Illinois

Heroin abuse in Chicago’s suburbs is reaching epidemic proportions, and the area’s Eisenhower Expressway has become known as the “Heroin Highway” for all the smack that flows through it.

Shortly after leaving jail, teen bound, beat and stabbed father, police say Nellessen had been in and out of Fecarotta’s courtroom since 2009, when he appeared on a residential burglary charge. He could have been sentenced to 4 to 15 years for the class 1 felony, but Fecarotta chose Cook …

Officer Mark Del Boccio is being sued for letting three underage males carry away an unconscious female, who was later raped By Britni Day A suburban police officer’s negligence led to the rape of intoxicated girl, according to a lawsuit. The suit filed Tuesday against the village of Arlington Heights …

By TAMMY WEBBER CEDAR POINT, Ill. — Michael Mahar was the big winner in this month’s village election, but it had nothing to do with his popularity. He was the only candidate on the ballot. He soon had to start calling friends and neighbors in this northern Illinois hamlet of …

Posted by Greg H. at 4/15/2011 12:34 PM CDT on Chicago Business You might call it Amazon Tax II — a proposed sales tax “simplification” measure with potentially massive financial implications. Chicago-area officials say the bill could cost them hundreds of millions, and maybe billions, of dollars a year. But …

We’ve hit what I call the “FOIA Stone Wall.” “FOIA” stands for the Freedom of Information Act, one of the most important tools in a reporter’s toolbox when it comes to finding out what government knew and when it knew it. Authorities, by law, are obligated to respond. But in …

BY STEVE WARMBIR Staff Reporter A young, once rising figure in the Illinois Republican party has quit the committee that runs the state party after the Sun-Times revealed the man’s ties to an Outlaw motorcycle gang member and a convicted wholesale drug dealer. Craig Pesek, 34, is a key supporter …

Yesterday, the ACLU of Illinois released a new report detailing the threats to privacy Chicagoans face under the watchful eyes of that city’s growing surveillance camera system. The report is the first large-scale, independent study of the city’s integrated surveillance system — a system former Department of Homeland Security Secretary …

Kyle Hillman: Always Bet on Money It is one of those bills the average person finds hard to believe. In a state controlled by Democrats at all three levels, the corporation still finds a way to win. This wackiness can’t be blamed on a Republican overreach, like we’ve seen on …

By Bob Okon bokon@stmedianetwork.com Mar 31, 2011 2:19AM Radiation believed to be from the Japanese nuclear disaster has been found in Will County, state officials said today. State emergency management officials emphasized that the radiation is at levels so low that it poses no risk. “These findings are not surprising …