Stories by Matt Masterson

The number of hate crimes recorded across the country rose nearly 5 percent last year, according to new data from the FBI. In Chicago, the number of recorded incidents rose 34 percent over 2015.

Oversight officials released several clips showing the shooting death of teen Juan Flores after he pinned an officer between his SUV and a squad car in September.

Yingying Zhang disappeared in June. Now, attorneys for the man accused in her kidnapping and death are requesting a delay in the trial, in part because they want to investigate possible sightings of the victim.

A Chicago Public Schools watchdog report recommended her termination just two months ago, but on Thursday, York Alternative High School Principal Sharnette Sims received an apology from the district and was told she’ll be reinstated to her position, effective immediately.

President Donald Trump this week again claimed—erroneously—that Chicago has the “strongest gun laws in our nation,” pushing back against the idea the tough legislation will reduce gun violence.

Could the deadly mass shooting inside a Texas church on Sunday have been predicted? Yes, a Northwestern professor argues, if only more attention had been paid to the gunman’s history of domestic violence.

A 33-year-old man sparked a brief manhunt Sunday afternoon after he phoned a Chicago dispatcher claiming his vehicle had been stolen with an 8-year-old girl inside.

More than a decade after Kevin Clewer was stabbed to death inside his Lakeview apartment, his family and Chicago police are once again asking for help identifying his killer.

A Chicago Public School principal whose school is in the process of constructing a $60 million expansion attempted to sway the answers of teachers on a 2017 survey measuring the overall quality of the school.

Former Northwestern professor Wyndham Lathem and his accomplice Andrew Warren, charged in the stabbing death of a Chicago hairstylist, will have their hearings scheduled together as their cases proceed.

Allegations of abuse against a former theater teacher at Evanston Township High School have poured in this month following a social media post by an ETHS grad.

A new book by Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi examines the life of Eric Garner, and the impact his death had on his family, friends and the criminal justice system in New York City.

Shootings are down over last year, a trend the Chicago Police Department hopes to continue by expanding its predictive technology.

As opioid overdose deaths continue to rise, President Donald Trump on Thursday is expected to declare the ongoing epidemic as a “national emergency.”

More than a dozen malicious card-reading devices have recently been found throughout the city, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Under its accountability guidelines, the Board of Education can opt to revoke or not renew charters that have been placed on an academic warning list.

A 24-year-old man was arrested on felony charges more than two months after he allegedly beat and robbed a man at a CTA Red Line station, leaving the victim temporarily unable to communicate.

Evanston Police say they have fielded dozens of calls in the last week regarding allegations of sexual harassment and abuse levied against a former high school acting teacher.

While public awareness of mass killings is undoubtedly higher, U of I researchers say the frequency with which they occur is steady – and it’s remained that way over the last decade.

A 70-year-old man was found unresponsive at a CTA Red Line station and was unable to tell police what had happened for more than two months.

A first-of-its-kind report released Tuesday by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office details more than 30,000 felony cases presented for prosecution in 2016.

Romanucci & Blandin, a civil practice based in the River North neighborhood, announced Monday it is among a trio of law firms that will represent victims of the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas.

By the end of this year, the Chicago Police Department believes it will have the nation’s largest collection of officer-worn body cameras in use.

The Department of Justice issued a “last chance” warning to Chicago, Cook County and others to get in compliance with federal laws or risk losing grant dollars.

Thousands of Illinois inmates are asking a federal judge to take action and help resolve a “human rights disaster” they say is taking place inside state prisons.

Chicago Police have arrested a man they say pushed a stranger onto the tracks at the Washington Blue Line station in early August.