Former North Chicago police chief charged with stealing government property

North Chicago’s former top cop was charged Tuesday with stealing $140,000 from a fund where the city collected cash seized in drug arrests and allegedly using the money for home repairs, private school tuition for his kids and even a new car, officials said.

Michael …

Blue Island man rescued from sunken Bounty during Hurricane Sandy

A 28-year-old Blue Island man is among 14 crew members who survived the sinking of the HMS Bounty in the churning waters of the Atlantic Ocean during the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy early Monday. Drew Salapatek is safe and sound, resting with fellow members of the ship in Elizabeth City, N.C., his father, Jim Salapatek, said Tuesday.

Juan Rivera, exonerated after three murder convictions, sues Lake County sheriff’s office

In getting Juan Rivera Jr. to confess to a 1992 murder and rape he didn’t commit, investigators pushed the Lake County man to the brink of “madness” in one of the most “monumentally, psychologically abusive interrogations” in Illinois’ history, Rivera’s attorneys said Tuesday.

“They just …

Barrington middle school students suspended over sex abuse on bus

(BARRINGTON ) Two students at a northwest suburban middle school have been suspended after the district investigated a series of alleged sexual abuse incidents that took place earlier this month on a school bus, Pioneer Press is reporting. Tom Leonard, superintendant of Barrington School District …

Father acquitted of unlawful restraint for picture of taped baby on Facebook, still faces battery charges

A toddler who was allegedly bound in painter’s tape by her young father and then had her picture with the adhesive posted on Facebook was jovial and playful following the stunt and did not have any visible injuries, her relatives and a Chicago Police detective testified Tuesday. Annastesia Curry said her sibling, Andre, and her then 22-month old niece were horsing around when her brother decided to place the blue tape on the girl’s mouth, ankles and wrists for roughly 30 seconds. Andre Curry, 22, is on trial for aggravated domestic battery, domestic battery and unlawful restraint. The judge acquitted

Nearly 100 animals removed from Woodstock home

(WOODSTOCK) Investigators found more than 90 animals -- including more than 50 birds -- inside a northwest suburban home Monday morning. Sheriff’s police found 55 birds, 19 dogs, 11 cats and three rabbits in the home in the 8600 block of Bull Run Trail in unincorporated Woodstock, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s office. Deputies also found a dead bird, cat and dog.

State officials bash federal education standard 98% of high schools don’t meet

More than 98 percent of Illinois’ high schools fell short of a federal benchmark in 2012, so many that state officials on Tuesday called the No Child Left Behind law governing education “severely deficient.”

Some parents to get $25 gift cards when picking up report cards

Is the lure of a $25 gift card enough to persuade a parent who’s not involved in their child’s education to get involved? Seventy Chicago Public Schools that have struggled to engage parents are about to find out. At Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s request, Walgreen Co. …

Wells Street Bridge rehab to start Monday, affect Brown, Purple lines

A yearlong construction project to rebuild the historic Wells Street Bridge begins Monday and will coincide with a CTA project that will re-route the Brown and Purple lines for two nine-day periods in the spring, the city announced on Tuesday.

Senior Chicago cop denies covering up Abbate bar beating

A senior Chicago cop denied directing a cover-up of the Anthony Abbate bar beating video as she took to the stand in federal court Tuesday.

Children’s Museum to stay at Navy Pier but mum on lease terms

The Children’s Museum has agreed to stay at Navy Pier for the next 90 years — and expand its anchor tenant footprint by nearly 50 percent under a deal that includes a $10 million “tenant improvement allowance.” Former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s ill-fated plan to …

Prospect Heights family’s tree chosen for Daley Plaza

Chicago’s next Daley Plaza Christmas tree is now standing in Prospect Heights. A 64-foot Colorado spruce tree owned by the Theiszman family of Prospect Heights has been chosen as Chicago’s 99th annual Christmas tree and will light up Daley Plaza starting next month. Applicants submitted …

Emanuel throws support to Prentice Hospital demolition

Choosing jobs over architecture, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has decided to let Northwestern University tear down the old Prentice Women’s Hospital.

Preckwinkle revamps video gaming tax

Rivers Casino in Des Plaines would feel a bigger bite under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s newly revised gambling tax proposal.

‘It’s scary and beautiful at the same time’

Sharp, angry winds and waves battering the beaches along Lake Michigan weren’t enough to empty Chicago’s shoreline Tuesday. Runners, bikers, photographers and dog-walkers with nervous pets all roamed North Avenue Beach under a gray sky, gazing at what some said were among the largest waves they’ve seen there.