Oprah turns 58, a Pilsen man has been charged with a weekend rape, and other news. more ›

Carlo Settecase, 21, who worked as a switchboard operator at the Nordstrom's in the Westfield Old Orchard mall, was arrested in a "ninja-like outfit" after stealing $30,000 worth of merchandise from his employer and attempting to sell it on eBay. On the night of September 5, Settecase reportedly slept under his desk at the store, put on an all-black outfit, and went on his criminal "shopping" spree. more ›

We often joke in the Chicagoist office about the joys of jobs and daily situations where pants aren't required. But that usually involves being in the privacy of our own home. One Skokie man, however, is in trouble for allegedly extending those bounds of privacy to, er, a bit outside the home. more ›

Wedding brawls are nothing new; just Google the term and you'll come up with plenty of examples for a surely-in-the-works TV special, "When Nuptials Go Bad." But this one is unique for two reasons: that it happened close to home and the casualties involved. Six people were injured and one person stabbed when all hell broke loose at a wedding reception at a Skokie restaurant. The brawl broke out around 1 a.m. this morning as the mid-week wedding party was winding down at Zhivago's Restaurant and Banquet. The incident, called a "domestic-related" incident by police, apparently began between two men who were arguing inside the restaurant. Ever mindful of proper wedding etiquette, the pair took their beef outside where the suburban version of Road House broke out. The Sun-Times reports the restaurant's general manager as claiming that "broken glass, possibly from a beer bottle was used during the fight." All six of those injured were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries though we assume that'll change very soon. Also unknown? Whatever in the blue hell caused the fight in the first place. We're going to assume booze was (heavily) involved in the decision and, just for kicks, let's say it probably started over an argument about ketchup on hot dogs. more ›

A family outing turned tragic yesterday for an area man and some visiting family. Four people, a Skokie man and three of his granddaughters, were killed yesterday afternoon when the small plane they were in crashed along I-75 after a trip to Mackinac Island in the Michigan UP. The plane struggled upon takeoff from St. Ignace, crossed the north bound lanes of I-75, and then struck the median where it crashed and flipped. Moshe Menora, 73, of Skokie was killed as were three grand-daughters visiting from Israel: Sarah Klein, 17, Rebecca Menora, 16, and Rachel Menora, 14. Nathanial Menora, a 13-year-old grandson, was thrown from the plane upon its crash and was taken to a hospital with severe burns. Menora was flying a Beech Baron 58 multi-engine fixed-wing plane built in 1987. more ›

The FBI and local area police are investigating two separate Friday night bank robberies, one in west suburban Oak Brook and the other in north suburban Skokie. more ›

• An autopsy performed this afternoon on Jameshia Connor revealed the 12-year-old girl died by strangulation.
• Webio co-founder David Hernandez is planning on pleading guilty in his fraud case later this winter.
• The Tribune Company has until February 28, 2010 to submit their Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

Shane T. Collymore, 18, Skokie, was charged with three felony counts of armed robbery, three felony counts of aggravated unlawful restraint, and three felony counts of aggravated kidnapping in connection with robbery of MB Financial Bank, 1014 Busse Hwy. in Park Ridge, on Aug. 13, 2008. Police said that in the robbery, a man wearing a black-and-pink dress, white gloves, sandals, and a woman's sun hat walked into the bank at closing time and pulled out a black handgun from the purse he was carrying. more ›

• The dispute over the Arie Crown Hebrew Day School expansion in Skokie has raised accusations of antisemitism.
• A Chicago firefighter remains in critical condition. the latest victim in the series of violent Lincoln Park attacks Updated: Police say it is not connected to the recent string of robberies in the neighborhood.
• In another case of sickening violence, a woman was bound and raped Tuesday night in the Logan Square neighborhood.

Yesterday's approval by the CTA board of a plan to extend the Yellow, Red, and Orange lines has been met with a variety of responses from both supporters and detractors. WBEZ spoke to several people in Skokie about their concerns of extending the Yellow Line. more ›

After yesterday's shooting at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., the Illinois Holocaust Museum is on "heightened alert." Richard Hirschhaut, executive director of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, called the shooting in D.C. a "senseless attack." According to the Sun-Times: more ›

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center has announced former President Bill Clinton will speak at the museum's public grand opening on Sunday, April 19. In a press release, Richard S. Hirschhaut, the museum's executive director, said, "President Clinton's participation in the dedication of this world-class institution truly sets the tone for what we want the museum to be. Not only does President Clinton's attendance underscore the urgency of our mission, but also the important role we must all play in combating intolerance and genocide throughout the world today." Clinton will join Governor Pat Quinn as well as several Holocaust survivors for the festivities. Located at 9603 Woods Drive in Skokie, tours of the museum will follow the festivities. More information on the grand opening can be found here. more ›

Keeping a day job in the northern suburbs has re-acquainted us with many of the charms of growing up on the North and Northwest sides. That includes exploring the "border" suburbs when we want to get our nosh on. A co-worker who keeps asking us for restaurant advice (but never heeds it) offered to make a run to a long-forgotten hot dog stand a few weeks back. He brought us back an Italian beef sandwich from Herm's Hot Dog Palace in Skokie (3406 Dempster St., 847-673-9757). As a teenager, we used to bike — or take the Skokie Swift — to visit "Big Herm's" and grab this delicious sammich. more ›

The Illinois Holocaust Museum is nearing completion and has been scheduled to open on April 19, 2009. At 65,000 square-foot, the museum will be the largest of its kind in the Midwest. Officials also say it's likely to be one of the last such museums made in conjunction with Holocaust survivors. J. B. Pritzker, campaign chair for the Museum, said, "This building is a testament to Holocaust survivors who settled in Illinois and their understanding that we must teach future generations the lessons of the Holocaust."

Artifacts include the original volume of the Nuremberg trial transcripts, nearly 2,000 testimonies of Midwest Holocaust survivors and a German rail car of the type used by the Nazis during the Holocaust to transport millions of Jews to concentration camps.

Yesterday, we expressed our disappointment that Jeanette Sliwinski was being released after serving less than three years for killing three local musicians in a suicide attempt car crash in 2005. In spite of how we feel about the situation, we're further disappointed by the fact that Sliwinski has received death threats, forcing police to stand guard outside her family's Morton Grove home. The Illinois Department of corrections received the threats shortly before Sliwinski's release yesterday. Said police Commander Brian Bolger, "We're hoping it was a random type of baseless threat, but we still take all threats seriously." more ›

Last week, we mentioned ex-model Jeanette Sliwinski, who killed three local musicians in a suicide attempt car crash, was set to be released. Today, her day of freedom has arrived as the Morton Grove woman was released from the Lincoln Correctional Center this morning. While we do have some sympathy for the mental illness that Sliwinski suffers from, to say that the time she served for killing three people is just a slap on the wrist is still a gross understatement. While Sliwinski spent a little over two years in jail awaiting trial, she ultimately served only 10 months of her four year sentence. Michael Mette, the Chicago Police officer who was arrested in Iowa on assault charges and is now free, received a longer sentence for punching a guy in the face. Michael Dahlquest, John Glick, and Douglas Meis are not coming back and someone should have to answer for this. But we guess it won't be the person who killed them. more ›

Ex-model Jeanette Sliwinski, convicted of killing three local musicians in a suicide attempt car crash, will be released from prison next week three years after receiving an eight-year sentence causing outrage among the relatives and friends of the three men killed. Michael Dahlquest (39, left), John Glick (35, right), and Douglas Meis (29, center) were killed on July 14, 2005 on their lunch break when Sliwinski, driving over 90 miles-per-hour, slammed into their car in Skokie; Sliwinski suffered a broken ankle. Sliwinski was convicted of three counts of reckless homicide, though prosecutors originally sought first-degree murders and a 30-year sentence. The presiding judge, Cook County Circuit Judge Garritt Howard, citing her lack of violent history and mental state, reduced that sentence. Sliwinski's release is due to "a sentencing law that governs many Illinois crimes other than murder and routinely cuts sentences in half." more ›

In what is now a weekly right of passage, the CTA is doing all kinds of stuff to the train lines this weekend. Which is fine, because there's really not much going on this weekend besides all the street fests, Blues Fest, Printers Row Book Fair, the Sox home games, and all the tourists in town. We know it's all for the greater good and many of the reroutes are during off-peak hours, but that doesn't mean it won't affect anyone. Here's a quick summary of what's happening with each line this weekend. more ›

Despite this week's news that the work on the Fullerton and Belmont stops will be finished ahead of schedule, we're still drinking the CTA flavor Haterade. Honestly, we've given up taking the El on weekends. With slow zones, closures and reroutes, not to mention the ongoing Brown Line construction/clusterfuck, it's easier in this beautiful weather to just walk or ride our bikes (always wear a helmet!). With lots of people traveling and making their way around town for fests and other spring-time activities, it's important to keep an eye on the CTA Customer Alert website. Here's a quick run-down of this weekend's closures. more ›