Charges were formally filed against David Soto, the driver in Tuesday's fatal bus accident in Streeterville. Soto has been charged with aggravated DUI in the crash that killed Justina Palka. In a perfect example of the phrase "when it rains it ours," it was discovered that Soto was also wanted for child sex abuse charges. Soto faces one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under the age of 13 in that case. more ›

Prosecutors laid out the case against Richard Lyons in the 2008 murder of his daughter, Mya. And they're pretty damn graphic. Richard Lyons is accused of striking his daughter in the head with a lockbox, stabbing her 30 times, then driving to a hospital and claiming the Mya Lyons "may have been bitten by a dog." more ›

Police arrested 18-year-old Bernard Williams yesterday in connection with the murder of Chicago police officer David Blake. Blae was found dead in his SUV on the 2900 block of West Seipp on the Souwhtwest side last month. more ›

Robert Blagojevich, brother to ex-gov Rod, is now free and clear as the federal government has dropped all charges against him. The jury was unable to reach verdict on any of the four charges against Robert at the previous trial and he (obviously) won't be included in any retrial. According to the Sun-Times, "Prosecutors said the decision was made in the interest of justice." more ›

A white Bridgeport couple is facing discrimination charges from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for allegedly pulling their home off the market rather than sell it to a black couple that submitted the highest offer. Local comedian George Willborn and his wife made the highest offer - reported to be $1.7 million - on the home owned by Daniel and Adrienne Sabbia in January of this year. But the Sabbias, who had listed the house for $1.799 million, then pulled the house, which they had been trying to sell for two years, off the market. The Sabbias claimed they decided to stay put, unable to find another home to move in to. Jeffrey Lowe, the Sabbias' real estate agent, denied to the Willborns' broker at the time that it was about the Willborns' race. more ›

As charges are filed in last week's Bucktown bat attack, police are dealing with a separate beating incident on the Northwest Side. more ›

The feds will announce shortly new charges against area leaders of the Latin Kings gang, including boss figure Augustin Zambrano. Sayeth the Trib: "The U.S. attorney's office has scheduled a 2 p.m. press conference to announce a racketeering indictment against the gang's hierarchy, mostly from Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. The group sought to enrich themselves through the drug trade and preserved their power through "acts of murder, attempted murder" and other crimes, according to a statement from federal prosecutors." The operation against the Latin Kings, headed up by the ATF, was referred to as "Operation Broken Crown." more ›

The Sun-Times is reporting this afternoon that three teens have been charged with first-degree murder for the beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert during a brawl last week. more ›

Two teenagers are held in the horrific murder of 15-year-old Alex Arellano earlier this month on the Southwest Side. more ›

A teen has been charged in Monday's incident at Lockport High in which a small explosion set off a toxic cloud of smoke. According to the Trib, the 15-year-old "was charged as a juvenile with unlawful possession of a weapon, reckless conduct and unlawful possession of an explosive device." The maximum jail time the teen would serve is six years since state law prohibits juveniles from serving time past the age of 21. Meanwhile, there's no word if the Monday incident was connected to Tuesday's bomb threat which also shut down the school. WBBM has more on the story, including parents' reactions. more ›

After a spike in murders in 2008, Chicago got off to a quick start when the first murder of 2009 happened just hours into the new year at around 2 a.m. when David Garrett was shot in the head and killed. Now, almost three months later, Chicago Police have brought charges against four men for Garrett's murder. According to the Sun-Times:

Lorenzo Hall, 26, of Steger, is charged with first degree murder and aggravated battery. Forrest Smith, 26, of Mount Prospect, and Malcolm Whitehead, 19, of Rolling Meadows, are charged with first degree murder. A fourth man, Lee Foster, 25, was a passenger in the vehicle and is charged with a probation violation.