Two people--a 60-year-old woman in a wheelchair and a 59-year-old man--were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Friday night when they were rescued by police and fire crews after falling into Lake Michigan at DuSable Harbor. The two victims had attended a party on the 100 block of North Lake Shore Drive, according to police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer via the Chicago Sun-Times. Around 9:45 p.m., the man wheeled the woman down a ramp when the two accidentally fell into the water, Greer said to the Sun-Times. The woman is listed in critical condition and the man is listed in stable condition, according to police and fire officials. Both are expected to survive. more ›

• Be sure to check our original post on Mayor Daley's retirement announcement for the latest reaction, news, and links.
• Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th) is more concerned with her home being burglarized than Mayor Daley's announcement.
• Some veterans are upset about a mural added to a Little Village memorial honoring Mexican-American war heroes.

On Saturday afternoon, a man was critically injured when he fell onto the Red Line tracks near the Sheridan station, at 3900 N. Sheridan Rd., in the Lakeview neighborhood. The man fell around 4:55 p.m., and was not hit by the train, police News Affairs Officer Anne Dwyer said to the Chicago Sun-Times. Officials shut down power to southbound trains for 15 minutes while crews responded, CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory said to the Sun-Times. The man was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition. more ›

On Saturday afternoon, power was temporarily disabled from the Red Line tracks at the Chicago Avenue station after a person in a wheelchair accidentally fell onto the northbound tracks. According to Fire Media Affairs Chief Joseph Roccasalva, emergency crews responded at 1:35 p.m. and the person was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition. The age, gender, and extent of their injuries were not known. CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski reported that the power was only cut from 1:30 p.m. to 1:43 p.m. and the person did not make contact with the third rail or with the train. [Chicago Sun-Times] more ›

A construction accident at Jackson and Wacker - right next to the Willis Tower - killed one utility worker and injured another this afternoon. The accident occurred around 1:45 p.m. after a report of an explosion. Peoples Energy said there was no explosion but two workers were working on a gas main. Fire Media Affairs spokesman Quention Curtis said, "They were pumping air through the system when something went wrong. It blew the pipe apart and it hit them." Streets around the area were closed to traffic and several CTA buses were rerouted. more ›

The driver who struck and seriously a state trooper over the weekend was charged with aggravated reckless conduct today as authorities revealed she had been on her cell phone at the time of the crash. Other details announced include that the car's passenger tried to intervene to avoid the crash. Per the Tribune: more ›

At 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, eleven-year-old Ryan Rames left his southwest suburban Minooka home to walk Sammie, his 1-year-old pet Yorkshire-Shih tzu mix. Around 12:45 p.m., his family reported him missing. A set of human and animal prints were spotted near a water retention pond. At 1:42 p.m., authorities pulled Rames and his dog from the water, however both later died. more ›

A dog in the south suburb of Park Forest licked the top of a paper-shredder, which caused his tongue to get caught in the machine. His tongue "was 3 inches into it when I pulled the plug," said Pat Taylor to the Chicago Sun-Times, who was watching her daughter's dog, Caine, over New Year's weekend when the accident occurred. Caine's cry and the noise of the blood splattering upset Taylor's own dogs who began barking at Caine. "It was complete chaos," Taylor said. "The place looked like a crime scene." Caine unexpectedly bit through his own tongue to release the machine's hold on it. more ›

You can't make this stuff up if you tried. At about 8 a.m. on Sunday morning on a CTA bus near Belmont and Milwaukee, a man claiming to be a "knife salesman" accidently tripped down the aisle of the bus and stabbed himself in the leg with one of his own knives, police News Affairs Office Laura Kubiak said. The man told police that he was a "knife salesman," selling knives out of his suitcase, and the stabbing was accidental, Kubiak said. Fire Media Affairs Dir. Larry Langford said that although the man lost a lot of blood, his injuries did not appear to be life threatening. more ›

An alert has been issued for a car that was involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident early Sunday morning. The car - described as a silver Lexus four-door - hit and killed Rachel Gilliam, 25, as she walked home from her job as a bartender at Bowman's Bar and Grill (4356 N. Leavitt St); the accident happened at 3:40 a.m. at 4314 N. Lincoln Ave., the intersection with Cullom, according to police. Anyone with information has been asked to contact the Major Accident Investigation Unit at (312) 745-4521. [Tribune, Sun-Times] more ›

Dozens of family members and friends quietly gathered outside the Fraternal Order of Police hall where supporters raised funds for an officer accused of drunk driving and crashing into a vehicle that killed two men, Chicago Breaking News reports. more ›

more ›

We know Oscar Mayer’s first and last name, but do we know his insurance policy number? more ›

The bridge in a Merrillville, Indiana park that collapsed on July 4th, injuring 25, was overloaded to twice its capacity, according to an initial investigation. The collapse sent more than 50 people tumbling into the water below, though no one was seriously hurt. Ross Township Trustee John Rooda said, "There were far too many people on the bridge. It was overloaded. We had uniformed (Merrillville) police officers at both ends. We shoot for 20 people. It can handle up to 40. We're confident there were twice as many on the bridge." The park was closed yesterday for the investigation and is expected to reopen today. The bridge, of course, remains closed. [CBS 2, Fox 32] more ›

Two officers were injured when their squad car hit collided with a civilian car when they were responding to an early morning call of a man with a gun. The accident happened about 4:30 a.m. at the intersection of North Kimball and West Irving Park Road. One officer was taken to Thorek Memorial Hospital, and the other was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital. Both had injuries, but none were considered life threatening. A third person, in the civilian car, was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital. [WBBM] more ›

Yesterday evening, Cook County sheriff's police were still investigating the death of a woman after she was hit by a golf cart at Idlewild Country Club in Flossmoor. Barbara Zoub, 78, was struck by a golf cart at the country club Sunday afternoon and pronounced dead later that night. The investigation, however, was late in starting. Cook County Sheriff's office spokesman Steve Patterson told reporters, "We were not immediately notified by Flossmoor police of this death and just began investigating this today. At this point, we're in the very early stages of the investigation and need to conduct interviews, as well as examine the scene." [Tribune] more ›

Nine people were hurt, none seriously, early this morning after a multiple car accident on the Eisenhower Expressway included one car jumping a barrier and colliding with a CTA Blue Line train. The accident happened after 4 a.m. this morning near Central Avenue. Seven passengers on the train were transported to a hospital in good-to-fair condition and two people from one of the cars involved were also treated for minor injuries. Full service to the Blue Line was restored around 7:30 a.m. this morning. [Sun-Times] more ›

According to the Kane County Chronicle: more ›

For those of us waiting to see if charges will be filed in the wreck that killed motorcyclist Anita Zaffke this weekend, we might be waiting a while. The driver of the car that slammed into Zaffke - who was stopping at a yellow light - was distracted because she was painting her nails. Today, the Tribune takes an interesting look at the development of laws (and lack thereof) in the state of Illinois pertaining to accidents caused by such "distractions." more ›

If you were on I-90 near the northwest suburb of Hampshire last night, the traffic slow-down that lasted two hours was not from a traffic accident, rather it was from a patient who jumped from a moving ambulance while it was on the tollway. more ›

In the stupid category, a Rockford man is likely to face charges after “accidentally” shooting a friend in the head when he was aiming for a stray dog. Clearly, there is more to this story than we will ever know.

Rockford Police Sgt. Milo Scheffels says the incident occurred early Saturday evening and appears to have been accidental. Scheffels says there were reports that the dog was bothering people, but the gunman missed in shooting at it.

This is a crappy way to end your day: a truck driver rolled his tanker truck filled with sewage on Friday. The truck was loaded with 5,000 pounds of liquid fertilizer. The accident took place in Hickory Hills when the drive tried to avoid a hitting a car as a traffic light changed. The truck was removing sewage from the Flagg Creek Water Reclamation District in Burr Ridge. more ›

The City of Chicago has filed suit against Alltown Bus Service for $350,000 stemming from a March 2007 accident that killed a Chicago fireman. A school bus driven by Darlene Lewis was involved in an accident with a fire truck responding to a call. Twenty year CFD veteran William Grant, 44, was killed in the accident. The money is to cover the cost of repairing the fire truck and a light pole damaged in the accident. more ›

Trib says four, Sun-Times says three people were taken to area hospitals when when a car driven by an elderly woman plowed into a West Rogers Park Starbucks. There is no evidence the driver of the car was intoxicated, or hyped up on cafinated beverages. [S-T, Trib] more ›

A Mexicana Airlines flight overshot the runway at O’Hare yesterday, just after 7 p.m. The plane struck a concrete safety barrier -- an arrestor bed -- designed to stop planes that don’t want to stop. One person, a flight attendant, was injured and taken to the hospital. 142 people were evacuated from a stair truck and taken to the terminal on buses. more ›

Holiday weekends tend to bring out the freak accidents and unfortunate circumstances. This weekend is no different. Already there are reports of: more ›

• The Cubs beat the Sox, 11 to 7. Look for Wrigleyville to be a drunk fest tonight. [Trib]
• A home-built airplane crashed and burned after taking off at Aurora Municipal Airport. The pilot is okay. [Trib]
• Daley addressed graduates at Northwestern University, and encouraged their active participation in helping Chicago get the 2016 Olympics. [S-T]
• A naval recruit was struck and killed by a Metra train in Highwood early this morning. He was crossing the tracks at an undesignated crossing. [Trib]
• Two more buyers have emerged for the Cubs. [Trib]
• The Sun-Times has published a special report on violnece in the city. [S-T] more ›

Sad news today: Joseph Zeman, the "pigeon man of Lincoln Square," was killed yesterday when he was struck by a car on the Far North Side. The driver was a 68-year-old who didn't see Zeman as he made a right leaving a parking lot. more ›