Police issued a community alert after reports of strong-armed robberies happening near the University of Illinois-Chicago campus, Chicago Breaking News reports. Three robberies occurred between January 9 and 12, the report said. Victims were attacked from behind then "knocked to the ground" by two suspects said to be between the ages of 15 and 19. As of this morning, police had not found the robbers. more ›

Chicago Police reported Friday that there have been 108 murders in Chicago between January and April, a 19.4 percent drop from last year, which saw 134 murders during the same time frame. They have also recovered 421 more firearms and 49 more assault weapons than during this period last year. Total violent crime is down 2.8 percent overall, and property crime is down 9.6 percent. Police Superintendent Jody Weis attributes the decline to new crime reduction strategies. "With the summer fast approaching," Weis said in a press release from the police department, "we will look closely at the tactics which have made the streets safer and engage the community to help us continue in this direction." more ›

No, we had never heard of local rapperBump J, at least until he robbed a bank in Oak Park almost two years ago. After a long hunt for him, Bump J (real name Terrance Boykin) was arrested in Carbondale during what the Sun-Times calls, "a routine traffic stop." He's accused of robbing a Chase Bank in January 2007 and making off (along with an assailant) with $100,000 cash. He faces up to 20 years if convicted. And even though we haven't heard of him, apparently we've heard one of his songs: the Kanye-produced "Move Around" which has appeared in commercials and a Madden video game. Language NSFW... more ›