On Thursday afternoon, Mark Fitch, 44, tricked Oak Forest police into an hours long, one-sided standoff after leading them to believe that he was holed up inside his home, on the 5500 block of Babbette Court in Oak Forest, when he had really been at a bar the entire time talking to police on his cell phone. Fitch was eventually arrested outside a nearby Beggars Pizza. more ›

Oak Forest police officers discovered 15,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike sneakers in storage units last week. The shoes were in boxes and on pallets, apparently ready to be shipped, and police say they have a street value of $750,000. So far, no arrests have been made, but it's the largest sneaker bust ever in the Midwest. [Southtown Star]
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More details are emerging about the Tinley Park murders from this weekend. In addition to the five women who died, one woman was shot but survived and gave police a description of the gunman, who is still at large. Lane Bryant is offering $50,000 reward for information that leads to the shooter's arrest. more ›

A tiny bit more information coming out today about Subhas Chander, the Oak Forest man who's been charged with murdering his daughter, grandson and son-in-law. He was ordered held without bail yesterday, and his lawyer says he's suffering from some liver problems. more ›

Subhash Chander has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of intentional homicide of an unborn child in the Oak Forest fire that killed his pregnant daughter Monika Rani, son-in-law Rajesh Kumar, and grandson Vansh. Prosecutors say Chander set the fire because he believed his son-in-law was from a lower caste than his daughter, and that he didn't approve of the marriage. The fire also destroyed a 36-unit building and has left dozens of people homeless. more ›

The Sun-Times giveth, and the Sun-Times taketh away. How great: a list of 10 inspiring women of 2007! Wait a second...Jennifer Love Hewitt and the beauty queen who thinks we don't have maps? Come on. And what exactly do Paige Wiser and Lisa Donovan mean when they say that Laila Ali "redefined our idea of a female athlete"? [S-T] more ›

Don't settle for another Wednesday of and Girl Scout cookies that have been in the freezer for months (not ... that ... we do that ...). There's a shitton of stuff going on tonight! more ›

Oak Forest officials just realized one unseemly result of the state-wide smoking ban set to take effect January 1: throngs of angry, drunk, cold smokers loitering outside bars. In order to avoid an uprising, or at least to steer clear of unsightly smokers’ tents popping up on their well-tended streets, the local council is taking up the issue. Aldermen are looking into setting rules for would-be structures that may pop up 15 feet away from... more ›

We got an eyeful on Monday when we read the Chicago Reporter's study of high-cost loans and their impact on Chicagoans. The federal government has already announced a program to help middle-class families avoid foreclosure. Now the State of Illinois is stepping in to help renters as well. A new piece of legislation, sponsored by Sen. Maggie Crotty (D-Oak Forest) will give Illinois renters living in properties where the landlord is going into foreclosure 120... more ›

Remember growing up, there was that one graveyard you just didn’t go into? You weren’t sure why, but something about the place just gave you the creeps at any time of day. Chicagoist recalls wistfully (maybe not wistfully; more like hysterically) one dare-fuelled drive into Barrington's famed White Cemetery, where two of our friends wouldn’t even breathe the open air, opting instead to cover their mouths with their shirts. And when the car became mysteriously stuck in the boneyard’s driveway … well, it wasn’t a feel-good situation. (Later reflection points to the winter weather rather than impish ghosties.) more ›

Modest hero saves toddler and brushes off praise after locating boy, and putting his own air mask on him. The family of a missing Plainfield woman hopes two billboards to be unveiled Tuesday in that community, asking "Where is Lisa Stebic?" will help generate new tips. Somebody's lovin' it. McDonald's turns some heads by sponsoring a music tour featuring Chicago's Twista, a rapper whose raunchy lyrics have been identified by a billboard campaign decrying... more ›

We here at Chicagoist like to keep it local (since that's our name and all). With that in mind, here's all the news — or at least three stories we found that we wanted to bring to your attention but couldn't really get a whole post out of. So let's get on those chaps, buckaroos, and head on down to the old roundup: Dick Durbin Seeks Review of Tribune Sale. Expressing concern that federal regulators... more ›

Illinois budgets are in trouble all over -- at a meeting with legislative leaders late Tuesday, Gov. Blagojevich warned that unless a budget deal is reached, state government could shut down next month. Selling sex toys on the side and earning a $64,000 salary wasn't enough. Karen Bailey, a top assistant to Cook County Commissioner Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, faces felony charges for allegedly stealing nearly $300,000 from an 87-year-old woman, prosecutors and police... more ›

Oh, Illinois. You so crazy. more ›

South suburban high school District 228 has had its fair share of problems lately. First there was the fake video made by the district's superintendent. Rich Mitchell received a suspension for that little bit of shenanigans, about which he is suing, claiming sexual discrimination because he's openly gay. Sure. Post a joke video on your district's website asking your employees if they kill for fun and what drugs they're on at the moment, then play the homophobia card. A tad farfetched, wethinks. more ›

A 54-year-old Oak Forest man was charged with first-degree murder yesterday for killing his wife by hitting her in the head with a hammer. Antoni Suchon called police on Monday evening, saying he had hit his wife Teresa. Police came to their home and found her dead with not one, but at least six blows to the head. more ›

We’ll admit, you had us a little worried last week, people. But you met our challenge head on and brought your stupid A game this week. We knew you had it in you. more ›

We knew a week off would recharge our batteries for this feature, but who knew meeting our word count this week would be as easy as beating a Big Ten team in the NCAA tournament? And we're not even including the poor guy who cut off his own wang. Drumroll please... more ›

A decade ago when Chicagoist was just graduating high school, we would have never considered coming out as gay to our friends. While youth still need to worry about unaccepting teachers and being bashed by peers, today's high schools are a vastly different place. more ›