Participants in the the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Restorative Justice Community Court spent six to nine months learning conflict resolution and job skills, as well as receiving emotional support.  

A day after R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison following his racketeering conviction in New York, a federal judge has denied a request to throw out additional charges against the R&B singer ahead of his upcoming trial in Chicago.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul was in Chicago Wednesday to announce the launch of Crime Gun Connect — an online platform that allows police departments to access gun trace records more efficiently than ever.

R. Kelly has been jailed without bail since in 2019. He’s still facing child pornography and obstruction of justice charges in Chicago, where a trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 15.

According to Chicago police, 24 people were struck in 20 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. That included 5-month-old Cecilia Thomas, who died Friday after being shot in South Shore.

The overarching themes of the three-day event revolved around the role of storytelling and art in criminal justice organizing. The summit included training sessions and workshops led by local activists, defense attorneys and media professionals with the aim of educating the invited participants on topics such as campaign strategies, effective storytelling, and enhancing alignment across communities.

Willette Benford, who has served time in prison herself, has been appointed to serve as Chicago’s director of re-entry. It’s a newly created role that was part of a $13 million initiative to support reentry services for people leaving prison.

The agency charged with the investigation recommended two Chicago Police officers should be fired and seven disciplined for their role in an incident that injured a woman’s eye after she was pulled from her car at the Brickyard Mall during the unrest that swept the city after the police murder of George Floyd.

Louis Lay Jr. and his wife Erica Beck were each held on $20,000 D-bonds during a hearing Friday, a day after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced an indictment that included dozens of charges filed against six current or former postal workers.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended discipline ranging from a 180-day suspension to terminating Bruce Dyker from the Chicago Police Department. Dyker left the CPD and has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct.

Former state Sen. Tom Cullerton will spend a year in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling funds from a labor union. The DuPage County Democrat was charged in 2019 with one count of conspiracy to embezzle from a labor union and employee benefit plans, 39 counts of embezzlement from a labor union and one count of making false statements. 

Chicago police said there were 44 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday night. That included five people wounded in a mass shooting Friday night and an 18-year-old killed Monday afternoon.

Dexter Trevell Shipp was charged Monday with one count of attempted first-degree murder stemming from the nonfatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman last week. He was ordered held without bail during a hearing Monday.

A Cook County judge on Thursday issued a $10,000 I-bond to 52-year-old Bruce Dyker, meaning the ex-officer will not need to put up any money to be released as he awaits trial on charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct.

Whitley Temple will be held on $2 million cash bail after her arrest on a half dozen charges including attempted murder of a peace officer, aggravated battery, and vehicular hijacking.

Bruce Dyker has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, after he was allegedly seen on video grabbing a woman at North Avenue Beach.