In Reversal, Florida to Take Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion

MIAMI — Gov. Rick Scott of Florida reversed himself on Wednesday and announced that he would expand his state’s Medicaid program to cover the poor, becoming the latest — and, perhaps, most prominent — Republican critic of President Obama’s health care law to decide to put it into effect.

It was an about-face for Mr. Scott, a former businessman who entered politics as a critic of Mr. Obama’s health care proposals. Florida was one of the states that sued to try to block the law. After the Supreme Court ruled last year that though the law was constitutional, states could choose not to expand their Medicaid programs to cover the poor, Mr. Scott said that Florida would not expand its programs.

Mr. Scott said Wednesday that he now supported a three-year expansion of Medicaid, through the period that the federal government has agreed to pay the full cost of the expansion, and before some of the costs are shifted to the states.

“While the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost, I cannot in good conscience deny Floridians that needed access to health care,” Mr. Scott said at a news conference. “We will support a three-year expansion of the Medicaid program under the new health care law as long as the federal government meets their commitment to pay 100 percent of the cost during that time.”

He said there were “no perfect options” when it came to the Medicaid expansion. “To be clear: our options are either having Floridians pay to fund this program in other states while denying health care to our citizens,” he said, “or using federal funding to help some of the poorest in our state with the Medicaid program as we explore other health care reforms.”

Mr. Scott said the state would not create its own insurance exchange to comply with another provision of the law.

His reversal sent ripples through the nation, especially given the change in tone and substance since the summer, when he said he would not create an exchange or expand Medicaid.

“Floridians are interested in jobs and economic growth, a quality education for their children, and keeping the cost of living low,” Mr. Scott said in a statement at the time. “Neither of these major provisions in Obamacare will achieve those goals, and since Florida is legally allowed to opt out, that’s the right decision for our citizens.”

Mr. Scott now joins the Republican governors of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota and Ohio, who have decided to join the Medicaid expansion. Some, like Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona, were also staunch opponents of Mr. Obama’s overall health care law.

Shortly before his announcement, the governor received word from the federal government that it planned to grant Florida the final waiver needed to privatize Medicaid, a process the state initially undertook as a pilot project. Mr. Scott, who is running for re-election next year, has heavily lobbied for the waiver, arguing that Florida could not expand Medicaid without it.

Mr. Scott’s support of Medicaid expansion is significant, but is far from the last word. The program requires approval from Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature, which has been averse to expanding Medicaid under the health care law. The Legislature’s two top Republican leaders said that before making a decision they would consider recommendations from a select committee, which has been asked to review the state’s options.

“The Florida Legislature will make the ultimate decision,” Will Weatherford, the state House speaker, said. “I am personally skeptical that this inflexible law will improve the quality of health care in our state and ensure our long-term financial stability.”

Medicaid, which covers three million people in Florida, costs the state $21 billion a year. The expansion would extend coverage to one million more people.

Mr. Scott’s reversal is sure to anger his original conservative supporters.

The governor “was elected because of his principled conservative leadership against Obamacare’s overreach,” said Slade O’Brien, state director for Americans for Prosperity, an influential conservative advocacy organization. “Hopefully our legislative leaders will not follow in Governor Scott’s footsteps, and will reject expansion.”

During his announcement on Wednesday, Mr. Scott said his mother’s recent death and her lifetime struggle to raise five children “with very little money” played a role in his decision.

“Losing someone so close to you puts everything in a new perspective, especially the big decisions,” he said.

Michael Cooper contributed reporting from New York.

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OfficeMax, Office Depot agree to merger

Office Depot to buy Office Max as an attempt to compete with Staples.

Office Depot Inc. and Naperville-based OfficeMax Inc. confirmed Wednesday that they're planning to merge but left some key questions about the deal unanswered.

The all-stock deal calls for Office Depot to issue 2.69 new shares of common stock for each outstanding common share of OfficeMax. But officials declined to say where the newly merged company would be headquartered, who would sit in the CEO seat or even what it would be called.

OfficeMax CEO Ravi Saligram and Office Depot CEO Neil Austrian presented a united front during a Wednesday conference call with analysts, taking turns to explain the specifics of the deal.

"It takes two to tango," Saligram said. "Lo and behold, Neil and I have decided to tango."

The announcement of a merger, which Saligram said would "create a stronger, more global, more efficient competitor," put to rest years of speculation about a deal. The merger would unite the No. 2 company in the stationery and office supplies industry, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Office Depot, with the No. 3 company, OfficeMax, headquartered off Interstate 88.

A merger between the two chains "has made sense for years," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter wrote in a note this week.

Market leader Staples also would benefit from a merger, BB&T Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba said.

"Clearly, you can't make this deal work unless you close a bunch of stores," he said. "Store rationalization is long overdue, and Staples will clearly benefit from just having fewer stores to compete with."

OfficeMax, with about 29,000 employees, operates 978 stores, including 10 in the Chicago area. Office Depot has about 39,000 employees and operates 1,675 stores, including seven in the Chicago area.

The two CEOs wouldn't say how many stores would be closed, but Balter has predicted about 600.

If the merger is completed, the company's board would have an equal number of directors chosen by Office Depot and OfficeMax. Based on Wednesday's stock closing price, the deal's value is about $976 million.

The combined company would have $18 billion in sales and achieve $400 million to $600 million in savings over three years, according to company officials.

Office Depot shareholders would own about 54 percent of the company and OfficeMax shareholders 46 percent.

It was not clear, though, whether those stockholders would be satisfied with the deal. One of OfficeMax's largest shareholders, Neuberger Berman, said this week that it would support a deal, depending on the terms.

The deal also is subject to approval by regulatory agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission.

Officials declined to say who would lead the combined business or where it would be located once the "merger of equals" is completed, likely by the end of the year.

"During the appropriate times ... our board will make the right decision," OfficeMax's Saligram said. "Now, we're independent companies, and we've got to go through lots of processes."

Saligram and Austrian will be considered to lead the company, but until a leader is chosen, they will remain in their positions.

"From the time we started talking, Ravi and I have grown very fond of each other. It's very clear we can work well together," Austrian said.

Their proposed partnership didn't begin well. The announcement of the planned merger was buried in an earnings release posted prematurely on the Office Depot website early in the morning, then quickly removed. The companies recovered, and about 8:30 a.m., they issued a joint statement announcing the proposed merger.

The mishap will likely be investigated by stock exchanges and regulatory organizations, according to a Chicago financial attorney.

"I am highly confident that the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the Securities and Exchange Commission will be looking very closely at who pulled the trigger, who knew about this, and was this in good faith?" James McGurk said.

McGurk said he was not suggesting wrongdoing.

"When you think about it, you have two boards, lots of investment advisers, lawyers, and deals break down at the last minute. Are there lots of ways it could happen? Sure," he said.

OfficeMax shares closed Wednesday down 91 cents, or 7 percent, at $12.09. Shares of Office Depot closed down 84 cents, or nearly 17 percent, at $4.18.

Reuters contributed.

crshropshire@tribune.com

Twitter @corilyns

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Cops shoot suspect they say is wanted in string of heists

Chicago police chased a robbery suspect from the River North neighborhood into the Bucktown neighborhood Friday night and shot him after he tried to run over an officer, according to authorities.

Police said the man shot is the same one wanted in more than a dozen robberies of North Side convenience stores and restaurants.

The robbery, chase and shooting unfolded about midnight, when a man robbed a Subway restaurant on State Street just north of Chicago Avenue.

Police working a robbery mission team pursued an SUV that matched the description of one fleeing the scene to the 6-corner intersection of North, Milwaukee and Damen avenues.

It was there that the man tried to run over police after backing into a squad car, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement released more than four hours after the shooting.

Police said the man did not respond to commands and made suspicious movements inside the vehicle before he was shot, and police recovered a "weapon" at the scene but didn't specify what type.

The man, whose age was not available, was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. 

The other robberies police are investigating happened most often between 11:30 p.m. and 2:15 a.m. Among the pair: two within hours of each other at 2200 N. Lincoln Avenue and 300 W. Chicago Avenue early in the morning of Feb. 6.

Police from a number of nearby districts responded to the scene after officers called "10-1," a radio term used to signal an officer, firefighter or paramedic in distress. Detectives from two of the three city detective areas also responded to the scene.

Detectives approached people inside and out of the numerous bars that line the intersection asking if anyone saw anything. 

Police blocked access to the area and the CTA rerouted its bus traffic around the intersection.

Hours after the shooting, as the bars wrapped up for the night, people stood outside smoking and exchanging stories of the cop cars they saw speeding toward the scene.

Check back for updates.

pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas

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The New Old Age Blog: The Reluctant Caregiver

Now and then, I refer to the people that caregivers tend to as “loved ones.” And whenever I do, a woman in Southern California tells me, I set her teeth on edge.

She visits her mother-in-law, runs errands, helps with the paperwork — all tasks she has shouldered with a grim sense of duty.  She doesn’t have much affection for this increasingly frail 90something or enjoy her company; her efforts bring no emotional reward. Her husband, an only child, feels nearly as detached. His mother wasn’t abusive, a completely different scenario, but they were never very close.

Ms. A., as I’ll call her because her mother-in-law reads The Times on her computer, feels miserable about this. “She says she appreciates us, she’s counting on us. She thanks us,” Ms. A. said of her non-loved one. “It makes me feel worse, because I feel guilty.”

She has performed many services for her mother-in-law, who lives in a retirement community, “but I really didn’t want to. I know how grudging it was.”

Call her the Reluctant Caregiver. She and her husband didn’t invite his parents to follow them to the small city where they settled to take jobs. The elders did anyway, and as long as they stayed healthy and active, both couples maintained their own lives. Now that her mother-in-law is widowed and needy, Ms. A feels trapped.

Ashamed, too. She knows lots of adult children work much harder at caregiving yet see it as a privilege. For her, it is mere drudgery. “I don’t feel there’s anybody I can say that to,” she told me — except a friend in Phoenix and, anonymously, to us.

The friend, therapist Randy Weiss, has served as both a reluctant caregiver to her mother, who died very recently at 86, and a willing caregiver to her childless aunt, living in an assisted living dementia unit at 82. Spending time with each of them made Ms. Weiss conscious of the distinction.

Her visits involved many of the same activities, “but it feels very different,” she said. “I feel the appreciation from my aunt, even if she’s much less able to verbalize it.” A cherished confidante since adolescence, her aunt breaks into smiles when Ms. Weiss arrives and exclaims over every small gift, even a doughnut. She worked in the music industry for decades and, despite her memory loss, happily sings along with the jazz CDs Ms. Weiss brings.

Because she had no such connection with her mother, whom Ms. Weiss described as distant and critical, “it’s harder to do what I have to do,” she said. (We spoke before her mother’s death.) “One is an obligation I fulfill out of duty. One is done with love.”

Unlike her friend Ms. A, “I don’t feel guilty that I don’t feel warmly towards my mother,” Ms. Weiss said. “I’ve made my peace.”

Let’s acknowledge that at times almost every caregiver knows exhaustion, anger and resentment.  But to me, reluctant caregivers probably deserve more credit than most. They are not getting any of the good stuff back, no warmth or laughter, little tenderness, sometimes not even gratitude.

Yet they are doing this tough work anyway, usually because no one else can or will. Maybe an early death or a divorce means that the person who would ordinarily have provided care can’t. Or maybe the reluctant caregiver is simply the one who can’t walk away.

“It’s important to acknowledge that every relationship doesn’t come from ‘The Cosby Show,’” said Barbara Moscowitz when I called to ask her about reluctance. Ms. Moscowitz, a senior geriatric social worker at Massachusetts General Hospital, has heard many such tales from caregivers in her clinical practice and support groups.

“We need to allow people to be reluctant,” she said. “It means they’re dutiful; they’re responsible. Those are admirable qualities.”

Yet, she recognizes, “they feel oppressed by the platitudes. ‘Your mother is so lucky to have you!’” Such praise just makes people like Ms. A. squirm.

Ms. Moscowitz also worries about reluctant caregivers, and urges them to find support groups where they can say the supposedly unsay-able, and to sign up early for community services — hotlines, senior centers, day programs, meals on wheels — that can help lighten the load.

“Caregiving only goes one way – it gets harder, more complex,” she said. “Support groups and community resources are like having a first aid kit. It’s going to feel like even more of a burden, and you need to be armed.”

I wonder, too, if reluctant caregivers have a romanticized view of what the task is like for everyone else. Elder care can be a wonderful experience, satisfying and meaningful, but guilt and resentment are also standard parts of the job description, at least occasionally.

For a reluctant caregiver, “the satisfaction is, you haven’t turned your back,” Ms. Moscowitz said. “You can take pride in that.”

---

Paula Span is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.”

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OfficeMax, Office Depot shares soar on merger talk

Shares of OfficeMax Inc. skyrocketed 21 percent Tuesday on speculation that the Naperville-based office supply retailer is in talks to merge with rival Office Depot Inc.

In the first day of trading after news of a potential deal was reported, OfficeMax shares closed up $2.25, at $13, while Boca Raton, Fla.-based Office Depot stock gained more than 9 percent, closing at $5.02. Archrival and market leader Staples' shares picked up more than 13 percent, closing at $14.65.

Neither OfficeMax nor Office Depot representatives are talking, but observers predict a deal as early as this week.

A marriage between the two is seen a natural progression in a crowded industry facing increased competition from forces such as Internet giant Amazon.com and the likes of big discounters such as Wal-Mart and Costco.

Not long ago, bets were that Staples might link up with OfficeMax. More recently, there was speculation that Office Depot and OfficeMax would team up to compete against Staples.

A merger would initially bump the combined companies ahead of Staples in store count. Together, OfficeMax and Office Depot operate about 2,653 stores, although analysts predict that at least 600 would be shuttered. Staples, which is based in Framingham, Mass., operates about 2,300.

Analysts say that Office Depot and OfficeMax have long lists of good customers and when put together could improve operating efficiencies and, therefore, profit.

"The basic challenge that both companies face is that they play in such a competitive space that they are forever locked in a battle to gain market share," said Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "The truth is, when you have that much competition, it's very hard to maintain good margins; there's just relentless pressure."

Both chains have been working to reduce costs, closing underperforming stores and moving into smaller locations, but even if they team up, some analysts still give Staples the edge.

"We think there are a lot of things that Staples is doing better, that even after (Office Depot and OfficeMax) combine, they might not be able to match Staples immediately and maybe not ever," said Morningstar analyst Liang Feng.

OfficeMax is a little more than a year into a major turnaround plan led by CEO Ravi Saligram, an engineer by training who worked at Leo Burnett and was a top executive at Aramark International before he was tapped to lead OfficeMax in 2010. Saligram is largely credited with leading the company's improved performance last year, with its stock price climbing 99.6 percent, from a low of $4.89 to a high of $9.76, though sales in stores open at least a year remained flat.

Like many retailers faced with competition from the Internet, OfficeMax has aimed to shrink and become more nimble.

"We're beginning to gain some momentum," Saligram told the Tribune in a December interview. "It's a journey, but we'll do it very deliberately."

Industry analysts agree that Saligram's strategy is gaining traction. Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter predicted Saligram likely would be tapped to lead the combined business.

Saligram said the company has focused on a "three-pronged" approach that began in late 2011 and included turning around the company's core business and continuing to boost its online business and shrink store size.

That included plans to cut 5 million square feet of space, expand product offerings to include janitorial and sanitation supplies, and court the small-business customer in its bricks-and-mortar stores.

"We are obsessed with the small-business customer," Saligram said. "That's our core."

The problem with that approach, according to Feng, is that while small-business customers are most profitable for office suppliers, they are also the most fickle.

That strategy also isn't far from Staples'.

For consumers, little would change after a merger, analysts say. Competition is so fierce for the office supply industry that the threat of higher prices is next to nothing.

But a marriage would help in one regard: Consumers likely struggle to distinguish between the two suppliers, Calkins said.

"The brands are so similar, it's hard for anyone to keep them straight," he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the two companies were in advanced merger talks.

OfficeMax reports fourth-quarter earnings Thursday.

Wall Street is expecting sales to decline to $1.75 billion and adjusted earnings per share to drop to 27 cents per share.

crshropshire@tribune.com

Twitter @corilyns

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Rose returns to 5-on-5 drills for first time since injury

A sense of doubt has evolved into a hint of optimism about Derrick Rose's comeback from knee surgery.

The Bulls guard, who last week mentioned the possibility of sitting out the season, appeared to take another step Monday as he participated in 5-on-5 drills during practice.

"He was able to get out there, and it's good," teammate Kirk Hinrich said. "It was something that (we) as a team needed, as far as every individual coming off the (All-Star) break needed to scrimmage a little bit. And I'm sure it was good for (Rose), helpful to ... give him a good gauge of where he's at."

Coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose did "what everyone else did'' and said his participation wasn't out of the ordinary based on the previously stated outlook. The plan all along was to have Rose return to 5-on-5 action after the break.

Rose cited his inability to dunk as the reason he knew he hadn't fully recovered, and Joakim Noah said Rose still wasn't dunking Monday. The Bulls went through three scrimmages of seven to eight minutes, during which Rose ran full-court. It was unclear how much contact Rose endured or how much pressure he put on his left knee.

"He's doing what he should be doing,'' Thibodeau said. "He's focused on his rehab, doing more and more. We just have to be patient. When he's ready, he'll go.''

Thibodeau reiterated how his players need to pick up their intensity after dropping five of the last seven games and six of the last 10. A Rose return would instantly inject life into the 30-22 Bulls, although they've performed admirably at times in his absence while currently holding the Eastern Conference's fifth seed.

Until Rose steps on the court for a game, his teammates have to lean on each other.

"When we're right and we're playing the right way, we've proved that we can beat everybody,'' Noah said. "We've also proved that if we don't come with the right (attitude), don't play together, we can lose to anybody.''

The return of Hinrich to the lineup for Tuesday night's game in New Orleans should provide a boost. The Bulls went 2-5 with Hinrich sidelined by a right elbow infection and committed 15.6 turnovers per game in the losses.

With all due respect to Nate Robinson and his scoring ability, Hinrich runs the offense more efficiently and is a better defender.

"He's a huge part of what we do, and it just feels good to have Kirk back,'' Noah said. "What he brings to our team, it's hard to measure. His defensive intensity, the ball movement ... it's all big.''

The Bulls have lost two straight and take on a 19-34 Hornets team that has won its last two and is 5-5 over the last 10. Four of the Bulls' next six opponents have sub-.500 records, but the Heat (36-14) and Thunder (39-14) are in that stretch too.

"We have to clean some things up offensively and defensively,'' Thibodeau said. "But the biggest challenge is going to be the level of intensity, to get that back.''

vxmcclure@tribune.com

Twitter @vxmcclure23

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Romanian cinema triumphs again with top Berlin award

BERLIN (Reuters) – Romania claimed another major scalp on the European film festival circuit this weekend when “Child’s Pose” won the Golden Bear in Berlin, underlining the country’s emergence as a powerhouse of hard-hitting cinema in the post-Communist era.

The film, directed by Calin Peter Netzer, tells the story of Cornelia, an obsessive mother who uses every trick in the book to prevent her son from going to jail after he kills a boy in a car accident.

It is the latest in a long list of critical hits that have enjoyed startling success at festivals like Berlin and Cannes in recent years, helping to bring Romania‘s cinema to a wider audience.

Some of Romania‘s top directors, who have enjoyed the artistic freedom that flourished after the death of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, dismiss talk of a cinematic “new wave”, saying it lumps together very different styles and stories.

But ever since Cristi Puiu’s “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” hit Cannes in 2005, and two years later his compatriot Cristian Mungiu won the coveted Palme d’Or there for the harrowing abortion drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”, Romanian cinema has been firmly on the map.

“It is an acknowledgement, I think, that Romanian cinema is still producing good quality cinema and has been for a few years and it is a good endowment that it is still like this,” Netzer told Reuters after receiving the Golden Bear for best film.

UNFLINCHING STORYTELLING

While each film differs, there is a common thread of unflinching storytelling and compelling human drama often laid out against the backdrop of a cold and uncaring society.

Netzer said “Child’s Pose” was not a critique of Romania today, despite its unflattering portrayal of flashy materialism and casual corruption among the nouveau riche.

“I think basically this is about a relationship, a kind of pathological relationship between mother and son,” he told reporters in Berlin after the closing ceremony late on Saturday.

“The rest – the corruption, the framework, the context, all of that is on a separate level and is really only a backdrop.”

Victory in Berlin is likely to give the movie a major boost in terms of distribution in Romania and beyond, although some critics wondered whether the alienating figures of both mother and son might limit its appeal.

“There’s an instant bond the audience has with the two young women in ’4 Months…’ which we are deliberately not supposed to have in ‘Child’s Pose’,” said Jay Weissberg, critic at trade publication Variety.

“The mother is a monstrous figure and her son is even worse.”

However he, like many others, was impressed by Luminita Gheorghiu’s portrayal of Cornelia, one of several standout performances in Berlin-nominated films by mature actresses making the most of the kind of parts rarely written in Hollywood.

Paulina Garcia was the popular winner of the best actress Silver Bear for her turn in Chilean film “Gloria”, in which she plays a 58-year-old divorcee who sets out to live life to the full despite her setbacks.

“We all face crossroads in our lives where we can retreat into ourselves or we can hit the dance floor,” said “Gloria” director Sebastian Lelio of his character.

The biggest surprise at the Berlin awards ceremony was the best actor prize going to Nazif Mujic, a Bosnian Roma who had never acted before and had to be talked into playing himself in a drama based on his real-life ordeal.

“An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker”, made for just 30,000 euros ($ 40,000), tells the story of how Bosnian hospitals refused to operate on his wife after she miscarried because she was not insured, despite the fact that her life was in danger.

Best director went to U.S. filmmaker David Gordon Green for his quirky road movie “Prince Avalanche” and Iranian entry “Closed Curtain” picked up the best script prize for directors Kamboziya Partovi and Jafar Panahi.

Panahi made the movie in secret in defiance of a 20-year filmmaking ban and was not allowed to travel to Berlin to collect his award.

“Tradition and culture remain, politicians come and go,” Partovi told reporters after receiving the honour.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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National Briefing | South: Abortion Curbs Clear Senate in Arkansas

The State Senate voted 25 to 7 on Monday to ban most abortions 20 weeks into a pregnancy. The measure goes back to the House to consider an amendment that added exceptions for rape and incest. The legislation is based on the belief that fetuses can feel pain 20 weeks into a pregnancy, and is similar to bans in several other states. Opponents say it would require mothers to deliver babies with fatal conditions. Gov. Mike Beebe has said he has constitutional concerns about the proposal but has not said whether he will veto it.

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Cubs seek big payday on TV rights

While the Chicago Cubs and rooftop owners debate proposed stadium billboards, a much more lucrative revenue source is in the team's sights.

Officials confirmed Monday that the team plans to begin renegotiating its broadcast rights agreement with WGN-TV, putting nearly half of its televised games in play after the 2014 season and opening the door to a potentially imminent payday that could help fund proposed Wrigley Field renovations.

The Cubs and WGN-TV have a broadcast partnership that dates to 1948 and a history that is inextricably linked. With baseball rights fees soaring in recent years, due in part to the creation of exclusive team cable channels, there is much at stake for both. Last month, the Los Angeles Dodgers launched their own cable sports network, striking a deal with Time Warner Cable that will pay the team a reported $7 billion to broadcast its games over 25 years.

The Cubs couldn't create their own cable channel until 2020.

For now, Cubs games are split between Comcast SportsNet Chicago and WGN-TV, earning the club about $60 million in annual broadcast rights fees combined, according to sources close to the situation. The CSN deal runs through 2019 and includes the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks as partners. Comcast owns about 30 percent of the network.

The White Sox on Monday declined to discuss the future of their broadcast rights.

The Cubs get about $20 million to air 70 games each year on WGN. They have decided to exercise a renegotiation option with the Tribune Co.-owned station, seeking to boost those revenues for the 2015 season and beyond. WGN will have a chance to retain those rights, but other media players are likely to get a shot as well.

"WGN has the ability to retain those rights through 2019, provided that they're willing to pay fair market value," said Cubs spokesman Julian Green. "That's a discussion for WGN and the Cubs to have together."

Based on the $60 million revenue fee for combined broadcast rights, the Cubs get about $400,000 per game, far below the market value potentially set by the Dodgers. Under their reported new deal, the Dodgers will be getting about $280 million per year, or about $1.8 million per game.

"It doesn't surprise me that the Cubs are going to look at all available options out there, including Comcast and everybody else who might be interested in their rights," said Jim Corno, president of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. "Sports content is extremely valuable. It's DVR-proof. Not many people are going to DVR a Dodgers game or a Bulls game or a White Sox game if they can watch it live. The advertiser can buy spots knowing that the chances are very slim that people are not going to watch my commercials because they're going to fast-forward through them."

The Ricketts family inherited the broadcast agreements as part of their 2009 purchase of the Cubs from Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV. The $845 million deal — then the highest in Major League Baseball history — included Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

Since then, valuations have soared, due in no small part to skyrocketing broadcast rights. Last March, an ownership group led by Chicago financier Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, paid a record $2.15 billion to buy the Dodgers out of bankruptcy. In January, the team announced the launch of its own regional sports network with Time Warner Cable beginning in 2014.

For the Cubs, who are looking to offset a proposed $300 million renovation of 99-year-old Wrigley Field with some new outfield billboards, the broadcast rights issue is a significant opportunity. Experts say there are plenty of options to improve on the current deal, including the possibility of upfront payments that secure partial rights through 2019, and a full standalone network beginning in 2020.

In a statement, Tribune Co. signaled it was willing to consider competing to keep the Cubs on WGN.

"WGN-TV has enjoyed a tremendous relationship with the Cubs and their fans since 1948," Tribune Co. spokesman Gary Weitman said in a statement Monday. "It is a relationship that we are proud of, and one that brings Cubs baseball to fans throughout Chicago and across the country. We're looking forward not only to the upcoming 2013 season, but also to working with the Cubs on baseball broadcasts in the future."

Tribune Co. shows games on both WGN-Ch. 9 and the national cable channel WGN America. While Tribune Co., which is under new management, is looking at programming options for WGN America that include original shows, sources say the company is likely to want to keep the Cubs in its lineup.

Green said the Cubs plan to talk to different parties about where the slate of games currently broadcast by WGN will be seen.

"I think there are a number of options that will certainly present themselves as we talk about this with WGN and other partners throughout the year," the Cubs spokesman said. "But at the end of the day, any final result needs to be a result that benefits the organization and most importantly, the baseball team."

The rise in sports rights fees is being passed along to cable and satellite operators, who in turn are raising monthly fees for customers, whether they watch the games or not. There is some speculation that the Dodgers deal proves to be a tipping point in which cable operators rebel by threatening to drop those sports networks.

Not everyone agrees that the Dodgers deal represents the ceiling of what broadcast rights fees are worth. Corno said that if the Dodgers sale and the new deal for the team's baseball network seemed outrageously expensive now, they likely will seem in retrospect to have been fairly priced, or even a bargain.

"In 25 years, when this deal is up, people will not be talking about how expensive the Dodger deal is," he said. "Because somebody else will have cut a deal in a major market with a major team that will make this deal look like Time Warner got a heck of a deal."

rchannick@tribune.com

Twitter @RobertChannick

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2 questioned in fatal shooting of Chicago teen

Janay McFarlane, 18, was shot on the way to a store, the same day Obama spoke on gun violence.

Two people are being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Chicago woman who was killed Friday, the same day her sister attended President Barack Obama's speech on gun violence, officials said Sunday.

An 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man are considered persons of interest in the homicide investigation and are being questioned by North Chicago police and officials from the Lake County State's Attorney's Office in connection with the death of Janay McFarlane, according to a statement released this afternoon by North Chicago police.

The men were arrested after McFarlane was shot at about 11:30 p.m. Friday on the  1300 block of Jackson Avenue in the northern suburb.

Angela Blakely, McFarlane’s mother, said she knew few details about the investigation but was encouraged by the news of the arrests.

“I’m just hoping that they do find out who did this to my baby, so they can pay for the crime they committed,” she said.

Blakely urged anyone with information about the killing to talk with police.

McFarlane, 18, of the 8900 block of South Lowe Avenue, was in North Chicago visiting family and friends and was walking with friends when she was shot, according Blakely. McFarlane was walking with friends, one of whom may have been the intended target, Blakely said.

When police responded to a call of shots being fired in the area they found McFarlane fatally shot, police said. They canvassed the area and were tipped off to the men who were taken in for questioning, according to police.

McFarlane was killed just hours after her sister, Destini Warren, 14, had attended President Barack Obama's speech against gun violence Friday.

Blakely, the mother of both girls, said that the family had been anticipating the President's visit to the school where Destini is a freshman.

Leading up to the visit, McFarlane frequently mentioned the recent death of Hadiya Pendleton, 15, whose own shooting death a mile from the Obama's home spurred the President's visit.

"It's terrible, it's terrible the only thing I can remember is my daughter telling me, 'Mommy, it's so sad about Hadiya. That makes no sense,' " Blakely said. "She always asked me a lot of questions about death."

The speech resonated even more when her family got the call from McFarlane's father in North Chicago, who told Destini that her sister was dead, she said.

"It was like real painful," said Destini, her voice choking back tears.

North Chicago officials said McFarlane's killing is the first in the northern suburb since October. The October slaying was the only homicide for the town last year.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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