Month: July 2026

Citywide

Retired chief: Court records back up Venezuelan gang warnings that reporters dismissed

July 16, 2026 1:23 PM Tom Weitzel
For more than a year, many Chicago-area news outlets questioned whether Tren de Aragua had a real presence in Chicago or Illinois, often suggesting concerns about the gang were politically motivated. Now, court records, federal investigations, criminal prosecutions and guilty pleas have documented defendants prosecutors identified as having connections to the gang. Retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel argues that journalism must follow the evidence, even when the facts challenge a preferred political narrative.

Citywide

10% of electronic monitoring participants are AWOL, Cook County chief judge says, as high-profile violations continue to mount

July 16, 2026 11:12 AM Tim Hecke
A new report shows 10% of Cook County’s electronic monitoring participants are AWOL and high-profile crimes continue to be committed by people who are supposed to be on house arrest — including a brutal Tren de Aragua kidnapping and murder committed while wearing an ankle monitor and an escapee found in the governor’s back yard.

River North

Man who killed House of Blues patron with single punch gets 5 years, avoids murder charge under Illinois ‘one-punch’ rule

July 16, 2026 8:44 AM Tim Hecke
A man who fatally punched a House of Blues patron outside the River North venue in November 2023 was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, according to court records. Jamie Miller, 32, was originally charged with murder. But prosecutors were unlikely to win that charge at trial, based on nearly a century of Illinois case law holding that a person cannot reasonably expect a single punch to kill someone.

Roscoe Village

2 more teens charged in ‘Lakeview goons’ mob attack, bringing total to 7

July 15, 2026 11:02 AM Tim Hecke
Chicago police have arrested two more juveniles in connection with a mob attack and robbery linked to a group that Ald. Scott Waguespack has called the “Lakeview Goons,” bringing the total number of juveniles charged in the case to seven. The 16-year-old boys, whom a source identified as twin brothers, surrendered Tuesday at Area Three Police Headquarters at Belmont and Western.

Loop

Suburban man jailed after driving car toward cop during Grant Park ‘sideshow’

July 15, 2026 10:37 AM Tim Hecke
A 20-year-old Burbank man is accused of nearly running over a Chicago police officer while fleeing an illegal car sideshow in Grant Park early Sunday, prompting the officer to fire one shot at the vehicle. No one was shot, but the officer suffered a rolled ankle after falling during the incident, according to police. Footage recorded by passengers in the car is now being used as evidence against the driver.

Brighton Park

Cop justified in shooting armed bar patron, but partner crossed the line with critique of doorman’s search practices, COPA says

July 13, 2026 11:21 AM Tim Hecke
A Chicago police officer acted within department policy when he shot a man in the head after the man fired a gun during a struggle inside a Brighton Park bar, according to findings from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. But the agency recommended disciplinary action for the officer’s partner, who criticized the bar’s security staff moments after the shooting by saying, “Whoever f****** searched him is a retard.”