Metro briefs

More than 386,000 people in Chicago's suburbs are living in poverty, according to a new study by the Illinois Poverty Summit. The study found that, since 1999, an additional 100,000 people in the collar counties and suburban Cook County live below the poverty line. The percentage increase far outpaced the increase in Chicago. Statewide, some 1.5 million people live in poverty. The current poverty line for a family of four is a household income of $20,650.

Students at Columbia College are planning to skip classes today to protest the war in Iraq. The "strike" -- which is taking place on several college campuses nationwide -- is meant to send a message to the Bush administration that students won't be silent any longer, said organizer and Columbia cultural studies major Samantha Hamlin. Hamlin said at least 10 professors plan to bring their classes to a daylong sit-in in the lobby of a campus building at 623 S. Wabash. Columbia officials said the students are free to participate, but said classes won't be canceled, so students who don't want to miss class won't have to.

Chicago Police are investigating a rape that happened early Monday on the Northwest Side. The 25-year-old female victim was assaulted by an offender wearing a ski mask in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, police said. The victim was walking in the 2600 block of North Parkside at 5:30 a.m. from a bus stop at Diversey and Central when the offender attacked, police said. The offender is described as male, Hispanic, 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 inches, medium build and wearing a black ski mask, black jacket and black pants. Anyone with information should call (312) 746-8282.

Gov. Blagojevich tapped the business world to find a new chairwoman of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Carrie Hightman, president of AT&T Illinois from 2001 to 2006, will take over the post vacated when Chicago attorney James Kaplan stepped down last week. Kaplan, who served on the board since 1999, pushed to improve disabled students' access to higher education, among other priorities. Hightman is also a lawyer and a University of Illinois grad.

The Big Shoulders Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides support to Catholic schools in the inner city of Chicago. A story in the Business section Wednesday incorrectly reported the fund was run by the Archdiocese of Chicago.