At least five Chicago Police employees violated rules and regulations when a 14-year-old police impersonator went on patrol in January on the South Side, officials said today.

Police have completed their internal investigation into the security breach, said Tina Skahill, chief of the Internal Affairs Division. The department will not make its findings public until Supt. Jody Weis reviews them, according to a report on the WBBM-AM Web site.

"We did find evidence that department members -- at least five -- violated department rules and regulations," Skahill said.

No recommendations for discipline have been sent up the chain of command yet, Skahill said.

President Barack Obama, striving to hold public support for massive government intervention in a staggering economy, vowed tonight that an embattled nation "will emerge stronger than before.''

With his first formal address as president to a joint session of Congress -- and speaking also to a national television audience -- Obama attempted to add a new dimension to the debate over what the government can offer for a financial crisis that has gripped the nation in a worsening recession: A sense of hope.

Read more on The Swamp at chicagotribune.com.

President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress. MORE PHOTOS (AP pool photo / Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Parents protest the planned closing of Robert Sengstacke Abbott School near Cellular Field today, hours before the school board is to vote on the proposal. The school is adjacent to Wentworth Gardens public housing and is named for the founder of the Chicago Defender.  (Tom Van Dyke/Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Public Schools school board will vote on the proposed closing of several city schools Wednesday at its monthly board meeting.

The school system had slated 22 under-enrolled or struggling schools for closing or reorganization, but Chief Executive officer Ron Huberman took six schools off that list Monday after hearing from parents, teachers, and others at public hearings.

The district began closing schools last year as part of a five-year plan to address declining enrollment. Although Huberman said he agreed with the need to close schools for low enrollment and to turn around failing schools, he planned to review the process this year.

Cicero Town President Larry Dominick won an easy re-election victory today against two opponents who had to fight their way back on the ballot, and mayors in at least three other suburbs fended off challengers in primary contests.

Dominick won 64 percent of the vote, according to unofficial Cook County returns.

Mayors in Berwyn, Waukegan and North Chicago won primary contests, according to unofficial results..

NEW ORLEANS  -- A Mardi Gras parade erupted into chaos on Fat Tuesday when a series of gunshots struck seven people, including a toddler. The child was not seriously injured and two suspects were in custody, police said.

A pair of note-passing bank heists were attempted today -- one in Bolingbrook and the other in Minooka -- but only the crook in Bolingbrook got away with any money, according to a report on the Herald News Web site.

A bandit struck shortly after 2:30 p.m. at the Citizens Financial Bank at 310 S. Weber Road in Bolingbrook.

About 3 hours earlier, a man had walked into the Standard Bank at 515 Route 6 and slid a teller a note demanding cash, but the robber left that bank without any money.

Bolingbrook police say they are exploring the possibility that the two incidents are linked.

More than 30 Illinois banks and thrifts have high levels of delinquent loans and stand a greater risk of being closed by regulators in 2009 if they don't improve performance, raise capital or get acquired, according to a new report.

Foresight Analytics LLC, an Oakland-based financial research firm, said Illinois ranks third among states with the greatest number of problem banks, after Florida, with 35, and Georgia, with 49. Ranked fourth is California, with 14 on the firm's "watch list."