Drew crew

The Peterson case . . .

Hmmmm: Sneed hears rumbles that former cop Drew Peterson might have stepped up his media appearances because the Will County grand jury investigating the death of his ex-wife, Kathleen Savio, and the disappearance of his wife, Stacy, is about to wrap up.

Is Peterson's recent innocence pitch on CNN's "Larry King Live" an attempt to insert doubt in the midst of overwhelming negative publicity?

Meanwhile, back at the Peterson compound: Drew's son, Stephen, an Oak Brook cop who got an eight-day suspension for appearing in uniform before the grand jury probing the fate of his two stepmothers, was babysitting for his dad's kids while Drew was in L.A. for the CNN taping.

Oh, oh, Oprah . . .

Bow wow! Oprah Winfrey made a surprise visit Friday to PAWS Chicago, the new no-kill shelter, and donated a room in honor of her beloved dog, Sophie, a black cocker spaniel who died recently.

Winfrey, who recently taped a feature on the horror of puppy mills, carried one of the shelter's little German shepherds while touring the facility founded by philanthropist Paula Fasseas.

The sponsorship rooms go for $50,000 to $150,000

- Meanwhile, imagine the strained necks at the posh RL when three powerful femmes -- Winfrey, Julia Roberts and Maria Shriver (Schwarzenegger) -- were spotted chewing the lo-cal Thursday night. Their menu was also dosed with gab about their favorite candidate, Barack Obama.

- Sneed also hears Shriver was at Panera Bread in Evanston, while checking out Northwestern with daughter Christina.

The Pope patrol . . .

Protect 'em: Pope Benedict XVI's first official papal visit to America . . . via the Big Apple . . . will be a testament to bigtime security for a man of peace.

- Translation: The NYPD, Secret Service, the Vatican Swiss Guard, rooftop snipers, hovering helicopters, bomb-sniffing dogs and scuba divers in the East River will be part of the pontiff's protection force.

Pssst . . .

Gruff stuff: It's no secret Mayor Daley is furious with renegade Ald. Brendan Reilly and his battle to quash Daley's dream of placing a new children's museum in Grant Park.

- Behind a previous battle scene: Sneed hears Reilly's earlier, unsuccessful attempt to squelch construction of a rooftop heliport at the new Children's Memorial Hospital in Streeterville drew this admonition from Ald. Reilly to Daley: "The first helicopter that goes down will be blood on my hands."

- Daley's response: "The first child who loses his life [if there's no heliport], you'll have blood on your hands."

I spy . . .

Fashion designer Zac Posen taking a break Thursday from setting up his trunk show at Saks and dining Friday at RL . . . Ditto model Cheryl Tiegs lunching with longtime friend and Gibsons Group board chairman Gene McCaffery and Gibsons owner Steve Lombardo . . . Actor Stephen Dorff at Tempo cafe Friday.

Doggone . . .

Duane "Dog, the Bounty Hunter" Chapman with wife Beth and son Leland at Harry Caray's Thursday, fielding calls from cable TV talking heads Larry King and Greta Van Susteren . . . asking about the capture in Mexico of U.S. Marine Cesar Laurean, accused of the murder of pregnant Marine Maria Lauterbach.

- No barking matter: The golden-tresssed Dog was in town to attend a fund-raiser for a Batavia orphanage.

Sneedlings . . .

Rick Schroder, 38; Al Green, 62; Paul Sorvino, 69, and Carol's Tom Carroll, priceless . . . Monday's birthdays: Loretta Lynn, 73; Julie Christie, 67; Bradford Dillman, 78; Anthony Michael Hall, 40; Pete Rose, 67.

Photo: Drew Peterson ; Photo: Oprah Winfrey Photo: Paula Fasseas Photo: Julia Roberts Photo: Pope Benedict XVI Photo: Zac Posen ;