Stories by Matt Masterson

The Fourth District Appellate Court on Wednesday tossed out a temporary restraining order that had prevented CPS from taking employment action against a half dozen CPS educators who refused to comply with the school district’s vaccine requirements.

Kim Foxx’s office on Friday will present 214 marijuana cases to be automatically expunged, bringing the total number of low-level convictions erased since Dec. 2019 up to 15,191.

Brianna Gibbs, 28, has been charged with first-degree murder in the Sunday morning killing of 27-year-old Tyrone Pittman following a physical altercation in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

The decision from U.S. Attorney John Lausch comes two months after Van Dyke was released from custody after serving about half of his 81-month sentence handed down by a Cook County judge in 2018.

The lone homicide victim was a 27-year-old man who was found just before 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning in the 8400 block of South Aberdeen Street.

Pretice Phillips, 46, was held without bail following a hearing Friday after he was charged with one count of first-degree murder in the March shooting death of 32-year-old Kevin Change.

“The defendant’s concerns do not justify the significant delay in sentencing that his request entails,” U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly said in a ruling Thursday.

Ocie Banks Jr., 33, was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree murder stemming from the shooting deaths of his father 79-year-old Ocie Banks Sr., and mother 61-year-old Sheila Banks.

“COPA has been in contact with the Toledo family, through their representatives, and we ask for patience as the investigation moves through the post-investigation review processes,” the office said in a statement.

Olivia Bryant, 33, has pleaded not guilty during her arraignment this week in federal court in Chicago after she was charged with three counts of theft from the U.S. mail.

New research from the University of Chicago found that an education nonprofit aimed at boosting college access for students from low-income families has had a significant impact on enrollment and graduation rates.

According to the new report, the Chicago Police Department has hit some level of compliance with 380 out of 523 consent decree paragraphs. That marks a 20% jump and the highest percentage of compliance since the consent decree was enacted in 2019.

According to a new annual report from the University of Michigan-based National Registry of Exonerations, Illinois recorded 38 exonerations in 2021 — 20 more than any other state — marking the fourth consecutive year it has led the nation.

According to the Chicago Police Department, 24 people were shot in 27 separate shooting incidents across the city between 6 p.m Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Alexis Del Toro, 23, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in the December 2021 killing of Baghirov Gurban, who was fatally shot while driving in the 5500 block of North Kedzie Avenue.

Speaking at the Union League Club Tuesday evening, Chicago-based attorney Antonio Romanucci and Ben Crump discussed their experience with the Floyd family’s historic settlement and called on federal legislators to act on calls for national police reform.

"It ensures that if a teacher has done their part to keep their classroom safe for their most vulnerable students, they won’t have to worry for a second about their pay or their paid time off if they get COVID,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a series of new initiatives to improve public safety, including a new Home and Business Protection Rebate Program through which residents can get rebates to defray the cost of security cameras and video storage.

“Many of these guns have been linked to shootings in the Chicago area in which multiple people have been injured and several killed,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday.

March's 178 shootings and 37 homicides marked declines of more than 20% compared with the same month in 2021, Chicago Police Department data published Friday shows.

A Cook County Judge set bail at $250,000 for 33-year-old Javier Martinez, who has been charged with a single count of criminal trespass to a restricted area in an airport.

James Callion, 28, faces three counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon as well as single counts of armed habitual criminal and aggravated battery causing harm to a police officer.

The attorney for the convicted R&B singer is asking a federal judge for a delay until later this year, arguing they won’t be able to “protect (his) constitutional rights” at sentencing without compromising his Fifth Amendment rights.

Both officers were listed in fair condition after being treated at local hospitals, while the suspect’s condition was not immediately known Tuesday morning.

“To call this case horrific, gruesome and violent would be an understatement,” Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak said in court Monday. Jamie Jones, 31, was ordered held without bond during a hearing Monday following his arrest on two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and domestic battery. 

Parties on Friday presented a stipulation to U.S. District Judge Robert Dow that will extend the current five-year window out to eight years and add in a new agreement that police search warrants will now fall under the purview of the consent decree.