Two people were killed and three injured in an overnight car chase involving police that began in Calumet City and ending in Chicago. The incident began shortly after 1 a.m. when a motorist called police to report that someone in a vehicle driving alongside hers flashed a gun at her. Police found the suspected car and tried to pull it over as it was a car that had been reported stolen in a carjacking but the car took off. A chase ensued through through Riverdale, Dolton and Calumet Park and ended on the far South Side when the car crashed near a McDonald's at 114th Street and Halsted. All five people in the car - two women and three men - were ejected; one woman was reported dead at the scene and a male was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center where he later died. The three other passengers were last reported in extremely critical condition, the second woman at Advocate, the two other men at Stroger Hospital. No pedestrians were hurt and police reportedly recovered a weapon at the scene. more ›

Mayoral and municipal primaries are being held in some Chicago 'burbs today. Don't forget to vote if you live in Cicero, Berwyn, Calumet City, Waukegan, North Chicago, Elgin and Dolton. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. more ›

• Our thoughts and prayers with the family of Chicago's Staff Sgt. Roberto Andrade who was killed in action this weekend in Baghdad from injuries sustained when his vehicle struck an IED.
• A Calumet City resident found an unpleasant surprise when shoveling snow today: a dead body.
• Two teens have been charged in the shooting of another student outside Collins High School last night.

Probably not. But in the wake of a series of tax hikes levied around the Chicago area, it seems people are downright pissed. more ›

Think reaaaaal carefully about what fashion mistakes you're going to make on bank-robbing day. Because those choices? Well, those choices become who we are. Take the case of the "Kangol Bandit." more ›

More news today about the state's case against Reginald Potts, and the evidence is really piling up. Potts was charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend Nailah Franklin over the weekend and on Monday was denied bail. more ›

Reginald Potts, Jr., was charged late last night in the murder of Nailah Franklin, who went missing in September of this year and whose body was later found in a wooded area in Calumet City. Not a big surprise, as Potts has been the primary suspect all along. In fact, the police didn't have to go very far to find him -- he was already locked up in county jail on other charges of violating... more ›

A tragic update: Nailah Franklin's uncle confirmed that the body found earlier this morning in Calumet City is indeed hers.... more ›

Nailah Franklin is still missing today, but her car was found in Hammond, Ind., over the weekend. Now police are searching the Lake Michigan shoreline, too. According to the Trib, "Police found Franklin's vehicle near an abandoned building in Hammond on Friday night, and on Saturday searched a pond at the River Oaks Golf Course in Calumet City. [Franklin's sister] said personal items belonging to Franklin and found near the pond prompted the search, which... more ›

It's been a while since a blotter, eh? Let's get right into it, shall we? A Calumet City man was denied bond after being arrested for beating his girlfriend's 4-year-old son to death. Cameron Smith was found dead Thursday in the apartment that he shared with his 7- and 8-year old siblings, as well as 23-year-old Donell Parker. Parker was in charge of the kids since their mother and Parker's girlfriend, Sgt. Lavada Smith, was... more ›

In an anti-climatic end to a anti-climatic season, Chicago boy and long-regarded favorite, Matt Lorenz, was affirmed to have the Top Design on Bravo's interior design reality show. The final challenge offered the final two designers more range than they’d received in any previous challenges, with the mission being to design a posh loft in the gallery district of LA. While the premise sounded interesting, the selection of the designers themselves as the client left... more ›

This week was a little light on the stupid, but we know it’s just because you’re saving it all up for the big holiday weekend. Grills, beer, fireworks – the possibilities are endless. No, seriously, we want you to be safe and commit no crazy crimes. Really, we do. more ›

As the city’s nighttime streets lend an air of authenticity to this weekend’s number one movie and Vince Vaughn's new flick shuts down a portion of Michigan Avenue for most of the day, the Sun-Times reminds us why The Blues Brothers is responsible for bringing moviemaking back to the city of Chicago. As we watched Batman Begins this weekend, we noticed three things: 1) It is possible for Chicago’s mass transit system to get worse... more ›

Over the past few days there have been 2 big, local news stories about a basketball shoes, one tragic, one bizzare. And we're not talking about just any basketball shoes.. we mean the kind that will set you back $100+ and that are endorsed by celebrity basketball stars. First the tragic - Yesterday Eduain Foster, a 19-year-old from Minneapolis, and an unidentified 15-year-old from Calumet City were charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in... more ›

We should really be a headline writer. Isn't this one killer? Get it? "Killer"? Oh wait, since you only get your news from Chicagoist you wouldn't get it because you haven't heard or read anything about the story yet. So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, the story of a prank gone wrong in Calumet City. An off-duty Cook County corrections officer shot and killed another officer, his friend, around 1:12 a.m. Saturday. The friend,... more ›

Alan Keyes! Alan Keyes! Oh, we'll never tire of writing about him. That laugh-a-minute homophobe is a website author's best friend—as long as he stays in the "news," the yuks pretty much write themselves. What's up this week with Mr. Illinois? He's moving! Woot woot. Let's recall…Keyes was crashing in an apartment in lovely Calumet City, and despite getting bitchslapped at the polls, he promised to stick around and help Illinois rebuild its Republican Party.... more ›

There's so much election-day coverage to be had, and we're doing our best to keep up—thanks, Paige Wiser, btw, for your insightful comments on Star Jones—but we thought this story was too cute to pass up. The smiley face water tower on U.S. 51 near Makanda, Illinois will soon be sporting a bow-tie to honor the late Paul Simon. Former Senator Simon was known for his bow-ties in addition to his candor and decency, and... more ›

Earlier this week Republican U.S. Senate Nominee Alan Keyes registered to vote at his new Illinois residence, a three bedroom house in south suburban Calumet City. It's a surprising choice for a Senate candidate. Not flashy at all, not close to the airports, and a pain to drive to the expressways every morning. It's a quiet neighborhood though, and probably fits the wallet of a guy that's also keeping a house in Maryland.... more ›

At least one Chicago reveler managed to escape just this side of a Darwin award. On the Northwest Side, a 19-year-old Chicago man suffered serious head injuries after he put a powerful firecracker under a fire hydrant cap, "curious" as to how high it would go, police said. The hydrant cap shot up, came back down and slammed on his head. Somebody at AP or the Sun-Times deserves an award for that paragraph—the subtle artistry,... more ›