Chicago Sun-Times

Cook Co.’s top prosecutor takes lead in trial of alleged cop killer

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 02:15:17 -0500

Four years ago, Chicago Police Officer Alejandro “Alex” Valadez became another “grim statistic,” Cook County’s top prosecutor told a jury Monday. Then Anita Alvarez pointed to Christopher Harris, 24, an alleged gunman seated quietly nearby wearing glasses and a dark cardigan sweater. “And this defendant?” Alvarez said. “Well, this defendant became a murderer.”

Negotiations suspended for mayor’s plans for Port Authority District

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 02:25:08 -0500

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s grand plan to privatize the Illinois Port Authority District to create hundreds of jobs and capitalize on its vast untapped potential hit a political barge Monday. The Broe Group, the Colorado company that had pledged to invest $500 million in port facilities over the next decade, “amicably suspended” negotiations on a master lease after being unable to reach agreement with the Port District. “The Broe Group presented a proposal that had significant economic benefits. We made excellent progress on many details. However, we were unable to come to full agreement in our negotiations with the Port District …

No one at controls when Blue Line train crashed into occupied train

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 07:39:17 -0500

A Chicago Transit Authority video shows no one at the helm of an “out-of-service” CTA train as it rammed into an occupied train at the Harlem station during morning rush hour, CTA officials said a preliminary review indicated Monday.

Countdown over, Affordable Care Act takes off Tuesday

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 02:24:36 -0500

Listen up, uninsured: Tuesday is the first day you can see if you’ll qualify for new options for health insurance, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. It’s also the first day Illinoisans should finally be able to get a good sense of how much that new insurance price might cost.

Police shoot man in Auburn Gresham neighborhood

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 08:57:31 -0500

Chicago Police shot a man who they say pointed a gun at officers Monday night in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. The shooting happened about 9:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of West 76th Street. When police approached the man, he ran to the middle of the block, up a driveway and pulled a gun from his waistband according to Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden. The man pointed the gun at officers and was shot in the elbow, he said.

Guilty plea in 2011 rape of suburban student near Congress Theater

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 02:16:04 -0500

One of three teenagers charged with beating, raping and robbing an 18-year-old north suburban student outside a New Year’s Eve concert on the Northwest Side in 2011 pleaded guilty on Monday.

Twins follow in footsteps of their Chicago Police parents

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 02:14:52 -0500

As boys, twins Jim and Joseph Paoletti would put on their parents’ Chicago police hats and marvel at the black leather “gadget” belt their father strapped on before he ventured out into the city after dark — like Batman. Now 25, they’re getting their own taste of life on the city’s streets — after graduating together this month from the Chicago Police Academy.

Only 40% aware of Affordable Care Act subsidies, online marketplace

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 19:51:16 -0500

Three out of four people in Illinois said they were aware that uninsured people who fail to buy health insurance will be forced to pay a penalty starting Jan. 1, 2014, under a rule in the Affordable Care Act.

Madigan son-in-law 1 of 2 RTA officials in harassment probe

Tue, 01 Oct 2013 09:54:00 -0500

THE WATCHDOGS: The Regional Transportation Authority’s top two executives — one of them the son-in-law of Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan — are under investigation over allegations involving sexual and racial harassment of RTA employees, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Kwame Raoul would run for lt. gov., but Quinn’s not asking

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 10:56:40 -0500

“A lot of people have been calling me,” said Raoul, who told the Chicago Sun-Times he would be open to running as Quinn’s lieutenant governor for the 2014 race. “A lot of people — not the governor — have called and inquired, hearing rumors.”

Government shutdown could affect thousands of fed workers in Chicago

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 02:13:04 -0500

Most of those thought of as federal employees will be expected to show up anyway, even if they are not being paid. That would include sworn personnel at Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago. Social Security checks will be issued, and Medicare and Medicaid business will be processed. Air-traffic controllers Transportation Security Administration workers will be at their posts. Veterans hospitals would remain open and the mail will be delivered.