Category: Chicago

Man Charged with Murder in Death of Infant Daughter

Posted on by TL
Kejuan Hunt

Kejuan Hunt. (Photo: PFPD)

The sad news from eNews Park Forest:

A Park Forest man was charged with first degree murder Saturday in connection with the July 3 death of his 3-month-old daughter.

According to a press release issued by the Park Forest Police Department, on July 2, 2010, Park Forest Police and Fire Units responded to the 100 block of Hemlock Street regarding a report of a non-responsive infant. The child was revived and transported to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights. The 3-month-old girl was later taken to Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

On Saturday, July 3, the child, Nevaeh Hunt, age 3 months, was pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m., the release said.

An autopsy was performed by the Will County Coroner’s Office on Monday, July 5, and showed the child died as the result of head trauma, the release said. The coroner ruled the death a homicide, according to the release.

More here.

The story mentions the victim’s age several times. This one is hard to comprehend.

As always, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the victim, little Nevaeh Hunt.

Chicago Loses A Hero: Officer Thor Soderberg Killed By Own Weapon During Struggle

Posted on by TL

The tragic news first from the Chicago Sun-Times:

A Chicago Police officer — an academy instructor who volunteered his time by serving as a guide to a blind triathlete — was shot and killed with his own weapon Wednesday afternoon during a struggle outside a South Side police station, authorities said.

Officer Thor Soderberg, 43, was killed at about 3:45 p.m. at 61st and Racine in the parking lot outside the old Englewood District police station, which is now used by the department’s targeted response and gang enforcement units.

“The entire Chicago Police Department would like to send their deepest condolences to the officer’s family, and we ask that you keep them in your prayers,” Assistant Police Supt. James Jackson said.

Soderberg had finished his shift and was standing near his car when a 24-year-old man attacked — disarming him and shooting him with Soderberg’s own weapon, Jackson said.

The suspect ran away and then robbed a civilian, police said.

Officers from the police station exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was shot in the abdomen, Jackson said.

The suspect, a convicted felon, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he is under guard.

More from the Chicago Tribune:

Calvin Jefferson, 28, said the suspect is his brother and was in critical but stable condition after being shot in the chest. "I’m still shocked," said Jefferson, adding that his brother has always been a bit of a loner who is secretive and didn’t talk much to others.

Soderberg was an 11-year veteran, according to Jackson. Friends said he was married but had no children. Police were not releasing his name because some relatives had not been notified yet.

Soderberg was typically an instructor at the training academy, but was operating out of 61st and Racine as part of Operation Protect Youth.

"If your son or daughter came on the job, he’s the guy you’d want to train them," said Assistant Deputy Supt. Matthew Tobias, who used to run the academy. "He understood what the oath meant. He understood what a priviledge [sic] it was to wear the uniform of a Chicago police officer."

A friend of the slain officer talks about the loss:

The shooting left those who knew the officer stunned by the sudden loss.

"I want people to know that he’s a great man and gave the Chicago Police a great name," said Mazen Istanbouli, a DePaul professor and close friend of the officer. "He was a giver, he never thought of himself and always thought of others."

Istanbouli, who is blind, said Soderberg helped him train and competed by his side in triathlons.

Istanbouli said the two had known each other for about three years. Istanbouli said Soderberg accompanied him to the New York City and Chicago triathalons, running and biking and swimming alongside him and serving as his guide.

The two most recently ran together at a run for fallen police officers in Chicago this spring. Just today, Istanbouli said, he brought up Soderberg’s name because he wanted the officer to accompany him at an upcoming bicycle race.

Istanbouli recalled Soderberg’s humility, particularly after they ran a race and Istanbouli tried to thank him: "He said, ‘I’m doing this for you not for me, I don’t need the medal, I’m doing it for you.’ He helped me out with training and he helped me out throughout the process with swimming and running and biking, the whole thing we did everything."

Police, and members of the public, serve on the front lines in America every day. The front lines in America. In Chicago.

The South Side of Chicago.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the men and women in blue, whereever and whomever they serve.

Beyond Belief: LeBron James Will Announce NBA Plans In Hour-Long ESPN Special Thursday

Posted on by TL

LeBron James: where ego knows no bounds.

I can’t believe this. At all.

And I won’t watch.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

ESPN reported that LeBron James will announce his NBA plans on its network at 8 p.m. Thursday in an hourlong special.

ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported Tuesday night that James’ ”representatives” contacted the network and asked for the unusual arrangement. Broussard reported that ESPN officials confirmed the request but added the network was not told what James’ decision will be.

Both James’ publicist Keith Estabrook and ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz declined comment to the Associated Press.

You have got to be kidding.

For those of you obsessed with LeBron, my sympathies.

I really hope this immense ego does not land in Chicago.

Recession Aftermath Takes Bite Out Of Chicago’s Taste

Posted on by TL

As the Great Recession continues to fade and recovery happens all-so-slowly, we have less money in our pockets to spend. Those of us who still have credit cards are wisely refraining from using them. Those of us just spending cash are learning to budget anew.

That means less "disposable income" to use for such things as the Taste of Chicago. More of us stayed home or celebrated elsewhere this year, compared to years past.

From the Sun-Times:

The 2010 Taste of Chicago drew 2.65 million people, about 700,000 fewer than the 3.35 million who attended the summer chow-fest in 2009.

The 21 percent attendance drop was mainly because the city canceled the July 3 Grant Park fireworks, an event that would bring more than 1 million downtown and through the Taste booths on that day alone, said Cindy Gatziolis of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events.

"People were coming in droves," Gatziolis said of the July 3 fireworks, which were canceled this year after 35 years in favor of three July 4 shows spread out along the lakefront. "They were filling up every available space."

The July 3 fireworks annually brought numbers that one of the Taste’s most attended musical acts, the 2008 Stevie Wonder show, couldn’t rival. Gatziolis said 350,000 people attended the Taste the day of Wonder’s concert.

And there was the crime. As of Sunday, 55 people had been arrested at the Taste as of Saturday night, and nine of those were charged with felonies, the Sun-Times reports.

Chicago Approves Tough New Gun Restrictions

Posted on by TL

From the Sun-Times:

Grumbling about a U.S. Supreme Court they say is out of touch with America’s cities, Chicago aldermen voted 45-0 today to approve a rushed-through compromise gun ban.

The law, weaker than the gun ban tossed out Monday but with some even stronger new provisions, allows adults in Chicago to buy one gun a month, 12 a year, but they must pay registration and permit fees and take five hours of training.

Within 100 days, anyone who wants to keep a gun in the city will have to register, get their training and pay the fees. Also within 100 days, any of the estimated 10,000 Chicagoans convicted of a gun offense will have to register at their local police station like sex offenders.

That last bit took me by surprise.

It better hold up in court. I like it.

Violence Escalates at Taste of Chicago

Posted on by TL

If you’re going to the Taste of Chicago, be careful.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Three teens — including a 15-year-old boy who was seriously hurt, and two others who got caught in a “melee” — were stabbed near the Taste of Chicago Thursday night.

In an apparently unrelated incident around the same time and at the same Loop intersection where the boy was seriously hurt, police officers Tased a man.

The boy was walking down the street with a group of friends in the 200 block of South State Street when they encountered a group of males fighting about 9:25 p.m., according to police News Affairs Officer Ronald Gaines.

The boy felt a pain in the back and realized he had been stabbed, Gaines said.

Police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said the male stabbed is 15 years old.

That stabbing happened near the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and State Street and one person was taken in serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital about 9:18 p.m., Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joe Roccasalva said.

The Tribune called it a "rowdy night."

That’s an understatement:

Some people attending the Taste reported other violence, which apparently brought out a large contingent of riot-clad police to the area.

Taja Jarrett, 20, was getting out of her retail job in the Loop at 8 p.m. when she said she first noticed large crowds in the area. She and Shanice Brown, 17, were planning to check out the Taste  festivities when they saw a fight break out near one of the entrances.

The two walked west to Dearborn Street where they encountered another large brawl. They also saw an increased police presence, including officers on horses, ATVs, on foot and in cars. Dozens of helmeted on all-terrain vehicles ushered a large crowd west on Jackson Boulevard away from Grant Park.

Other reports are coming in from friends on Facebook of people getting caught in the middle of fights on Metra trains coming from the Taste.

Be careful.

Rod Blagojevich’s $400,000 Closet

Posted on by TL

I haven’t written much about the trial of Rod Blagojevich. Court proceedings bore me, and we always learn far too much about the alleged offender than we ever wanted to know.

Now this, from the Sun-Times:

A $5,000 Oxxford suit, $1,400 spent on Geneva Custom Shirts, $63 in Hanro underwear and $214 in ties — and it was all bought in a matter of days.

The Blagojevich household spent more on fine clothing than on their mortgage, child care, travel or private schools in the years that Rod Blagojevich served as governor, testimony at his trial today showed.

Jurors in the ex-governor’s trial were shown credit card bill after credit card bill where Rod Blagojevich dropped hundreds of dollars at a time on ties at Saks Fifth Avenue and thousands of dollars on high-end, custom Oxxford suits, not to mention pricey Allen Edmonds footwear.

The grand total from 2002-2008: more than $400,000 on clothes.

Several thousand dollars was spent in November of 2003 on Maximilian Furs.

The line of the day belongs to Blago’s brother, Rob:

On his way out of court, Rod’s brother, Robert, who is also on trial, stopped and smiled.

“For the record, I buy my ties on sale,” he said.

That does it for me. In addition to other categories, I am now filing the Trial of Rod Blagojevich under “Entertainment.”

Oy.

Mark Kirk Makes Like Bunny, Flees From Press

Posted on by TL

Illinois politics takes us down the rabbit hole once again.

From Greg Hinz at Crain’s Chicago Business:

The Democratic and Republican nominees for the U.S. Senate, Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk, gave their views on planning and environmental issues at a Metropolitan Planning Council lunch on Monday.

But the news was what happened afterward: Mr. Kirk literally ran out the hotel door rather than answer questions about a host of recent reports that he repeatedly has exaggerated his experience and credentials.

The Peter Cottontail moment happened at the downtown Hyatt Regency, where about 1,000 folks were on hand for MPC’s annual big do.

Mr. Giannoulias, on the way in, stopped for a couple of minutes to chat with reporters. He left quickly after speaking but had a good reason: a fundraiser with Vice-president Joe Biden. Lunch then was served.

Mr. Kirk arrived after lunch, coming in via a side door.

He spoke for about 20 minutes, than walked down from the dais to have his picture taken with MPC President MarySue Barrett.

As soon as that was done — with a swarm of TV cameras and reporters moving toward the front of the ballroom — Mr. Kirk bolted for a back door.

With media in hot pursuit, he raced through a Hyatt kitchen and into the back seat of a black SUV — I believe it was a Cadillac Escalade — which instantly peeled out.

I know what you’re thinking.  Crain’s Chicago Business is the fountain of liberalism in Chicago, much more so than Boy’s Town.

Not quite.

Running away like Peter Cottontail won’t cut it with liberals, moderates, or conservatives in Illinois.

More here.

Why Do People Celebrate by Shooting Guns?

Posted on by TL

Two Naperville men face Class 4 felony charges because of the way they allegedly chose to celebrate the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory.

From the Sun-Times:

A Naperville man and his son caught the unexpected attention of police as the men allegedly celebrated the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory by firing rounds from an assault rifle into the ground behind their home.

Mark W. Steinbrecher, 54, and his son Mark S. Steinbrecher, 20, were wearing shirts embossed with Blackhawks and Stanley Cup insignia when their booking photographs were taken at the Naperville police station. Both men face Class 4 felony charges of reckless discharge of a firearm.

Police Cmdr. Dave Hoffman said patrol officers were sent at 12:40 a.m. to the Steinbrechers’ house on Naperville’s far southwest side. A neighbor called 911 to report "a subject in the backyard firing a weapon,” Hoffman said.

I don’t understand.

Welcome to the Summer of Blagojevich

Posted on by TL

It’s not yet bedtime for Blago, but the madness has officially begun.

From John Kass at the Chicago Tribune:

The former Democratic governor of Illinois now has only one audience to charm: his jurors. And they’ve had one heck of a week already, being dragged down the rabbit hole into the wonderland of Illinois politics.

They watched Dead Meat perform from the defense table, sighing, shrugging and making faces at a former chief of staff testifying for the prosecution. Dead Meat was desperate to convince them he’s just an honest man victimized by a pack of schemers.

On just the second day of testimony, the jury was treated to a peek into the political shadows, with audio of Rod praising good buddy and state Sen. Jimmy DeLeo, D-How You Doin?, as the one guy he could trust to bring in the campaign cash.

The Summer of Blagojevich, hopefully the last season we’ll spend with the wild-haired one before he’s sent away, has begun.