Runway communities put airstrips in pilots' backyards

With street signs carrying names like Cessna Lane and "attached" meaning an airplane hangar instead of a car garage, it's a safe bet that...

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  Trib Nation: Background on the origins of this story

Naperville man faces prison, deportation for sex assault

A Naperville man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Tuesday for sexually assaulting a girl he helped bring to the area from Mexico.

Father of slain bank teller sees case go to trial after four years

Verton Gibson Jr. can't count how many times he has traveled from his South Side home to the looming glass-and-steel federal courthouse...

Exec used RTA credit card for personal expenses

A top official of the Regional Transportation Authority used her agency-issued credit card four times for more than a thousand dollars worth...

Bikers accused in bomb, death plots

Members of the Wheels of Soul motorcycle gang weren't shy about using violence, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Judge: Catholic Charities can keep serving foster kids, for now

SPRINGFIELD — Catholic Charities won the right to keep serving nearly 2,000 foster children in Illinois for at least another month, as...

Driver hit by tree limb in storm dies

In one of the first deaths related to Monday's devastating storm, a 72-year-old man died after a tree limb fell on his car, officials said.

Bodyguard solution: Trade the town cars for clown cars

Mayor Rahm Emanuel took a great big baby step Tuesday on the issue of who's the mayor of Chicago, him or the guy known as King Shortshanks.

The five phases of vacation

Vacation, phase one.

Authorities question suspects in River Forest fatal shooting

Three men were being questioned Tuesday in the shooting death of a woman in River Forest, which may have stemmed from a domestic situation,...

Education activist boasts of power plays, then apologizes

An education activist's blunt tale of wooing House Speaker Michael Madigan and outfoxing teachers unions created a stir Tuesday by violating...

Lyme doctor with troubled past offers controversial treatment

When Dr. Jeffrey Piccirillo moved to the small college town of Grinnell, Iowa, the Joliet surgeon had been sued multiple times over...

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  Chronic Lyme disease: A dubious diagnosis

ComEd power outage information

How many customers are out? About 285,000, as of late Tuesday.

During storm outage, neighborhood turns to power sharing

After the latest storm hit one Mount Prospect neighborhood, residents knew what to do: They dragged out thick power cables, half a dozen...

Alibi evidence in Sycamore murder destroyed

Evidence that Jack Daniel McCullough said would help prove his innocence in the 54-year-old slaying of a little girl from Sycamore was...

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  "He took away my best friend"

Ask Tom why: Can cloud seeding be done, considering the drought in the South?

Dear Tom,

Power to be restored at all schools by Wednesday

Chicago Public Schools officials are hoping that all summer school programs will resume Wednesday after power outages caused disruptions...

Emanuel: Daley's security detail to get another look this summer

Former Mayor Richard Daley's temporary security detail will be evaluated again this summer to see if he still needs Chicago police officers...

District 205 board members seek ouster of new chief

Four members of the Thornton Township High School District 205 board have accused the new board president of abusing his power and are...

Union disputes Edelman's opionion that they can't strike

Chicago Teachers Union officials say they can meet the 75 percent vote required under a new education reform bill if they choose to strike.

Former owner of Joliet landfill pleads guilty to tax evasion

A former Joliet landfill owner who was in the middle of an infamous spat between ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his father-in-law, powerful...

Cook County checking up on foreclosure program

At a time when more than 75,000 mortgage foreclosures are pending in Cook County, commissioners are asking for more scrutiny of a...

Charters tell mayor they support longer school days

No surprise here: Chicago charter schools have sent a letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel voicing support for a longer school day.

Robert E. Rosterman, 1931-2011

To his friends and fellow classic movie buffs, Robert E. Rosterman was as unforgettable as his favorite film, "Gone With the Wind."

Some outages could last for days, ComEd says

With Monday's storms knocking out power to more than 868,000 customers, ComEd took a triage approach in its effort to bring things back to...

Record numbers left without power as storm smacks Chicago

A fierce, fast-moving storm left a record 868,000 customers without power Monday, as 75 mph winds ripped down power lines, tossed tree limbs...

100 displaced after West Chicago apartment fire

Kathy Jones was lying on a couch in a West Chicago apartment during a visit with relatives early Monday when she "smelled something bad."

Prosecutors: Teen in crash that killed police dispatcher was drunk and high on drugs

Lindetta McGlory said she never understood why her 16-year-old son would sometimes make terrible decisions.

Jerome J. Brault, 1933-2011

Jerome J. Brault, 77, a prominent real estate investor who founded Chicago-based Brauvin Real Estate, died Thursday, July 7, at his home...

State lawmakers put off decision on request to block state workers' pay raises

A bipartisan panel of state lawmakers will put off a decision Tuesday on a request by Gov. Pat Quinn to block scheduled 2 percent pay...

Illinois Supreme Court backs video poker law, letting Quinn push ahead with construction plan

SPRINGFIELD — Now that the Illinois Supreme Court has blessed the state's construction plan, Gov. Pat Quinn plans to borrow several...

Elgin gunfire leaves man dead

A man was shot and killed Sunday on Elgin's east side, less than a week after another fatal shooting.

State severs foster care ties with Catholic Charities

The state has declined to renew its foster care and adoption contracts with Catholic Charities across Illinois, possibly ending a historic...

Fast-food playlands under scrutiny

On a humid Monday morning, Erin Carr-Jordan was crawling through the tubey slides of a McDonald's PlayPlace on the West Side.

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  YouTube video: Fast-food Playlands under scrutiny

Ask Tom why: Has a tornado ever touched down at Wrigley Field?

Dear Tom,

Emanuel cuts use of city credit cards

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to slash the number of credit cards used by city agencies and restrict how they're used.

Power outage questions and answers: How to get through a power outage

If you weren't ready this time around, here are some tips for weathering the next blackout:

Ohio man has reason for optimism after facial surgery in Chicago for neurofibromatosis

If one hadn't known better, the guess might have been that Ed Port's visit to Chicago had somewhere taken a bad turn.

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  Mary Tyler Moore to have brain surgery for tumor

Storm forces cancelation of summer classes at Hampton

The storm forced summer classes to be canceled at a South Side Elementary School Monday. Crews were unable to restore power at Hampton...

Bicentennial Ash tree in Wilmette is felled by storm

There were no reports in Wilmette of human injuries after a severe storm blew through the area Monday morning, but residents mourned the...

Students learn legal ropes in Moot Court

Esperanza Gaytan, 15, strode to the center of the courtroom to argue that a gun-toting man has the right to flee from police in a high-crime...

When it comes to babies, we've come a long way, baby

In the past few months that I've been walking around with what appears to be a watermelon under my shirt, friends and strangers have...

Off-duty police dispatcher dies when hit by driver fleeing cops

On any given shift, police dispatcher Marciea Adkins could have monitored a police pursuit, her voice providing a key link between the...

Steroid stats promising among Illinois youth

As the limelight falls again on the use of performance enhancing drugs by professional athletes because of the perjury trial of former...

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  Men with distorted body images

TribLocal roundup

3 hospitals recognized for treatment of LGBT patients

Three area hospitals were recognized in a new nationwide survey for their treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients.

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  Federal officials try again to bolster health plans for people with medical conditions

Woman fatally shot on Southeast Side

A woman died Monday morning after she was shot in the head the night before on the city's Southeast Side, authorities said.

$500,000 bail set for man accused of DUI in fatal crash

Bail was set at $500,000 on Monday for a Carol Stream man accused of driving drunk when his pickup truck hit a freight train locomotive a...

Chicago-area children with diabetes join worldwide congress

Caitlin Reedy was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when she was 9. She has learned that her disease is a big burden.

Experts defend bashed potato

Potatoes have taken a mashing lately, being blamed over other foods for people's long-term weight gain and possibly being limited in favor...

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  Potatoes can add plenty to waistline