Stories by Matt Masterson

“The defendant has shown that he’s a loose cannon, whose behavior is erratic and unpredictable,” Assistant State’s Attorney Sean Kelly said Thursday. “He creates a significant risk to the community at large.”

Andre Gonzalez, 35, has been charged with four felony counts of armed robbery involving a dangerous weapon. A judge ordered him held without bail during a hearing Wednesday afternoon

The new proposal, which is the first under CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, will increase school-level funding to $4.6 billion and add more than 1,600 new full-time positions across the city in the 2023 fiscal year.

Jerome Halsey, 27, has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, as well as individual counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated assault stemming from the Sunday shooting that left one officer injured.

Beginning Monday, Chicago residents and other organizations can start applying for various rebates on private security devices under the new Home and Business Protection Program.

Thirty-two people were shot in 24 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday night, according to the Chicago Police Department.

“By signing this bill, law enforcement agencies will have the tools to respond to criminal activity in a timely and efficient manner — ensuring the safety and security of our residents, while holding perpetrators accountable,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

Tyshon Brownlee, 19, has been charged with one count each of attempted first-degree murder and attempted robbery involving the discharge of a firearm stemming from the non-fatal May 6 shooting of 23-year-old culinary student Dakotah Earley in Lincoln Park.

According to new data from the Chicago Police Department, there have been 239 homicides and 971 shootings in the city this year through May.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday announced Chapman, a former Chicago Public Schools grad and chairwoman of the Far South Community Advisory Council, will fill the seat vacated by former board member Amy Rome last summer.

This holiday weekend's shooting and homicide totals are both significantly higher than Memorial Day last year, when three people were killed and 29 others were shot.

“I feel confident in the plan that we have for this weekend, and really for the summer," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.

Travis Cook, 53, has been charged with first-degree murder stemming from the killing of a 43-year-old man inside a train car downtown. The victim’s name was not released during a hearing Thursday, during which Cook was ordered held without bail.

 “The expansion of the CARE program will ensure residents can be connected to trained specialists in behavioral and mental health, providing better outcomes for 911 callers and communities,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

​​U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger laid in to Arroyo during the hearing, calling the former representative a “dirty politician who was on the take” and a “corruption super-spreader,” who “injected” corruption into both the Illinois House and Senate.

Carjackings in Chicago are up 5% in 2022 compared to the same time last year. Police have arrested 545 people this year in carjacking-related incidents, and of those, more than half are juveniles.

Gaven Leon, 18, was charged Monday with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the unprovoked Feb. 3 shooting of 30-year-old Ryan Balbag, who was killed as he drove down Irving Park Road with two of his friends.

Multiple teens were among those who were injured in 20 separate shooting incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday, according to Chicago police data.

The Chicago Teachers Union will officially have a new leader as vice president Stacy Davis Gates defeated two other challengers to become president of the powerful labor organization.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability in a statement Thursday said the boy survived the shooting and was hospitalized in serious condition. 

“We’re not asking for an additional anything, just save our teachers” a Chicago Public Schools parent said Tuesday. “We’re not asking for more, we’re just asking for the status quo.”

The district’s Office of Inspector General on Wednesday published a significant action report that showed hundreds of CPS freshmen have been automatically enrolled into the military instruction program over the last two school years.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined local and legislative officials at the Ark of St. Sabina in Chicago to sign HB 4383 into law, effectively banning Illinoisians from building their own unserialized firearms from kits at home.

U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman on Tuesday sentenced Louis Capriotti, 47, to 37 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

Tyshon Brownlee, 19, has been charged with one count each of attempted first-degree murder and attempted robbery involving the discharge of a firearm stemming from the non-fatal May 6 shooting of 23-year-old culinary student Dakotah Earley in Lincoln Park.

In addition an arrest in the fatal schooting, police say charges are also currently pending against six adults and one possible juvenile accused of spray-painting the Bean and Cancer Survivor Wall in Maggie Daley Park.