Longtime DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett announced yesterday that he accepted a position on the 2nd District Appellate Court. Birkett will replace retiring Judge Jack O'Malley, who withdrew his request to be retained in Tuesday's general election in August. This appointment rubs us wrong due to Brikett's involvement in the long imprisonment of Rolondo Cruz, Alejandro Hernandez and Stephen Buckley for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. more ›

A judge today sentenced Brian Dugan to death for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. All death penalty sentences in Illinois trigger an automatic appeal and Dugan's lawyer intends to fight this one. At issue is an original verdict reached by the jury in which two jurors were against issuing the death penalty. As the Tribune explains: more ›

• Former DuPage prosecutor, state attorney general, and current gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan apologized today for the prosecutions of Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez, the men originally convicted and sentenced to death for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. He claimed the prosecution “acted in good faith...and still came up with the wrong result."
• Swine Flu's toll so far, according to the CDC: 22 million sick, 4,000 dead.
• Police in Cleveland have arrested a woman from Chicago who's been using her children to help her shoplift.

After 10 hours of deliberation - and one false alarm - a jury has sentenced Brian Dugan to death for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. [Tribune] more ›

After a false alarm last night, the jury deciding the fate of convicted murderer Brian Dugan has been sequestered and will continue deliberating. Reports initially indicated a verdict had been reached last night, but the presiding judge then announced the jury was not ready and ordered them sequestered for the night and that deliberations would continue this morning. The jury is deciding whether or not Dugan, already serving two life sentences for two 1985 murders, should receive another life sentence or the death penalty for the 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico. Dugan admitted to the crime earlier this summer. [ABC 7] more ›

"No longer is the boogeyman a fairy tale," said Thomas Nicarico to the jury gathered at the DuPage County courtroom on Friday. more ›

A DuPage County jury took little time today to decide that Brian Dugan, convicted for kidnapping, raping and murdering 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico, qualifies for the death penalty. more ›

• First Clout College, now this: the Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago Public School system has launched an internal investigation looking at how students are selected to admittance for some of the more elite schools after, according to CPS CEO Ron Huberman, information showed, "that existing policies may not have been followed."
• Several media outlets report today that Brian Dugan is ready to plead guilty to the 1983 murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico; Dugan is already in prison serving two life sentences for two other murders.
• A section of the outbound Bishop Ford Expressway was closed for around eight hours today after a tanker truck spilled corrosive coal tar in the road early this morning.