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.
Criminal Justice


More than 200 participants joined the public teleconference call Tuesday morning, which devolved into a yelling match between several people after the judge denied Kelly’s motion.
24 people shot, 6 killed over weekend in Chicago

Murders and shootings remain down slightly in 2022. But after highlighting several recent arrests in cases involving shootings, robberies, carjackings or homicides, Superintendent David Brown said many of the suspects charged are repeat offenders.

Police officials, including Superintendent David Brown, have repeatedly told members of the Chicago City Council that the new gang database — dubbed the Criminal Enterprise Information System — would be up and running shortly, only to see those deadlines repeatedly missed without explanation.

“The defendant’s concerns do not justify the significant delay in sentencing that his request entails,” U.S. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly said in a ruling Thursday.

Speaking at the Union League Club Tuesday evening, Chicago-based attorney Antonio Romanucci and Ben Crump discussed their experience with the Floyd family’s historic settlement and called on federal legislators to act on calls for national police reform.

“Many of these guns have been linked to shootings in the Chicago area in which multiple people have been injured and several killed,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday.

The attorney for the convicted R&B singer is asking a federal judge for a delay until later this year, arguing they won’t be able to “protect (his) constitutional rights” at sentencing without compromising his Fifth Amendment rights.

The Chicago City Council voted 34-13 to settle the lawsuit, the first significant payment approved by city officials to compensate Chicagoans who alleged they were mistreated by Chicago Police officers during the unrest and protests that swept the city in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

The Chicago City Council is set to pay $450,000 to the family of a man who was struck and killed by a car driven by a Chicago Police officer.

Attorneys for Jussie Smollett are seeking to get the former “Empire” star out of Cook County jail on bond, as his family claims he’s being held in a “psych ward” to begin his five-month jail stay.

“I am innocent,” the former “Empire” star yelled as he left the court in custody. “I could have said I was guilty a long time ago.”

Though cameras weren’t allowed during Smollett's trial late last year, Cook County Judge James Linn issued an order Friday allowing media organizations to film inside his courtroom during the actor's upcoming March 10 sentencing.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs failed to pass the Chicago City Council on Wednesday amid a deluge of criticism.

The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee voted 13-7 to send the recommendation from city attorneys to the full City Council for a final vote on Wednesday.

The Chicago City Council is set to pay $1.4 million to the family of a toddler who was struck and killed by a car driven by a man being chased by police.