Stories by Matt Masterson

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, CPS will begin the “Please Stay” initiative, which is focused on suicide prevention and prioritizing the mental health of students dealing with increased levels of anxiety and stress.

More than 200 participants joined the public teleconference call Tuesday morning, which devolved into a yelling match between several people after the judge denied Kelly’s motion.

In a new study published Wednesday, researchers found that police misconduct is often a “group phenomenon” that leads to a disproportionately high number of arrests in minority communities.

Murders and shootings remain down slightly in 2022. But after highlighting several recent arrests in cases involving shootings, robberies, carjackings or homicides, Superintendent David Brown said many of the suspects charged are repeat offenders.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said a court order published Wednesday is preventing the release of any materials stemming from the non-fatal March 28 shooting of 28-year-old James Callion.

The Chicago Police Department is seeking help to solve cold case homicides through a video series that’s aimed at bringing renewed attention on some of the city’s long dormant unsolved crimes.

Through the end of April, 178 people have been killed in Chicago this year, according to Chicago Police Department data. That marks a 7% decline over the same time last year, though it’s still a higher total year-over-year compared to the first four months of 2020 and 2019.

Jennifer Hamilton, 47, was sitting in her car on a video teleconference with her doctor outside a Target at the mall when her husband, 50-year-old Alphonso Hamilton allegedly approached and shot her five times.

CPS and Lurie announced Thursday they’ll ensure every district-run school can participate in the program, which helps identify and address students in need of mental health support.

Chicago Public Schools said it expects to begin publishing student discipline and safety data in the coming weeks, a year after dozens of high schools voted to reduce or eliminate their school resource officer (SRO) programs.

Gregory Stamps, 31, has been charged with first-degree murder in the Sunday morning killing of 42-year-old David Castile at an Englewood apartment. Stamps, who appeared in court for a hearing Tuesday afternoon, was ordered held without bail.

According to the annual list released Tuesday, Walter Payton College Prep was ranked as the No. 5 high school in the country for 2022, once again placing first in both Chicago and across all of Illinois.

According to Chicago police, 42 people were shot in 32 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, when temperatures jumped into the 80s for the first time in 2022.

Several dozen more criminal convictions tied to Ronald Watts have been tossed out, bringing the total number of dismissals tied to the disgraced ex-Chicago police sergeant and his team in recent years to more than 200.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged Michigan brothers Donald Henkel, 61, and Mark Henkel, 66, along with 59-year-old Raymond Paparella, with mail fraud or wire fraud.

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.