You really want to know why we find the story of former Metra boss Phil Pagano's tumbleweed finances so interesting? It's because a new wrinkle comes out every time we think the story is done, like trying to fight termites. more ›

The unusual death of a young man in Evanston by pipe bomb a few weeks ago has officially been classified as a suicide by investigators. The victim, 21-year-old Colin Dalebroux, apparently left a note on his computer that "outlined his desire to commit suicide"; he had also visited several sites for instructions for how to make a pipe bomb. A pellet gun was also found with his body a little over two weeks ago near Nichols Middle School. Dalebroux's decapitated body was discovered early the morning of September 14 by a local resident out walking his dog. Authorities have been quick to point out that though his body was found near the school, the school itself was not a target of Dalebroux's. more ›

• U.S. Rep. - and GOP U.S. Senate candidate - Mark Kirk opens up about the award kerfuffle.
• Stedman speaks and he doesn't think we appreciate Oprah.
• Another student bullied to suicide.

Metra chief Phil Pagano, recently placed on leave as the investigation into his alleged financial misdealings intensifies, has died of an apparent suicide this morning in which he walked in front of a Metra train. Metra board members had scheduled a meeting for this morning at which they were expected to fire Pagano but it was cancelled after reports of Pagano's death came out. The accident occurred near Hillside and Terra Cotta roads by Sternes Woods Park in Crystal Lake. According to the Northwest Herald: more ›

A man apparently committed suicide this morning, throwing himself in front of a Blue Line train, killing him and shutting down Blue Line service during morning rush hour. The incident occurred around 8 a.m. at the Belmont Blue Line stop. As a result, Blue Line service was shut down and shuttle buses transported passengers between the California and Montrose stops. Blue Line service was restored by 10:30 a.m. more ›

West Town was the seen of a grisly double murder-suicide yesterday afternoon as a man apparently shot and killed his two sons before turning the gun on himself. Arturo Bahena, (age 72 according to the Trib but 76 according to the S-T), allegedly shot his sons Romeo, 44, and Rodolfo Bahena, 42, just before noon yesterday before then killing himself. The shootings took place at a property owned by Arturo, in the 1700 block of West Erie St., which was at the center of a bitter divorce battle between Bahena and his wife but police have not yet revealed any sort of motive behind the killings. more ›

• The Chicago Police Dept has officially ruled Michael Scott's death a suicide.
• Authorities hauled in 380 pounds of marijuana - estimated to be worth $2.5 million - in a raid on the South Side earlier today.
• A malfunction at the steam plant that provides heat and hot water to UIC Medical Center wreaked havoc earlier today; the malfunction has since been fixed.

Two and a half weeks after the body of Chicago Public Schools Board of Education President Michael Scott was pulled from the Chicago River, the Chicago Police Department still isn't ready to issue it's ruling in his death. CPD superintendent Jody Weis said today, "The one question we may never have an answer for is why this happened, but it¹s important we talk to every person." NBC 5 has more details, but reports that, so far, all the evidence collected supports the Cook County Medical Examiner's office ruling that Scott's death was a suicide. more ›

Police have released their full report on the investigation into the death of former Blagojevich aide Christopher Kelly. Kelly died in September from complications stemming from a suicide attempt. Several additional details were released, including Kelly telling his girlfriend, "It's my life...Tell them they won, tell them they won." There's no indication of who "they" refers to, but Kelly was under pressure from federal prosecutors to testify against Blagojevich. The Trib has more here. more ›

With questions still lingering around the circumstances of the death of Michael Scott, the Chicago Police is not rushing to issue its ruling. Still, in light of recent discoveries in the investigation, it seems that they may be inclined to issue a ruling in line with the one the Cook County Medical Examiner's office issued earlier this week and has been forced to defend. Among other discoveries: more ›

In a sense, the chatter over the death of Chicago Public Schools Board of Education President Michael Scott seems to be almost deafening. But we have to realize it's been only a little over two days since his body was found on the water's edge of the Chicago River; to expect a full set of answers in such a short time span is completely unrealistic. But that hasn't kept the speculation from churning, even as friends and family still try to make sense of his shocking death. At the heart of all of this is what the Tribune has labeled "a rift" between the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. On Monday afternoon, as police continued their investigation, the ME's office declared Scott's death a suicide by a "contact-range, through-and-through gunshot wound to his head," according to CCME Nancy Lynne Jones at a press conference. The rare press conference from a Medical Examiner was a defensive move as police have urged patience while they continue to investigate the circumstances around his death. His untimely death has also shown a spotlight on a few other items, including a recent probe into his usage of his board credit card, though it's reported he had already begun paying off the rather small amount ($3,000) on it. more ›

Despite yesterday's ruling from the Cook County Medical Examiner's office that CPS Board of Education president Michael Scott's death was a suicide, Chicago Police are still going forward with their investigation, including reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing residents who lived near where Scott's body was found. According to Fox 32: more ›

• With police reiterating that their investigation is still early and ongoing, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office officially ruled the death of CPS Board of Education president Michael Scott a suicide.
• The aftershocks of the beating death of Derrion Albert continue to be felt as today a federal judge gave the okay for students at Fenger High to transfer if they felt unsafe.
• An young Aurora man with Autism was found safe this morning after he went missing from his home late yesterday; he was found safe but in Crest Hill which is 20 miles from Aurora.

• In light of yesterday's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, a bankruptcy court judge has once more given the okay for the Cubs to be sold to the Ricketts family.
• If, in a few months, you feel like your copy of the Chicago Tribune is shrinking, you're not imagining it.
• An Indiana National Guard soldier committed suicide in a Muncie, Indiana movie theater last night.

Details continue to emerge in the death of former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly including the fact that the Country Club Hills police department concluded the death was "an apparent suicide." more ›

Two days after his death, while pieces of what happened are falling into place, plenty of questions still swirl around Christopher Kelly. An autopsy of former Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly proved inconclusive and the Cook County medical examiner's office claims they'll need more tests and investigations before they can rule on an official cause of death. Kelly was found by his girlfriend in his SUV late Friday night, parked in a lumber yard, and having swallowed a large number of pills - the Trib reports, "Tylenol wrappers and a large container of pills were found in Kelly's SUV." more ›

Police are still investigating the death of former Blago adviser Christopher Kelly but Kelly's "girlfriend" (Kelly was married at the time of his death) is no longer talking to police and, according to Country Club Hills mayor Dwight Welch, she is "lawyered up." Which is perhaps a good thing: according to the Tribune, while the death has been investigated as a possible suicide - the Sun-Times reports that Kelly, "called a woman identified as his 'girlfriend' and told her that he took some pills and was going to kill himself" - it seems they're now treating the case as a homicide investigation due to it's high profile nature. Said Welch, "We're giving it all of the bells and whistles. Were going after every detail ... we're treating it as we would if this were a homicide. It's a high profile case, we want to do it by the books, by the numbers and do it right.'' more ›

While Chicago Police have not officially confirmed it, other authorities and several media outlets have stated that the man who holed himself up in a Logan Square apartment building yesterday evening was Tyler James Martin, a former McHenry resident accused of killing his girlfriend (Amber Kathleen Cremeens, also a former McHenry resident) in Denver earlier this week. The standoff ended when Martin committed suicide around 7:30 p.m. Authorities in the Denver area had warned local police that Martin was likely on the run and planning to return to the Chicago area to see family. more ›

After the Evanston Police Department agreed with the Cook County Medical Examiner's decision to rule Aquan's death a suicide, the boy's family continues to ask questions about his death (and seems to be girding itself for a potential lawsuit). At the center of the family's issues are how did Aquan manage to slip away unnoticed for such a length of time? It's an issue the Evanston Police don't seem to have an answer for and Aquan's teacher has been placed on administrative leave as that particular probe continues. more ›

After a second investigation into the death of 10-year-old Oakton Elementary student Aquan Lewis, the Evanston Police Department has ruled the death a suicide, agreeing with an earlier conclusion reached by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. Lewis was found hanging from a hook in a school bathroom the afternoon of February 3rd and died early the following morning at Children's Hospital. more ›

• The family of Aquan Lewis is asking for a second autopsy to be performed, disputing what they call a "startling" and quick decision by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office that ruled Aquan's death a suicide.
• Police continue to investigate the rape of a woman that occurred early Monday morning in the Bucktown neighborhood - 2300 block of W. Moffat - just south of the Western (Milwaukee) Blue Line stop.
• Today in Executive Resignations: Dawn Catuara, acting executive director of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, has abruptly resigned. Cyrus Freidheim, president and CEO of Sun-Times Media Group, has also announced his resignation.

The death of 10-year-old Aquan Lewis, a 10-year-old student at Evanston's Oakton Elementary School, has been ruled a suicide after an autopsy. The ruling was made by the Cook County medical examiner's office earlier this afternoon. Lewis was found yesterday hanging from a hook in one of the school's bathrooms. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at Children's Memorial Hospital earlier this morning. Any further details are still very hard to come by. more ›

Ronald Vos, the middle school teacher from MacArthur Middle School in Prospect Heights, was found dead at his home today of an apparent suicide. The report of his death comes less than 48 hours after Vos was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a student at the school from September 2005 until March 2007. Vos' wife, who had left the house after his arrest, called police early Monday morning after finding him hanging in the home. An investigation into the assault showed Vos and the student had four encounters and had "agreed to trade sex for beer and cigarettes." A letter from Gregory P. Guarrine, superintendent of Prospect Heights School District 23 regarding Vos' arrest can be read here [PDF]. more ›

When an Elgin woman jumped into the Fox River attempting suicide yesterday afternoon, a group of onlookers called 911 to report the incident; rescue divers pulled the woman, still alive, from the river not far from the bridge where she jumped in. It was a decision that officials say was the right call. Elgin Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Swoboda said, "People like that you don't want to get too close because you don't know what their mindset is. Just keep an eye on them until we can show up...It's normal for people to want to do that, but realistically, it just makes it more difficult for the fire department when they get here. That water's really cold and it can put you in shock really quick, and you're not going to be much of a help to somebody at that point." Karen Beyer, the executive director of Ecker Center for Mental Health in Elgin, agreed that direct action can be risky, but suggested talking to the person threatening suicide. "You might try to bring the conversation around someone in their life who depends on them and loves them and would be hurt deeply if they died and they know it." more ›

Our pal Gena was at the John C. Reilly/Dewey Cox thing yesterday (where she took the picture above and a hundred others), and she tells us Reilly-as-Cox was amazing, "never breaking character and ad libbing with the best of them, sweating like a rock star and gyrating like one, too." He also busted out a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab," which we want to hear so very badly. She adds, "The band was remarkably... more ›

Looks like Blago's at it again. State legislative leaders are meeting again tomorrow to continue working on transit/casino/construction/dick-wagging, with the plan to head back to Springfield next week for--all together now--a special session. Maybe they could have a Very Special Session in which we learn about molestation or suicide or teen pregnancy. Blagojevich met with three legislative bigwigs today, but Mike Madigan wasn't one of them. Schedulig conflicts, says Madigan's camp. Never RSVPed to... more ›

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did... more ›

Aside from small-scale studies linking sexual-minority youth with high suicide attempt rates, there isn't a ton of concrete information about the higher risk of suicide among GLBT youth — U.S. data does not track sexual orientation as a factor in suicides. Still, there was a study in New Zealand that showed that they were six times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers, and it seems generally agreed upon that the risk is... more ›

NBC5 is trotting out a sweeps special they've named "The Woman Who Knew Too Much" (video), an exclusive interview with Anne Lockett, a key witness in the 1993 Brown's Chicken massacre. Lockett waited nine years to tell police that her ex-boyfriend James Degorksi and his friend Juan Luna told her about committing the crime, and in these interviews attempts to explain what took her so long. Degorski is still awaiting trial, but his alleged accomplice Luna was convicted and sentenced to life in prison earlier this year. Degorski's trial is scheduled to begin in February. Lockett was 17 in 1993, and was in the hospital following her fifth suicide attempt when the murders occurred; she says Degorski was abusive, but she was so depressed she stayed with him for two years. more ›