Michael Jordan isn't the only local sports legend dealing with identity issues this week. Blackhawks legend Stan Mikita has discovered he's a victim of identity theft in which $100,000 has been stolen from him. CBS 2 has the story. more ›

A New Trier high school student got access to the school's computer system, apparently to check his class rank. He didn't steal any personal info, and nothing was deleted or changed; he just accessed "student directory information for all students, semester grades for current students and the last three graduating classes, and ACT test scores for the class of 2008." Police are investigating. [S-T] more ›

An unrelated mystery has been solved as police investigate the Tinley Park murders. A con woman, evading police for years, was apprehended this weekend because police tracked down the owners of the cars parked near the Lane Bryant, where the fugitive Esther Reed had left her car, which was registered under an assumed identity. more ›

Chicagoist just got off the phone with Gregory P. Longhini, assistant secretary of the Chicago Transit Board, who wanted to give us the CTA's version of the rumor about CTA board member Rev. Charles E. Robinson's visit to Miranda Smith, the CTA employee accused of identity theft. more ›

As several commenters pointed out, Second City Cop has been on the CTA identity theft case for a few days--and the story there is that a reverend who's on the CTA board attempted to keep the arrest quiet. The only reverend on the CTA's board of directors is Charles E Robinson. Our call to the Board's main office was not immediately returned. Jeanette Sliwinski's psychiatrist testified today that she "didn't see any psychotic symptoms"... more ›

Mercy, CTA. Uncle. Whatever you want. We give up. You're eliminating every bus we ever take, charging us more for every packed, smelly ride, and now, you're stealing our identities, too. CTA customer service rep Miranda Smith was arrested last week and charged with official misconduct, one count of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of identity theft. (Aggravated identity theft means the victim is over 60 or disabled, or that the crime occurred "in... more ›

Hot property edition: sometimes, stolen goods just have a way of finding their way back home. Usually this is due to the theives themselves; they wouldn't necessarily be in that business if they had good judgment. But if you just can't wait to get your prized possessions back, you can always tell the cops your children were kidnapped. That seems like a good idea. more ›

Cold and crime and Bears, oh my! Three teenagers were killed and another injured in a fatal car accident on the West Side early Sunday morning. A 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix carrying the four slammed into a CTA support at a high rate of speed near the Cicero Green Line stop (the Trib says Blue Line, but considering the info provided, that doesn't add up). Two of the passengers were thrown from the car. The... more ›

Predicting the actions of the city and county boards is nearly impossible. One never really knows who will be arrested on corruption charges this week, what sort of zany plan alderman will propose next, or as we recently learned, how easily sensitive data can magically go missing. more ›

Chicago resident David Dright, was charged by the Lake County state's attorney with identity theft after finding financial records in his west side home. Included in the stacks of stolen info were financial records for 80 major league baseball players, including the White Sox's Jim Thome and former Cub Juan Pierre. more ›

Unless you're partaking in one of the lovely establishments along the colorful strip of north Lincoln Avenue, chances are you plunk down a credit card when you rent a hotel room. Makes perfect sense, right? Chicagoist is just hoping you didn't do so in the past few years whilst you visited the Joliet area to satisfy your gaming urges. On Thursday, area police raided seven hotels and arrested ten people who had stolen and sold over 10,000 credit card numbers across a span of six years. Two more people are being sought in the identity theft ring. more ›

Now that the heat wave has passed us by, we’re itching to take a little vacation. Nothing major, just a quick getaway from the city. This week, TWIS takes you on a little journey to the Buckeye state. But first, a little fun right here at home. more ›

Identity theft is something that we are reminded to protect ourselves against almost every day. Shred those credit card bills. Don’t give out your Social Security Number. Don’t join the Army and let some jackass steal one of their laptops. Chicagoist makes sure that our identity isn’t stolen is by having bad credit, but that doesn’t work out so well when it comes to being a member of the ownership society. more ›

We’re sort of paranoid about identity theft. Seriously, we can’t think of that many movies that are scarier in concept than that one Sandra Bullock movie The Net, and our friends can’t think of enough ways to make fun of us for that. Well, cynics, hear the story of the Gerbus’ (‘s? sss? Jebus lives in outer space?). more ›

If you’re like Chicagoist, you have a pile of junk mail on your desk. Catalogs, credit card offers, magazine subscription offers, etc. It’s amazing there are any trees left in the world. more ›

An FTC report released yesterday shows that a growing number of IL residents say they've been victims of identity theft. In 2004, 11,000 people complained that their identity was stolen. That's up 15% from 2003, when there were 9,700 complaints. more ›