Federal prosecutors said that by lying to a grand jury, 58-year-old Beena Patel “threw a wrench in the wheels of justice and ground them to a halt.”
criminal justice


Armando Lopez, 19, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of registered nurse Frank Aguilar, 32, on Nov. 12. Detectives believe they’ve also identified the shooter, who is not yet in custody.
Foxx: “We must now own our role in the harm these convictions have caused.”

In three weeks, Illinois will become the 11th state with legalized marijuana sales. On Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx as she began the process of vacating thousands of low-level cannabis convictions.

The U.S. government is moving to revoke the citizenship of José Vilchis, a longtime gymnastics coach who’s been accused of sexually abusing multiple underage girls over the course of three-plus decades.

In June, Brendt Christensen was convicted of kidnapping and killing University of Illinois Chinese scholar Yingying Zhang. This week, he was sent to McCreary United States Penitentiary, a high-security federal prison that houses some 1,500 convicts in southern Kentucky.

Federal prosecutors are accusing singer R. Kelly of scheming with others to pay for a fake ID for an unnamed female a day before he married R&B singer Aaliyah, then 15 years old, in a secret ceremony in 1994.

Ernesto Godinez, 29, the reputed gang member convicted of shooting a federal agent in the head last year on the Southwest Side, has been sentenced to more 200 months in federal prison.
Kenneth Johnson pleaded guilty to stealing more than $360,000

Federal prosecutors say Kenneth Johnson continued accepting Social Security checks meant for his mother for more than two decades after her death. His sentence includes six months of community confinement and an order to pay back all the money he stole.

Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke is being held in a facility in Baltimore, Maryland, as he awaits placement inside another prison. He was moved out of federal custody this week.

Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke is no longer being held in a federal prison in New York – or in federal custody, period – but it’s unclear where he will serve out the remainder of his sentence for the murder of black teen Laquan McDonald in 2014.

A 9-year-old boy returns to court Friday to face five counts of first-degree murder after an April fire killed five people in central Illinois. Joining us to discuss the highly unusual case are a reporter covering the story and a juvenile justice advocate.

The father of slain pharmacist Dayna Less is suing Mercy Hospital and its security firm, claiming their “systemic failures” allowed a domestic violence incident “escalate into a triple homicide.”

Former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett has filed a federal counterclaim against the city of Chicago claiming he owes the city no more money and was maliciously prosecuted for the alleged hoax attack police say he orchestrated on himself.

The family of Rekia Boyd erupted into applause Tuesday after a judge denied a request from the man who was charged and acquitted in her killing – a former Chicago police detective – to expunge any record of his criminal case from the public’s view.
Judge will rule on Dante Servin’s petition at a hearing next week

Former Chicago police Detective Dante Servin was found not guilty of Rekia Boyd’s killing in 2016. Now he wants any record of his criminal trial removed from the public eye – a move family members call a “terrible slap in the face.”

The latest member of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office isn’t a human. She’s a dog. We meet the new Labrador retriever, Hatty.