‘‘I never saw it coming,’’ said Bears coach Lovie Smith when asked about Hurd’s arrest by federal agents. Hurd's teammates were also stunned and dismayed by Thursday's developments. But there were signs that Hurd had made some questionable choices even before signing with the Bears this off-season. more ›

If you missed the fantasy football playoffs, these five simple tips will help you attain ultimate victory: angering your friends. more ›

The street value of the confiscated pot is estimated at about $33 million. more ›

But he came back to the scene 90 minutes later. more ›

Across the country the decriminalization of marijuana has been taking place in the legal system. Dispensaries are popping up all over the west coast and more states are legalizing marijuana for medicinal use. But why won’t the Illinois legislature get with the program? more ›

Hiding marijuana plants in plain sight seems to be a growing trend. Just last week, the Mothership Gothamist discovered plants that appeared to be marijuana growing in Union Square Park. Now comes word from local law enforcement that 1,400 marijuana plants have been found growing on an embankment of Metra's Rock Island District line at West 35th and South LaSalle, near U.S. Cellular Field. The 1,400 plants were removed from land that belongs to Metra but additional plants were found on land that belongs to the City of Chicago. So who's responsible? Police aren't saying but they did say an arrest was made in connection with all the weed. We're betting some Sox fans are gonna be a little less buzzed going into this afternoon's game against the Cubs. more ›

• The search continues for an Albany Park boy who fell into the Chicago River while playing yesterday.
• The New Trier student accused in a hit-and-run admitted to police she had been smoking marijuana the night before the accident.
• Jurors on the Rod Blagojevich case will remain anonymous until after the trial is over.

If you're going to go to the trouble of helming a large marijuana growing business, you might want to do your homework and come up with the best way to not get caught. Some growers in Gary, Indiana obviously didn't and were nabbed after their astronomical power bill tipped off the power company. The power usage raised eyebrows at NIPSCO, a gas and power provider in Northwest Indiana, who turned over the suspicious info to law enforcement. According to WBBM 780: more ›

The Cook County Sheriff's office shut down two drug operations on the South side over the weekend. In Chicago's South Deering neighborhood, a public school librarian and another man who's a lecturer at UIC were arrested and charged with growing marijuana in their home. Heidi Keller, who works as a librarian at Chinatown's Haines Elementary School, and Adrian Ortiz were arrested Friday at a home they shared at 3500 block of South Sangamon Street. Police say they spent about three months investigating the couple, who are charged with growing pot at a home on on the 10000 block of South Exchange Street. The couple say the bought the property as an investment. Police told the Tribune that there is "no evidence it was being used for anything other than a marijuana growing operation." Police say they found eight irrigation tables with 186 marijuana plants. They also found a complex lighting system and a system of water pumps set on timers. more ›

Elgin police shot six "aggressive" pit bulls while searching a home, the Daily Herald reports. more ›

Eddie Lumpkin, 48, an auto mechanic, who was accused of driving drunk on Tuesday when he allegedly hit and killed a 6-year-old girl also admitted to smoking marijuana shortly before the crash, Cook County prosecutors said in court on Friday. Lumpkin's bail was set at $500,000 during the hearing at the 26th and California courthouse. more ›

And we mean huge. Yesterday, police arrested a Cicero man who 220 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle; the amount has a street value of over $1.5 million. But that's not all they found. The investigation took the officers to a nearby garage at 26th and Kildare where they found 25 kilos of coke (street value: $3.1 million), four pounds of methamphetamine (street value: $600,000), and a 9mm handgun. Herrera wasn't charged with the Scarface-esque coke discovery in the garage and police say the investigation is ongoing. [Tribune] more ›

• Officials are investigating the explosion of a manufacturing plant near Belvidere this afternoon; a man at a nearby tollway oasis was killed when he was struck by debris from the explosion.
• A recent pot bust turned out to be the largest in Kane County history.
• And so it begins: some areas already under a Winter Storm watch.

The McHenry County sheriff's office made quite a find recently, bringing a new definition to the term "bumper crop." Sheriffs found over 500 marijuana plants growing amongst corn in several locations in fields near Richmond. The plants were "ready to harvest" and could have brought in almost $600,000 if they made it to the streets. Authorities are still trying to figure out who planted them. [Tribune] more ›

The Reader's Mick Dumke has an interesting solution for how to help the City close that budget gap: legalize marijuana and tax it. Mayor Daley has supported decriminalizing marijuana in the past (before he was against it). And Lord knows he loves to tax stuff. This could possibly work. But it's only a matter of time before he privatizes more ›

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has a thought on the ordinance the Cook County Board passed last week, decriminalizing marijuana: not so fast. Dart expressed some concerns with the new ordinance, saying, "I think any time you're talking about legalization or downgrading there needs to be a very thorough discussion. It needs to be based on facts and analysis. I don't know if that was done." Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has not officially approved the bill but has indicated he doesn't plan to veto it. [WBBM] more ›

In a surprise move, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has reversed course and now says he won't veto the new measure the Cook County Board passed yesterday, decriminalizing marijuana in unincorporated parts of Cook County. According to Chicago Breaking News: more ›

In a move that's caught almost everyone by surprise, the Cook County Board yesterday voted to decriminalize marijuana in very small amounts in unincorporated parts of Cook County. Under the legislation passed, sheriffs can arrest someone possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana on misdemeanor charges or simply issue a $200 ticket. The measure was introduced by Commissioner Earlean Collins who admitted personal motivations: her grandson was arrested for having a small amount of marijuana. Collins, though, made a salient point: arresting marijuana offenders is crowding jails. According to the Sun-Times, she said: more ›

• Bail was set at $1 million for the cab driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger.
• University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman spoke briefly today on ending the admissions process at the school that gives favor to certain "connected" students.
• The FBI is now investigating a suspicious package found this morning at Riverside Plaza.

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto tested positive for pot at this year's World Baseball Classic, meaning he's banned from international play for the next two years. Meanwhile, he will face no disciplinary action from either the Cubs or Major League Baseball. In a statement released by the team yesterday, Soto said: more ›

If U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk gets his way, more potent marijuana will soon garner a harsher punishment. Under Kirk's proposed legislation, a first-time offense for selling or distributing marijuana with a THC content of more than 15 percent would earn you 25 years in prison. Kirk plans to unveil his proposed legislation at a press conference later today. We're not even going to wade into the "Legalize It" debate but 25 years seems a bit steep. more ›

Supporters of State Bill 1381, proposed to create the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, are exhaling in relief today as the bill narrowly passed the state senate yesterday by a vote of 30-28. According to the Tribune, details of the act: more ›

75 marijuana plants were found in a Winnetka home on Wednesday when police executed a search warrant on a home in the 300 block of Hawthorn Lane. Police also found “further evidence of the production, use and distribution of [marijuana],” according to a Winnetka Police release. more ›

Olympic athletes, sports writers, and now simple towns folk: no matter who you are, it seems the gods are against you when it comes to just unwinding with some Phish and weed. This time, Mother Nature played the NARC. Those gusty winds we dealt with yesterday were also felt in South Bend, Indiana where they somehow tripped a home security system off at a residence. Police responded to the call but upon arrival, while they found no signs of a security problem, their police dog sensed drugs on the premises. Sure enough, the police uncovered "19 marijuana plants and 40 grams of processed marijuana." No one has been arrested but prosecutors are considering charges against the homeowner. more ›

With the economy in the tank, Lord knows we could all use a little extra money these days. We're always looking for a way to supplement our salaries, whether it's selling back old clothes to thrift stores or selling our plasma. One Grand Rapids sports writer, however, thought he had found a better way to supplement his income: selling weed. David Mayo (right), sports writer for the Grand Rapids Press, was charged with manufacture of more than 20 but less than 200 plants, a seven-year felony, and maintaining a drug house at his home. a two-year, high-court misdemeanor. We knew print media was having a hard time of it these days, but this bad? [via Awful Announcing] more ›

Add Samuel Randall to the list of "Chicago People Who We Need To Party With." Randall was arrested yesterday for possession of six pounds of cannabis. That amount has a street value of $18,000 or enough to get one through an East Coast leg of a Phish tour. Zing! Randall was pulled over by police after he was spotted driving the wrong way down a one-way street yesterday afternoon. During the stop, officers spotted two bags of the wacky weed in one of the car's cup holders and smelled the rest in a shopping bag on the front seat. Everyone knows you hide that stuff in the spare tire wheel well in the trunk. Though, judging by the mug shot, it appears as if Randall was sampling his own product too much to think through the haze. more ›

If you like smoking grass, Chicago Heights is your place to be. The south suburb's city council used its home rule authority to puff-puff-pass an ordinance that says anyone caught with 30 grams or less of marijuana will only be ticketed instead of facing criminal charges.

City attorney TJ Somer said addressing such offenses as ordinance violations rather than crimes helps "unclog" the criminal justice system while providing extra revenue for the city. That's because the city doesn't have to share revenue from fines with the Cook County Circuit Court system.

Federal officials arrested 11 members accused of being members of the Juarez Drug Cartel who they say are responsible for distributing cocaine and marijuana in the Chicago area. According to WBBM, "Between December 2007 and July 2008, the cocaine was sold wholesale to for $20,000 to $22,000 per kilogram, while marijuana sold for $500 to $1,050 per pound". Feds think members rounded up in the arrest are also linked to a Little Village triple murder which officials are calling a "drug hit." more ›

Ah, the true localvore challenge: Is the ganj you smoke grown locally? According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, tighter border control has pushed some drug cartels to grow their crops on American soil. Super American soil. As in National Parks. Between 75 and 80 percent of marijuana grown outdoors in the US is grown on state or federal land. more ›

A young Chicago man, Antonio D. Johnson, was arrested in Iowa early Thursday morning for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. It was a cut-and-dry arrest until the patrol car ride to the police station. It seems Antonio had several small bags of marijuana on him that the police hadn't found during a pat down, so he did what any other sensible person arrested for public intoxication would do: he tried to hide the weed in the cop car. Johnson tore a hole in the seat and stuffed 12 bags into the hole. FAIL. Officers found an unlucky 13th bag in his jacket pocket and tacked on possession of a controlled substance, drug tax stamp violation, criminal mischief and attempting to conceal evidence to his charges. more ›