Chicago mayor debates shutting down parks amid stay-at-home order; police threaten arrest
CHICAGO -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday, March 25 that the sight of crowds along Lake Michigan despite a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus had her considering shutting down the city’s parks.“When we have masses of people out there as I just saw...it’s a problem,” Lightfoot said. “We know what happens when we don’t social distance.”′Experts have urged people to keep their distance from each other and signs were put up in establishments ranging from post offices to markets reminding the public to do so.Stay-at-home orders around the country allow people to go outside, but they do not allow people to gather in large groups.
Man charged, accused of coughing in Chicago officers' faces, saying he had coronavirus
CHICAGO -- A 21-year-old man is facing charges after prosecutors said he said he was infected with coronavirus and coughing into Chicago police officers’ faces Sunday, March 22 in Rogers Park on the city's north side.Anthony Ponzi was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer and several misdemeanor charges, including battery DUI, and resisting arrest, Chicago police said.Officers responded to a call of a crash about 8 a.m. in the 7400 block of North Wolcott Avenue, police said, adding that Ponzi was driving his gray Jeep the wrong way on Wolcott when he collided into another car, go out of his Jeep, and attacked the other driver.When officers arrived, they saw Ponzi being aggressive, slurring his speech, swaying, and foaming at the mouth, police said.
Man shot by police in Chicago subway sues city, officers
CHICAGO — Lawyers for a 33-year-old man shot and seriously wounded by Chicago police in a downtown subway station filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging officers used excessive force in violation of policies laid out in court-monitored police reforms.Neither officer seeking to detain Ariel Roman — whose Feb. 28 shooting was captured in bystander video — was properly trained before deployment as part of a city bid to reduce crime on Chicago Transit Authority lines, the suit filed in U.S. District Court said.The 12-page suit says the city hired the officer who shot Roman as officers struggled to handcuff him knowing that she'd been arrested in 2015 for assaulting a fast-food restaurant worker.
Police: 3 Milwaukee area women charged with beating, robbing man in Chicago
CHICAGO — Three Milwaukee area women have been charged with beating and robbing a man who thought he had entered a rideshare vehicle last week in Lincoln Park, police said.WGN-TV reports the accused are Felicia Anderson, 31; Jasmine Ross, 30; and Anesha Robinson, 30.The incident happened in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Widow of slain Chicago police commander sues gun-selling website, lawsuit filed in Milwaukee
CHICAGO -- The widow of a slain Chicago Police Department commander filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the website used to sell the gun tied to her husband’s death.The Chicago Sun-Times reports Erin Bauer and the nonprofit gun control group Brady filed the lawsuit against Armslist.com in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.The 9-millimeter Glock pistol allegedly used to kill Cmdr.
Murder charges filed against Chicago mother accused of killing sons before jumping from high-rise
CHICAGO — A woman accused of killing her two young children and stabbing her grandfather before jumping out of a South Shore high-rise was charged Saturday, Jan. 4 with two counts of first-degree murder, and one count of attempted first-degree murder -- and denied bail.
13 people shot, 4 critically injured, at Chicago memorial party; 2 in custody
CHICAGO -- A shooting early Sunday, Dec. 22 at a house party held in honor of someone who was killed in April left 13 people wounded, four of them critically, Chicago police said.The shooting stemmed from a dispute at the memorial party, Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said at an early morning news conference.
Newborn baby abducted from Chicago hospital 55 years ago found living in Michigan
CHICAGO -- Fifty-five years after a newborn baby was kidnapped from Chicago’s Michael Reese Hospital, WGN learned investigators found him living in rural Michigan.The April 26, 1964 abduction captivated the nation.
Man charged with sexually assaulting 11-year-old girl at Chicago Public Library branch
CHICAGO — A man has been charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in a Chicago Public Library branch.Damond Hampton, 25, is charged with three felony counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor.
Chicago mayor fires city’s top cop over ‘ethical lapses’
CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot fired Police Supt.
Chicago man body-slammed by officer charged with resisting arrest
CHICAGO — A 29-year-old man who was body-slammed by a Chicago police officer in an arrest caught on video is due in bond court on charges that include aggravated battery of an officer.A police news release says Bernard Kersh will appear before a Cook County judge Sunday.
Off-duty Chicago cop accused of hitting fellow on-duty officer on Halloween
CHICAGO — An off-duty Chicago police officer is facing several charges, including striking another officer on Halloween night.Police said Karina Salgado, 30, was charged with criminal trespass, battery and resisting a peace officer, according to WGN.Just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 1, Salgado, who was dressed as Pennywise the clown, was told she couldn't enter a bar on the 3700 block of North Broadway in Boystown.Officers blocked her path, and that's when police said she became aggressive and struck one of them in the face.Police said Salgado was taken into custody and has been temporarily assigned to desk duty.She has worked with the Chicago Police Department for two years.
Chicago officer running race in full SWAT gear saves woman’s life, then proposes to girlfriend
CHICAGO — Sunday, Nov. 3 was quite a busy day for Chicago Police SWAT Sgt.
Chicago teen accused of shooting 7-year-old girl was allegedly out looking for rival gang members on Halloween
CHICAGO — A 15-year-old charged in the shooting of a 7-year-old girl who was trick-or-treating in Little Village appeared in court Saturday where attorneys said the teen was out looking for rival gang members on Halloween.The teen, whose name has not been released because he is a minor, was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and unlawful use of a weapon.The shooting happened at about 5:30 p.m. on Halloween near 26th Street and Lawndale Avenue while the girl was with her family.
Chicago PD: Juvenile in custody in Halloween shooting of 7-year-old girl
CHICAGO -- A juvenile person of interest is in custody in the shooting of a 7-year-old girl who was trick-or-treating in Chicago, according to police.Officers are still working to identify additional individuals that may be involved, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet.
'My little girl's been shot:' Trick-or-treater, 7, critically injured in Chicago shooting
CHICAGO — A 7-year-old girl out trick-or-treating in a bumblebee costume was critically injured Thursday night after being struck by apparent stray gunfire, police said.The girl, who was shot in the upper chest area, was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
Chicago's mayor says top cop drinking before incident in car
CHICAGO — Chicago's mayor said Friday that the city's top police officer told her he'd had "a couple of drinks with dinner" before he fell asleep at a stop sign while driving home, an incident that the chief contends was related to a change in his blood pressure medication.Superintendent Eddie Johnson didn't mention having anything to drink when he spoke to reporters Thursday night, and the department spokesman said officers who responded to a 911 call reporting a man asleep in a car at a stop sign didn't observe any signs of impairment.Mayor Lori Lightfoot told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday that she agreed with Eddie Johnson's decision to request an internal affairs investigation of the Thursday incident to assure the public he's not trying to hide anything about his actions."It was the right thing to call for an investigation...," Lightfoot told the paper. "We'll see how that plays itself out."After the newspaper's report, department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement that, "While we have no indication of impropriety at this time, this question can only be answered by the internal affairs investigation."Guglielmi had said Thursday that "there were no charges of intoxication, no information of intoxication as far as I know."Johnson told reporters Thursday evening that he was driving home at about 12:30 that morning, after having let his driver go home to his family, when he felt lightheaded.
Chicago police: 4 dead, 1 wounded in apartment shooting
CHICAGO — Chicago police said five people were shot, four of them killed, at an apartment building on the city's northwest side.The Chicago Sun-Times reported the shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12.
'Original plan was torture:' Trial to begin in death of boy lured from playground to Chicago alley
CHICAGO -- It stands as one of Chicago's most horrific crimes, in large part because of small details that are impossible to shake: The promise of a juice box that lured the 9-year-old boy off a playground and into an alley, and the basketball he dropped when he was shot and killed there.Jury selection will begin Friday, Sept. 13 in the murder trial of two of three men charged with carrying out the November 2015 attack on Tyshawn Lee, a smart fourth-grader who prosecutors say was killed by gang members to send a message to his father, a purported member of a rival gang."It was one of the most evil things I've ever seen," said the Rev.
World’s largest Starbucks opening in Chicago this November
CHICAGO — Coffee lovers are in luck!