Valerie Booker, 38, of the 8800 block of South Loomis Street, was charged on Thursday with false impersonation of a police officer and misdemeanor name use, after she allegedly threatened her son's 15-year-old classmate near Mount Carmel High School, according to police news Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor. The twist? Booker may be a former City of Chicago employee. more ›

More surveillance news: The city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication has put into action plans to expand their network to include security cameras already in place at businesses and private residences. Feeds, received through encrypted Internet transmissions, would only be accessed when needed, using multiple time shots and camera angles to “build a synergistic view” of crimes. The infrastructure and software necessary for the additional surveillance is already in place, and participants should be able to connect to the network by the end of the month. Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th), chairman of the Police and Fire Committee, signed the ordinance on Wednesday. [Trib, S-T, The Windy Citizen] more ›