Chicago's Alternative News

Police in Aurora say that two men are heroes for rescuing a Warrenville man when they pulled him away from a fiery crash. Authorities say that 58 year old Jose Martinez and 29 year old Deven Johnson from Aurora pulled the injured 34 year old man from a burning vehicle   Weather: Today a high of 43 degrees with rain and snow. Cloudy and 38 tomorrow. Saturday will be 34 degrees.   Illinois’ Executive Manson is getting s new name along with its face lift. Governor Bruce Rauner has singed an executive order changing the name to the Governor’s Mansion.   Officials of Major League Baseball and the NBA have told Illinois lawmakers about their concerns and possible support for legal internet sports gambling. The officials are wanting a guarantee that the gambling won’t effect the integrity of the game.   

Batavia residents are invited to invest in rain barrels in order to conserve water. The city is selling the barrels online through April twenty fourth for the eighth annual rain barrel sale.   Weather: Today partly cloudy with a high of 42. Thunderstorms tomorrow with a high of 46 degrees. Wednesday cloudy with a high of 39 degrees.   A pedestrian was fatally hit by a vehicle in Aurora Saturday night. Police say the incodent took place around eleven pm near Ogden and Long Grove. Police say the nineteen year old driver and an Oswego women wear headed west on Ogden when their car hit the pedestrian. The investigation is ongoing.   Today in Naperville congressman Bill Foster will host a forum on gun violence. The event will be held at the Yellow Box Community Christian Church on Emerson Lane. Mothers of gun violence victims and high school students will offer their perspective and offer solutions.

Naperville police are offering self defense classes for women in April. The two classes will be held in Aurora Avenue on April 10th and 12th. The classes are free but you must sign up before hand. Visit the police department's website for more info.   Today’s weather: Today a high of 45 and rainy, tomorrow partly cloudy and 49 degrees, Saturday 51 degrees with thunderstorms.   This week a man tried to rob a bank in Schaumburg but failed. Police say the same man is responsible for two other robberies earlier in the month.   The Illinois state board of elections will public hearing on the state’s automatic voting registration system before it takes effect this Summer. The board says this will help the public understand and to answer any questions about implementation.  

58 People have been shot and killed so far in 2018,with 4 this week. The Illinois department of natural resources says fishing licenses for the year go on sale March 1st. The agency says 2018 annual fishing licenses for Illinois residents cost 15 dollars and are good until March 31st of 2019. A DuPage County man is charged with hiring another man to kill his parents Deputies responded to a call early Sunday by the parents saying they were attacked by a man with a hammer inside their home in Glen Ellyn 18 year old Michael Targo of Glendale Heights was arrested.

32 people were gunned down in the month of January,only one person has been fatally shot this week, with 11 people only being wounded by gunfire. Illinois Hunter's harvested a preliminary total of just over 147,500 deer during the 2017/2018 seasons with archery and firearms. The Season's ended in mid January with an increase of over 3,000 from the year before. A man is charged with killing two men outside of West Aurora last year. 38 year old Serafin Castellanos is charged with 1st degree murder. Police say gunfire killed 35 year old Jermaine P. Taylor and 57 year old Anselmo V. Fernandez on March 10 on South Lincoln.

No new names have been released as of early Monday morning. 116 people have been shot and wounded there have been 3 non-shooting related homicides. Governor Bruce Rauner has issued a ban on legislators financially benefiting from state property tax appeals. Governor Rauner issued an executive order Friday calling such representation "A clear conflict of interest that must end." It is in effect immediately. A former elementary school teacher who pleaded guilty to child pornography charges has been sentenced to 10 years in State Prison. DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin says 29-year old Andrew Clark will be sentenced this Friday,and an investigation on a DuPage County computer will be filed.

There have been 16 total homicides so far with another 48 people suffering gun shot wounds. No new information yet on the latest victims. Another building on the Illinois State Fair Grounds is in need of emergency repairs in order to prevent a potential roof collapse. Barn 13's roofing system has failed causing structural damage to the roof joints and decking. A Man has been found mentally unfit to stand trial for the shooting of a Naperville Metra Conductor and will be released to a secure senior facility. 80-year old Edward Klein will be sent to a Facility in Wisconsin that specializes in dementia.

There have been 14 total homicides with 47 people shot and wounded. 53-year Old George Washington and another 49-year old man are the latest victims of Gun Violence in Chicago. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White will run uncontested in the Democratic primary after State Senator Micheal Hastings dropped out of the race. White says he's going to work together with Hastings despite the drop out. DuPage County authorities investigate reports of a fatal stabbing in Downers Grove on Wednesday. Deputies had not confirmed the cause of death early Thursday morning. Sources have said a Mother was stabbed to death by her teenage son.

The latest updates show Woodlawn,Englewood,and Austin neighborhoods have seen violence in recent days. 38 people have been wounded by gunfire in the last 8 days. State records show that the flu season in Illinois appears to be peaking early this year. There are more than 100 outbreaks as opposed to last season at this time. There was 344 Intensive Care units last admissions in Illinois. Authorities say no charges will be filed in a fatal car crash on West State Street in Geneva. 28-year old DeKalb resident Adam Bruner lost control and drifted into oncoming Traffic colliding with a vehicle driven by an 18 year old.

The shooting death toll for 2018 in Chicago is already up to eight.  Police say recent shootings have occurred in the Englewood, Austin, and Woodlawn neighborhoods.  Another 34 people have already been wounded by gunfire one week into the new year.   Illinois officials are seeking more submissions for an Illinois State Police logo design contest.  The new logo will be used to commemorate the agency's 100th anniversary in 2022.  The contest is open to Illinois State Police employees and retirees, as well as the general public.     A DeKalb man is killed in a car crash in Geneva on Sunday.  Police say 28-year-old Adam Bruner lost control of his car on W. State St. and crash into an oncoming car.  He and the other driver were taken to the hospital where Bruner was pronounced dead.  

So far in 2018 there have been 4 total homicides in Chicago with 3 of them being linked to Gun Violence. 15 people have been shot at as well. A Christian advocacy group has filed a federal complaint over an Illinois law requiring healthcare providers to provide abortion costs for pregnant women. The Thomas Moore society filed the complaint Thursday with the Civil Rights office with the US Department of Health and Human Services. A St. Charles Massage Parlor has lost it's business license and will have to pay thousands in Court costs. An employee at the parlor was charged for prostitution according to the city of St. Charles

Shootings in the Lincoln Park and Fuller Park neighborhoods took place on New Years Day. In 2017 624 people were killed by gunfire in Chicago there were 675 total homicides. State Treasurer Michael Frerichs has announced changes to the Illinois claims process they include allowing people to file claims electronically and an automated that allows for quicker approval and payment of lower dollar amount claims. Plainfield Police are reaching out to the public for information about a fugitive, 24 year old Tyler Jensen violated an order of protection, numerous times including domestic battery and aggravated assault.

There were 675 total homicides in 2017,2 people have already been shot and killed in 2018 with another 8 wounded. Governor Bruce Rauner has named a state economist the head of his office management and budget. Rauner's office's Hanz Zigmund will take over the job on Jan. 15th. He is replacing Scott Harry who is taking position with the Illinois State Board of Education. A man face Child Porn charges and is being held in the Kane County jail. 42-year old Santos Reyna had 10 counts of Child Porn collection as well as other similar offenses, officials served a warrant for his arrest Thursday morning.

Three deaths have been recorded this week from Chicago gun violence.  It brings the total for the month to 35 and the 2017 count to 620.  Statistics show the Austin neighborhood, Garfield Park and North Lawndale are the top three neighborhoods for gun violence.   The state of Illinois is forming a commission on pretrial practices.  The commission's job is to reform pretrial systems.  Their aim is to ensure that detention is only ordered when a suspect poses a clear threat.   Naperville police are investigating a case involving stolen credit cards.  A woman tells police she noticed her wallet went missing she she was shopping in Naperville, and not long after the stolen cards were used to make purchases along route 59.  Call crimestoppers if you have any information.

Police say 33 people have been shot and killed in Chicago in the month of December.  One death was reported so far this week as of late Monday night, with four people shot and wounded.  The shooting death toll stands at 618 for the year.  Over 2900 people have suffered gunshot wounds.   Lawmakers are fighting to shut down puppy mills in Dupage and Will counties.  Representative David Olson of Naperville and senator Michael Connelly of Lisle have drafted a bill that would outlaw the sale of pets that have been bred commercially.   Police are looking for a group of teens who started a trash can fire in Wheaton earlier this month.  Police say seven male teens started a fire around 8:30 PM December 16th on South Cross Street.  The fire constitutes criminal damage to government property.   

Total homicides for the month of December have hit 30, with over a week left in the month.  29 of those 30 deaths were the result of gun violence including seven shootings this week alone.  614 people have been shot to death in Chicago in 2017.   State officials say food stamp benefits will be restored for tens of thousands of Illinois households that lost them because of problems with a state computer system.  Officials with the Illinois Department of Human Services announced that benefits would be restored by the end of the day today.   A mother and two teenage daughters are in the hospital after a crash days after five people were hospitalized for a collision at the same location.  Plainfield crews say a two car crash happened just after 6:30 Thursday evening at 119th and Route 30.  

Another Chicago shooting death recorded in the last day, bringing the total to 612 for the year.  Five people have been shot and killed so far this week, 22 people have been wounded by gunfire.  There have been 28 total homicides this month. Illinois saw a decrease of 33,700 residents last year according to new a new report from the census bureau.  In terms of numerical losses, Illinois had the largest population decrease between July 2016 and July 2017.  Illinois is now the sixth most populous state in the union.   A man rushed to help someone trapped in their burning home in Aurora.  51-year-old Ricardo Parra was driving on Ohio Street when he saw the flames.  He dragged a man that was crawling and couldn’t get up outside.  No word yet on the cause of the fire.

26 people have been gunned down now in the month of December in Chicago, bringing the 2017 total to 611.  The latest deaths were reported in the Humboldt Park, West Town, Garfield Ridge, and O’Hare neighborhoods.   The Dupage County Board of Health says it supports bumping the legal tobacco age from 18 to 21.  Officials with the county health department says raising the minimum age as proved effective in Evanston, Chicago, and most recently, Naperville. Closing arguments are set for today in the detention hearing for a Wisconsin man found unfit to stand trial in the shooting of an Amtrak conductor.  The hearings started Monday with conductor Michael case testifying.  Authorities say 79-year-old Edward Klein opened fire on him in Wheaton in May.

26 people have been gunned down now in the month of December in Chicago, bringing the 2017 total to 611.  The latest deaths were reported in the Humboldt Park, West Town, Garfield Ridge, and O’Hare neighborhoods.   Illinois has decided to join dozens of other states in a national communication network for first responders.  On Monday governor Bruce Rauner announced that Illinois would join the First Net program, an independent authority within the national telecommunications and information administration.   Naperville police are reminding drivers that they are out in force this holiday season looking to nab drunk drivers.  It’s day 2 of the police department’s partnership with IDOT and state police in the year end “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.  Expect increased patrols out on the roadway.

25 people have been shot and killed in Chicago in the month of December.  Statistics show a person is shot every 2 hours and 25 minutes in the city and someone is murdered about every 13 hours.  609 people have died as the result of a shooting in 2017.  There were 14 such deaths last week alone. The University of Illinois library now as 14 million books.  The state’s flagship university chose a volume by Frederick E. Hoxie called, “The University of Illinois:  Engine of Innovation” to be the landmark 14 millionth book.   A convicted felon ended up in someone’s front lawn after trying to evade police on the west side of Aurora.  33-year-old Artis Thomas faces several charges.  Police had tried to stop him for a traffic violation but he fled, not getting very far before coming to a stop in the yard.  Police found a gun on him.