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State senator acquitted of trespassing, damaging neighbor’s property

State Sen. Suzi Schmidt (R-Lake Villa) was acquitted Wednesday of trespassing and criminal damage to property charges stemming from a June squabble with neighbors. After the ruling, Schmidt said it was “very sad” that the dispute with a neighboring family had escalated to the point …

Next Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has done it all, from teacher to superintendent

Only some four months into her role as Chicago’s “interim” Chief Education Officer, Barbara Byrd-Bennett was tapped to sit at the contract negotiating table while Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard remained in his office, receiving only second-hand reports about events that topped the news night after night. Now, Byrd-Bennett will be moving into Brizard’s office.

EXCLUSIVE: Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard out by ‘mutual agreement’

Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, one of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s premier hires, is out by “mutual agreement” with City Hall after just 17 months on the job, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Brizard was Emanuel’s pick to lead CPS and push through the mayor’s aggressive education agenda. But with the city’s first teachers strike in 25 years in the rear view mirror and a new contract to be implemented, Emanuel said it’s “time for a clean break.”

Police: Woman stole $200K from grandmother, 98

Family ties were not strong enough to keep a northwest suburban woman from stealing more than $200,000 from her 98-year-old grandmother, Cook County prosecutors said. Jennifer Curtis, 43, of the 300 block of Tanglewood in Palatine, was arrested Wednesday and charged with forgery and senior …

Cook County Circuit Court employee charged with bribery, official misconduct

A Cook County Circuit Court employee was charged with bribery and official misconduct Thursday for allegedly promising an entry-level job in exchange for a bribe. Jason Carrasco, a unionized office clerk in the Probate Division, did not have the authority to make hires, and has …

CTA approves retail space leases for produce stand, cafe

CTA riders in West Englewood will soon be able to grab an apple while heading downtown. And commuters at the Grand Avenue Red Line station can sip “gourmet” coffee by next year. The CTA board paved the way for the amenities Thursday when it approved …

Cook County Jail hopes guitar lessons change inmates’ tune

Call it Cook County Jail unplugged. A program to teach inmates how to play guitar and channel their feelings into song writing kicked off with an event at Cook County Jail’s Division 11 Thursday. The program, which will take advantage of 10 donated acoustic guitars …

CTA to parents: break down those strollers when bus is crowded

Attention, moms and dads on the CTA: Put the stroller away, pick up your kid and make way for others when riding crowded buses. That’s the message the CTA will soon be telling parents via pamphlets and signs and through its drivers.

NIU president says he’s stepping down next spring

Northern Illinois University President John G. Peters announced Thursday he is stepping down next spring after 13 years at the helm. He made his announcement during his annual state of the university address. “I can’t express in words my love for this university and its …

Chicago police to offer bounty for crooks with guns

Crooks could start ratting on other crooks anonymously for cash in a program the Chicago Police Department plans to launch in the next few months to take guns off the street.

Feds investigating disabled Chicago firefighters, paramedics in wake of Sun-Times’ reports

A federal grand jury that’s investigating disability payments to Chicago police officers in the wake of a Chicago Sun-Times investigation is also probing injury claims from Chicago firefighters and paramedics, newly obtained records show.

Person arrested in Englewood squad car crash that injured cop

A vehicle hit a squad car in the South Side Englewood neighborhood Wednesday night, leaving a Chicago Police officer and two other people injured, authorities said. The crash happened near 75th Street and Union Avenue about 9:25 p.m., when police officers witnessed the vehicle violating …

Drew Peterson let out of jail briefly to see mother in funeral home

Convicted killer Drew Peterson was briefly whisked out of the Will County Jail Thursday to pay a final visit to his mother, who died earlier this week. Peterson was escorted by sheriff’s deputies to a Darien funeral home to see his mother, 84-year-old Betty Morphey, attorney Joel Brodsky said. It was Peterson’s first time outside the jail — aside from court hearings — since his arrest in 2009.

Beloved Southwest Side priest moves into new home

Father Dan Mallette finally has a new home. The 80-year-old Southwest Side Catholic priest, who publicly quarreled with church leaders after being ordered to leave the rectory at St. Margaret of Scotland Church after his retirement, moved into a private residence in Oak Lawn on Sunday, according to Mallette’s cousin, Kevin Werner.

Second alleged ‘nun-on-the-run’ robber nabbed

A young black man who allegedly posed as an old white nun when he robbed a south suburban bank last summer has been arrested. Lyndon Germel Wesley, 28, is the second of two so-called “nuns-on-the-run” robbers to be caught, federal authorities say. His alleged accomplice …

Hillside man tied to bombing to be arraigned in court

A young man from Hillside charged with trying to detonate a bomb outside a downtown bar in September — not realizing it was a fake as part of an FBI sting — is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Chicago this afternoon.

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