Stories by Matt Masterson

The long-anticipated elimination of cash bail officially takes effect in Illinois Monday, following extensive delays, legal challenges and pushback from critics who sought to keep the existing system in place.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 12-9 in favor of recommending April Perry to become the next U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. With the committee’s approval, she is now set for a final confirmation vote before the full Senate.

A new study from researchers at the University of Chicago Crime Lab has found a training program rooted in behavioral science can dramatically cut the number of use-of-force incidents committed by police while also increasing officer safety.

During a brief case management hearing Monday morning, Judge Victoria Rossetti said she intends to set a trial date for Robert Crimo III when he next appears in court Dec. 11.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 26 people were shot in 21 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

In a letter sent this week, Reinberg Elementary principal Edwin Loch informed parents and families that a staffer has been pulled from the school following an allegation that they “engaged inappropriately with a student.”

The tentative agreement, announced late Wednesday, came just as educators at the city’s only privately managed, public arts high school were set to go on strike.

“Pandemic relief fraud by CPS employees causes significant reputational harm to CPS and diminishes trust in the school district,” The Office of Inspector General wrote in the report.

Monthly CPD data published Tuesday shows that the city has recorded 418 homicides, 1,677 shootings and 1,988 shooting victims in 2023 through the end of August. Each of those totals is the fewest through the first eight months of a year since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to preliminary Chicago Police Department data, 39 people were shot in 33 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday. In addition to the six people who were fatally shot, a seventh person died of blunt force trauma.

Melvin Jordan, 47, was arrested and charged this week with two counts each of attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping and unlawful restraint, along with a single count of unlawful use of a weapon.

As Chicago Public Schools has seen an influx of migrant students, CEO Pedro Martinez said the district has been able to rely on its longstanding infrastructure to make sure these new students get the education and care they need.

Ramon Sumerlin, 41, is charged with child endangerment resulting in death and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon stemming from the Aug. 15 shooting of Jacari Brown.

Details about the incident remain scarce, days after a 42-year-old woman was shot in the leg and a 26-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to the abdomen, which occurred in the fourth inning of the Sox’s Friday game against the Oakland Athletics.

The Chicago Fire Department on Tuesday confirmed 59-year-old Lieutenant Kevin Ward has died at the Loyola University Medical Center.

Interim Police Superintendent Fred Waller said Monday his department has “almost completely dispelled” the idea that the shots that injured two women were fired from outside the ballpark, according to reporting from the Chicago Tribune.

Judge George Strickland on Monday denied multiple motions filed on behalf of Robert Crimo Jr., including one that sought to have his criminal charges tossed out based on a violation of the state’s statute of limitations.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 24 people were shot in 18 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Court records indicate Joseph Pavlik pleaded guilty Friday in a Washington D.C. courtroom to obstructing law enforcement and knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building following his arrest early this year.

The verdicts came following a nearly three week trial and five hours of jury deliberations at the Dirksen Federal Building downtown.

“Our system of justice depends on the integrity of this process,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz told jurors Wednesday. “What (Mapes) didn’t do, ladies and gentlemen, was tell the truth.”

Tracy Marie Fiorenza, 41, was charged earlier this month in the Southern District of Florida with a count of transmitting a threat to kill or injure another person, according to a federal complaint.

Mayor Brandon Johnson joined CPS CEO Pedro Martinez and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates at Beidler Elementary School on the city’s West Side early Monday as kids began the 2023-24 school year.

According to Chicago Police Department data, seven people were killed over the weekend between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. During that time 40 people were shot in total, in 33 separate incidents.

The prosecution was expected to formally rest Friday, the trial’s ninth day at the Dirksen Federal Building downtown, but due to technical delays and ongoing testimony, that will be pushed back to the start of next week.

The FBI-recorded calls played in court Thursday related to former state Rep. Lou Lang — who resigned his position in early 2019 amid sexual harassment allegations.