SPRINGFIELD—Rep. Lynn Martin, Rockford, only one week into her campaign to unseat Sen. Paul Simon, is ducking brickbats from Southern Illinois for referring to residents there as “rednecks.”

Former official pleads guilty

SPRINGFIELD—A former official of the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals pleads guilty to federal charges that he accepted bribes in exchange for issuing drilling permits.

Printing error botches game

GLENVIEW—Kraft has sent $250 checks to some would-be winners of vans in its “Ready to Roll” game, botched by a printing error that made hundreds of people apparent winners of a single $17,000 grand prize vehicle.

Patrons catch buzz at tavern

SEATONVILLE—”Catching a buzz” at Neuf’s Tavern took on new meaning when a beekeeper was called to capture a swarm of honey bees that engulfed the pub. The tavern had been bombed, twice, with bee hives. “This guy came out in a suit and sucked the bees up with a vacuum,” the barkeep says.

Rose indictment continues

NEW YORK—Pete Rose conspired to hide his racetrack winnings from a $47,646 Pik-Six ticket in 1987, according to baseball’s report on his alleged gambling habits.

If the charges made in investigator John M. Dowd’s report are true, the Cincinnati Reds manager has left himself open to possible indictment on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.

A federal grand jury in Cincinnati is investigating Rose on taxes matters.

Amendment to protect flag

WASHINGTON—President Bush, declaring the American flag a “unique national symbol,” Tuesday called for a constitutional amendment to set aside last week’s Supreme Court decision and forbid flag desecration.

“As president, I will uphold our precious right to dissent, but burning the flag goes too far, and I want to see that matter remedied,” he said at a press conference.