• Pvt. Francheska Velez, one of the two area soldiers killed in the Ft. Hood shooting rampage, was laid to rest today.
• The state's unemployment rate hit a new 26-year high in October at 11 percent.
• The RTA today gave the official thumbs up to the deal struck with Gov. Quinn that would avoid another CTA fare hike.

The body of Private Francheska Velez returned home today, and a procession from Midway, past Kelvyn Park High School where she had attended school, was held. Velez was one of the thirteen people killed in the November 5 Fort Hood shooting rampage. Last week, a vigil was held for the 21-year-old in her home neighborhood of Humboldt Park. Adding to the tragedy was the fact Velez was a little over two months pregnant at the time of her death. She had served in Iraq but had been transferred to Fort Hood after she became pregnant and was awaiting a December return to Chicago. Visitation for Velez is scheduled for Wednesday at Montclair Lucania Funeral Home; the funeral is scheduled for Thursday followed by a burial at Mount Olive Cemetery. more ›

The street outside the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home in Joliet was lined with 200 motorcycles yesterday, all mourners paying their respects to U.S. Army Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolingbrook, who was one of the 13 people--and three from the Chicago area--that was killed in a mass shooting at Fort Hood earlier this month. The motorcycles outside the funeral home belonged to the Patriot Guard Riders, a group that often attends the funerals of military personnel. more ›

There was plenty going on this weekend in the news but we understand if you missed it and were, instead, outside enjoying the amazing warm weather. Here's your chance to catch up. more ›

Pvt. Najee Hull, 20, Homewood, is back in Illinois and recovering after being shot three times, twice in the back and once in the knee, in the mass killing at Fort Hood while he was waiting in line to file paperwork for his deployment to Afghanistan. His family told the Chicago Sun-Times that Army officials reported that Hull was the gunman's first victim. "I'm in terrible condition," Hull told the Sun-Times in a phone interview from his hospital room. "[I'm] shocked and surprised...that it happened on post, the place where I get dressed, the place I trust the most in my Army career," said Hull. Despite his injuries, doctors expect Hull to make a full recovery. more ›

A second Chicago-area victim of the Fort Hood shooting has been identified. CBS 2 is reporting that 21-year-old Francheska Velez of Chicago was among the 13 people killed. Velez, a 2006 graduate of Kelvyn Park High School, had just returned from Afghanistan and was pregnant, according to her uncle who spoke with CBS 2. Earlier, it was reported that Bolingbrook's Michael Pearson was also shot and killed in yesterday's shooting rampage. more ›

We were all shocked yesterday afternoon watching coverage of the shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas. This morning, the tragedy hits close to home as it's been learned one of the 13 people killed, Army Pfc. Michael Pearson, 21, was from Bolingbrook. Pearson's mother Sheryll told the Tribune, "We thought it was going to be okay, because we thought it was another building. Mike won't be there because he already he got his inoculations ... He shouldn't be in that part of that building. Since we weren't contacted, we felt we were okay." The Trib's report continues: more ›