Details continue to emerge in the death of former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly including the fact that the Country Club Hills police department concluded the death was "an apparent suicide." more ›

Two days after his death, while pieces of what happened are falling into place, plenty of questions still swirl around Christopher Kelly. An autopsy of former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly proved inconclusive and the Cook County medical examiner's office claims they'll need more tests and investigations before they can rule on an official cause of death. Kelly was found by his girlfriend in his SUV late Friday night, parked in a lumber yard, and having swallowed a large number of pills - the Trib reports, "Tylenol wrappers and a large container of pills were found in Kelly's SUV." more ›

Police are still investigating the death of former Blago adviser Christopher Kelly but Kelly's "girlfriend" (Kelly was married at the time of his death) is no longer talking to police and, according to Country Club Hills mayor Dwight Welch, she is "lawyered up." Which is perhaps a good thing: according to the Tribune, while the death has been investigated as a possible suicide - the Sun-Times reports that Kelly, "called a woman identified as his 'girlfriend' and told her that he took some pills and was going to kill himself" - it seems they're now treating the case as a homicide investigation due to it's high profile nature. Said Welch, "We're giving it all of the bells and whistles. Were going after every detail ... we're treating it as we would if this were a homicide. It's a high profile case, we want to do it by the books, by the numbers and do it right.'' more ›

• Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of two Illinois National Guardsmen who were killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb this weekend.
• The saga of Daniel Fore continues in Oak Park; Fore is a homeless man attempting to get his name on the ballot for village trustee.
• More bad job news, this time from the Tribune (again).

A wee exaggeration on our part: the two stores scheduled for shuttering are not literally across the street from other stores (the Country Club Hills store is four miles from the nearest one and the other in Elmhurst is a few blocks). The Trib offers a deeper meaning: "To people who live in more fashionable ZIP codes, the loss of a Starbucks might not be viewed as a wound to civic pride. But in Country Club Hills, the opening of the ubiquitous chain in May 2007 signified a certain cachet." Cachet or no, a few moments with our bff Google confirms that there are places in the area other than Starbucks where one can get a cup of Good Morming America. more ›