Chicago: Local News and Stories from the Chicago Tribune

Activists protest outside Zion gun store

Firmly holding a “Renounce violence. Reject guns” sign, Lee Goodman stood outside the 5 Star Firearms store in Zion Saturday to call attention to gun violence.

The Northbrook activist, and organizer of the Peaceful Communities grass roots group, said the demonstration is a call for the gun industry…

Orland Park offers electronics recycling, paper shredding for Earth Day

By early Saturday afternoon, dozens of old computers, printers and stereo systems sat piled high on a truck bed trailer and discarded paper filled about half a box truck in the Orland Park Village Center parking lot.

The mounting trash represented the returns from residents of the village and neighboring…

Message from Martin Luther King’s daughter connects with Aurora women

I think I’ve finally found the person I’d like to vote for as president of these Divisive and Conflicted United States of America.

And she – that’s right, SHE – was right within my grasp. So close I could have reached out and touched her had I been so bold.

Unfortunately, Bernice King, youngest…

Gary airport’s growth offers hope to troubled city

Imagine a city that was bombed and then abandoned — and you have parts of Gary, Ind.

Once celebrated as the “Magic City,” Gary lost more than half of its population after 1960, mostly because of declining steel jobs. Its streets are dotted with once-stately buildings now falling to pieces, overrun…

Lincoln-Way: ‘Improper’ accounting ‘masked’ district’s financial problems

Lincoln-Way High School District 210’s school board said in a statement released late Friday that the district’s “true financial condition” had been “masked by improper accounting.”

The board said it would “like to fully acknowledge the findings” of a report, presented by Crowe Horwath at Lincoln-Way’s…

Water challenge sinks McHenry woman, husband on ‘The Amazing Race’

Rachel King tried to carry the water for her team but the task proved too difficult in Friday’s episode of “The Amazing Race.”

King, who grew up in Chicago and McHenry, and her husband Zach were eliminated from the CBS reality competition after they came in last place in a series of challenges…

Crosby: Aurora family man fights to stay in America

In his 32 years of life, Cecelio Gutierrez has always tried to do everything by the book.

He graduated with good grades from East Aurora High School. Worked hard at a construction career. Saved enough money to purchase a home on Pierce Street in Aurora at age 19. Married Liset Aguirre, his sweetheart…

Pastor, a convicted sex offender, charged with sexually abusing child

A North Aurora pastor who is a convicted sex offender listed on the state’s registry has been charged with sexually abusing a child, according to Kane County prosecutors.

Ralphael Robinson, 39, head pastor at Kingdom Church, faces one count of criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated…

Ex-corrections officer found not guilty in Lake County Jail death

Former Lake County corrections officer Rodney Holmes was found not guilty of official misconduct Thursday in connection with the death of an inmate who was severely injured in Lake County Jail on Halloween 2011.

Judge James Booras ruled Holmes was acting on “highly prejudicial” information from…

Former Aurora man enjoyed close relationship with Prince

News of music icon Prince’s death on Thursday came as a shock to all of us who have enjoyed his eclectic music and personality over so many decades.

But there’s no doubt his sudden passing hit the Welton family of Aurora in a much more profound way.

Joshua Welton, one of Clarence and Stacey Welton’s…

Calumet Park man hit by Metra train

A 60-year-old Calumet Park man was lying in between the tracks when he was struck by an Metra train early Wednesday in Blue Island, a Metra spokesman said.

The pedestrian was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after he was hit, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said. His condition…

Oak Park could raise tobacco sales age with proposed ordinance

As Oak Park works toward increasing the age to buy tobacco products within the village, it could also increase the required age of those selling the product as well.

During a first reading of the village’s proposed ordinance April 18, it was revealed the minimum age of a seller of tobacco products…

Confessions from an Earth Day blasphemer

What are your plans today to dutifully recognize the 45th anniversary of Earth Day? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

I had no plans either until I watched a motorist dump out what seemed like a Dumpster full of trash last week on U.S. 20 in Portage. The young male driver did it so nonchalantly that…

Mazzochi elected COD board chairman

Deanne Mazzochi, swept onto the College of DuPage board of trustees last year as part of a trio of candidates promising reform, was elected board chairman Thursday by a vote that clearly draws the line between old and new members.

Trustees Dianne McGuire and Joseph Wozniak, who were on the board…

Chicago wrestler suffers big setback in Olympic qualifying tournament

Chicago wrestler Joe Rau’s Olympic quest suffered a setback Friday as he lost in the first round of a qualifying tournament in Mongolia.

Rau, 25, dropped a 4-1 decision to Fredrik Schoen of Sweden. He needed to finish in the top three to qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro later this summer.

Court rules in Arlington International Racecourse’s favor, officials call lawsuit ‘absurd’

Officials at Arlington International Racecourse were claiming victory Thursday, saying a federal judge’s recent ruling is an indication that a lawsuit filed against the racetrack by a horsemen’s association this week is “absurd.”

U.S. District Court Judge Manish Shah on Thursday denied the Illinois…

Lunchroom incident leads to battery charges against Woodland aide

A Woodland School lunch aide was arrested Thursday and charged with battery against an 8-year-old student, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Peggy Bora, 45, of unincorporated Gurnee, was charged with four felony counts of aggravated battery for allegedly pushing the student to the…

U.S. News and World Report again ranks Stevenson High School 5th best in state

As they do with most of the accolades they receive, officials at Stevenson High School are taking another high ranking from U.S. News and World Report in stride.

The publication recently ranked Stevenson High School as the fifth best high school in Illinois for 2016 behind four magnet schools in…

Charges dismissed against Jack McCullough in ’57 slaying of Sycamore girl

The man convicted in what had been dubbed the nation’s oldest cold case to go to trial walked out of the DeKalb County courthouse Friday after prosecutors formally dropped murder charges against him.

Jack McCullough, 76, was expected to return as soon as possible to the Seattle area, where he had…

Crews still checking for hot spots at site of Woodridge warehouse fire

Firefighters on Friday morning were still at the scene of an extra-alarm fire that destroyed a furniture warehouse in Woodridge on Thursday night.

Crews were at the RoomPlace warehouse to secure the site and make sure there were no hot spots remaining from the four-alarm blaze, according to the…

Watch young River Forest chef chide Steve Harvey for his hygiene

River Forest’s Addison Osta Smith, who won the fourth season of “MasterChef Junior,” taught Steve Harvey how to bake strawberry shortcake cupcakes and how to prevent food poisoning.

“Didn’t you use that finger to lick the batter?,” Addison asks Harvey as he tries to top his cupcake.

“Yes, doggone…

Coroner’s office says Antioch murder suspect had self-inflicted head wound

The fugitive shot by police in Antioch Township during the early morning hours of April 16 also had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

The Lake County Major Crime Task Force reported last week that four sheriff’s deputies, two from Lake County…

First fentanyl death in Naperville bodes possibly ‘catastrophic’ year

A potentially lethal pain reliever that’s come into vogue as a heroin enhancer or substitute has claimed its first life in Naperville.

A 30-year-old man who lived on Weatherford Circle on the city’s far south side died March 15 from what Will County Coroner Patrick K. O’Neil’s office said was “furanyl…

Charges filed against Skokie man who was shot at by Evanston police

A 25-year-old Skokie man faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault to a police officer, following an “officer-involved shooting” in Evanston Tuesday afternoon that left no one injured.

The Cook County State’s Attorney approved a felony burglary charge against Justin W. Cunnea-Lamerdin,…

Problems may have prevented some from voting in McHenry County: report

Some voters might have been prevented from casting ballots in the March primary election in McHenry County because of problems with the county clerk’s voter database and lack of adequate communication with poll workers and the public, state election officials said.

Though the issues were significant…

Cops: Knocked out after crash, driver accelerates into Sarkis Cafe patio

A car crashed through the patio area of Evanston’s Sarkis Cafe Thursday evening after it was struck by another vehicle at the intersection of Gross Point Road and Crawford Avenue.

A 25-year-old woman from Chicago driving a 2015 Kia made a left turn at about 6:15 p.m. from southbound Crawford to…

Arlington International, horsemen’s association down to the wire on new contract

Officials at Arlington International Racecourse and the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association were scrambling Friday to forge a contract that would re-open the track’s shuttered backstretch, and ensure a smooth start to the summer racing season.

With the contract between the track and the…

Missing Merrillville woman found strangled: coroner

What was supposed to be a weekend of celebration for Diamond Lewis and her family turned into one of shock and mourning.

Lewis’ body was found Thursday in the basement of an abandoned house in the 1400 block of West 18th Avenue in Gary, four days after her father, Cornelius Lewis, of Merrillville,…

Lincoln-Way paid $1.8 million to board member associate’s company

Lincoln-Way High School District 210 has paid more than $1.8 million to a New Lenox company whose president is also employed by the school board’s vice president’s company, records and interviews show.

Since 2005, AQI Mechanical Systems has been paid at least $1,883,054 by Lincoln-Way, records…

Lockport’s Haley Augello punches ticket to the Olympics

Lockport native Haley Augello punched her ticket to the Olympics Saturday after finishing second in a last-chance qualifying tournament in Mongolia.

Augello, 21, won her first three matches by technical falls — the wrestling equivalent of the slaughter rule — before losing 9-2 in the finals to…

Iowa man donates program from Kane County courthouse 1892 dedication

Louis Picek bought a box full of papers from an estate auction in Iowa City never thinking he would find a historical treasure.

He sorted through the papers and found a cellophane bag containing a booklet dated 1892 and quickly realized it would have historical significance for Kane County. The…

Experts: Mothers who kill newborns fit sad, familiar pattern

To most people, killing your newborn child is an incomprehensible crime.

The act, known as neonaticide when it’s committed within an infant’s first 24 hours of life, is often initially met with repulsion followed by questions.

In a country with legalized abortion, and in a state like Illinois where…

More than 40 letters in support of Hastert made public before sentencing

More than 40 letters in support of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert — including one from his former congressional colleague Tom DeLay — were made public Friday evening in advance of his sentencing next week on hush money charges.

“We all have our flaws, but Dennis Hastert has very few,”…

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