News
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At Park Manor shooting, 'All I want to know is it ain’t my son'
Bullets hit the men around the same time, in an alley and in the street, about 4 miles apart in Chicago’s South Side. If anyone else was around to see who shot them, police don’t know about it, they said early Friday. Around 10 p.m. Thursday in the Park Manor neighborhood, a man standing in the...
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Chicago Police Board clears cop in controversial fatal shooting of 15-year-old boy
Bucking the recommendation of police oversight officials who called the shooting “unprovoked and unwarranted,” a divided Chicago Police Board voted 5-3 Thursday night to clear an officer of all wrongdoing in fatally shooting a teen in the back of the head during a foot chase nearly six years ago....
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In Quincy debate, shadows of controversies haunt Gov. Bruce Rauner and J.B. Pritzker
Controversies surrounding the major candidates for governor cast a long shadow over the final broadcast debate of the campaign Thursday, with Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrat J.B. Pritzker defending accusations of wrongdoing and trying to cast the other as having engaged in criminal conduct. The...
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Chicago native who opened Anger Room as safe outlet for aggression allegedly murdered by ex-boyfriend
Growing up on Chicago’s South Side, Donna Alexander dreamed of creating a safe space for people to release anger and stress, in the hopes of quelling violence and unnecessary pain. She opened Anger Room in Dallas in 2008, allowing clients to smash household objects to blow off steam, and the business...
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5 Chicago-centric things about Kanye West's White House visit
Kanye West made his first visit to the Oval Office. And he had a lot to say about Chicago. President Donald Trump and West — but mostly West — spoke with reporters before a private lunch on Thursday. West launched into a one-man show of sorts on social policy, mental health, why he wants to abolish...
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Boy, 17, man found in alley among daytime shootings
A 17-year-old boy and a man believed to be in his 20s were each fatally shot in a string of separate daytime shootings that also left two others wounded, authorities said. The four shootings, stretching from the city’s Far South Side to the West Side, all took place during a 4½-hour period from...
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Council panel approves agreement with Obama Foundation over use of Jackson Park
A City Council committee took the first step Thursday toward approving legislation that outlines how the Obama Foundation can use Jackson Park and the Obama Presidential Center once it is built. And for the first time, the committee revealed language in the legislation that seeks to protect current...
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Florida man accused of cutting off man's penis in Des Plaines is granted $1 million bond
A Cook County judge set bond for a Florida man accused of cutting off another man’s penis in a March attack in Des Plaines. Justin Foster, 28, of Tallahassee, has been held without bond since he was brought to Cook County in September on an attempted murder charge, but Thursday’s decision by Judge...
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Freeze, frost advisories across Chicago, suburbs punctuate week that started at 80 degrees
It was just days ago that temperatures in the Chicago area reached the mid-80s, but the pendulum is swinging, with forecasts calling for 30-degree temperatures in some spots early Friday and the National Weather Service issuing warnings that freezing or near-freezing temperatures may doom the last...
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SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno dies at 62
Carlo Montemagno, the chancellor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, died unexpectedly Thursday morning, university officials announced. The cause of death was not immediately known. Montemagno revealed on his blog in June that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was treating it “aggressively.”...
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Kanye and Trump talk Chicago, stop-and-frisk, Gangster Disciples, hydrogen-powered Air Force One in Oval Office meeting
Declaring that his red "MAGA" hat makes him "feel like Superman," rapper Kanye West made a free-styling appearance in the Oval Office on Thursday. Ahead of a private lunch, President Donald Trump and West spoke with reporters as they sat across from each other at the Resolute Desk. West dominated...
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Mayoral candidate Dorothy Brown calls for taking economic development planning out of Chicago aldermen's hands
Mayoral candidate Dorothy Brown on Thursday called for taking economic development planning out of the hands of aldermen in a bid to spread developers’ investments to poverty-stricken outlying neighborhoods. Brown, the Cook County clerk of the Circuit Court who launched her run for mayor more than...
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5 things to know about the poliolike condition that has hospitalized 2 Chicago-area children
At least two children who have been diagnosed with a rare but serious condition that weakens muscles and limits mobility are being treated in Chicago, according to Lurie Children’s Hospital. The parents of a Batavia 2-year-old, Julia Payne, went public in hopes of raising awareness for acute flaccid...
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The feds were watching, but unlicensed gun dealer was still able to sell Glock that killed Chicago police officer
Thomas Caldwell once told a federal agent that selling guns was an addiction. Even after being told to stop because he had no license, the Wisconsin man kept peddling firearms, posting more than 200 ads on a controversial website. One of those guns, a Glock 26 9 mm handgun, ended up in the hands...
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TV's Kurt Sutter pens open letter to daughters in full-page Tribune ad
Kurt Sutter, the television screenwriter who created the shows “Sons of Anarchy” and “Mayans M.C.,” placed a full-page open letter in Thursday's Chicago Tribune in which he expresses hope to his daughters Esme and Sarah that “the future is female.” The paid advertisement was meant as “a thoughtful,...
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Man charged with murder in Riverdale stabbing attacks
A 30-year-old Chicago man was charged Thursday morning with first-degree murder in a Tuesday stabbing that killed one victim and left another in critical condition in the Riverdale area on the Far Southeast Side, Chicago police said. Jose DeLaTorre of the 4200 block of South Archer Avenue was charged...
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#MeToo’s Tarana Burke tells local activists movement ‘by us and for us’ must include women of color
A year after the rise of the #MeToo hashtag and the fall of a number of powerful men, local activists who have worked for decades with survivors of sexual violence are asking where they fit into the movement. Tarana Burke, who coined the phrase “Me Too” more than a decade ago as a way to help women...
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Three carjackings in 40 minutes on North Side — two of the cars abandoned within blocks of each other
Three people were carjacked over 40 minutes in Lakeview and Lincoln Park late Wednesday and early Thursday -- and two of the stolen cars were later found in the same South Side police district, one parked and the other crashed, according to Chicago police. Those carjacked included a food delivery...
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Conservative activists accuse DePaul of censorship after university bars them from holding event on campus
Two high-profile conservative activists are lambasting DePaul University after administrators barred them from holding an event on campus, the latest chapter in the school’s turbulent recent history with right-leaning speakers. Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens of Turning Point USA, a Lemont-based...
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Rauner tries to parse his immigration comments, says he does not believe immigrants are ‘acting violently’
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, criticized by immigration activists for saying people who are in Chicago illegally are a contributor to the city’s violence problem, sought to clarify his remarks Wednesday though he relied upon oft-debunked logic. Appearing at a campaign stop on the Northwest Side,...
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Two men killed in South Side shootings
A man fatally wounded Wednesday afternoon in the Park Manor neighborhood has been identified as a 22-year-old from West Englewood, and a 26-year-old man shot early Thursday morning in Chicago Lawn has died, according to Chicago police. Ramon Edward Dobine, 22, of the 5700 block of Damen Avenue,...
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With new initiative, Michelle Obama is on a mission to improve the education of girls worldwide
Former first lady Michelle Obama has launched an international program that aims to support groups and community leaders who work to educate girls around the world, she announced on Thursday morning. The Global Girls Alliance is a collective of smaller, grassroots organizations working to get girls...
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Mayor Rahm Emanuel's breakfast surprise: $20,000 campaign checks for more than 2 dozen friendly aldermen
Mayor Rahm Emanuel continued his “no friend gets left on the field” tour Wednesday, handing out $20,000 checks to more than two dozen City Council allies to help them get re-elected. Emanuel hosted a breakfast at the 312 Chicago restaurant across the street from City Hall. Far North Side Ald. Joseph...
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Column: Donald Trump, butt out of Chicago's business!
Do not think for a moment that Donald Trump cares about killings in Chicago. Don’t let him trick you into believing that he and Kanye West can put their heads together over lunch and come up with a solution to our city’s violence problem. Don’t buy Trump’s line that he was so concerned about a...
Most read stories this hour
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Ford's testimony made me reconsider Bill Clinton's accuser
Christine Blasey Ford, married and in her 50s, reluctantly came forward recently to say she’d been sexually attacked by a now-famous man many years ago. She didn’t remember the date of the attack, she hadn’t reported it to police at the time and certain incongruous details gave rise to doubts that...
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Chicago Police Board clears cop in controversial fatal shooting of 15-year-old boy
Bucking the recommendation of police oversight officials who called the shooting “unprovoked and unwarranted,” a divided Chicago Police Board voted 5-3 Thursday night to clear an officer of all wrongdoing in fatally shooting a teen in the back of the head during a foot chase nearly six years ago....
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Will Kris Bryant stay? How much mileage does Anthony Rizzo have left? 5 offseason questions for the Cubs about their infielders
This is the fourth in a series of position-by-position analyses about the Cubs entering the offseason. 1. Does Kris Bryant stay with the Cubs? If so, at third base? Relax, folks. The Cubs, like most teams with plenty of young talent several years away from free agency, attempt to sign those players...
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Chicago native who opened Anger Room as safe outlet for aggression allegedly murdered by ex-boyfriend
Growing up on Chicago’s South Side, Donna Alexander dreamed of creating a safe space for people to release anger and stress, in the hopes of quelling violence and unnecessary pain. She opened Anger Room in Dallas in 2008, allowing clients to smash household objects to blow off steam, and the business...
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Lake County police officers have been allowed to call for rides home after being pulled over
Libertyville police allowed a Waukegan officer to call for a ride home even though he registered a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit during an early morning traffic stop, video and audio recordings obtained by the Lake County News-Sun show. The case is the third example of law...
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Sommeliers push back at decision to strip 'master' titles after incident of cheating
After revelations of cheating led the country’s most prestigious wine industry certification body to invalidate the 2018 master sommeliers tasting exams, the somms are pushing back. In case you missed it, on Tuesday, the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, invalidated the master sommelier titles...
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A Sears bankruptcy could cause one of the biggest pension defaults ever, but the government would protect 90,000 retirees
If Sears, once the nation’s largest retailer, declares bankruptcy, it could cause one of the biggest pension defaults in U.S. history, but the government would step in to keep checks coming to more than 90,000 retirees. The company’s long-term pension obligations, which have been underfunded by...
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'He really believed in me': A scout's discovery of Tarik Cohen and the Bears' vision for what's ahead
It was less than 45 minutes after the Bears’ 48-10 throttling of the Buccaneers and yet somehow Tarik Cohen’s usually sharp recall was short-circuiting. The Bears running back had been asked to detail his touchdown catch — a 9-yarder from Mitch Trubisky in the second quarter. But alas, Cohen was...
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At Park Manor shooting, 'All I want to know is it ain’t my son'
Bullets hit the men around the same time, in an alley and in the street, about 4 miles apart in Chicago’s South Side. If anyone else was around to see who shot them, police don’t know about it, they said early Friday. Around 10 p.m. Thursday in the Park Manor neighborhood, a man standing in the...
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5 things to know about the poliolike condition that has hospitalized 2 Chicago-area children
At least two children who have been diagnosed with a rare but serious condition that weakens muscles and limits mobility are being treated in Chicago, according to Lurie Children’s Hospital. The parents of a Batavia 2-year-old, Julia Payne, went public in hopes of raising awareness for acute flaccid...
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Voters, fire these three judges
Stymied by all those unfamiliar names at the bottom of your ballot? We’re here to help. Vote “no” on three judges by punching 228, 232 and 314. In Illinois, circuit court judges are elected to the bench. After that, they face a yes-or-no vote for retention every six years. It takes a 60 percent...
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5 Chicago-centric things about Kanye West's White House visit
Kanye West made his first visit to the Oval Office. And he had a lot to say about Chicago. President Donald Trump and West — but mostly West — spoke with reporters before a private lunch on Thursday. West launched into a one-man show of sorts on social policy, mental health, why he wants to abolish...
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Cubs fire hitting coach Chili Davis after 1 season
The persistent inconsistency of the Cubs’ offense in the second half of the season cost hitting coach Chili Davis his job after only one season. Davis, 58, was informed of his dismissal Thursday — nine days after the Rockies eliminated the Cubs in the National League wild-card game. The Cubs scored...
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The feds were watching, but unlicensed gun dealer was still able to sell Glock that killed Chicago police officer
Thomas Caldwell once told a federal agent that selling guns was an addiction. Even after being told to stop because he had no license, the Wisconsin man kept peddling firearms, posting more than 200 ads on a controversial website. One of those guns, a Glock 26 9 mm handgun, ended up in the hands...
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'That didn't happen': Father-son eyewitnesses to Laquan McDonald's shooting tell why they came forward
Jose Torres passes the busy commercial intersection on his way to and from work most days. The area on the Southwest Side has changed a lot since that night four years ago when fate brought him and his son there moments before a Chicago police officer fatally shot Laquan McDonald. But the violent...
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3 Chicago cops attacked, locked inside home while chasing suspect
Three Chicago police officers were attacked and locked inside an Englewood home as they chased a woman who had spit in the face of one of the cops, authorities said. The officers were able to get out of the house in the 7000 block of South Throop Street and arrested a woman and two men around 2:30...
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Under attack, billionaire George Soros plans to redouble his efforts
George Soros, the billionaire investor and liberal donor, sat in his hotel suite by Lake Zurich last week, lamenting the turn much of the world has taken in recent years: "Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong." His favored presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, lost to President Donald...
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Is Comiskey upper deck a problem?
What's going on up there? The first-place White Sox are in the stretch run of a division title drive and Comiskey Park, much hyped as a "state-of-the-art" stadium when it opened two years ago, looks to be laying an egg. On a given weeknight, the upper reaches of Comiskey's bowl-shaped upper deck...
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Turks tell U.S. officials they have audio and video recordings that prove journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed
The Turkish government has told U.S. officials that it has audio and video recordings that prove Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul this month, according to U.S. and Turkish officials. The recordings show that a Saudi security team detained...
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Mortgage rates soar to seven-year high
Mortgage rates are at their highest levels since April 2011. According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average jumped to 4.90 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) The 19-basis-point...
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Revamping the Senate is pure fantasy
As the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh made its painful way through the Senate, a number of liberals began to make an important discovery: The U.S. Senate is undemocratic. Small states get the same quantity of senators as large states. It’s often added that the ratio of population between...
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North Chicago officials lament death of dog tied outside for months: 'Somebody watched this dog waste away'
Shari Goldberg held Toby, a 3-year-old American bulldog mix, in her arms when he took his last breath on Sept. 30. That was one of the only kind gestures the dog had experienced in months, maybe longer. Other kindness came from veterinarians who cared for him for four days before he was euthanized...
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Family gets $50 million in lawsuit against Evanston hospital after jury finds baby's brain damage was preventable
A Cook County Circuit Court jury granted a Michigan family $50 million on Tuesday, agreeing that the severe brain damage suffered by the family’s oldest son was a result of negligence and bad decisions by a doctor and attending nurse who delivered him at NorthShore Evanston Hospital in 2009. “The...
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Jabari Parker says a reserve role on the Bulls would be a 'huge adjustment'
Saying he declined to address reporters late Wednesday because he “just wasn’t prepared to answer questions” about his demotion, Bulls forward Jabari Parker answered almost all of them before practice Thursday. It’s the one he didn’t answer that seemed the most telling. Asked if, after two left...
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Column: America elected a mirror image of itself
Since the day President Donald Trump took office, readers have repeatedly asked me why I've been more amused than outraged, more fascinated than offended. My response, at first individually to each reader, and now in this space, remains the same: The United States deserves Donald Trump as its president,...