A man arrested in connection with a string of Lincoln Park robberies has been released without charges being filed against him. The man, who was arrested earlier this week, had been picked up after a member of the public reported seeing a man resembling a police sketch of one of the suspects. While police said one victim had positively identified the man in a lineup, a Cook County assistant state's attorney cited a lack of evidence as why the man was not charged. Yesterday, Chicago Police superintendent Jody Weis said, "Hopefully, that will lead us somewhere. I am encouraged we have someone that is of interest, and he is speaking with us." [Sun-Times, Tribune]
Police have made several arrests in connection with a string of recent muggings in several North Side neighborhoods. First, police have a suspect in custody they believe is connected to last week's string of violent muggings in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. A member of the public recognized the suspect from a police sketch released last week and one mugging victim positively identified the suspect in a police lineup, according to the Sun-Times. No charges have been filed yet, but they could come later today. So far, police suspect the same group of perpetrating four muggings in the Lincoln Park neighborhood; three similar attacks also occurred in the LP and Lakeview neighborhoods that police have yet to connect to the other four.
Police are trying to determine if an overnight robbery in Lincoln Park is connected to the string of robberies in the last week (seven at last count). A roving gang of thugs is strong-arming people into handing over their cash and phones and last night's robbery seems to fit the style of previous incidents. More details over at Chicago Breaking News. No word yet if the media plans to adjust coverage to include the dozens of other robberies that happen every day in other neighborhoods.
Yesterday we mentioned the rash of attacks by a group of men in the Lincoln Park over the weekend and now two more attacks have happened, one in Lincoln Park and one in Lakeview. The Lincoln Park attack happened late last night at Fullerton and Cannon and the victim was able to fight the group off with a bicycle chain, though he did give up $137 in cash. Another attack occurred near Halsted and Buckingham in Lakeview where a man was beaten and robbed of his wallet and cell phone. Thus far, despite the similarity to last week's muggings, police have yet to connect either attack to those earlier ones. So far, authorities have only issued vague descriptions of the attackers.
Residents in Lincoln Park are on alert after a recent spate of late night robbery/beatings. Two attacks happened early morning Thursday and two more early morning Saturday. In all instances, the victims were approached by a group of at least four attackers who robbed and then beat the victim; two of the four victims had to be hospitalized for their injuries. Authorities say all four attacks are connected. [Trib, CBS 2]
Photo by Señor Codo
Crime novelist Laura Caldwell, 41, was attacked last week while jogging in Lincoln Park, at 5:30 p.m. near the intersection of Seminary and Altgeld. Two men came up from behind, smashing Caldwell's face into the pavement and knocking out her front teeth, then grabbing her iPod and running off. On her website, Caldwell said, "You might see some media reports about me being mugged while out for a run in my Chicago neighborhood. Yep, kind of got my butt kicked. Lost some teeth, but got some new ones. The swelling is way down, the ego is still a little bruised. I'll be back to writing on Monday."
With the rain holding off until twenty minutes before start time, the weather didn't deter the several hundred folks donning their iPods at precisely 2:00 p.m. on Sunday to receive direction from an omnipotent voice as part of Improv Everywhere's Mp3 Experiment. It did, however, cut down on the number of people wandering through Lincoln Park wondering what the hell was going on -- part of the fun -- but that didn't dampen (heh) the enthusiasm of the crowd participating in such things as human Tetris and a final "Epic Battle" involving the pummeling of each other with balloons. Normally we don't take part in such things (the World Pillow Fight Day seemed like our personal Hell), but after yesterday we'll admit that taking part in some silly shenanigans once in a while does improve one's attitude and outlook on life.
According to an EPA study, Cook County had the worst dangerous air pollution of any county in 2005 and the highest risk score, says a Tribune Watchdog Report, is a Lincoln Park steel mill. But it's not just in the city; according to the study, Will and DuPage Counties have six of the area's worst 50 factories and Lake County, Indiana has nine.
The buzz over Urban Assault Ride has been high and the event is finally upon us. This Sunday marks the Chicago debut when two-person teams will ride to checkpoints around town to complete crazy obstacle courses and win prizes in a cross-city bicycle scavenger hunt. The obstacle courses have been finalized and are as follows:
Throughout the month of September, you are cordially invited to spend your weekends touring fancy homes (the $900,000–$4,000,000 kind of fancy homes) during the fifth annual Chicago Luxury Home Tour. Presented by Midwest Home Chicago, 22 homes will be on display throughout the Chicagoland area. Think Hindsdale, Naperville, Glenview, not Gold Coast, Bucktown, Lincoln Park. It's a bit of driving around but after perusing the photo gallery (Hello, George Costanza-worthy Weilert Custom Homes bathroom, above) it might be worth devoting an entire day navigating around the suburbs. But if you're like us, you'll probably just get tired and end up hanging out at the refreshment stop, snacking on catered food and raspberry watermelon lemonade from the Viking Cooking School and Culinary Shop instead.
A garbage collector discovered a handgun in an alley near where off-duty police officer Robert Soto and his companion Kathryn Romberg were killed. A ballistics investigation is underway to determine if the weapon was used in those or any other recent murders.
As of today, we are in full Summer Mode, kids. No, really: it's the summer solstice, which occurs this evening at 6:59 p.m. Huzzah! We're right in the thick of festival season and sweet Blago on a stick, there are a lot of 'em. Chuck covered some earlier in the Friday Buffet (we're super stoked for Joe M500's trade-in at Tour de Fat and the Drive By Truckers at Taste of Randolph), so here's the best of the rest.
A four-judge appellate panel halted construction on the Latin School's soccer field in Lincoln Park today. The decision, according to Crain's, "effectively accept[s] the view of a citizens’ group, Protect Our Parks." Now the case goes back to circuit court. [Crain's]
A county judge issued a ruling against the Park District and Latin School today, mostly siding with Protect Our Parks. From Crain's:
Lincoln Park residents against the Latin School's park deal are taking their complaint to court. The prestigious private school footed parted of the $2 million bill for a soccer field in Lincoln Park in exchange for dibs on its use. Protect Our Parks, a nonprofit group formed to oppose the deal, filed a suit against the city yesterday.
Last week’s free McSkillet burritos spoiled us. All we had to do was purchase one little drink and we got a free breakfast? Suddenly paying for meals seemed like a sham. It got us thinking - where else can we score some free grub in this town? Well, seek and ye shall find:
Oh man, we almost forgot about the Children's Museum debate! Luckily, Alderman Brendan Reilly wants to keep it front and center, which is why he sent the Museum a list of 24 possible places it could relocate that aren't Grant Park:
Has this little email forward hit your inbox yet? Someone with too much time on their hands has created Chicagoland Area Barbies, each of which represents supposed Chicagoland stereotypes.
Seems we're not the only ones who have trouble finding sports stories newsworthy enough to cover this time of year. With the Bears' season over, the Bulls and Hawks dwelling near the cellar, and the start of spring training still a couple weeks away, these are cold days for Chicago sports fans.
The American Apparel on Armitage reopened today after being closed for two weeks for operating without a business license. Weirdly, none of the four Chicago locations had local business licenses--just Illinois ones. But the Lincoln Park store had been warned, whereas the others had not. Anyway, you can go back to your regularly scheduled programming of buying high-waisted Vegas leggings. (Pictured are the taffeta swim trunks, if you're planning for warmer weather.)
Oprah is getting her a cable network, OWN ("Oprah Winfrey Network"), which will--gasp--replace the Discovery Health Network. Noooo! We all know what Oprah wants, Oprah gets, but we freaking love the Discovery Health Network. [Trib]
Every morning on our way to work, the Brown Line takes us past a building declaring itself as Noble Horse Theater. We always peered down from our perch up on the L and wondered what this place is all about, and could sometimes even see horses hanging out in a paddock the size of three Old Town brownstones.
Hair Fairies – The Head Lice Helpers," a national delousing agency, to Lincoln Park. Our natural first reaction to this sort of news was, of course, horror at the thought that Chicago might be in the midst of a head lice epidemic (not true), which then gave way to curiosity.
If you’re lucky, your toddler will be asleep, blissfully unaware when the last minutes of 2007 tick by. An earlier bed time doesn’t mean that he or she has to miss out on the festivities, though; a handful of places in and around Chicago are hosting New Year’s Eve parties for the little ones, with dancing, snacks and party favors at an earlier countdown.
Combine kitschy decor, deliciously moist cupcakes and a heart-warming tale, and what do you get? The most adorable bakery to hit Chicago in recent memory.
The Chicago City Council held off on voting on a controversial ban on urban chickens yesterday. Since urban chickens are all the rage, it seems like a perfect time to ban them, right? Southwest Side Alderman Lona Lane (18th), who proposed the ban, said she didn't know why the vote on the ban was held up. Maybe it is, as the Sun-TImes suggests, because Mayor Daley has a thing for urban poultry: "Let's be realistic,"...
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