Stories by Matt Masterson

The fire department tweeted the explosion occurred at West End and North Central avenues sometime Tuesday morning. At least eight people have been hospitalized, with three in "serious to critical" condition.

Victoria Moreno, 34, was ordered held without bail Wednesday following her arrest on charges of aggravated battery and attempted murder, though prosecutors said additional charges may be filed later if the victim succumbs to his injuries.

The civilian oversight agency tasked with investigating police misconduct published video Tuesday showing the July shooting in Pilsen that led to a Chicago police sergeant and an officer being arrested on felony charges last week.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 63 people were shot in 47 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday night.

During the monthlong trial, jurors heard from R. Kelly’s goddaughter “Jane” and three other accusers — each of whom testified using a pseudonym — who described being sexually abused at the hands of the singer while they were underage.

Chicago police Deputy Chief Fred Melean said there was a “personal altercation” between two groups in the park at around 7:45 p.m Tuesday before “multiple shots were fired.”

“You can think he’s the most amoral, unethical person on the planet,” R. Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said, “and that has nothing to do with whether the government has met its burden on the charged offenses.”

Attorneys for both the prosecution and defense prepared to deliver their final statements to jurors in the trial of R. Kelly and his former employees, Derrel McDavid and June Brown.

According to Chicago police, 30 people were shot in 26 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Four of those victims died.

Derrel McDavid, who worked for Kelly for more than two decades, spent Friday morning back on the witness stand at the Dirksen Federal Building under cross examination during his third-straight day of testimony.

Alexsandro Hernandez, 19, has been ordered held without bail after he was charged Thursday with one count each of attempted robbery and felony murder following the fatal Aug. 1 shooting of 18-year-old Irving Ibarez in Galewood.

Derrel McDavid testified he didn’t believe early allegations that the R&B singer had sexually abused minors in the 1990s, stating he thought such claims were not only false, but were the “cost of doing business” in the entertainment industry.

Music critic Jim DeRogatis and his employer, The New Yorker, filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber to quash a subpoena filed by Kelly’s co-defendant Derrel McDavid, citing it as “unduly burdensome, unreasonable and oppressive.”

According to Chicago police, 55 people were shot in 47 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday.

Chicago police leaders are adding patrols in neighborhoods, high-traffic areas and along the CTA during the Labor Day weekend, officials announced Friday.

CPS on Friday announced that 93.4% of its 300,000-plus students were in their classrooms for the start of the new school year on Aug. 22. That’s the highest percentage since the 2019-20 school year, the district said.

Kelly told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber on Thursday that he would not be testifying in his own defense at his second federal trial in as many years. One of his codefendants, however, is planning to take the witness stand.

Sixty-six people were killed across the city in August, new department data shows, which brings the total number of homicides in 2022 up to 448. That’s below the pace set in each of the last two years, but the total is more than 100 homicides higher than the first eight months of 2019.

Brian Crowder, 40, has been accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting an underage female student over the course of multiple years.

A second alleged victim who claimed R. Kelly sexually abused her while she was a minor in the 1990s, told jurors Monday that she lied during an investigation into the R&B superstar’s past child pornography allegations to conceal her own involvement with him.

Thirty-five people were shot, nine of whom died, in weekend shootings across the city of Chicago, including an 18-year-old killed outside a home in Chatham and a 50-year-old killed inside a Humboldt Park restaurant.

Alan Perez, 25, was charged with first-degree murder Friday afternoon stemming from the killing of 36-year-old Jeremy Walker, who died following an altercation at Dearborn and Ohio streets.

Terran McKethan has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecent solicitation stemming from the Aug. 17 incident at the Cermak Fresh Market in the 6600 block of North Damen Avenue. He’s also been accused in another incident near that same store.

The average bus trip districtwide is 39 minutes and over 80% of rides are under an hour, according to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, but 365 diverse learners currently have rides lasting more than 90 minutes each day.

According to Chicago police, one adult and three teens were shot while at outside a restaurant across the street from Schurz High School in the Old Irving Park neighborhood.

Charles Freeman, who had worked for Kelly as a merchandiser in the 1990s, testified that he asked R. Kelly and his associates for $1 million to recover an illicit sex tape in the early 2000s.