Steven Montano is facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated discharge of a firearm and two additional misdemeanors, the Chicago Police Department announced Thursday.

According to an affidavit, the alleged gunman charged in last year’s Fourth of July shooting in Highland Park told FBI agents he mulled the possibility of deploying explosives in the attack.

Chicago police Superintendent David Brown said the officer was a five-year veteran who had responded to a call of a woman being chased by a man with a gun. “This is something that no family should have to face.”

The department wrote that although a president enjoys broad legal latitude to communicate to the public on matters of concern, “no part of a President’s official responsibilities includes the incitement of imminent private violence.”

Body camera footage of the fatal police shooting of a man in Irving Park last month appears to show he was attempting to get up off the ground and run away when he was killed.

Starting in May, each of Chicago’s 22 police districts will be overseen by a three-person council as part of an effort to rebuild trust in the Police Department, which is governed by a court order requiring city leaders to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.

John Lausch, who has served as U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois since 2017, is planning to leave the office in “early 2023,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced during an unrelated press conference Thursday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot — who nominated Brown for the position in 2020 and will be leaving office herself after failing to make April’s mayoral runoff election — announced Brown will be leaving the department effective March 16.

According to Chicago Police Department data published Wednesday, the city has recorded 79 homicides through the end of February — a total that is down 14% compared to the same point last year but 13% over 2021.

An armored car guard is in good condition after being shot in his bulletproof vest during an attempted robbery in Chatham Tuesday afternoon, according to Chicago police.

Each of Chicago’s 22 police districts will now have a three-person civilian oversight council made up of people from that community. 

According to Chicago Police Department data, 14 people were shot in 12 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

White supremacists and neo-Nazis are trying to make Saturday the “National Day of Hate.” Law enforcement agencies and religious organizations are urging people to be cautious and report any incidents.

​​Ryan Slaski, 36, will be held on a $10,000 D-bond following his arrest Thursday on the hate crime charge, as well as additional counts of criminal damage to property and possession of a controlled substance.

Federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber to sentence Kelly to 25 years in prison to account for the “indescribable harm” he caused his victims, including his then-underaged goddaughter “Jane.”

Spectrum News 13 became the latest local news organization faced with the impossibly difficult task of having to report on a deadly attack targeting its own colleagues.