April 2026 - CWB Chicago

Prosecutors provide detailed account of shooting that left one CPD officer dead, another fighting for his life

April 30, 2026 3:52 PM Tim Hecke

Prosecutors on Thursday laid out in deep detail exactly what they believe happened Saturday morning as a man who escaped electronic monitoring last month went on a crime spree, violently robbing a Family Dollar in Albany Park and then shooting two Chicago Police officers, one fatally, as they stood guard over him at a North Side hospital just a couple of hours later.

Charges filed 18 months after police pursuit crash killed fleeing driver’s passenger

April 29, 2026 8:04 PM CWBChicago

A Chicago man was arrested Tuesday to face charges stemming from an October 2024 police pursuit that killed his 18-year-old passenger, though it remains unclear why it took roughly 18 months for prosecutors to bring the case.

Halfway house roommate took notes on sex offender’s chats with 15-year-old, handed them to police, officials say

April 29, 2026 7:50 PM CWBChicago

The man in the next bed at a Chicago halfway house allegedly heard Wesley Gritmacker, 38, talking on a phone he was not supposed to have, whispering things to a girl in Oklahoma he called “sexy” and his “love,” and at one point saying something to the effect of “when you turn 16.” The roommate took notes on what he was hearing and later handed them over to investigators.

Friends for 25 years: The judge who freed a cop killer and the chief judge who couldn’t fix an ankle monitor program are under fire together

April 29, 2026 1:24 PM Tim Hecke

Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach and Judge John Lyke have been close for 25 years. Now both are facing fierce criticism after Lyke released the man accused of killing a Chicago police officer on electronic monitoring and Beach failed to repair the troubled system he vowed to fix.

Boys, 15 and 17, robbed woman at gunpoint as she dropped daughter off at daycare: cops

April 29, 2026 12:56 PM CWBChicago

Two juveniles accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint as she dropped her daughter off at daycare on Chicago’s Near North Side last month are also accused of carrying out two more armed robberies the same week, Chicago police said Wednesday.

Fake ComEd workers scammed 78-year-old man with burglary ruse, prosecutors say

April 28, 2026 11:36 AM Tim Hecke

A 28-year-old man with a record of preying on elderly residents is accused of slipping into a Far Southwest Side home and stealing a firearm, cufflinks, and $1,000 in cash while an accomplice kept the homeowner distracted with a fake utility excuse.

Judge pointed to SAFE-T Act, freed suspected cop killer on ankle monitor ‘over the state’s rigorous objection’

April 28, 2026 12:42 AM Tim Hecke

Judge John Lyke said Alphonso Talley likely would have faced $1 million bail under the old system, but cited Illinois’ SAFE-T Act before releasing the repeat felon on electronic monitoring. Prosecutors now say Talley later escaped and shot two Chicago police officers, killing one.

Escaped felon used fake drug-swallowing claim (again) to get to hospital before killing officer, prosecutors allege

April 27, 2026 10:42 PM Tim Hecke

After Chicago cops arrested Alphonso Talley for allegedly robbing a Family Dollar store in Albany Park and violently attacking the store’s cashier Saturday morning, he told them he had swallowed baggies of drugs.

With cop killer case, Chief Judge’s electronic monitoring overhaul appears to have failed in spectacular fashion

April 27, 2026 8:38 PM Tim Hecke

Three months after Chief Judge Charles Beach announced sweeping reforms to make the county’s electronic monitoring programs more secure and to prioritize recapture of escapees, those reforms appear to have failed in spectacular fashion.

Drug addict lied on paperwork to buy gun used to kill Chicago cop at Swedish Hospital: feds

April 27, 2026 12:47 PM Tim Hecke

A suburban woman is facing federal charges for allegedly lying on paperwork when she purchased the gun used over the weekend to kill Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew and critically wound his partner at Swedish Hospital.

Traffic stop ends with cops finding AR15, sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, pistols, ammo, and more: CPD

April 27, 2026 12:02 PM CWBChicago

A routine traffic stop for tinted windows turned into much more after Chicago police allegedly found a small arsenal hidden inside a pink chest in the back of a man’s car.

Man gets 20 years in murder of pot dealer

April 27, 2026 10:13 AM CWBChicago

A Chicago man who was 16 years old and already facing juvenile weapons charges when prosecutors say he helped orchestrate the fatal robbery of a cannabis dealer in Bronzeville has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, court records show.

7-time felon escaped from electronic monitoring, killed a Chicago police officer, and gravely wounded a second cop: officials

April 27, 2026 8:11 AM Tim Hecke

A seven-time convicted felon — who is also an active parole absconder and electronic monitoring escapee with cases pending for armed carjacking and armed robbery — is accused of murdering a Chicago police officer and gravely wounding the officer’s partner on Saturday morning as they guarded him at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Lincoln Square.

Month: April 2026