Police are looking into the death last night of an infant on the North side of the city. The baby's mother called her husband to say she "did something to the baby" and "it was too late." Firefighters broke into an apartment on the 3900 block of north Ashland and found the baby unresponsive. more ›

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas (maybe you've seen her at parades around town twirling a baton and walking toy dogs) came under the watchful investigative eyes of CBS2's Pam Zekman and the Better Government Association for keeping a $94,000 a year driver and $57,000 a year cleaning lady on her payroll. Only, the driver and cleaning lady aren't listed as such in her annual budget. more ›

Police and FBI agents rounded up over 100 members of the Traveling Vice Lords street gang this morning, the result of a long investigation that started two years ago. Among the gang members arrested was one who was once accused of murdering Detective Robert Soto in August 2008. more ›

Items and human remains possibly belonging to missing Northern Illinois University student, Antinette "Toni" Keller, were found in Prairie Park, south of Illinois 38, in DeKalb County. DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen told the Chicago Sun-Times that although the remains of not been positively identified, police are now classifying Keller's disappearance as a death investigation. He also stated that her family was notified on Saturday. more ›

Cook County Commissioner William Beavers once famously declared himself "the Hog with the Big Nuts." Now it appears a grand jury has Beavers and his self-congratulatory manhood in its sights. Internal Revenue Service investigators have subpoenaed contingency account expense reports from Beavers for 2008 and 2009 to check for any discrepancies in how Beavers spent his contingency expenses. more ›

Today's New York Times has a pull-no-punches, just-the-facts expose on Sam Zell's disastrous ownership of Tribune Co. The article posits that, as gross of a miscalculation the heavy borrowing Zell used to broker the purchase was, the decision to bring in a group of aging frat house types led by current CEO Randy Michaels to steer the company into a new era of workplace blunt talk may have been even more damaging to the company, from the perspectives of both business and morale. Comparing what Zell, Michaels and their lieutenants have done since arriving to Nero fiddling while Rome burned is not out of line. more ›

A 14-year-old Roseland boy is being held by police in what's being considered an accidental shooting that killed his 12-year-old brother. The shotgun, purchased legally and properly locked away, according to authorities, had been in the home for several years and belonged to another relative. While the The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating, the family has never been involved in any prior investigations and Police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak called the shooting "most likely is non-criminal," meaning charges may not be filed. more ›

Last week, Vocalo's Jim DeRogatis broke the news that state Attorney General Lisa Madigan was investigating anti-trust allegations related to the Lollapalooza radius clause which limits the dates on which a band playing the festival can play within a certain radius (estimated to be as much as 300 miles in some cases) of Chicago. Interesting conversations about the actual limits of the clause broke out in our comments and in other publications. Brent DiCrescenzo had a solid write-up for Time Out that observed other local fests' similar clauses as well as the flexibility given to many bands in the clause. more ›

Metra chief Phil Pagano, recently placed on leave as the investigation into his alleged financial misdealings intensifies, has died of an apparent suicide this morning in which he walked in front of a Metra train. Metra board members had scheduled a meeting for this morning at which they were expected to fire Pagano but it was cancelled after reports of Pagano's death came out. The accident occurred near Hillside and Terra Cotta roads by Sternes Woods Park in Crystal Lake. According to the Northwest Herald: more ›

Metra is investigating whether its executive director of 20 years, Phil Pagano, has been getting extra, unapproved compensation. The board of directors is specifically investigating an alleged "bonus" totaling $56,000 Pagano received in recent months. Metra Spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet told the Chicago Tribune that Metra doesn't pay bonuses anymore (that practice ended after 2004). In Metra's 2010 Budget, Pagano is slated to receive only his salary of $269,625, which is the same salary he received last year. If the board of directors' own review shows financial irregularities in Pagano's compensation, it will hire attorney James Sotos to conduct a format inquiry. more ›

Chicago Fire Commissioner John Brooks started his extended vacation on Friday so the Office of Compliance can complete an investigation into sexual harassment allegations. Deidre Green, a payroll auditor for the Chicago Fire Department, claims Brooks made repeated phone call to her from July 2008 to October 2008 and made lewd comments in the workplace, the Sun Times reported. After refusing his advances, Green was place on the layoff list, but was done so because she had the lowest seniority, Brooks said. He denied the allegations, telling the Sun-Times, "I do not proposition women. I don't have to. Women usually proposition me. God has blessed me like that." more ›

Remember in December when WBEZ ran into problems with a stubborn Gov. Quinn regarding their investigations of the state's juvenile prison system? It seems they finally got some access and have launched a website to go along with their investigation that will unfold over the next six months. So far, it's looking pretty sharp. more ›

Authorities with the Cook County sheriff's office are holding three Thai women who claim they had been forced into prostitution upon arriving in the U.S. a few weeks ago, prompting an investigation into a possible human trafficking ring. The women, who say they've been in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Texas, aren't expected to face criminal charges and federal authorities have joined the investigation into the ring. [Tribune] more ›

CTA officials are investigating whether an unidentified bus driver followed procedure or ignored a person in distress after a passenger was attacked with a chemical two week ago, the Tribune reports. more ›

It's the scandal that just won't stop. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., also known as Candidate 5 in the federal indictment of former governor Rod Blagojevich is still the subject of a federal investigation into his role in the whole Blago saga. Previously, it had been alleged that emissaries for Jackson had promised to raise upwards money for then-governor Blagojevich in exchange for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama upon his election. Besides the current federal investigation, there's also an ethics committee probe with which Jackson has promised full cooperation. The investigation has now turned to whether or not Jackson improperly used his congressional staff to aid him in his pitch to Blago and that's beginning to "overlap" with the ethics probe, leading investigators to ask the ethics probe to hang back so as not to interfere with their investigation. more ›

Authorities have closed Burr Oak Cemetery in suburban Alsip, even to those seeking information as to the condition of their loved ones' graves, as their investigation into a scheme that involved over 300 bodies being disinterred continues. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart advised concerned family members to head to the front gates of the cemetery where they could pass information along to sheriff's officials. Dart made the decision after second site of remains and disturbed graves was made on the grounds yesterday. Dart said, “It has become abundantly clear to us that this crime scene is going to continue to grow. We do not have an end in sight.” A temporary restraining order by the sheriff's office to put a moratorium on burials at Burr Oak was dropped. Said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for the Cook County States Attorney's office, "Initially there was discussion of obtaining a temporary restraining order to make sure no more digging, no more funerals, so as to preserve the scene. At this point the lawyers for the cemetery have agreed to discontinue any funeral or any kind of excavating at the cemetery." The cemetery could be closed for up to a week as the investigation continues. [Tribune, Sun-Times] more ›

As the investigation into the Clout list at the University of Illinois continues, the feds now have reason to look at former governor Rod Blagojevich. The Tribune reports that the U.S. Attorney's office subpoenaed the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University today in connection with the investigation, which is also looking into if any of Blago's people - including Tony Rezko and Len Monk - did the same. The University of Illinois subpoena confirms it is in connection to the criminal case against Blago. more ›

Yesterday, the Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki reported that the Office of Congressional Ethics is now investigating U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and his role in attempting to land the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama that then-governor Rod Blagojevich allegedly attempted to sale off to the highest bidder. Jackson isn't the first lawmaker to be investigated by the office; he joins none other than current holder of the seat in question, U.S. Sen. Roland Burris. more ›

Just as former alderman Arenda Troutman was sentenced to four years in prison for bribery/fraud charges this week, it looks like U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is focusing his attention on another City Council member: Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th). The Sun-Times is on the case: more ›

A story that is just beginning to unfold: Governor Bill Richardson is withdrawing his name from nomination for Secretary of Commerce. This news comes as a grand jury is investigating how a California company contributing to Richardson’s political activities won a $1 billion contract with the state of New Mexico. more ›

There's no joy in Mudville, or wherever the hell Tankboy's DJ'ing this evening. MillerCoors has reached an agreement with the city of San Francisco and 13 Attorneys General — including Lisa Madigan — to remove caffeine, ginseng, guarana and taurine from its Sparks energy drink. MillerCoors is also paying $550,000 to cover the cost of the investigation into Sparks and whether it was targeting young drinkers. more ›

After the Tribune ran their exclusive yesterday about former Blagojevich aide and friend John Wyma wearing a wire, Blago denied the information supposedly gathered was true. Now Wyma says he never even wore a wire or recording device at all. Wyma's attorney issued a statement saying, "Today, there are news articles suggesting that John Wyma has worn a wire or otherwise recorded conversations as part of a federal investigation. Contrary to those stories, Mr. Wyma has not worn any wire or recorded any conversations; nor is he aware of any such recorded conversations." Well either Blago, Wyma, or the anonymous source must be lying, we can't wait to find out which one it is. more ›

So that story about Blago Buddy John Wyman wearing a wire? Yep, Blago saw it, and yep, he's denying everything. Via a spokesperson, of course. Per the Trib: "The Governor has been working on the things that matter most to the people of Illinois - creating jobs, keeping people in their homes, fixing the budget, and making sure that everyone has access to affordable health care. He woke up this morning and saw the article just like everyone else did. The Governor has not done anything wrong, improper or illegal." more ›

In a big step forward for federal investigators, former Blagojevich aide and influential lobbyist John Wyma cooperated with the feds and secretly recorded conversations with Governor Blagojevich to help the case against Blago. Wyma was also the chief of staff for Blago during his Congressional days, which makes the revelation even more eyebrow-raising. Earlier this fall, Wyma was named in a federal subpoena issued to Provena Health, a former Wyma client, regarding, "Provena's lobbying relationship with Wyma, the hospital's efforts to win state approval of a new heart program and a $25,000 donation the company's for-profit affiliate gave to Blagojevich's campaign fund." more ›

State Police so mean. more ›

Police have confiscated the van belonging to Mya Lyon’s father, Richard Lyons. Reportedly, he drove Mya to the hospital in the van after finding her stabbed in an alley near their home. more ›

There are two noteworthy items in this recent report about a man who died Saturday from blunt head trauma after falling out of a police wagon. The first item of interest is the story in and of itself; the suspect was handcuffed and trying to escape from police custody, but the paddy wagon was stationary, and he was not struck by another vehicle. He simply … fell on his head, and died later from his injuries at Stroger Hospital. The death is under investigation. more ›