News - Chicago Sun-Times

Environmental activists chant outside First American Bank during the Global Climate Strike in the Loop, Friday, April 19, 2024. Led by Fridays For Future, hundreds of environmental activists took to the streets to urge Pres. Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and call for investment in clean energy, sustainable transportation, resilient infrastructure, quality healthcare, clean air, safe water and nutritious food, according to youth speakers. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Hundreds protest in Global Climate Strike, demand that U.S. declare a climate emergency

Led by Fridays For Future, hundreds of environmental activists took to the streets to urge President Joe Biden to declare a climate emergency and call for investment in clean energy, sustainable transportation, resilient infrastructure, quality healthcare, clean air, safe water and nutritious food, according to youth speakers.

By Sun-Times staff

Crime

Woman killed, man injured in West Garfield Park

The two were driving in an alley just before 5 p.m. when several people started shooting from two cars, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

A voter feeds her ballot into a voting machine on Election Day at Isabelle C. O’Keeffe School in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood, April 4.

Elections

Ballot bypass? Illinois sees lowest presidential primary voter turnout in decades

The statewide voter turnout of 19.07% is the lowest for a presidential primary election since at least 1960, according to Illinois State Board of Elections figures.

By Sun-Times staff

Israel-Hamas War

Chicagoans with ties to Middle East brace for consequences after Iran's missile strike on Israel

“There’s all kinds of dangers that can happen,” said Itai Segre, a teacher who lives in Roscoe Village with family in Jerusalem.

By Mary Norkol

Crime

Woman accused of killing, dismembering landlord takes stand in defense

Sandra Kolalou, 37, denied killing and then cutting up Frances Walker in 2022 at the Northwest Side home they shared.

By Matthew Hendrickson

Back of the Yards

A party, a cake — and then gunfire: Toddler and 7-year-old brother remain hospitalized after Back of Yards mass shooting

Aaron Mendez, 22 months old, suffered kidney damage and may have to have a kidney removed. His older brother, Isaiah, has been sedated since undergoing surgery. “I’m devastated to think I could have lost both of my kids that night,” their mother told the Sun-Times.

By David Struett and Kaitlin Washburn

City Hall

Mayor Brandon Johnson's $1.25B borrowing plan sails through City Council

With interest, the plan could cost the city $2.4 billion over 37 years, officials have said. Johnson’s team says that money will be more than recouped by property tax revenue flowing back to the city’s coffers from expiring TIF districts.

By Mitchell Armentrout

City Hall

City Council OKs $70 million in extra funding for migrant crisis

By a 30-18 vote, the Council approved the latest round of funding for a crisis that has highlighted racial divisions in the city.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Religion

Chicago's Jewish community prepares to celebrate Passover

Passover, which starts before sundown Monday and ends after nightfall on April 30, commemorates the liberation of Jews from slavery in Egypt.

By Mohammad Samra

Crime

Kim Foxx won't take sides on request by man facing rape trial for 'certificate of innocence' in murder case

William Dukes Jr. was acquitted of the 1993 killings of a Cicero woman and her granddaughter after a second trial in 2019. In 2022, he was arrested in an unrelated sexual assault case in Chicago.

By Frank Main and Matthew Hendrickson

Jim Gwinn, who has worked at Conn-Selmer for 11 years, works on a trombone at the factory in Elkhart, Indiana Wednesday, March 27, 2024. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Picture Chicago: 18 must-see Sun-Times photos from this week in news

By Sun-Times staff

'Deceptive' real estate firm tied to Loop's Monroe Capital sued by Kwame Raoul

By Stephanie Zimmermann

Suburban Chicago

Two dead after apparent murder-suicide in Lemont motel

The bodies of Richard Crane, 62, and an unidentified woman were found shot at the D-Lux Budget Inn in southwest suburban Lemont.

By Sun-Times Wire

Iranian women without wearing their mandatory Islamic headscarf walk past a banner showing missiles being launched from Iranian map in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 19, 2024. Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones early Friday morning, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.

Nation/World

Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site

The strike came just days after Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel.

By Associated Press

Crime

Man stabbed to death in Pilsen

The man was found with stab wounds around 4:15 a.m., police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

2024 Democratic National Convention

Democratic convention events getting Chicago treatment with new hospitality vendors

Five event production companies, nearly all based in Chicago, will be throwing the official parties for the Democratic National Convention in August.

By Amy Yee

End cars on two subway trains shine their red lights as a CTA worker wearing a yellow vest walks between them.

The Watchdogs

CTA touts its ‘Second Chance’ program for ex-offenders, but few end up with permanent jobs

About 14% of those in the apprenticeship program found permanent full-time employment with the transit agency, a Sun-Times investigation found. Others, some strung along for years, remained in low-paying roles with no benefits.

By Lauren FitzPatrick and Frank Main

The Rev. Mark Santo, shown at St. Philip High School in Chicago in the 1960s.

The Watchdogs

Catholic priest accused of sex abuse served in 9 church jurisdictions, including Chicago. So why is he on just one abuser list?

The Catholic church’s transparency on accusations of sexual abuse by clergy members, including the Rev. Mark Santo, remains inconsistent and lacking across the United States, clouding the extent of the crisis more than 20 years after it exploded into view.

By Robert Herguth

Crime

Joliet mother charged in death of girl, 12, who ingested heroin, fentanyl

Mya King, 12, was found unresponsive Sunday morning and died Wednesday. Her mother, Colette Bancroft, was charged with possession of a controlled substance.

By Sun-Times Wire

Miracle Boyd, wearing a pink shirt and green headband, gives public comment while standing at a lectern microphone during a Chicago Police Board meeting at CPD Headquarters on April 18, 2024.

Dexter Reed Shooting

Protesters demand firing of top cop and officers who fatally shot Dexter Reed

At a rally at police headquarters, community members called for greater transparency of the investigation, a halt to the use of tactical units and an end to pretextual traffic stops.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

A woman shields herself from the rain as she crosses North Wabash Avenue near East Washington Street, in The Loop, as rain falls across the Chicagoland area, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023.

News

Showers, winds move through Chicago Thursday; temperatures to cool down through the rest of the week

Rain started moving through the area and is expected to continue into Friday, according to meteorologist Zachary Wack with the National Weather Service.

By Sun-Times Wire

Health

Measles case count reaches 63 in Chicago, but pace of new cases is subsiding

Another exposure location was reported at the Sam’s Club at 9400 S. Western Ave. in Evergreen Park, Cook County health officials said Thursday.

By Kade Heather