A benefit for Billy Crowley, 2, who is paralyzed from the chest down from an Aug. 25 head-on auto crash on the Kennedy Expressway that killed his mother and her husband, will be held at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Duffy's, 420 1/2 W. Diversey. Dennis Greco, one of the motorists who stopped at the accident scene, organized the event to raise funds for the Friends of Billy Crowley Committee, said a committee spokesman. Admission is $7. Donations also can be sent to William Crowley Account No. 461873, Unibanctrust, 233 S. Wacker, Chicago 60606. The boy remains a patient at Cook County Hospital. State says it can pay welfare medical bills.

In welcome news for hospitals, pharmacies and other health care providers, state officials said the Public Aid Department won't run out of money to pay medical bills of welfare recipients this budget year and may even be able to pay them more promptly. "Although some lines remain tight and some transfers will be required, the department will be able to make payments to medical providers through June 30, 1989, without interruption," Gov. Thompson said. "Credit goes to the department as well as to the General Assembly, which provided the resources so that we could come closer to paying our bills on time." 

Patricia Colombo skips parole hearing. Convicted killer Patricia Columbo chose not to appear Tuesday at her third parole hearing in two years at Dwight Correctional Center, at which a letter from Cook County State's Attorney Richard M. Daley protested such frequent hearings for her. Daley said it was a hardship on the victims' surviving relatives because they also attend parole hearings for Columbo's former lover, Frank De Luca, who also was convicted in the 1976 slayings of Columbo's parents and 13-year-old brother in their Elk Grove Village home. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board is expected to rule on Columbo's case in about two weeks.