Stories by Matt Masterson

Joseph Igartua, 37, has been charged with one count of reckless discharge of a weapon and three counts of stalking. All of those charges are felonies and Igartua was ordered held without bail during a hearing Thursday.

Christopher Hillas, 43, was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct following an incident in which he was allegedly captured on body camera video punching a man multiple times during a pat down on Christmas Eve.

Tremell Neloms, 18, was denied bail during a hearing Thursday after he was charged with first-degree murder in the fatal Jan. 18 shooting of Rauner College Prep freshman Caleb Westbrooks.

Anthony Wilson, 54, was held without bail during a hearing Wednesday afternoon following his arrest on one charge of attempted first-degree murder in the March 2019 shooting of a 57-year-old woman.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago announced charges against Jennifer McBride and William Jackson, who along with former principal Sarah Jackson Abedelal, allegedly submitted false overtime slips to conceal the purchase of iPhones, iPads and approximately $30,000 in gift cards.

Elbert Duncan was denied bail during a hearing Tuesday following his arrest on a single count of aggravated battery stemming from a nonfatal shooting outside a South Side liquor store Feb. 1. A woman walking nearby was shot and killed moments later.

Seniors in Chicago’s public high schools who are interested in a teaching career can begin applying to a prep program aimed at boosting the number of CPS grads working as educators within the district.

According to Chicago police, nine people were shot in nine separate incidents across the city between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Three of those victims were killed.

Thomas Dean was charged Thursday with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon stemming from the Oct. 1, 2021, shootout in the 1200 block of North Mason Avenue.

Jerry Harris, 22, entered a guilty plea on charges of knowingly receiving child pornography and engaging in illicit sexual conduct during a remote hearing before a Chicago judge Thursday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy is facing a felony charge after he allegedly made a “violent threat” online about Lincoln Park High School.

Jaran Hughes, 21, was denied bail during a hearing Wednesday following his arrest on a charge of first-degree murder stemming from the Jan. 2 killing of 12-year-old Marcell Wilson.

A man who was shot multiple times in the West Pullman neighborhood Tuesday afternoon was struck by a Chicago Police Department vehicle responding to the scene and later died, though his exact cause of death remains unclear.

Tacarre Harper, 27, has been charged with nine separate counts of burglary from incidents stemming between November 2021 and January 2022.

“Judge Raylene Grischow’s ruling is out of step with the vast majority of legal analysis in Illinois and across the nation,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday at an unrelated press event in Chicago.

“Having talked to state’s attorneys who were dealing with these cases in juvenile court, and others, a lot of parents went to work during the day thinking their teenagers were logged on for remote learning, only to find something else,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

Victor Brown, 25, has been charged with first-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon following the fatal Tuesday afternoon shooting of Bobbye Johnson on the South Side.

“I understand why this continues to feel like a miscarriage of justice, especially when many Black and brown men get sentenced to so much more prison time for having committed far lesser crimes,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

According to Chicago Public Schools data, 49.9% of Pre-K through12th grade students in district-operated schools were accounted for on Wednesday.

After more than three years as head of the CTU, Jesse Sharkey will be stepping down at the conclusion of his current term on June 30, he announced Wednesday.

Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth want to know more about a federal investigation into the 2014 killing of Black teen Laquan McDonald.

Shahid Hussain is facing four felony hate crime charges, and two counts each of defacement and criminal damage to property after he allegedly spray-painted swastikas on Jewish buildings over the weekend.

Data published Tuesday by the Chicago Police Department shows there were 182 shootings and 48 homicides last month. Those figures are down 10% and 13%, respectively, over totals from January 2021.

“A swift return to in-person instruction gives faculty and students the best opportunity to teach and learn — and thrive amid their school community,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said Monday.

According to the Chicago Police Department, 18 people were shot in 14 separate shootings between Friday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 11:59 p.m.

As Chicago police attempted to stop a stolen vehicle downtown Wednesday, one of the men inside allegedly fired a shot at an officer before he himself was shot multiple times by other officers, prosecutors said Friday.