Chicago street gang members give ‘peace circles’ a chance to prevent shootings
‘Lil Neil had survived two shootings. But he was about to get shot again. The 32-year-old West Humboldt Park man burglarized an apartment in another part of the West Side, known as K-Town. He stole...
View ArticleFelon on electronic monitoring jumped from high-rise to escape murder arrest
Derrick Swanson escaped through a window when officers tried to arrest him on a murder warrant Thursday. But his freedom lasted only a few seconds. Swanson — who was wearing an electronic monitoring...
View ArticleLightfoot’s chief of staff no stranger to politics or controversy
Of all the jobs Lori Lightfoot must fill, one has the greatest potential to make or break her day-to-day performance as Chicago’s 56th mayor. It’s chief of staff, a $195,000-a-year, pressure-cooker of...
View ArticleCPD to probe whether serial killer at work in 51 unsolved murders of women
Facing pressure from activists over the unsolved killings of 51 women since 2001, the Chicago Police Department has begun to review those cases to determine if a serial killer was at work. A report by...
View ArticleNew tech center helping cops process videos, solve crimes faster, police say
A new technology center in a South Side police station will allow detectives to quickly process videos from private surveillance cameras — along with information from seized cell phones — for evidence...
View ArticleReputed El Chapo lieutenant doesn’t want kingpin’s name uttered during his trial
Jesus Raul Beltran Leon is related to Mexico’s most notorious drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, through marriage, according to federal prosecutors in Chicago. And he was a top lieutenant in...
View ArticleA wedding, a wake and warrants: FBI grilled judge with ties to indicted CPD cop
Cook County Judge Mauricio Araujo attended the wake for the mother of Chicago cop David Salgado. Araujo dropped by Salgado’s bachelor party — in South America. And Araujo was invited to his wedding....
View ArticleHow CPD protected key players in Smollett case — including the actor himself
The brothers whose interrogations led to charges that “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged a phony racist and homophobic attack were given special treatment to avoid the media during their grand-jury...
View ArticleChaos in Preckwinkle’s Hyde Park condo: neighbors say she ignored their concerns
Mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle owns a Hyde Park condominium where Chicago police have repeatedly responded to domestic-disturbance calls involving her 37-year-old son — and some residents say she...
View ArticleLifer gets new murder trial after appeals court issues scathing ruling
In the summertime, James Gibson has trimmed the trees on the sprawling prison complex at Stateville Correctional Center. In the winter, he’s driven a snowplow. But last week, the 53-year-old man...
View ArticleFederal complaint implicates Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg in strip club shakedown
Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg spent years shaking down a strip-club owner for thousands of dollars a month and allowed prostitution to occur in the club in exchange, according to a new federal criminal...
View ArticleCartel lieutenant facing trial in Chicago greeted ‘El Chapo’ after escape: feds
A reputed Sinaloa drug cartel lieutenant who’s facing trial next month in a 9-year-old Chicago case was in the greeting party the first time Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera escaped...
View ArticleProbation for Chicago chef who tried to land endangered dragon fish for aquarium
A Chicago chef has been sentenced to probation for trying to buy 24 coveted dragon fish for his home aquarium and for a friend in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. Sittipat “Ong”...
View ArticleChicago police keep watch for retaliation after suspected hit on gang leader
They came to mourn a high-ranking member of the Black Disciples street gang, but four men who attended the funeral of Lawrence “Big Law” Loggins wound up in jail on gun charges. The men were arrested...
View ArticleR. Kelly fan posted singer’s $100K bond after meeting him on cruise, friend says
A close friend of R. Kelly said Tuesday the woman who posted bond for the singer met him on a cruise five months ago. Don Russell, a Kelly friend and adviser, said that within a few months of meeting...
View ArticleDart says task forces should seize illegal guns from people like Aurora shooter
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart on Friday proposed raising the fee for state firearm licenses to fund county task forces that would seize guns from people with revoked gun cards. Dart said the current...
View ArticlePolice probe if attack on Smollett was staged, question actor linked to ‘Empire’
Chicago police are investigating the possibility that the reported attack on “Empire” star Jussie Smollett was staged as they question two people including an actor connected with the show, a law...
View Article2 top cartel lieutenants still face a reckoning in Chicago in El Chapo case
Now that Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been convicted of involvement in murders, high-level bribery and billions of dollars of drug dealing, two of his top Sinaloa cartel...
View ArticleCPD fears revenge killings after assassination of Black Disciples gang leader
He doesn’t have a household name like Larry Hoover, Jeff Fort or other infamous leaders of Chicago gangs. Lawrence “Big Law” Loggins kept a low profile — no mentions in the newspaper and no arrests...
View ArticleAld. Edward Burke built ‘special police’ force after Rahm cut bodyguard detail
After he was elected in 2011, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, facing budget problems and a shortage of officers on the streets, said he’d cut the bodyguard detail for Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th), paring it from...
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