An unidentified man was killed while he was trying to steal copper wire from a utility pole in a park in Will County. more ›

An Illinois Appellate Court ruled against Will County prosecutors in allowing statements by Kathleen Savio in the case against Drew Peterson for her murder. more ›

Ballistics tests on a revolver used in a foiled tanning salon robbery in Orland Park conclude that it was the same gun used in the October "honeybee" murders in far suburban Beecher and in Indiana. more ›

A fatal tanning salon robbery in Orland Park may have given Will County Sheriff's officials a break, and possible resolution, in the October "honeybee" murders in far suburban Beecher and Indiana. more ›

Scott Eby accepted a plea bargain today in the 2004 rape and murder of 3-year-old Riley Fox that spares him the death penalty but guarantees he spends the rest of his life in prison. more ›

Stunning new yesterday out of Will County as charges against Brian Dorian, the Lynwood police officer alleged to have killed one man and wounded two in a shooting spree last week, were dropped after authorities discovered evidence on Dorian's home computer that placed him at his Crete Township home during the shootings. more ›

Family and friends of Lynwood police officer Brian Dorian, who allegedly killed one man and wounded two others in a shooting spree last week across Illinois and Indiana, held a fundraiser for Dorian while maintaining that they cannot believe he was involved in the shootings. more ›

The Chicago Tribune (via ChicagoBreakingNews) and the Chicago Sun-Times are both reporting this morning that Illinois State Police are pursing a lead and conducting a search in Peoria County for Stacy Peterson's remains. TMZ reported that the tip may have come from a fellow inmate of Peterson, who is awaiting trial on the death of his third wife. more ›

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow and the FBI are preparing to announce new charges in the 2004 murder of three-year old Riley Fox. Riley was taken from her Wilmington home after which she was raped and killed by drowning, her body found in a nearby creek. Prosecutors had originally charged Riley's father, Kevin Fox, with her murder as well as sexual assault before DNA evidence vindicated him in 2005 after spending over eight months in jail. Fox and his wife were eventually awarded $8 million in damages. more ›

Today's exercise in plausible deniability comes courtesy of Will County Associate Judge Robert Livas. Last year Livas sentenced 24-year-old Darrius Logan to 100 hours of community service stemming from misdemeanor battery and criminal trespass charges in Joliet. In August Logan told Livas he completed the terms of his sentencing by working 100 unpaid hours at Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken — their three locations at 8211 S. Cottage Grove, 8601 S. Stony Island and 10210 S. Vincennes, for those interested. more ›

Drew Peterson's trial is staying put. Earlier today, a judge rejected Peterson's motion to move his murder trial out of Will County. Attorneys had said Peterson couldn't get a fair trial because of the extensive media coverage surrounding the case. Peterson is charged with the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. [Tribune] more ›

Well, not everywhere, but close. It wasn't too long ago we mentioned the rabid bats over in McHenry County. Today comes word of the discovery of a rabid bat in over in Will County, more specifically Naperville. The bat was discovered hanging under a trampoline this weekend but since then officials say it was first seen almost a week ago and are looking into whether or not anyone came in contact with the bat. It's Will County's fourth rabid bat since May 1. [WBBM] more ›

Clifton Williams, the man recently jailed for The Yawn Heard 'Round The World in a Will County courtroom, has been released. The release was ordered by the same judge, Will County Judge Daniel Rozak, who has quite the track record of throwing people in jail for contempt of court violations. According to the Tribune, Rozak usually asks for an apology from the offender, but this time let the yawner off with a simple stern lecture: "I just first of all want to make it clear: You were never in custody for yawning, you never were. It was a sound ... that was offensive to the court." Williams served 21 days for the offending yawn. more ›

A Richton Park man found out the hard way you do not yawn in Will County Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak's courtroom. Clifton Williams was attending the hearing of a cousin when he yawned in the courtroom and earned himself a six-month jail sentence from Rozak; he'll serve at least 21 days. The Trib did a little digging and it seems that Judge Rozak may be a bit over-zealous when it comes to handing out contempt of court sentences: he has accounted for over a third of contempt charges in Will County in the last 10 years. more ›

Three Crete-Monee High School students were arrested in connection with a burglary ring that may involve as many as seven people. The ring allegedly swiped over $20,000 worth of items and sold them to pawn shops or interested buyers. James Bailey, 17, Jason R. Schallmo, 18, and Joshua M. King, 18, have been charged with burglary, residential burglary and possession of stolen property. Schallmo was even arrested as he returned from graduation, still wearing his cap and gown. A spokesman for the Will County's sheriff office could not confirm of the other four suspects were also students at the school. [Chicago Breaking News] more ›

As the sun sets on another year, it's a time for reflection and appreciation. We've had a blast covering the news, arts, events, food, drink, and everything in between of Chicago this year and we thank our readers for coming along for the ride. From Obama's campaign to Blago's arrest, this year has given us all sorts of ups and downs, and we're looking forward to another unpredictable and amazing year. Thanks for a fantastic 2008 and we'll see you back here tomorrow morning to get a jump on what promises to be an exciting 2009. more ›

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Eew. About a dozen goat carcasses were discovered in field in Will County last week, and so far, no one knows what happened or where the goats came from. Local law enforcement decided the case fell under the purview of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. From WBBM: more ›

Drew Peterson's third wife's death has been ruled a homicide, Will County States’ Attorney James Glasgow announced today. Kathleen Savio died in 2004, and her body was exhumed in November after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared. more ›

It wasn't all about roasting pigs out in the 'burbs this week: more ›

Things were jumping at the Will County Court House. Lisa Stebic's children testified in front of a grand jury yesterday about their mother's disappearance six months ago. Craig Stebic, Lisa's estranged husband and person of interest in the case, hasn't allowed the police to interview his kids, even though they're two of the last people to see her. Lisa's family says they wanted the kids to be interviewed at a child advocacy center instead,... more ›

Sure, Al Gore got a Nobel Prize today, but the environment? Well, it's still pretty fucked. Nearly half of Illinois's waterways are unsafe for swimming or fishing. more ›

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher seems to have a history of questionable taste in the women he gets involved with. Now one, a former exotic dancer with whom he has a two-year old son, is causing problems for the superstar. more ›

Did anybody see the picture of the effing boatload of keys authorities seized in Will County this week? more ›

We love watching him run from sideline to sideline, snuffing out running backs, or intercepting passes with one hand and running the ball back fifty yards. Off the field, however, Brian Urlacher just doesn't seem very bright. more ›

Hot property edition: sometimes, stolen goods just have a way of finding their way back home. Usually this is due to the theives themselves; they wouldn't necessarily be in that business if they had good judgment. But if you just can't wait to get your prized possessions back, you can always tell the cops your children were kidnapped. That seems like a good idea. more ›

This isn't a local story, but nothing, and we mean nothing, can top the strange case of astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak. She was arrested Monday at Orlando International Airport after attacking Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, who she thought was trying to steal her would-be boyfriend and fellow astronaut, Cmdr. William Oefelein. Aren't astronauts supposed to be our best and brightest? This makes that episode of the Simpsons where Barney lays off the sauce and... more ›

Will County is getting its first female black judge. A third of the shares in Jimmy John's has been sold to a San Francisco-based firm. Funds are to be used to do a national rollout. Thoughts? Ohio-based Wendy's is selling a lot of double-melt cheeseburgers. So much for the eating-healthy trend. Some guy tried to extort Oprah. Nerd Alert: Fermilab is close to discovering the "God Particle," and the U of C is simulating... more ›

You know how it goes. It starts off buying a Christmas present online during your lunch hour, then you remember that you haven't gotten your lovah anything. Then you think about something you'd like to see them in. Then you think maybe you don't want to see them in anything. Then why bother waiting until home, why not just check out some naked people RIGHT NOW? IS that how it goes? We don't know, because we don't look at porn at work!! more ›

The radar system at O'Hare failed a few times today, causing delays. The daughter of the IL Secretary of State Jesse Whitewas arrested on drug charges. Depressed? Eat fish. Hunger is on the rise in Chicago and it's hitting seniors and kids the hardest. Remember the woman who was found dead in her bath tub in Hyde Park a few months back? They think the cable guy did it. Some generous soul in Will... more ›