Kifah Mustapha, a Muslim Cleric whose certification with the Illinois State Police was revoked in June, has filed suit with the State Police. The revocation stemmed from allegations that Mustapha had connections to terrorism from the right wing Investigative Project on Terrorism. According to the Courthouse News Service Mustapha “confirmed under oath that he never played any role in Hamas, never supported Hamas financially, never traveled to the Middle East on behalf of the Holy Land Foundation, and never raised funds for any organization in the United States to support Hamas;” which is the bulk of the accusations from IPT. Mustapha is seeking punitive damages for constitutional violations and racial and religious discrimination. more ›

Sheikh Kifah Mustapha, an imam and associate director of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, would have been the first Muslim Chaplain in the Illinois State Police. In December, the Illinois State Police certified Mustapha, making him the only Muslim chaplain in the agency. Due to a report from the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) however, Mustapha’s position has now been revoked. more ›

Finding yourself driving about late at night for one reason or another? This should go without saying, but be sure to buckle up as the annual "Click It Or Ticket" campaign is now underway in Illinois and this year, state and local police are particularly targeting late-night drivers. Many fatal car crashes occur between midnight and 3 a.m.; that time period likely sees the most instances of not buckling up. And state police think there's a correlation. The Expired Meter explains: more ›

As the snow still falls and we prepare for the lake-effect portion of the storm - which may drop another 4-5 inches on us by this time tomorrow - already we're seeing the effects of the storm. Besides the traffic snarls here in the city, the Illinois State Police have already enacted their Emergency Snow Plan. The plan asks that motorists involved in minor incidents that don't involve injury don't call 911 tor police assistance unless absolutely necessary; motorists should still exchange insurance information. Meanwhile, plows are out in force across city and state roads, trying to clear the way. Air traffic has also been thrown into chaos with 500 flights already canceled between both O'Hare and Midway. If you're unlucky enough to be scheduled to fly today, be sure to check in with your airline. more ›

It's been an interesting couple of days in the case of Stacy Peterson's disappearance. While D-Pete, who has never met a camera he doesn't love, showed up on national television again last week in the wake of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of deceased murdered third wife Kathleen Savio, there are some new happenings in the case of missing fourth wife Stacy. News came from NBC 5 yesterday that police and Coast Guard officials were searching a canal for possible evidence. D-Pete attorney Joel Brodsky dismissed the actions, saying, "They did it all last summer. They're doing it again, so I don't think it's of any significance." Pam Bosco, spokeswoman for Stacy's family, was more optimistic, saying, "I think what we can take from that is that they're still considering this a very important investigation, and that it's very active. We believe she can be found yet, and so we want to put all our efforts into doing our searches. Yet we believe that eventually we will find Stacy." more ›

The Illinois Sheriff's Association seems to be an unlikely supporter of what would be a controversial public law: the right to carry a concealed weapon. The group is taking a stand in favor of the Family and Personal Protection Act, introduced on January 20 by Democratic State Rep. John Bradley of Marion. HB 245, (can read the bill here), would permit citizens to carry concealed firearms if they have the proper training. "I believe to be successful the key to concealed carry is training," St. Clair County Sheriff Mearl Justus said Wednesday in a prepared statement. "If we allow concealed carry, we must make sure only the right people have the guns. This is best done by requiring training, proper identification, and a thorough background check — including a mental evaluation.... If this is done, our citizens will have the right to concealed carry, but those who can't pass a background check or cannot successfully complete a training program will not be legally able to obtain a permit." more ›

Did the president of Medill use made-up quotes in a newsletter? We...barely care. What really bugs us is journalists citing the existence of Facebook group as some kind of indicator of anything--"students and alumni joined the new 'Save Journalism at Medill' group on Facebook. On Tuesday afternoon, there were nearly 90 members ...." There are 650 fulltime students at Medill. Fewer than 90 of them . Agh, not news. [Trib] more ›

Eager to join everyone(in the media)'s search for the truth about Stacy Peterson, a celebrity mentalist has offered to lend his thought-reading abilities to the case. more ›

Deanna Glass, 14, is still missing. The South Side girl hasn't been seen since Tuesday. Mark your calendars, law makers: Blago has called for a special session on Nov 28 to talk transit funding. Attendance is mandatory! Eh, no it's not, but still. Another bad day for Todd Stroger, this time because his political fund was fined for failing to report all the contributions it received. Remember to buckle up while in Thanksgiving transit.... more ›

Looks like we're not the only ones with a case of the Mondays: Things aren't looking so great for Blagojevich today, either. Over the weekend, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn blamed Blago for the firing of 17 veterans from security jobs within the Illinois Department of Military Affairs. "The governor proclaimed this 'Hire a Veteran Month.' He didn't say 'Fire a Veteran,'" said Quinn. All together now: Oh, snap! Blagojevich says it's a matter of federal... more ›

We were hoping this story would have a happy ending but weren't too surprised to wake up this morning to find out it didn't. Alma Mendez had been missing since Sunday afternoon; her body was found yesterday at 2 p.m. in the river next to her jogging path; her throat was slashed. Mendez, a mother of three, had recently separated from her husband. He, along with other with other family members, was interviewed about the... more ›

Kramer and Newman couldn't make it work, but crooks in Ohio and Michigan can. Michigan police officers have busted a crime ring that transports and sells out-of-state, non-redeemable cans and turns them in for that sweet, sweet 10 cent payoff. The 13 crooks were arrested with $500,000 in cash. That's...a lot of cans. The 67-count warrant was a part of Operation Can Scam that busted two smuggling rings based in Ohio and Michigan. Investigators allege... more ›

It's been barely more than 24 hours since Lance Briggs' brand new $450,000 Lamborghini was found wrapped around a pole on the side of the Edens Expressway. In that time, we have learned that he was in fact driving the car at the time of the accident, and as a result on Monday was charged with leaving the scene of an accident -- a misdemeanor-- and ticketed for failure to immediately notify police of a... more ›

At some point, everyone gets the urge to “stick it to the man.” Whether it’s law enforcement officials, parents, bosses, teachers – they all need to be stuck sooner or later. We here at Chicagoist fully support your right to said sticking, but we urge you to be smart about it. Otherwise, things just get sticky. more ›

"Halt" via pantagrapher. more ›

Yesterday's 15-count indictment against Brian Dugan for the rape and murder of Jeanine Nicarico did many things but, as Eric Zorn points out, it did not prompt DuPage County authorities to actually say that the Aurora man was responsible—an omission that does little to to erase nearly 20 years worth of memories as to just how bungled and botched the investigation was from the beginning. For nearly all of Chicagoist's life, we've heard about the... more ›

The George Ryan trial is now in its eighth week and is expected to last much longer than the four months originally estimated. But just when Chicagoist started to lose interest last week, they managed to pull us back in. more ›

A female friend once told Chicagoist how demeaning and irritating she found the catcalls and wolf-whistles hurled in her direction by construction workers - but that, secretly, she always felt a twinge of self-doubt if a saunter past a construction site yielded no comments. If that holds true across the female spectrum, Chicagoland ladies expecting glances and more from the orange-vested, blue-collar studlets by the side of the road may be disappointed to find out that some of them are actually undercover cops. more ›

As expected, Mayor Daley once again announced a package of gun legislation he hopes state legislators will pass in their coming session that starts January 10. The basic idea behind the package is to "...give the courts the power to fine and shut down gun dealers who help customers avoid background checks; who sell them large numbers of handguns without filing the required reports; or who sell handguns to residents of cities like Chicago where they are illegal." more ›

On Monday the Illinois State Police confirmed that they were investigating a number of allegations of negligence and misconduct against the Governor's security detail made in an ABC7 report. ABC7 launched the investigation during last summer's Democratic National Convention. (For the whole report, including other examples, go here.) They wondered why the Guvna's bodyguards needed to drive state SUVs to Boston when Massachusetts was already providing all state governors with state troopers and vehicles. The... more ›

An article in yesterday's Chicago Tribune explored Gov. Blagojevich's refusal to increase the fee for a state firearms license. Currently the price of a Firearms Owners Identification Card is $5.00 while the article says estimates of the cost of processing the cards vary from at least $7.39 per card to $15. more ›

According to this morning's Red Eye, the cause of the crash that injured Chicago rap artist Twista and caused the death of his friend and bodyguard, Arthur "Butch" Dixon, was driver fatigue. Criminal charges will not be filed against the driver, Twista's cousin Otis Bankhead. The crash occurred during the early morning hours of Labor Day on Interstate 90 just east of the Pennsylvania/Ohio border. No further details about the accident were available though Pennsylvania State Police said that Bankhead will be issued "several driving violations" and specific charges will be detailed later today. more ›