Chicago Sun-Times

Schaumburg official injured in Oklahoma tornado shares harrowing experience

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:21:46 -0500

Before Monday, Village Trustee Frank Kozak had never been face to face with a twister. But after he and his wife - visiting relatives in the Oklahoma City area - took cover in the closet of her brother-in-law’s brick bungalow. Kozak’s ears rang with the sound of shattering glass. Something slammed into Kozak’s back — a water heater, he would later learn. The twister collapsed the bungalow’s walls, bringing an avalanche of bricks down on top of the couple.

Two shot near Roosevelt Red Line station

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:55:43 -0500

Two men suffered graze wounds in a shooting Friday morning near the Roosevelt Red Line station.

Evanston Township forfeits baseball playoff game after sexting incident

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:35:32 -0500

An Evanston high school varsity baseball team its Friday night playoff game after a group of students — including team members — allegedly “sexted” risque photos to each other.

Man tried to abduct child from North Side elementary school

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:24:01 -0500

A man tried to abduct a child from a North Side elementary school Wednesday afternoon, police said. About 3:20 p.m., the man approached a boy outside Bell Elementary School in the 3700 block of North Oakley Avenue, police News Affairs Officer Michael Sullivan said. The man told the boy his mother was sleeping and he would take him home. The boy ran away, and the man walked away, Sullivan said. The suspect is described as 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds, and was last seen wearing a Cubs hat, black shirt and flip-flops, Sullivan said. An official at Bell Elementary did not …

12 displaced after Auburn Gresham apartment fire

Fri, 24 May 2013 08:06:00 -0500

Twelve people were left without a home Friday morning after a fire at an apartment building in the South Side Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

Boy Scouts vote to allow gay scouts

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:52:00 -0500

The Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to allow gay scouts into their ranks. The move ends a ban that’s existed throughout the organization’s 103-year history, but the reversal does not extend to openly gay adults, who are still not allowed to serve as scout masters or participate in other leadership roles.

Emanuel administration sues over $58 million parking-garage tab

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:30:56 -0500

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration went to court Thursday to try to knock tens of millions of dollars off the nearly $58 million tab it owes to the private company that operates four city-owned parking garages.

Lisle man charged with DUI after striking two women with BMW in River North

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:50:50 -0500

A west suburban man was charged with drunk driving after he allegedly struck two women with his car as they crossed a street in the River North neighborhood Thursday night.

Dunbar H.S. employee suspended over video of girl shoved down stairs

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:04:59 -0500

Chicago Public Schools officials have suspended an employee of Dunbar Vocational Career Academy on the South Side after a video surfaced that appears to show him pushing a 16-year-old female student down a flight of stairs. On the video, which seems to have been taken on a cell phone, it appears the man then hovers over the girl at the bottom of the stairs and shoves her again when she gets up and lunges at him. The video is posted on www.worldstarhiphop.com.

CTA rolls back some controversial Ventra fees

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:25:20 -0500

CTA Ventra payment card holders who use the card’s controversial debit features won’t be charged for talking to public transit customer service operators or using the cards for cash ATM withdrawals under new fee rollbacks revealed Thursday. The new concessions soften some of the more onerous fees associated with the pre-paid debit features of a new fare payment system the CTA plans to debut later this year.

Trial begins for teen charged in videotaped killing of father in West Rogers Park alley

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:04:59 -0500

Defense attorneys argued that all Anthony Malcolm did in the early morning hours of July 10 was hold a cell phone camera — inadvertently filming the fatal punch that claimed the life of Delfino Mora, a father of 12. Prosecutors argued that Malcolm was as culpable as the other two suspects who, authorities say, proceeded to rifle through Mora’s wallet as he lay dying in an alley in the 6300 block of North Artesian.

Men claim Chicago cop falsely arrested them for DUI

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:25:30 -0500

Heads, Gregory Sledge would go to jail. Tails, he would go free. It was heads. That’s how Chicago Police Officer Harold Rodriguez allegedly decided to frame Sledge on a driving under the influence charge last year, the West Side man said in an interview Thursday. Sledge, a convicted felon, is one of three men who filed wrongful-arrest lawsuits against Rodriguez and the city in federal court Thursday. In interviews, they claimed Rodriguez stole money from their wallets after they were arrested. “Officer Rodriguez wanted to supplement his city salary, so he abused his badge and power to coerce bribes, steal …

Ex-judge: Charter-school operator UNO needs ‘robust’ policy against conflicts

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:21:37 -0500

The United Neighborhood Organization needs to adopt “robust conflict-of-interest” policies in the wake of a scandal that’s jeopardized tens of millions of dollars of state funding for UNO’s network of charter schools in Chicago, a retired federal judge hired by the politically influential group urged Thursday.

Desperate search for missing fiance ends in tragic discovery

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:21:24 -0500

Antwone Price liked expensive toys, and he wasn’t shy about showing off the fruits of his success as a hip-hop concert promoter. But mostly, Price — a Daley Center clerk by day — was a family man, his fiancée, Kiara Robinson, said Thursday, a day after Price’s body was found stuffed in the trunk of his car on the South Side. His friend, Trevin Hullum, was found dead in the back seat.

Illinois Senate passes ban on motorists holding cell phones while driving

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:25:10 -0500

The bill sponsored by Sen. John Mulroe (D-Chicago) cleared the Senate by a 34-20 vote and would still permit the use of cell phone headsets and allow drivers to press their phones once either to start or end phone conversations. The plan moves to the House, which passed an earlier version.

Joliet man convicted in international ‘Wonderland Club’ child porn ring, arrested again

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:40:14 -0500

David Vaksdal, 45, was arrested early Thursday on two counts of possession of child pornography and could face more charges after his computers are examined, Joliet Police Detective Tizoc Landeros said. Police raided Vaksdal’s apartment early Thursday. In October 1998, Vaksdal, a home contractor, was busted as part of “The Wonderland Club,” an international pedophile and child pornography network. The ring spanned 14 countries and 22 states.