Madison Hobley, who once sat on death row, is now allowed to collect $6.5 million stemming from a wrongful-conviction lawsuit he won against the city. Hobley was originally convicted of setting the 1987 fire that killed seven people, including his wife and son. He served 13 years in prison before Gov. George Ryan pardoned him in 2003. An extra layer of intrigue to the situation comes from the fact that Hobley's main defense was that former Police Commander Jon Burge tortured Hobley into confessin

One man is dead and another is in police custody following an armed robbery of a Walgreens and a three-car crash Monday afternoon in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Burris (center) is escorted into the Secretary of the Senate's Office by Senate Sgt. at Arms Terrance Gainer, AP Photo/Lauren Victoria BurkeDid The Lord's Senate Appointee™ become The Lord's Senator™? For now, the answer is no. Burris was barred from entering the Senate floor today since the Secretary of the Senate rejected Burris's appointment on the grounds that Illinois Secretary Jesse "Tumbler" White refused to approve the appointment. However, there wasn't much of a dramatic showdown; instea

Steven Good, a major figure in Chicago real estate, was found shot to death Monday at a Kane County wildlife preserve, police said. Mr. Good, 52, was the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. They said his body was found in a car parked at the Max McGraw Wildlife Refuge near East Dundee.

A Chicago commercial real estate broker committed suicide in a Kane County wildlife preserve, police said Monday.

Two men were charged with a hate crime after they beat a black man with garbage cans outside a Joliet gas station on Saturday night. Lucas M. Bailey and Jerry Bryant, both white, "are charged with aggravated battery, mob action, committing a hate crime and resisting a police officer." When police intervened in the beating, the pair swung the garbage cans at the responding officer. Real smart, guys. The victim sustained lacerations and bruises to the head, though his injuries were not life-threate

Two years after the murder of Metra police officer Thomas Cook, authorities are finally ready to file charges against a suspect. The unnamed suspect was to make his first court appearance this morning at the Markham courthouse where he was expected to be charged with first-degree murder and officials have planned an afternoon press conference that will feature members of Cook's family. Cook, 43, a former Riverdale police officer and a father of two, was fatally shot in the head Sept. 27, 2006, in

Add Samuel Randall to the list of "Chicago People Who We Need To Party With." Randall was arrested yesterday for possession of six pounds of cannabis. That amount has a street value of $18,000 or enough to get one through an East Coast leg of a Phish tour. Zing! Randall was pulled over by police after he was spotted driving the wrong way down a one-way street yesterday afternoon. During the stop, officers spotted two bags of the wacky weed in one of the car's cup holders and smelled the rest in a

Not mine they won't, and hopefully yours either. They can easily be thwarted by using diligent security efforts like simple firewalls, which are always the best place to start, and not just the basic windows or Mac versions that come with your computer. Nor even simply your software doorways like Zone Alarms or Symantec's offerings, although both are far better than nothing. However when coupled with a hardware version you'll be safe from police and hackers alike as long as you stay away from st

The child was taken a hundred miles away, found at a rest stop wandering around and yet led police back to the home with information to find his slain mother inside. Amazing. And we stupid adults walk around spelling crap in front of them, saying stupid things like"oh, he's or she's too young to remember this or that".I know I was one of those kids that remembered all the stuff the adults around me were pulling, almost all of it, to this very day. My parents and grandparents always freaked out a

The FOP is being sued over the decision to cover Burge's legal fees and not covering two particular black officers' legal fees. Here's the Tribune article again:On Wednesday, one current and one former Chicago police officer filed the lawsuit against the Fraternal Order of Police for racial discrimination. Raysurnet Morris and William Whitaker, who both are African-American, say the union refused to pay their legal fees, while at the same time funding Burge's defense. Burge is white. The suit a

Good news:Authorities intend to charge a 20-year-old Gary, Ind., man with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Metra Police Officer Thomas Cook in a train station parking lot in Harvey over two years ago. A source close to the investigation told the Tribune that the man was scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Monday morning. Court records show he is currently in jail awaiting trial on an unrelated attempted murder charge, from less than two months after the

After health exam, DCFS places the children with other family members Three babies found by Chicago police in a West Side apartment without running water or central heat were taken into protective custody Saturday, and their parents were charged with neglect and endangerment.

Audio AvailableThe Chicago Police Department is taking steps to turn back an increase in the city’s annual murder rate. But some criminologists say the efforts won’t accomplish much without stronger links to the community.

Photograph of Times Square during the first moments of 2009 by Neil Epstein/GothamistGothamist said good-bye to 2008 by looking back at the year and rang in 2009 in Times Square. (God bless YouTube for capturing Kathy Griffin's saltyNew Year's comments to a heckler.)Phillyist interviewed Robert Bielski, whose father will be played by Daniel Craig in the upcoming film, Defiance.Seattlest entered 2009 shaking off some bad pizza recommendations and debating whether or not the New Year's Eve police s

Twenty-six-year-old Letitia Georgia, of the 100 block of 147th Street in Harvey, is charged with one count of felony theft and one count of felony wire fraud the Illinois State Police said in a news release.

LaRussa sad to see Miles goFrom the Daily Herald:My pal Bernie Miklasz, the great columnist from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has the above-linked column in which he quotes Cardinals management saying the "cheap" tag they've been labeled with this winter is unfair. He also quotes La Russa, who most recently managed Miles. "We took a big hit with Miles," Bernie quotes Tony as saying. "I never had a teammate any better than Aaron Miles, in all of the years I've managed. This guy deserves every bit

Not a pretty picture. Hundreds protesting, day after day. Zombie: Note in particular the moment at the 0.22 mark in the video when the Palestinian protesters reach across the barricades to attack the five pro-Israel protesters, and have to be restrained by police. At the end, one of the pro-Israel protesters, who were vastly outnumbered, declined to be interviewed by the cameraman, saying, “I’m a little spooked.” After watching this video, I think we’re all a little spooked! It’s as if the battle

A 17 year old girl spiraling our of control calls 911 to report herself for and while drunk driving in Bismark, ND. I started out typing as a "dumb criminal" type angle and instead am giving this young substance abuser kudos for hopefully recognizing her problem, and crying out for help before killing herself or someone else by entering into a life of drunken abyss from which many never turn back.Good luck to her and God help her through her young struggle with this adult problem for her sake an

Pure scum who doesn't even deserve a trial at our expense. Death or American Prison are simply too lenient for this freak.A hard as this is to say, some good Islamic style torture would really make me happy in this special case of lowlife, every once in a while someone or something comes along that deserves sick, Medieval Islamic style justice, and this is one of those for sure.Do not pass go, no trial, straight to the rack Jack.Cops: Dad Ordered to Pay Child Support Kills Son -FOXNews.com - Loc

The media really ought to address this. Beginning 01 January, the Police Department stopped issuing False Burglar Alarm citations. Instead, False Burglar Alarms are to be written on Administrative Notices of Violation (ANOVs).If we aren't mistaken, under the old system, businesses were forgiven up to five false burglar alarm citations for a calendar year. Now, since the violation is noted on an ANOV, the business gets an "administrative hearing" which, as a wholly owned entity of the Departmen

WBBM 780 has a blurb in their updates:A 15-year-old Park Ridge girl was shot and critically wounded while leaving a Lawndale party early Saturday on the West Side.About 2 a.m., the girl and her girlfriends were leaving a house party at 1113 S. Albany Ave. when they saw an altercation outside, police said.The girls hid in a gangway and a man brandishing a blue, steel semi-automatic handgun approached the girl, showed them the gun and asked, “What now bitches?” The man then fired one shot that stru

Actor Sam Shepard has been arrested for speeding and drunk driving in Normal. According to the AP, he was stopped about 2 a.m. this morning, for going 46 in a 30 MPH zone. According to reports, when he was pulled over, he drove up on the curb.Shepard appeared intoxicated to officers. Kotte says a breath test indicated Shepard's blood-alcohol level was double the legal limit.He told police he had been at a Bloomington tavern and was on his way to his hotel while traveling from Minnesota to his

Dem Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pressured Blago on Senate pick. Sun Times. WSJ asks, if Roland Burris isn't fit for the Senate, how is Chris Dodd? Harry Reid vs. the Constitution.Blago loses Homeland Security clearance. Tribune:The Illinois Emergency Management Agency received a memo about Homeland Security's decision on Dec. 9, the day Blagojevich was arrested, said IEMA spokeswoman Patti Thompson. The memo was brief and did not include a reason for the action. Thompson said that the head

Poor Governor Rod Blagojevich. Everyone's picking on him. First, those no-good feds arrest for simply trying to get the best deal for the empty senate seat. Then everyone gets their panties in a tangle over his appointment of Roland Burris as the new Senator. Now, those jerkstores at the Department of Homeland Security are telling him he is no longer allowed to access classified federal security information. Totally not cool, guys. Every governor is given such a clearance by Homeland Security to

Get a load of what this hero did on Christmas Eve of all days to a fellow black man outside the elderly man's church, again ON CHRISTMAS EVE of all days...what a slug and a half.Man arrested in Christmas Eve church attack - wtop.com: "COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A man has been arrested in the beating and mugging of an elderly man outside a church on Christmas Eve.Prince George's County Police arrested 28-year-old Shanon Washington of Capitol Heights on New Year's Day.Washington is charged with attempted

You think we had it rough New Years Eve?Preliminary: At least 445 cars were torched over the night of New Year's Eve in France, a 20 percent rise on last year, but there were relatively few clashes with police, the Interior Ministry and police said on Thursday.Car burnings are regular occurrences in France but the registering the New Year's Eve total has become something of a tradition since they achieved symbolic status in the violent rioting that shook many of the country's poor suburbs in 2005

Chicago police officers were injured when they were struck with bottles and battered in the face while they tried to intervene in a gang fight outside a South Side funeral for a man slain Saturday in ...