• NIU's police chief, Donald Grady, has been placed on a leave of absence after allegations of improper ethical behavior were made by NIU's student newspaper.
• Joseph Caputo, a former pricing analyst for MPC Products who turned FBI informant, has been awarded $4.5 million for helping the FBI crack a price-inflating case against the company.
• In the wake of all the fuss over the CTA's new proposed hikes and service cuts, The Reader's Whet Moser took a thoughtful look at transit issues in a few other large cities.

It's been one year since a peaceful Valentine's Day on the campus of Northern Illinois University was shattered just after 3 p.m. by gunfire. Former student Stephen Kazmierczak opened fire on a class in a lecture hall in Cole Hall, ultimately injuring 21 and killing five; Kazmierczak then took his own life, bringing the death toll to six. It was the fourth deadliest university shooting in United States history and occurred less than a year after the Virginia Tech massacre. At a press conference the next day, NIU President Dr. John Peters said, "We will get through this together as a community." Classes were canceled and wouldn't resume until February 25th. more ›