iWant

RETAIL THEFT Joshua Long, 22, of Chicago, was charged with retail theft July 25 after stealing two iPods from Target, 4120 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, where he worked, police said.

from the Southtown Star

Police suggest car explosion at Lockport bank was intentional

One person is in custody after apparently driving a vehicle up to the PNC Bank on Ninth Street in southwest suburban Lockport Friday evening and intentionally triggering an explosion, officials said.

Fire crews were initially called to the bank at the intersection of East 9th Street and Read Street about 8:30 p.m. to reports of a car on fire, Lockport Fire Department Batallion Chief John Kure said.

Some type of device in the car exploded, causing minor damage to the bank by blowing out the building’s doors and windows, Kure said. The explosion seemed to be intentional, he said.

The Cook County Bomb Squad and the Joliet Fire Department's hazardous materials team were called also to the incident.

Officials on the scene said the driver of the vehicle was caught a short distance from the blast and he told authorities there was another bomb in the car.

The person in custody, thought to be the car’s driver, refused medical treatment and was taken into police custody, Kure said.

The Lockport Police Department, Cook County Bomb Squad and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating the incident, Kure said.

Roads were blocked off in the bank area Friday night and the investigation was continuing.

from the Herald-News

Jail guard helped prisoners escape

A former correctional officer at Cook County Jail was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Thursday for helping six inmates escape in 2006.

Darin Gater, 41, was convicted of six counts of official misconduct in May after a bench trial before Circuit Judge James Obbish.

Gater turned over his uniform and keys to inmates and handcuffed himself in a cell to make it appear he had been overpowered, according to prosecutors. An inmate wore Gater's uniform and tricked another guard into opening a door.

All six escapees were recaptured in a little more than 24 hours. Prosecutors said Gater hoped the scheme would embarrass then-Sheriff Michael Sheahan and his chief of staff, Tom Dart, who was running against a candidate favored by Gater and is now the sheriff.

from the Trib

Anti-cop graffiti found in South Loop

An alderman was notified after graffiti that reportedly said "we kill police" was found on a building in the South Loop Monday, police said.

Someone apparently complained and Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) was notified when the graffiti was found Monday on the building at 1234 S. Michigan Ave., according to a Central District police lieutenant.

The writing, which reportedly said “we kill police’’ looked faded, and the word ‘police’ was barely visible, according to the lieutenant.

The writing was going to be removed, according to the lieutenant who said the writings did not appear to be recent.

The alderman was not immediately available early Tuesday.

from the Sun-Times

Vandals target patio flowers at Chicago restaurants

Chicago's outdoor-cafe ordinance mandates that 50% of the fencing around a patio be furnished with live plants. But some shop owners are having a hard time keeping the greenery safe from vandals this year.

Al Rose arrived at his coffee shop, Kopi A Traveler's Café in Andersonville, one morning in June to discover plants yanked out and thrown against a wall, leaving dirt and flower parts strewn on the sidewalk.

Vandalism isn't a surprise — experience has taught him to use inexpensive flowers — "but it's rarely been this early in the year, and they've not been this violently destroyed before," he says.

The patio at Letizia's Natural Bakery, along with a handful of other businesses on Division Street in Wicker Park, was hit in June. Fabio Sorano, whose mother, Letizia, opened the bakery 12 years ago, once used thorny plants to discourage tampering but switched to petunias when the vandalism stopped several years ago.

"This year, somebody's doing it, and I don't know why," Mr. Sorano says.

The Chicago Police Department does not separate indoor and outdoor reports of criminal damage to property, so it's difficult to count reports. But Randi Kowal has taken steps to protect the greenery outside Little Threads, her children's clothing store in Roscoe Village. In past years, thieves made off with smaller planters; now she uses heavy, four-foot-tall ones.

Still, passersby stub out cigarettes or deposit beer bottles in the planters.

"I don't know whether it's juveniles or drunks rolling out of restaurants at the late hours, but it's unacceptable," says Mary Markarian, executive director of the Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce. "Them and the graffiti guys — please, get a job."

from Chicago Business

Man briefly steals squad car

A Cook County sheriff's squad car was briefly stolen by a man who led police on an unusual chase after a traffic stop Friday evening near the Stickney-Chicago border.

The incident began about 5 p.m. near 47th and Knox in an unincorporated area between Chicago and Stickney, according to the Cook County sheriff's office.

A Cook County sheriff's officer was attempting to pull over the driver, but the man continued to drive for two more blocks, finally pulling over at 47th and Kenneth, authorities said. A Chicago Police officer arrived on the scene for backup.

But after stopping, the motorist put his vehicle in reverse and struck the sheriff's police squad, authorities said. He then got out and ran, followed by both officers on foot.

The offender circled around and came back to the original scene and jumped into the empty sheriff's police squad. He then drove east on 47th Street, authorities said.

The police officer got back into his vehicle and pursued the suspect down an alley.

The offender then stopped the sheriff's squad car, got out and again ran off. After a short foot chase, this time the Chicago officer was able to apprehend the man and take him into custody, officials said.

from the Sun-Times

Public defender chokes prosecutor

An apparent argument between two attorneys Thursday led to Assistant Cook County public defender Henry Hams, 47, appearing before a Cook County judge Friday morning. He was charged with felony aggravated battery in a public place and felony resisting arrest for allegedly shoving an assistant state's attorney before putting him in a "choking headlock" near Jimmy's snack shop on the ground floor of the courthouse. The scuffle allegedly took place after a courtroom debate earlier Thursday morning between the two attorneys.

After Friday's brief hearing, Judge Maria Kuriakos-Ciesil ordered Hams released on his own recognizance.

Hams allegedly said he choked the victim -- who was briefly hospitalized -- because he was "sick" of being "mocked" by the prosecutor, a source told the Sun-Times.

from the Sun-Times

Sweet 16 party turns riot

A bar and grill has been shut down after seven teens were arrested when a Sweet 16 birthday party turned into a free-for-all Thursday.

Deputy Police Chief Mike Trafton said the "melee" began around 9 p.m. at Bar Blu, inside Union Station downtown.

"The business had rented out part of the inside for a 16th birthday party, but allowed minors access into the bar area without any adult supervision," Trafton said.

The youngsters apparently got out of hand and a nearby police officer was flagged down.

"There were 50 to 60 people, mostly juveniles, tearing up the bar, wrecking chairs and tables, brawling inside and out into the street," Trafton said.

Police began dispersing the crowd, but needed about 15 minutes to get the situation under control.

During the commotion, a 16-year-old boy "headbutted" an officer in the face, reports said. That boy was arrested and booked into the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center on charges of aggravated battery to a police officer and mob action.

from Herald News

Road workers strike spreads

Road construction laborers went on strike Wednesday morning followed at midnight by heavy equipment operators.

Among the reconstruction projects put on hold are the Eisenhower Expressway, Lower Wacker Drive and the Congress bridge.

The strike over wage issues by some members of the Laborers' District Council of Chicago caused relatively minor disruptions to the $95 million Eisenhower resurfacing project, Marisa Kollias, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said Wednesday.

But she said the situation would quickly worsen if other unions joined the strike, which they now have.

Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, whose members operate heavy machinery, went on strike at midnight after an authorization vote earlier in the evening. The walkout involves about 8,500 union members working under several agreements in nine northeastern Illinois counties.

Other unions that could follow include carpenters, cement masons and technical engineers.

"We are in OK shape right now on the Eisenhower and we will be OK if the strike lasts a couple of days,'' Kollias said Wednesday. "But if this goes on for a couple of weeks or a month, the project will be seriously delayed.''

from the Trib

Bored youth proletarian vanguard

Shots from a pellet gun put two holes into a window at Buffalo Wild Wings in Tinley Park, 7301 183rd St., on June 23.

Five vehicles were keyed between June 26 and 28 at Orland Toyota in Tinley Park, 8505 159th St.

from Southtown Star

BP vacuum leaks quarters

The owner of an air vacuum machine outside the BP gas station, 11040 S. Pulaski Road in Oak Lawn, said someone stole $475 in quarters from the machine between April 7 and June 7.

from Southtown Star

Man throws beer bottle through occupied cop car

A man was charged with throwing a beer bottle at a police squad car causing the front window shield to break Sunday night on the Northwest Side, police said.

Andrzej Domian, 19, of the 3900 block of North Nottingham Avenue, was charged with felony criminal damage to government property and misdemeanor aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon. He was also cited with underage drinking, according to police.

Domian was booked into Cook County Jail Tuesday after being ordered held on $20,000 bond, according to an online inmate report listed on the Cook County Sheriff’s Web site. Domian is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing April 26 at an unidentified courthouse.

A uniformed officer was sitting inside a squad car on the 7100 block of West Irving Park Road about 11:20 p.m. when Domian allegedly made eye contact with her and threw a 40 ounce beer bottle at the police car, causing the front windshield to shatter, according to a police report.

from the Sun-Times

Streamwood cop charged in motorist’s beating

As Ronald Bell crouched on his hands and knees on his driveway, the Streamwood police officer started whaling away with his metal baton, striking Bell on his back.

Bell tried to block the blows with his right arm, but Officer James Mandarino then hit him on the head and arm — 15 times in all — until Bell collapsed to the pavement, clasping his head in his hands in a desperate attempt to shield himself from further abuse.

Bell was charged with resisting a police officer and reckless driving, both misdemeanors, and was issued a handful of traffic tickets, including driving under the influence.

But less than a day later, the attention of law enforcement shifted to Mandarino. A digital camera mounted on his squad car recorded every second of what Cook County prosecutors said was an unprovoked beating. The early-morning assault played out amid the headlights of the police cruiser as its windshield wipers swept back and forth in the rain.

from the Trib

Teens throw bottle through Blagojevich window

Two teenage boys were arrested and charged Wednesday after they threw a bottle through a window of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's home, police said.

Two 16-year-old boys threw a bottle through the window of Blagojevich’s home in the 2900 block of West Sunnyside Avenue about 4:30 p.m., police said.

Blagojevich was home at the time with his wife Patti and two daughters, said Glenn Selig, a Blagojevich publicist.

from the Sun-Times

Hinsdale bank teller takes cash on way out door

A supervising cashier who gave herself a $23,760 parting gift when she was about to be fired from the Hinsdale branch of Bank of America in April 2009 faces up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to theft Tuesday.

After being told she was about to be terminated because of personnel issues, Latoya White, 33, of the 4000 block of Blanchan Avenue in Brookfield, took the money from a teller drawer, Assistant DuPage County State's Attorney William Wu told Judge George Bakalis on Tuesday.

White then wrote a cash-out ticket to try to conceal her theft, Wu said.

The theft was uncovered by routine bank accounting.

Wu said none of the missing funds has been returned.

The bank is at 118 W. 1st St.

Bakalis set May 25 for sentencing.

from the Tribune

Politician’s SUV broken into in South Loop

A man was charged with felony burglary after allegedly breaking into a sport-utility vehicle local registered to a local politician Sunday afternoon on the Near South Side.

from the Sun-Times

Elk Grove thieves nab trailer of vodka

Thieves got away with a trailer and the vodka it contained -- worth a combined $75,000 -- from a northwest suburban trucking yard earlier this month.

The theft occurred sometime between the late evening on March 18 and early morning on March 19 at Coast Connection Trucking, on the 2600 block of Greenleaf in Elk Grove Village, according to Elk Grove Police Sgt. Mike Gaspari.

The thieves took the trailer and 30 pallets of Vitali vodka inside from the lot at the trucking company, Gaspari said.

The trailer was not attached to a tractor when it was in the lot. "We surmise that the offenders had their own tractor which they attached to the trailer," Gaspari said.

from the Sun-Times

Man who threw egg at judge stays in jail

Naperville resident Agim Demiri could remain in jail this Easter for egging the wall behind a DuPage County Circuit Court judge's dais.

Demiri, 40, was jailed March 24 for hurling a raw egg at domestic relations Judge Timothy J. McJoynt. And while his seven-day contempt of court sentence ended Wednesday, Demiri was sent back to his cell in DuPage County Jail for ignoring McJoynt's order that he make good on overdue child support payments....

Demiri's aim was poor when he allegedly threw the egg at McJoynt. The missile missed the judge but splattered on a state of Illinois emblem on the wall behind his chair.

from the Sun-Times

Prosecutors: $1,000 bribe for making false driver's license

The manager of a West Side driver's license facility accepted a $1,000 bribe to produce a fictitious driver’s license for a driver whose license had been suspended, prosecutors charged Thursday.

from the Sun-Times

Arrest made for graffiti written in acid

Eddie D. Garcia told officers he began his graffiti career with a spray-paint can.
But he apparently wanted to leave a more permanent mark.

So Garcia etched his tag, "SOAR," on windows across the Southwest Side -- using acid, according to Chicago Police.

Garcia, 23, was arrested earlier this week and charged with felony damage to property.

"Some artists move from paint to sculpture," said Cmdr. John Kupczyk of the Chicago Lawn District. "But he said he started out in paint and moved to acid."

Garcia, a full-time student at Richard J. Daley College, was caught in an early morning stakeout in the 3700 block of West 63rd with a sponge-tipped marker filled with hydrofluoric acid and a cell phone containing photos of his handiwork, Kupczyk said.

Police searched his home in the 5800 block of South Rockwell and found spray-paint cans, a bottle of acid and sketch books of his graffiti, according to court records.

Garcia gave a statement implicating himself in the crimes, authorities say.

from the Sun-Times

Police bust underground club

The manager of an illegal West Side club has been arrested and charged after police shut down the establishment late Saturday, police said.

Markley Jenkins, 33, of the 2700 block of West Polk Street, was charged late Saturday with reckless conduct, contributing to the delinquency of minor, possession of drug paraphernalia, no business license, license required-public place of amusement, no occupancy signs, and no city tax emblem, all misdemeanors, according to a police News Affairs release

from the Sun-Times

Demolition of homes near O'Hare begins

The demolition of about 600 empty homes and businesses in west suburban Bensenville -- to make way for the O'Hare Airport expansion -- starts today.

The demolition, which follows years of litigation, is expected to continue through the summer, said Eve Rodriguez, Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman.

The buildings are coming down to make way for a runway.

from the Sun-Times

Petty theft as social war

Someone stole a charity collection jar containing about $50 from Abel Distributing, 1529 Chicago Road, [Chicago Heights, IL] on Feb. 23 or 24.

from SouthTown Star

Chicago antifa crush "White Pride" march

It was a beautiful Sunday Spring afternoon where the Illinois National Socialist Front were supposed to march for “White Pride World Wide”. But for the few Nazis that dared show their face in the city of Chicago, there was nothing but a barrage of blows raining on their parade.

Southside ARA had been scouting in the downtown area early on, watching out for neo-Nazi skinheads and other white supremacists. Within minutes of their pathetic march of four boneheads waving white pride flags, clandestine anti-fascists took formation and confronted them, successfully delivering U-lock justice to the unsuspecting Nazi trash with trained precision. In broad daylight on Michigan Avenue, Nazis helplessly had flags ripped from their hands and were beaten down as pedestrians watched in awe. Later, a police car pulled up and arrested the bewildered and injured boneheads while the anti-fascists swiftly dissapeared into thin air. Showing up seconds later, the pro-diversity / anti-hate rally laid the final icing on the cake by surrounding the humiliated and obviously defeated boneheads and taunted them with chants, holding a rally directly in the path of their march.

from SSChicago ARA

Lowercase: Chicago squat blog

The Lowercase Collective now has a Wordpress blog, all the better to more easily disseminate information on their upcoming eviction and defense.

http://lowercasecollective.wordpress.com/

Taggers nail multimillion dollar Gold Coast home

Graffiti artists, for those inclined to call spray-painters something other than vandals, turned a 50-foot brick wall of a Gold Coast house into their canvas.

The taggers, who left at least three monikers, are believed to have scaled a fence at a construction site in the wee hours Monday, said the builder and neighbors. The street artists defaced the coach house in the 900 block of North Clark Street behind the protective cover of a tarp and then tore it off when they left to unveil their work.

Builders have been working on the multimillion-dollar, Architectural Digest-worthy site for two years. The original structure was built in the early 1900s as a ComEd substation. Two stories were added later to repurpose it as a home, along with the coach house that abuts the street.

from the Tribune

ARA call-out against Chicago White Pride World Wide rally

On March 21st, 2010 the Illinois National Socialist Front is planning to march in Chicago for what they call “White Pride World Wide.” South Side Anti-Racist Action is making plans to confront the march to let them know that they are not welcome in our city. ....

The INSF’s intention to march in Chicago shows that they are growing bolder and aren’t go away unless we take a stand.

South Side Chicago Anti-Racist Action is calling out for other groups inside and outside of Chicago to stand with us against fascism. Join us to confront the National Socialist Front’s march on March 21st!

Given some revious events and SSARA's targeting of several Chicago WP happenings, antifa momentum seems to be gaining power. The Chicago Branch of the Imaginary Party offers an analysis of these occurances and some possibilities for antifascism, however, they cryptically conclude that "anti-fascism may be doomed to run aground the same rocks as identity politics and single-issue struggles." Unfortunately, the CBIP doesn't follow this claim further.

Other endorsers of the call include the Four Star Anarchist Organization, a platformist group; News & Letters, a weird Marxist group; and the Gay Liberation Network, the largest and most activist gay rights organization in Chicago. We fondly remember the legacy of Chicago ARA, arguably one of the fiercest antfia crews among the Midwest ARA sections, themselves arguably the fiercest region during the 90s and early 2000s.

Whether this incarnation of Southside ARA can fulfill itself in the streets is yet to be seen; the company kept (within and without) is a strong symbol to others about what can be expected, whether they can be trusted, whether they can be strategic. Without the INSF having revealed its plans yet, a strategy of public head-to-head confrontation (with police in between) can only continue to seek supporters and then respond when the specific terrain is selected; the one location that can be assured is the political terrain.

The CBIP essay argues the strength of the Phoenix action lay in its framing of the discourse: "Anarchist/Fascist" rather than "Democracy/Fascism." It also recognizes the limitation of this discourse: the waging of private hositilities. Their suggestion is that the tactics of antifascism can be applied elsewhere, and this can generalize the struggle. Yet, we see this as an inversion -- to us, this is the logic of single-issue applied outward. Instead, generalization would mean the application of communizing tactics to the single-issue, such that it dissolves as a single-issue and cannot be resolved as such.

Can't stop chaos.

read Callout to Confront the INSF

Lowercase squat facing eviction

The Lowercase Collective has existed for over three years now. It has been a public squat for two years, and opened its doors to countless people, projects, and events. One would be hard pressed to find an anarchist who has travelled through Chicago without ever spending time in this space. When a place becomes so integral to the collective ethos of a community, as Lowercase has in Chicago, its destruction can be simply debilitating.

On December 18th, we received an eviction notice for our landlord, who is in all likelihood a fictitious entity. Shortly thereafter, we proved to the state that we ourselves have been responsible for paying the bills for the past years, making repairs, etc. Unfortunately, our attempts were only able to buy us a few more weeks, as the eviction notice for all occupants
came like a cold wind. Despite the machinations of the Federal National Mortgage Association, or any other partial owners, we have no intention of leaving this space without a fight.

Social tension has been percolating throughout our neighborhood for some time now. There is a general hatred of the police, all the more so with the existence of gangs on our street. Within a two-block radius, three other families have already been evicted in the past few months. A month ago, a black man just riding his bicycle was knocked off it by the police, beat up, and left without his bike in front of the watching eyes of the neighborhood. With all of this occurring in the context of our neighbors reproducing capital and themselves on the daily, this situation could prove explosive, as we look to push those tensions to the breaking point.

As the legal situation surrounding the house crystallizes, we will be announcing the time in which we want to invite our friends, in Chicago, the Midwest, and elsewhere, to join us for the most crucial aspect of solidarity: collective action on the day of eviction. We hope to create something truly wild around the very place we eat, sleep, fuck, dream, and share ourselves with each other. We hope for solidarity actions from friends who can’t make it here, but are more hopeful to see your faces.

Defending space in which we live, share, and combat capital is integral to revolutionary movements. Our past has connected us to so many different trajectories, and in the near future, perhaps together through our actions we can give ourselves the time and space to create so many more.

from Occupy CA

see also: Chicago Indymedia

Employee steals $20,000 in jeans

A former store employee is suspected of taking 47 pairs of jeans -- worth $450 each -- from an Aurora outlet store and selling them on eBay, police said.

Police started investigating whether the former worker took the $20,000 worth of jeans from Diesel outlet store at the Chicago Premium Outlets mall in Aurora after they got a tip about the jeans being sold on eBay, officials said.

from the Sun-Times

Bomb threat empties suburban WalMart

Officials are still investigating a bomb threat that led to evacuating about 200 people from Wal-Mart on Sunday morning in north suburban Antioch.

An unidentified male called the store at 475 E. Route 173 around 11 a.m. and threatened to blow up the 200,000-square-foot building, said Antioch police Cmdr. Jim Ruth.

Police and fire departments responded immediately and evacuated the building -- with 200 customers and store personnel inside -- in about 20 minutes.

Investigators conducted a search, were unable to find anything suspicious and allowed people to re-enter the building three hours later, Ruth said.

He said this was the first bomb threat made to this Wal-Mart since the store opened in October 2004.

from the Sun-Times

West Side woman kills abusive boyfriend

A 24-year-old West Side woman, charged with fatally stabbing her live-in boyfriend, was only defending herself when he became “enraged” and tried to attack her, the woman’s attorney said this afternoon.

Edrinna Bryant, who was ordered held in lieu of $350,000 bail today, even drove Levile Hardy to Mount Sinai Hospital after he was injured in their apartment in the 1600 block of South California late Friday, Bryant’s lawyer Mark Kusatzky said.

On their way to the hospital, Hardy placed a phone call to his mother and admitted to her he was the “aggressor,” Kusatzky added.

But Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Antara Nath said hospital personnel had initially noticed Bryant did not have any injuries when she first came to the emergency room. But, when she came back after moving her car, they noticed she had “obvious self-inflicted stab wounds to her hand,” Nath said.

Neighbors had heard the couple arguing inside their apartment building and then later saw Bryant outside, standing over Hardy, 30, with a large butcher knife in one hand and two knives in the other hand, Nath said.

Hardy was stabbed in the chest bicep, shoulder and hand.

Bryant, a receptionist at the Metropolitan Club, had been trying to leave the apartment, which made Hardy angry, Kusatzky said. The lawyer said Hardy came after Bryant with a knife when she ran inside the bathroom to escape.

from the Trib

Priest accused of abuse plunges from church balcony

A Shorewood Catholic priest who parishioners described as a "very holy man" apparently tried to kill himself by jumping from the balcony of a shuttered downtown Joliet church Wednesday as Kane county investigators began looking into allegations he molested a 13-year-old boy, authorities said.

from the Trib

Police shut down illegal warehouse party

Party over.

Nine guns were recovered, three people were arrested and more than a half dozen others were cited early Sunday morning when police officers broke up an illegal night club on the West Side.

The warehouse, unbeknownst to the owners, had been transformed into an elaborate lounge with $5 drinks, pulsating music, crowd control stanchions, velvet ropes, rugs and industrial spot lights beaming down on a party advertisement, authorities said today.

As patrons waited to join the 300 revelers packed in the building, Dwayne Troupe, 22, and Ambrosio Silva, 28, allegedly patted them down. Both men were wearing soft body armor and had handguns, police said.

Officers with the department's Mobile Strike Force also recovered a gun from 28-year-old Zenobia Mills when they searched the building, in the 4400 block of Fifth Avenue, police said.

All three Chicago residents were charged with felony weapons violations.

Others were cited performing as a disk jockey without a license and serving alcohol without a license.

Bernard Harrison, 26, of Oakbrook Terrace, allegedly organized the party and was cited for numerous violations, including operating a public place of amusement without a license.

The owners had leased the space for storage and an office and had no idea of the raucous activities inside, their attorney, George Hodges, said.

Police had been called to the scene at least once before for similar complaints, Hodges said.

“Whoever was allowed in there had no right to be there,” he said.

from the Trib

Milwaukee couple steals for fun

A doctor and his wife arrested for shoplifting at a Macy's store near Milwaukee told police they did it for the thrill. The doctor, who told officers he makes more than $150,000 a year, said his wife suggested they take what they wanted. So they took turns serving as a lookout while the other took items -- more than $1,500 worth -- from just about every department in the store, police say.

from the Sentinel Journal

Man punches meter maid for issuing ticket

A Chinatown restaurant owner allegedly hit a meter maid in the face after she issued him parking ticket outside his eatery Friday afternoon on the Near the South Side, police.

Tie Lee, 38, of the 3200 block of South Hamilton Avenue, was arrested at 1:25 p.m. Friday outside a restaurant at 2162 S. Archer Ave. shortly after he allegedly hit a parking enforcement employee. Lee was later charged with felony aggravated battery to a government employee, according to police.

from the Sun-Times

Car burglar wrote how-to guide

A suspect who was burglarizing a Jeep Cherokee and found with an apparently self-written “how to” guide for breaking into vehicles early Friday on the North Side has been charged, police said.

At 3:30 a.m. in the 5100 block of North Oakley Avenue, police on routine patrol saw and recognized Barringer apparently burglarizing a Jeep Cherokee parked on the street, according to Barker who was one of the officers who saw him.

Barker gave chase on foot when Barringer began running and apprehended him. Barringer was allegedly trying to steal a pair of gloves and what looked like a business folder or clipboard, according to the sergeant.

He was placed under arrest and one of the things police found as they were going through items he had on him was a “notebook or how-to guide on how to break into cars,’’ according to Barker who said it appeared he had written it himself.

Some of the “tips” he had written in the guide included, “Keep looking around for five seconds. Run through gangways. Be carfule [sic]. If you hear squealing brakes it may be a cop coming, so look behind you.’’ according to Barker.

from the Sun-Times

Striking teachers cancel classes

Officials from the Prairie Hills Elementary School District 144 which serves more than 3,000 students in the south suburbs have canceled classes after teachers voted to strike late Wednesday after they could not agree on salary issues, officials said.

In a statement issued on its Web site, officials from the Board of Education said classes and extracurricular activities have been canceled beginning Thursday morning and until further notice. Officials warned parents not to bring their children to school.

from the Trib

Ravenswood church vandalized

A Ravenswood church was damaged when a stained-glass window was broken, then a garden hose was put through it and turned on, flooding part of the building, Chicago police said Sunday.

The damage happened between about 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday, when a worker at All Saints Episcopal Church, 4550 N. Hermitage Ave., arrived and found much of the sanctuary floor in about 4 inches of water, said Bonnie Perry, the church's rector.

Signs of the damage Sunday were hardly noticeable, Perry said, though much of the water seeped into the basement.

from the Trib

David Irving talk disrupted on NW side

Updated: A speech by Holocaust denier David Irving at the Edelweiss restaurant, 7650 W Irving Park, was disrupted and shut down by antifascists Monday night. Our rumors have it that 5-7 black-clad thugs stormed into the restaurant, throwing chairs and aggressively engaging the crowd of mostly elderly men. Irving was moved to safety, and some damage was done to the restaurant.

Several individuals were arrested shortly afterward. Everyone's outta jail with disorderly conduct charges.

Arson suspected in school fire

A fire that caused more than $100,000 damage at Naperville's Scott Elementary School is being investigated as an arson, police said Monday.

Cmdr. Mike Anders said investigators have interviewed several students and staff members at the school at 500 Warwick Drive.

He said the initial probe was handled by a joint team of police officers and firefighters, but police took over once it was determined a crime was involved.

Scott students and faculty had to be evacuated about 9:30 a.m. Friday after a fire began in the boys washroom and destroyed a toilet paper dispenser and stall partition.

No one was injured, but smoke spread throughout the building and caused extensive damage.

from the Daily Herald

Underground immigration ring busted

Ten people with Chicago connections have been indicted on federal charges of running a marriage fraud scheme that paid American citizens thousands of dollars to marry immigrants in an effort to skirt immigration laws, the U.S. attorney's office said today.

Federal authorities allege Maria Cruz, 49, and her co-defendants arranged up to 15 "sham marriages" in which non-U.S. citizens -- many of them Filipinos -- offered to pay Cruz $3,000 to arrange marriages with American citizens.

According to an indictment unsealed today, Cruz paid a fee for referrals to U.S. citizens willing to enter into the fake marriages. She allegedly promised them they would be paid about $3,000 up front for the marriage and $300 to $350 for each month until the non-citizen got citizenship.

The indictment alleges that between 2003 and 2009 Cruz would drive people to their purported weddings and take pictures before and after to make it appear that real ceremonies had taken place. She would also advise participants in the scam on how to make their marriages seem real to immigration officials, federal authorities allege.

from the Trib

Cop skims $600k from police association

A statewide police association will check its financial books after learning one of its board members -- a Chicago Police sergeant -- was charged with skimming $600,000 from the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association.

Sgt. John Pallohusky, a detective and president of the Chicago sergeants' association, also serves as financial secretary for the Springfield-based Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois.

On Friday, Cook County prosecutors charged Pallohusky, 53, with stealing from the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association and spending the money on a home, an online stock brokerage, gambling trips, hotels and steak dinners.

from the Sun-Times

Man plants fake bombs downtown

A West Side man faces felony charges after he was arrested on suspicion of planting fake bombs near the headquarters of the Boeing Co. and One Prudential Plaza, police said.

Chicago police foot patrol officers arrested Roosevelt Billups, 42, in the 100 block of North State Street about 5 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

Someone who saw Billups in the area called police after recognizing him as a suspect in three incidents involving fake bombs, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Gabrielle Lesniak.

Billups is suspected of planting hoax bombs outside 100 N. Riverside Plaza -- which is the Boeing headquarters -- and One Prudential Plaza, a police source said.

from the Trib

Suspicious cans shut down courthouse garage

Authorities shut down the parking garage across the street from the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for about a half hour today after a law enforcement officer found two suspicious canisters attached to his vehicle.

The officer was leaving the garage at about 1:15 p.m. when he heard a rattling sound coming from his vehicle, according to Cook County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Patterson.

"The officer got out of his vehicle and found two rattling canisters adhered to his car," Patterson said.

The officer called for assistance. The investigation is being handled by members of the Chicago Police Bomb and Arson unit, Patterson said.

from the Trib

Twin Cities activists defy Iowa Grand Jury subpoena

The federal government's Green Scare campaign took another depressing turn Tuesday morning as a federal district judge in Iowa ordered the detainment of Twin Cities activists Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman at a contempt hearing. DeMuth and Feldman were subpoenaed to a grand jury in Davenport, Iowa, compelling them to testify regarding a animal rights-related vandalism incident at the University of Iowa. These are the first reports from Iowa:

Feldman and Scott spoke to the local press and 30 to 40 supporters at a rally beforehand in Davenport, then refused to testify. At the contempt hearing, the judge offered both immunity, but they still refused to talk, and were taken away. The judge believes they will remain in jail until they comply or the jury ends (likely in 11 months).

from Twin Cities IndyMedia

Cabrini Green anti-eviction blockade announced

We are kicking off the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaing this Tuesday with an eviction blockade to stop Lenise Forrest and her family from being evicted from Cabrini Green for owing back rent. She had a payment plan under previous management but the new management has refused to recognize it and is trying to put her out on the street. She is appealing the eviction but the Sheriff is still scheduled to evict her Tuesday morning.

from Chicago IndyMedia

UIUC grad students on strike

University of Illinois graduate student instructors plan to continue striking Tuesday after an estimated "several hundred" classes were canceled Monday, organizers said.

Carrying umbrellas and strike signs, instructors picketed outside four major classroom buildings in the Urbana-Champaign campus while undergraduates worried about missing class time, the due dates for assignments and their grades if the strike continues.

from the Trib

Witnesses held in contempt still won't testify at murder trial

Three witnesses who refuse to testify in a gang-related murder trial will remain in jail until at least Dec. 7, when the judge presiding over the trial returns from vacation.

Raul Galarza, Jeffrey Pawlak and Carlos Roa all refused once again to testify Monday at the Cook County Courthouse in Maywood despite being granted immunity. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Tucker found they remained in contempt of court and sent them back to jail. If they persist, all three could face more than a year in prison.

from the Trib

Shoplifter slashes security guard

A shoplifter who allegedly tried to steal Theraflu cut a Walgreens security guard with a box cutter -- causing him to have to get 20 stitches Monday night in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side.

About 7 p.m. police responded to a battery at a Walgreens on the 3400 block of West Roosevelt Road, according to an Ogden District police lieutenant.

Officers arrived and found a security guard who was outside the store holding his right hand, which was dripping with blood, according to the lieutenant.

The guard told police that a 44-year-old man had allegedly just cut him with a box-cutter during an argument that ensued when the man was trying to leave the store without paying for two packages of Theraflu, the lieutenant said.

Employees witnessed the 44-year-old man placing two packages of the medicine in his coat pocket. As he walked past cash registers without paying, the guard tried to question him outside.

The arrestee allegedly told the guard, “Get the fuck away from me,’’ and he slashed the guard with a box cutter, he said.

from the Sun-Times

Vandals flatten tires on 32 school buses

Service was delayed on a number of north suburban Zion-Benton Township High School bus routes Monday morning because of flat tires on 32 buses.

School authorities got vendors to help re-inflate the tires. One or more tires were deflated on each of the buses.

from the Sun-Times