From the Sun-Times: 
 
Ex-foreman pleads guilty to stealing city asphalt 
 
BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter 
 
 A former city foreman pleaded guilty Tuesday to taking bribes in a scheme that used Hired Trucks to steal asphalt from Chicago taxpayers. 
 
Patrick Stillo, 51, a former Department of Transportation foreman and a key figure in an asphalt scheme tied to the scandal-ridden Hired Truck Program, admitted to taking bribes from private contractors and, in return, loaded city asphalt into Hired Trucks and had it delivered to private work sites. 
 
 Assistant U.S. Attorney Manish Shah said the government will ask Stillo to pay the city $30,000 in restitution. 
 
 The scheme to divert city asphalt was uncovered in a widening federal probe into the city's now disbanded Hired Truck Program. The feds have so far charged 30 people and netted 23 convictions. In a series of stories, the Sun-Times last year reported large-scale waste and corruption in the program that cost the city about $38 million a year. 
 
 Stillo pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one bribery count. Four others indicted in the same scheme that ran from 2002 to 2004 also have pleaded guilty. 
 
 Laino, who pleaded guilty earlier this summer, was accused of approving payments to truck drivers for a full day's work even though the driver spent part of the day delivering stolen asphalt. 
 
 Stillo pleaded guilty blind, meaning he struck no written agreement with prosecutors. His attorney, Kevin Bolger, would not say whether Stillo was cooperating with the government in any way. 
 
 Shah said Stillo faces 18 to 24 months in prison.