A judge today sentenced Brian Dugan to death for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. All death penalty sentences in Illinois trigger an automatic appeal and Dugan's lawyer intends to fight this one. At issue is an original verdict reached by the jury in which two jurors were against issuing the death penalty. As the Tribune explains: more ›

Former DuPage County prosecutor and current gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan has apologized for dropping the ball in the case of Jeanine Nicarico, a 10-year-old Naperville girl who was raped and killed in 1983. But does a simple "sorry" absolve Ryan enough to make him deserving of the top job in Illinois? After all, Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez narrowly escaped lethal injection when they were wrongly accused of the murder by Ryan, despite the real killer, Brian Dugan, confessing to the crime after being arrested for a similar murder in 1995. Ryan ignored Dugan's confession and instead stayed focused on executing Cruz and Hernandez. The seeming inability to weigh all the facts and admit when you're wrong really is not something this state needs in a leader right now. more ›

After 10 hours of deliberation - and one false alarm - a jury has sentenced Brian Dugan to death for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. [Tribune] more ›

After a false alarm last night, the jury deciding the fate of convicted murderer Brian Dugan has been sequestered and will continue deliberating. Reports initially indicated a verdict had been reached last night, but the presiding judge then announced the jury was not ready and ordered them sequestered for the night and that deliberations would continue this morning. The jury is deciding whether or not Dugan, already serving two life sentences for two 1985 murders, should receive another life sentence or the death penalty for the 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico. Dugan admitted to the crime earlier this summer. [ABC 7] more ›

"No longer is the boogeyman a fairy tale," said Thomas Nicarico to the jury gathered at the DuPage County courtroom on Friday. more ›

A DuPage County jury took little time today to decide that Brian Dugan, convicted for kidnapping, raping and murdering 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico, qualifies for the death penalty. more ›

• First Clout College, now this: the Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago Public School system has launched an internal investigation looking at how students are selected to admittance for some of the more elite schools after, according to CPS CEO Ron Huberman, information showed, "that existing policies may not have been followed."
• Several media outlets report today that Brian Dugan is ready to plead guilty to the 1983 murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico; Dugan is already in prison serving two life sentences for two other murders.
• A section of the outbound Bishop Ford Expressway was closed for around eight hours today after a tanker truck spilled corrosive coal tar in the road early this morning.