Funeral services for Chicago firefighter Corey Ankum, who was killed along with Edward Stringer fighting a blaze on the South side last week, drew 3,000 family, firefighters and dignitaries today to Apostolic Church of God on the South Side. more ›

Cubs fans and other well-wishers are lining up outside Holy Name Cathedral right now to pay final respects to Ron Santo. The legendary Cubs third baseman and broadcaster passed away last week from complications related to bladder cancer at the age of 70. more ›

A very un-Christian moment occurred during last week's musical tribute to Gospel music legend Albertina Walker when a nephew of the late "Queen of Gospel" and a family friend were charged with roughing up an ex-agent of Walker's. more ›

• Jeffrey, Lori, and Michael Kramer, the victims of last week's triple murder in Darien, were laid to rest today.
• Calvin Boender's trial was delayed, but only briefly, as an Appeals Court turned down Boender's request to strike testimony by his former attorney.
• Chicago apparently has some terrible drivers.

Dawn Brancheau, the Sea World trainer killed by a whale last week, was laid to rest today. Services were held today at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel and she was to be buried this afternoon at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip. Brancheau was born in Evergreen Park and raised in Cedar Lake, Indiana. Memorial services in Orlando, Florida will be held at a later date. Brancheau's is the third death the whale, Tilikum, has been involved in but Sea World officials said there were no plans to remove the whale from the show, though it did not participate in shows over the weekend. more ›

Sgt. Alan Haymaker, the Chicago Police officer killed Monday morning when his car crashed on Lake Shore Drive, will be laid to rest this morning. Haymaker was responding to a burglary call early Monday morning when he apparently lost control of his car and it struck a light pole and tree, killing Haymaker. Haymaker, a member of the 23rd District and a 21-year veteran of the CPD, is the first CPD officer killed in the line of duty this year. Police arrested a suspect in the burglary yesterday. more ›

Jahmeshia Conner, a 12-year-old girl found raped and murdered in an Englewood alley two weeks after she had been reported missing, was put to rest Saturday, the Sun-Times reports. 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 ›

The city's violent July has now extended into August. A gang-related shooting broke out at a funeral yesterday afternoon on city's West Side injuring six. The funeral was for admitted gang member Cornelius Antwon Robinson who had died of a heart attack. A man walked up to the crowd of mourners on the sidewalk and open fire on one man in particular and then began shooting those around him. Police say the shooting was gang-related and indicated that while most witnesses weren't cooperating, a few were. They're also using surveillance video from two nearby pod cameras to help sift out details. [CBS 2] more ›

Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Stickney, Illinois, recently swapped two bodies due to mislabeling. When Lillian Grogan's family came to her wake, they were shocked to discover the wrong woman in her casket. "The family of Lillian Grogan said the stranger was wearing their grandmother's dress and favorite bracelet." Gah. more ›

In the eternal battle of Ninjas v. Pirates, the dark-horse winner is always Vikings.* They've got huge ships, their funerals are awesome, they love mead and ravage Scotswomen. What's not to like? And, perhaps in recognition of the accomplishments of Vikings through the ages (cough*discoveringAmerica*cough), the Geneva-based Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley are re-assembling an ancient Viking vessel replica that debuted at the World's Columbian Exposition. more ›