Embattled Cook County Board President Todd Stroger blasted a new poll showing he's in third place in the four-way race for his job.A Tribune poll of what has been described as 500-plus likely voters shows Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown leading the pack in next month's Democratic primary with 29 percent of the vote followed by Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) at 20 percent ... Full Story »
TINLEY PARK -- A 56-year-old man is dead after suffering an apparent medical emergency while driving with his wife Friday afternoon, sending a car into a Tinley Park home.Kenneth Shimashita, of Palos Heights, was pronounced dead at Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest at 4:05 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. The incident happened at 2:53 p.m. in the 17100 ... Full Story »
About 50 residents have been displaced following an extra-alarm fire in a North Side courtyard apartment building Friday night.No residents were injured in the blaze, although two firefighters suffered minor injuries, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.The fire was reported about 6 p.m. in a horseshoe-shaped apartment complex in the 4400 block of North Ashland Avenue, Langford said ... Full Story »
A child was found shot dead and his father was critically injured afterbeing shot while driving Friday night on the Southeast Side, anincident that ultimately sent the man's vehicle into a daycare center. Full Story »
A Cook County jury that convicted Andrew Crawford guilty on all charges related to the rapes and murder of 11 women ruled this afternoon that he is eligible for the death penalty.Prosecutors told jurors they can find Crawford eligible if he was 18 or older at the time of the incidents and if he killed two or more people.Jurors also had to take into consideration that he committed the murders ... Full Story »
A faulty toaster oven apparently caused the fatal Gold Coast high rise fire that killed an 84-year-old woman and left 12 others injured early Thursday, Chicago fire officials said. "It was an older toaster oven," fire department spokesman Larry Langford said today. "A definitive analysis will have to come after an engineering analysis, but everything points to that."The five-alarm inferno ... Full Story »
Mayor Daley and his Great Lakes counterparts demanded Friday that the governments of the U.S. and Canada do more to save the shoreline and protect the Great Lakes from the Asian carp and other invasive species. President Obama's $475 million commitment to Great Lakes restoration is "only a downpayment" on the work that needs to be done—and Canada has failed to even match that contribution, the ... Full Story »
A Skokie man accused of causing a traffic accident in north suburbanEvanston early Friday faces charges of DUI and intent to deliver drugsafter police found packaged narcotics in his vehicle following thecrash that left five people injured.About 1 a.m. Friday, aPontiac G6 sedan heading south on Ridge Avenue went through a red lightand struck a Nissan Altima that was westbound on Davis Street ... Full Story »
A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday after beingconvicted of pushing a fisherman into Lake Michigan as a prank Full Story »
A man who allegedly drove into a Chicago Police officer,apparently prompting officers to shoot him, leaving him in "very critical"condition, late Wednesday on the Northwest Side has been charged.Darnell Tolliver, 28, of 5838 W. Huron St., was charged withattempted murder and felony possession of a controlled substance, according topolice.Tolliver was arrested at 11:14 p.m. Wednesday at 1653 N ... Full Story »
A 37-year-old man who allegedly walked into the office of Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) and threatened her with a knife was ordered held in lieu of $70,000 bail today.Austin was not in the office when Julius Jenkins approached Austin's son Lemuel and said, "You tell that b---- Ald. Carrie Austin that after I get these cameras and bugs out of my house, I'm gonna come back here and kill that b ... Full Story »
A Chicago woman arrested for illegally videotaping the movie " Twilight : New Moon" got her happy ending Friday when Cook County prosecutors abruptly dropped the felony charge filed against her.Samantha Tumpach would have faced up to three years in prison if she had been convicted of secretly copying three minutes of the film during a Nov. 28 trip to the Muvico Theater in Rosemont.The 22-year ... Full Story »
Chicago's new health commissioner vowed Friday to get a handle on the billing problems that cost the city $4 million in state funding and nearly forced the closing of four mental health clincis. Testifying at his City Council confirmation hearing, Dr. Bechara Choucair also raised the possibility of bringing under one roof health services currently offered in separate facilities."You come to a ... Full Story »
The Grant High School teacher accused of givingtwo girls alcohol and drugs pleaded not guilty to three counts of contributingto the delinquency of a juvenile and one count of harassment at her arraignmentThursday.Kym Krocza, 41, of Ingleside, was accused of soliciting twominors with alcohol. The math teacher allegedly had two freshman girls who livein her neighborhood come to her home and do ... Full Story »
Police fatally shot a pit bull that attacked someone lateThursday in the South Side's Woodlawn neighborhood.About 10:45 p.m., a pit bull attacked a 46-year-old man nearthe intersection of East 60th Street and South Vernon Avenue, according to aGrand Crossing District police lieutenant, who was citing preliminaryinformation.Responding officers "destroyed" the dog, according to thelieutenant, who ... Full Story »
A man has been charged after allegedly walking into the FarSouth Side Roseland neighborhood office of Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) with aknife and threatening her, police said.Julius Jenkins, 37, of 206 W. 111th Pl., was charged withthreatening a public official, a felony, and misdemeanor aggravated assault,police said.Jenkins was arrested at 11:19 a.m. Thursday at 255 W. 111thSt., according to ... Full Story »
Two police officers may have saved a man's life when theyshot a dog that knocked down and attacked the man late Thursday on the SouthSide. The 49-year-old man was walking when a dog -- possibly a pitbull or pit bull mix -- "jumped up onto the citizen" at 6041 S. Vernon Ave.about 10:55 p.m. Thursday, according to a Grand Crossing District policelieutenant.Two police officers on patrol saw the dog ... Full Story »
A former Post-Tribune reporter accused ofstealing $18,100 from the newsroom employee union officially entered a guiltyplea Thursday in federal court in South Bend, Ind.Earlier this month, an attorney for Karen Snelling, 50,filed a guilty plea petition, a reversal of her initial not-guilty plea. Incourt, Snelling admitted to withdrawing the money through a series ofunauthorized automatic teller ... Full Story »
Emergency crews are on the scene of a fire on the North Side, police said.Thefire started about 4:45 a.m near the intersection of North Southportand West Cuyler avenues, according to Belmont District police. As of 5 a.m., the fire was still burning, according to police. A police source indicated a furanace or water heater was being blamed. ... Full Story »
A North Aurora man pleaded not guiltyWednesday to scalding his 18-month-old son so badly the boy's toes had to beamputated. Jason Barnes, 36, was charged with felony aggravated batteryfor burning the boy's feet and legs in a sink at his home on Aug. 15, the KaneCounty State's Attorney's office said.Court records show the Kane County Child Advocacy Centerreceived a report of a severely burned ... Full Story »
Investigators say arson is responsible for a Thursdayfire at a vacant house in southwest suburban Joliet. Rockdale and East Joliet firefighters were called at 5:30a.m. to 637 Central Ave., but Joliet firefighters took over once it wasdetermined the one-and-a-half story building was within the city limits."Once the fire was put out, we found evidence thatshowed it was set intentionally," said ... Full Story »
A grand jury added murder and other felony charges against aman accused of robbing a south suburban Midlothian VFW commander outside a banklast month. Jerry Brown, 27, of 1140 W. 104th Place, originally wascharged with robbery following a Nov. 16 attack of a man in front of A.J. SmithFederal Bank at 14757 S. Cicero Ave. in Midlothian.On Tuesday, the grand jury at the Cook County district ... Full Story »
NEW DELHI -- India plans to seek access and eventual extradition of a Chicago man arraigned by the FBI for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, a top Indian official said Thursday.David Coleman Headley is accused of conducting surveillance on sites in Mumbai targeted in the November 2008 attacks that killed 166 people, and passing on the information to handlers in the ... Full Story »
Two people are dead after separatetrain crashes – one in northwest suburban Bensenville and the other in northsuburban Lake Forest -- during the height of the Thursday evening rush,authorities said. A Metra Milwaukee District West Line train hit a vehicleabout 5:30 p.m. at the York Road crossing in northwest suburban Bensenville,Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said.The driver of the vehicle, 63 ... Full Story »
Weeks before Chicago parking meter rates are set to rise again, motorists have another reason to complain about the 75-year, $1.15 billion lease that privatized the city's 36,000 meters: frozen pay-and-display boxes.About 2 percent of the 4,200 boxes -- touted as a solution to broken and improperly calibrated meters -- apparently couldn't hack single-digit temperatures.When motorists tried to ... Full Story »
Jackass Penguins take a walk at Hakkeijima Sea Paradise in Japan. AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye
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