Two people injured in “minor derailment” in South Loop

Two people suffered minor injuries after a Red Line CTA train had a “minor derailment” near the Roosevelt station in the South Loop, officials said. The train derailed around 2:15 a.m. in the 1100 block of South State, according to city fire officials. There was …

Spike Lee: Oscars stuck in 1940

In a New York Giants jersey and cap, Spike Lee opened by taunting his audience.

“That’s right! Super Bowl champs! Don’t hate! . . . Where were the Bears?” the iconic New York-based filmmaker asked the crowd of students, faculty and community residents Wednesday night …

Study: CPS has some success turning around grammar schools, not high schools

Only weeks before Chicago School Board members vote on whether to turn around a record number of schools, a new study indicates Chicago’s “turnaround” elementary schools produced better academic gains than other “worst of the worst’’ schools that did not undergo similar reforms.

Chicago’s public …

County board to debate controversial immigration policy

Cook County commissioners will be on the hot seat Thursday as they face critics and supporters of a controversial policy directing the county sheriff to ignore requests from the feds to hold suspected illegal immigrants in jail longer.

Immigration rights activists, expected to show up …

Family of woman left in morgue for 14 months sues Cook County

The family of a Chicago woman whose body sat unidentified in the Cook County morgue for 14 months is suing the county, alleging the medical examiner’s office ignored their requests to help identify her remains.

Seven years for woman who had traces of pot in system during fatal crash

Alia Bernard of Aurora, who killed two motorcyclists when she reached for her sunglasses while driving, was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison.

Firefighters extinguish small kitchen mishap — at their firehouse

Chicago firefighters had to use their skills in their own firehouse when a pot of meat was left cooking while crews went out to respond to an accident, a spokesman said.

Emptying pockets at security checkpoint? Probably best to hang on to your pot

Devante Jackson of Joliet was charged with marijuana possession after emptying five bags of pot from his pockets at the security checkpoint at the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center, police said.

Not so fast. Hold off on Crane H.S. phase-out, hearing officer urges

No decision on the phase-out of Crane High School should be made until school district officials analyze a “well-thought-out’’ Crane-proposed plan for the school’s rejuvenation, an independent hearing officer has recommended.

The recommendation, a vindication for Crane faculty, came after a battery of elected officials …

Merchandise Mart pulls the plug on Art Chicago

Citing mostly financial concerns, Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. Wednesday announced the scuttling of its 2012 Next Art Chicago fair. Slated to take place at the Merchandise Mart in late April, various incarnations of the event have drawn dealers and potential patrons from far and wide …

Mayor Emanuel: Time to speed up trains to O’Hare, Midway

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he’s evaluating plans to shave up to 12 minutes off CTA travel times between downtown and O’Hare Airport and Midway Airport, a goal he views as more attainable than his predecessor’s dream of an express train to O’Hare.

City Clerk yanks stickers over gang sign flap despite mom’s plea

Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza is axing the controversial winning design for the 2012-13 city sticker, saying it could be “misconstrued” as including gang signs. Mendoza said the move was necessary because Chicago communities and lives suffer from gang violence. “I cannot ask drivers to put a sticker on their cars that may be misconstrued as containing gang symbols,” Mendoza said. Earlier Wednesday, the mother of the 15-year-old boy at the center of the controversy mounted an emotional defense of her son and his sticker design: “It has nothing to do with gangs.”

Reputed Cicero mob boss Michael ‘The Large Guy’ Sarno gets 25 years

Reputed Cicero mob boss Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for ordering the bombing of a Berwyn business over video poker territory as well as running a robbery crew that shot and stabbed its way across several states.

Elevator company vows to discipline workers guilty of racial harassment

ThyssenKrupp, the elevator company accused of racial harassment by a former employee, will take “disciplinary actions” against supervisors or other workers who acted inappropriately, the company’s president promised Wednesday.

Homicide suspect caught, daughter found safe in Chicago

An Amber Alert issued for a 2-year-old Wisconsin girl has been canceled after the girl and her father were found in Chicago. Iryana K. Vaughn, 2, was abducted about 12:15 a.m. Wednesday in the 900 block of Racine Street in Racine, Wis., according to the …