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A 39-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of 9-year-old Janari Ricks, who was shot and killed Friday evening while playing outside in the Cabrini Green neighborhood.
Police have said, around 6:45 p.m. Friday, a gunman opened fire on a group of people behind the townhomes on the 900 block of North Cambridge Avenue – the last occupied section of the Cabrini-Green public housing development – when a bullet struck Janari in the chest.
Special Public Defender Henry Sugden told McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt "the state and I have been engaged in pretty serious negotiations" ever since JoAnn Cunningham's guilty plea.
"Miss Cunningham was responsible for that life. And now she must be responsible for his death."
During her sentencing hearing on Thursday, JoAnn Cunningham asked the judge for forgiveness, saying she loved A.J., the 5-year-old son she admitted killing.
There was testimony about one of several police visits to the family's Crystal Lake home prior to AJ's murder, which exhibited clear signs of abuse, drugs and neglect. Prosecutors showed pictures from inside the cluttered, dirty home, including some of AJ's crib in a filthy room with a padlock on the door to lock him inside.
Wesley Ira Purkey's lawyers had argued his dementia had deteriorated so severely that he didn't understand why he was being executed.
Chicago Police said 22-year-old Davion Mitchell has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery.
A judge on Wednesday halted the execution of a man, said to be suffering from dementia, who had been set to die by lethal injection in the federal government's second execution this week after a 17-year hiatus.
The execution of Daniel Lewis Lee came over the objection of the victims' relatives and following days of legal wrangling and delays.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said there are still legal issues to resolve and that "the public is not served by short-circuiting legitimate judicial process."
Police said Michael Robinson punched 23-month-old Antwun Gayden several times in the face on Tuesday at Robinson's home on the 4200 block of South Calumet Avenue.
A man stood charged with murder Wednesday, after police said he beat another man in the head and face with a baseball bat in Albany Park.
An approximately 23-month-old boy was killed when a man punched him several times in the face Tuesday afternoon at a home on the 4200 block of South Calumet Avenue.
Reginald Merrill is charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery.
Judge Jason Bohm wrote what happened to Yingying Zhang was unconscionable. However, counselors Thomas Miebach and Jennifer Maupin didn't cause or contribute to her death.
A suspect was charged Thursday evening in the murder of two teenage boys in the South Chicago neighborhood last weekend.
A suspect was in custody Wednesday afternoon in the murder of two teenage boys in the South Chicago neighborhood last weekend, police said.
Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the state's attorney's office, said in a statement that eyewitness accounts were found to be unreliable.
Cunningham and A.J.'s father, Andrew Freund, were indicted on a combined 61 counts last May, including murder, aggravated battery, and concealing a homicide.
Cook County prosecutors alleged Avion King, 31, and six other gunmen targeted Kimberly Underwood, 53, believing she was rival gang member.
Murder charges were filed Wednesday against a Chicago college student accused of being part of group of men who were targeting rival gang members but ended up killing a grandmother.
State police appeared to rule out what had seemed to be a promising lead in the case of Zywicki, who was abducted after experiencing car troubles on Interstate 80 near La Salle, Illinois in 1992.
Investigators had been looking into whether accused serial killer Clark Perry Baldwin might have been linked to the cold case murder of Tammy Jo Zywicki, but authorities have since backed away from the idea.
Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke on Monday announced a new task force dedicated to fighting crime on the Chicago area's mass transit system.
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing federal agents of assault and false imprisonment, after she was arrested inside a hospital in the Humboldt Park neighborhood during Operation Midway Blitz last October.
Three people were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, and two suspected shooters were found dead inside a vehicle nearby, police said.
Funeral arrangements were announced Monday afternoon for fallen Chicago firefighter Steven Decker, who died during a training exercise last week.
At the center of the fight is the "Save Our Bacon Act," a provision that would gut animal welfare laws and disproportionately impact small farmers.
An attorney for Chicago Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) on Monday called an ethics investigation into the alderman's conduct a malicious "travesty."
In a move aimed at curbing the growing problem of "teen takeovers," D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is threatening to bring charges against parents if their teens violate the local curfew.
State Rep. Josh Turek and State Sen. Zach Wahls squared off Thursday over which candidate can flip Iowa's open Republican-held Senate seat, as millions in outside spending reshapes the primary's final stretch.
Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin say their concern is there may be more emergency exit doors than flight attendants in the event of an evacuation.
Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) is suing the city of Chicago, its inspector general's office, and the Board of Ethics, accusing them of defamation.
Consumer and environmental advocates said Monday that they found overcharges buried in the most recent rate-hike request by Nicor.
One week away from Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, with gas prices remaining high, negotiations were set to resume Monday at the largest oil refinery in the Midwest.
Chatham residents say they're losing a vital resource as Walgreen's prepares to close its store near 86th and Cottage Grove.
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Chicago was $5.17 on Friday, up from $3.75 a year ago.
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas Company customers are likely to see minor credits on their bills for the next three years, thanks to a $125 million settlement agreement announced Thursday by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
A person suspected of having hantavirus in Winnebago County, Illinois, turned out to be a false alarm, officials said Monday.
The DuPage County Health Department has confirmed its first positive tests for West Nile virus in pools of mosquitoes this year.
The Kane County Health Department was set Monday to offer a free mental health awareness webinar.
At least 80 deaths have been reported in a new Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda, authorities said.
Engineers at Northwestern University have created a wireless polygraph to detect stress.
DraftKings announced Monday that it is closing its sportsbook operation at Wrigley Field after only about two years.
After more than 80 years, there will be no Ann Sather restaurant location in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago's Lakeview community, effective in June.
Flight attendants at Chicago-based United Airlines have approved a new labor contract, marking their first pay increases in six years.
The Chicago Fire FC announced Wednesday morning that its new stadium in the South Loop will be named McDonald's Park.
U.S. prosecutors allege a man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to scam a Mexican billionaire out of $450 million.
The Chicago-born house music track, which began as a personal poem in 1982 and became a defining anthem of the city's house music scene, has been selected for permanent preservation by the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress revealed this year's list of 25 recordings to be preserved for future generations on the National Recording Registry.
David Allan Coe also had hits with "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and "The Ride" among others.
Some youngsters got a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of making opera Sunday at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Matt DeCaro, an actor who was a familiar face on the Chicago stage for many years, died this weekend.
An American doctor has tested positive in an Ebola outbreak in Africa. The CDC confirms Dr. Peter Stafford, an American missionary working in the Congo, has the virus. The CDC is working with the State Department to move him to Germany for care.
Gov. JB Pritzker minced no words on Monday about Mayor Brandon Johnson, sending the clearest message yet that the mayor isn't helping efforts to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois.
Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke on Monday announced a new task force dedicated to fighting crime on the Chicago area's mass transit system.
Funeral arrangements were announced Monday afternoon for fallen Chicago firefighter Steven Decker, who died during a training exercise last week.
Isolated showers and storms Monday night, and breezy. Lows in the upper 60s.
Two rounds of swift but strong thunderstorms blew through the area, toppling a small plane at Midway Airport and leaving some power outages and damage in their wake.
Gov. JB Pritzker lobbed some strong words about the Chicago Bears straight at Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Monday morning.
Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke on Monday announced a new task force dedicated to fighting crime on the Chicago area's mass transit system.
One person is dead, and two others were hospitalized, in a home explosion in Wonder Lake, Illinois, far northwest of Chicago Sunday night.
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing federal agents of assault and false imprisonment, after she was arrested inside a hospital in the Humboldt Park neighborhood during Operation Midway Blitz last October.
Pothole complaints continue everywhere, but especially on one street in the Pullman neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
People in Lincoln Park and Lakeview have rallied against a plan to build a new industrial ComEd electrical substation in their neighborhoods, pushing local and state leaders to get involved.
Monday marks one year since Illinois enacted Karina's Law — legislation aimed at taking firearms out of the hands of people accused of domestic abuse.
Tenants at a South Shore apartment building said they've noticed their rent fluctuating by hundreds of dollars a month due to a change in how their utility billing system is set up.
A man from the Chicago suburbs lost $69,000 of his savings to a scam by a thief using an AI-generated U.S. Marshals badge to intimidate him.
Rookie Gabriela Jaquez set career highs with 20 points and eight rebounds, Kamilla Cardoso had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and the Chicago Sky beat the Minnesota Lynx 86-79.
Edgar Quero hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning and the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs 9-8 on Sunday in the rubber game of their first crosstown series this season.
Murakami added his 17th homer in the fifth, a two-run shot to center off Jameson Taillon that traveled an estimated 428 feet.
Chris Brady had six saves for Chicago and has six shutouts this season.
Carson Kelly hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning and drove in four runs as the Chicago Cubs stopped a five-game White Sox winning streak with a 10-5 victory over their crosstown rival.
A truck driver was sentenced to over 13 years in prison for smuggling $9.4 million worth of cocaine in a shipment of Skims, Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand.
Police in Michigan City, Indiana, were searching Monday for the person they said shot and killed a 14-year-old boy.
Burglars hit a string of businesses in Chicago's South Loop early Monday morning.
Burglars broke into a CBD and kratom dispensary on Chicago's Near West Side early Monday morning.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office will announced a new taskforce Monday bringing federal officers on board to help with crime on CTA.
