Alvarez Hopes Focus On Domestic Violence Leads To Better Services For Victims
Cook County's top prosecutor says she hopes the focus on domestic abuse due to problems in the NFL brings changes for victims here, reports WBBM's Nancy Harty.
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Cook County's top prosecutor says she hopes the focus on domestic abuse due to problems in the NFL brings changes for victims here, reports WBBM's Nancy Harty.
Although numbers are vague, the crime of human trafficking presents a real challenge to law enforcement and welfare agencies, who have teamed up to try to raise awareness of troubled children who end up being manipulated or forced into prostitution.
Cook County prosecutors were taking another step Wednesday toward possibly releasing a man from prison - 15 years after he confessed to two murders.
The letter to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said the prosecution of Willie Johnson could discourage other people from recanting prior testimony.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Sheriff Tom Dart have sought alternate arrangements such as home monitoring for inmates charged with non-violent crimes, but Alvarez expressed reservations to a broad-brush approach to releasing such inmates.
The Cook County State's Attorney has been re-evaluating a 1982 murder case to see if the right man is in prison, and WBBM has learned there are developments in the case.
Former Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine has said he doesn't remember one of his top prosecutors raising concerns about the innocence of a man who was freed from death row in 1999, in a case that became a catalyst to end the death penalty in Illinois.
Alstory Simon confessed to the murders of two people, but has since said his confession was coerced.
The Chicago police union has asked the Cook County State's Attorney's office to examine a milestone double murder case, to see if the right man is behind bars.
Opening arguments are set to begin Monday in the trial for two men accused in the 2009 shooting death of Chicago police officer Alejandro Valadez.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez has written a scathing letter to Gov. Pat Quinn, saying the state board that looks into police torture allegations has acted illegally.
Racketeering and conspiracy charges were filed against 23 defendants who are primarily top leaders and members of the Black Souls gang, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said.
Authorities have captured a convicted murderer from Indiana who was mistakenly released from the Cook County Jail earlier this week.
Keith Williams, 52, allegedly served his prostitutes crack and heroin twice a day on a silver platter, but prosecutors say he was one brutal master.
Anita Alvarez is as frustrated as anyone else, claiming she's doing the best she can, with what she has to work with.
Alvarez said there were no Illinois charges pending against convicted murderer Steven Robbins, because a January 1993 arrest warrant for armed violence and cocaine possession had been dismissed in 2007.
Last month, Kenneth Williams received a letter from the state's attorney's office demanding he resign because he's a felon. He was convicted of forgery in Indiana in 1985.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez has suspended two prosecutors for failing to approve criminal charges against a man who had threatened to set his kids on fire after filling a bathtub with gasoline – then actually set them on fire three months later.
There are about 40,000 drunk driving arrests in Illinois each year.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez wants a "complete and thorough, top-to-bottom" review of alleged hazing abuses at Maine West High School.
Several hundred people who all shared something in common -- the violent loss of a loved one -- gathered Saturday at the UIC Forum to share, remember and heal.
The Cook County State's Attorney has announced the indictment of six people - all accused of using their positions in Chicago area school districts to steal money from taxpayers.
Investigators say they have cracked the case of an auto theft ring that stole some 200 vehicles in Chicago.
Jennifer Hudson recently befriended the victim of another horrendous crime, according to a report Tuesday.
A 35-year-old man has been accused of forcing 12 girls into prostitution, and addicting them to heroin.
It will be Mr. Trump's first visit to the Chicagoland area since 2024.
Illinois kept it competitive despite Smith's monster game.
Chicago pulled within a point of fourth-place Charlotte in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago will be the final AL wild card and will play on the road against the AL West winner in a three-game Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday.
Notre Dame has won 14 straight and will start October with a perfect record for the first time since 2021.
Sheri Mecklenburg resigned from the Department of Justice this week, penning a scathing letter in which she said U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros "personally directed" the Broadview 6 prosecution that she says ended her career.
The Chicago City Council deferred a full vote on the sale of the city's parking meters from one private company to another to their next full council meeting as they face an end-of-month deadline.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in its push to use a controversial database to review state voter rolls for potential noncitizens.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois is demanding the Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration reject President Trump's call to convert plans for a massive triumphal arch into a "top grade Military Complex."
With an unprecedented budget, ICE spent billions in a rush to expand its detention network, wasting millions in the process, the Government Accountability Office found.
Scammers are now impersonating the patient portal MyChart, using realistic-looking emails, texts, and websites to try to steal personal information and, in some cases, get malware on your computer.
Fuel prices continue to climb across the country, and that has U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) pointing the finger at President Trump.
Nicor customers will get a break on their bills this fall after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Roul reached an agreement with the utility to cut $140 million from its requested rate hike.
Drivers in Chicago and beyond were paying the highest gas prices ever recorded for the Labor Day holiday as millions of Americans were making their way home on Monday.
Around 115 million domestic and international tourists visited Illinois last year, pushing visitor spending past $50 billion for the first time and generating more than $88 billion in total economic impact.
Sixteen of the state's cases this year trace to an outbreak among people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination history. Health officials say the overall risk is very low but want residents to confirm they're protected.
The Chicago Department of Public Health on Wednesday launched its first "street psychiatry" teams, in an effort to provide mental health services to some of the city's most vulnerable people.
A new Illinois law lets terminally ill patients request a lethal prescription to end their lives, making the state the 13th in the U.S. — and the first in the Midwest — to permit it.
Nearly half of Americans with medical debt owe at least $2,000, forcing them to make tough choices, new research shows.
A judge on Tuesday was expected to place two shuttered Chicago-area safety-net hospitals into receivership.
McDonald's said Wednesday it will spend $8.5 billion over the next decade to modernize its restaurants globally.
The future of Rate Field was back in the spotlight on Wednesday.
Plans for a new Chicago White Sox stadium in the South Loop have residents near the existing ballpark in Bridgeport concerned, not just because the team might be leaving, but also what might be coming nearby.
A new report from the University of Illinois Chicago said federal immigration enforcement led to $1.26 billion in unspent money at retail establishments and restaurants in Cook County.
Around 115 million domestic and international tourists visited Illinois last year, pushing visitor spending past $50 billion for the first time and generating more than $88 billion in total economic impact.
Challenging documentaries and award-winning features are among the offerings of New York City's leading cinema event, starring such luminaries as Pedro Pascal, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore and Godzilla.
Taylor Swift announced her new single "Patient Zero" earlier this week, saying she has been "impatiently waiting" to announce that it will be out on Friday.
A Tennessee judge granted Dolly Parton's estate a temporary restraining order Wednesday against the late singer's nephew Bryan Seaver and his private security company.
An autopsy by the Greenville County Coroner's Office determined Hayden Panettiere's death was due to an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl.
Nike-owned Converse acknowledged that an ad for its Chuck Taylor sneaker is "deeply upsetting."
The two Chicagoans took a helicopter ride, but there was a surprise awaiting Jazmin when the two lovebirds landed. That’s when John, a chemical operator, got down on one knee for Jazmin, a pharmacy technician, and popped the question and of course it was a yes.
Meteorologist Kylee Miller has the latest in First Alert Weather.
Money raised goes to the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, which helps provide restaurant industry scholarships.
At its peak on Saturday, more than 100,000 households were without power and 400 flights were canceled.
Investigators say the Americans were scheduled to take a flight home later today. So far, their identities and hometowns have not been released.
It will be Mr. Trump's first visit to the Chicagoland area since 2024.
Two people are in custody after a 1-year-old girl was shot and critically injured inside an apartment on Chicago's South Side, a police source said.
The suspect was taken into custody minutes after the shooting after a witness called 911 and reported gunshots coming from a basement.
The mayor of Athens said the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak.
The five-day ride helped raise money for pediatric cancer research.
In 2024, an off-duty Chicago police officer shot and killed a dog that was being held by its owner. COPA and CPD Supt. Larry Snelling agreed the officer should be fired. But more than two years later, that hasn't happened.
Surging gas and diesel prices are putting the pinch on farmers with harvest season underway, and could drive grocery prices even further up.
Another business owned by a couple under investigation for mishandling bodies at funeral homes and crematories on the South Side and in the south suburbs was raided by law enforcement Thursday.
Crown Point native Chris Payne was arrested for the 2018 sexual assault of a woman, which he has adamantly claimed from the beginning that he had nothing to do with.
A Chicago nonprofit is suing its former president, accusing him of illegally diverting millions of dollars in charitable funds and jeopardizing the charity's future in fighting homelessness.
Illinois kept it competitive despite Smith's monster game.
Chicago pulled within a point of fourth-place Charlotte in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago will be the final AL wild card and will play on the road against the AL West winner in a three-game Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday.
Notre Dame has won 14 straight and will start October with a perfect record for the first time since 2021.
Munetaka Murakami homered twice to increase his season total to 35, and the playoff-bound Chicago White Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 6-1 as they tried to gain ground in the AL Central.
A Chicago violence interrupter is remembered for the difference he tried to make in his South Shore neighborhood. Courtney Harris worked to keep young people away from violence, but died in a shooting over the weekend.
Three men were wounded in a shooting on Thursday night outside a liquor store in the South Chicago neighborhood.
A sixth-grade teacher and basketball coach at a school in Island Lake, Illinois, was arrested Thursday on child pornography charges.
Boise police have identified a man known as the "Unknown Wanderer" who was found dead in a church in 1982, and revealed a possible link to the Chicago Tylenol murders.
A Mundelein, Illinois, high school teacher and volleyball coach appeared in court Wednesday morning on charges of making an unauthorized video recording of a minor.
