Police: Driver rams cop car, is arrested

A man was arrested Saturday after allegedly ramming his car into a Chicago police squad car, then leading the officers on a chase along...

2 killed in a rash of shootings

Chicago police Saturday were investigating two homicides connected to a spate of overnight shootings.

New mayor, old political ritual: Bud Billiken Parade

The Bud Billiken Parade on Saturday signaled the coming end of summer with a new mayor and the same spirit that has brought music, food...

2nd man charged in robbery, killing of friend

A second suspect has been charged in the killing of a Chicago man who showed some friends envelopes filled with cash a few days before he...

Gone too soon, but here forever

The name on the park plaque made me do a double-take, or, more precisely, the dates did.

Plight of urban poor still moves author

Twenty years ago, a groundbreaking book about the lives of two boys in a Chicago public housing development inspired a widespread public...

ALSO THAT WEEK: Mother Nature's wrath

In October 1929, Mother Nature and Wall Street bears competed for the lead headline on Page 1.

Recalling a steeper stock market plunge

Despite the wild ride our retirement accounts took this month, knock wood it wasn't the week that was — in October 1929.

Two worlds collide on tollway, leaving family devastated

Out of work for 18 months and dealing with the foreclosure of his house, Dr. William Howe slowed his late model, red Porsche in the...

Elgin plans to erase growing graffiti problem

Elgin has drawn up a new approach to cleaning up graffiti that's increasingly showing up around the city.

Local historian ran Des Plaines History Center

During long car rides when she was a girl, Joy Matthiessen always knew she was in Des Plaines when she saw the distinctive copper dome of...

Long-discredited hCG diet makes a comeback

Among the hundreds of drastic and unproven weight loss plans, the controversial hCG diet may take the cake.

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  Graphic: 500-calorie diet

Law-abiding parkers hurting Oak Park's budget

Drivers in Oak Park are getting fewer parking tickets these days, and though that is good news for many, it can be a problem for the...

Conjoined twins lose battle for life

It was the day that Brianna Manns, mother of conjoined twins Kameron and Kaydon Hayes, had long dreaded. The sons she had sought to keep...

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  Twins celebrate their first birthday

5 suburbs see savings in water line seizure

Bolingbrook resident Joe Magdziarz has watched his water bill increase since buying his ranch home more than a decade ago. The monthly...

Ask Tom why: Do you have any details about a tornado in the Naperville area in the 1970s?

Dear Tom,

Satirist Colbert avowals for straw man at Iowa straw poll

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's expected entry into the Republican presidential race has supporters excited about a candidate they say will...

Rare 'ashcan' comic books on display at Chicago Comic Con

Everyone knows that Superman has superpowers, but he also is supervaluable.

Whose turf is Soldier Field, anyway?

When the Bears had to cancel their annual Family Fest public practice this month because of lousy grass conditions at Soldier Field, it...

Chicago Riverwalk's progress remains up and down

It is easy to overlook the quaint little restaurants and other businesses tucked away below street level along the south bank of the Chicago...

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  Map: Chicago Riverwalk

Naperville man accused of stabbing his mother

A Naperville man released from a hospital Thursday repeatedly stabbed his mother with a 6-inch butcher knife after she offered to make...

Tip of the hat to 'tip of the spear'

During the presidential debate in Iowa, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann said she was at "the tip of the spear" during the fight over the...

City school tax hike greeted with frustration

Chicago Public Schools' proposed tax hike is generating frustration from a tax-weary public, in part because many question whether the...

Gunfire at liquor store kills robber, wounds clerk

An armed robbery erupted in gunfire at a Gresham neighborhood liquor store Thursday night. When it was over, one of two robbers had been...

Tea party will survive only if it challenges Republican dogma

Can the tea party movement survive the Republican candidates and the campaign for president?

Metra turns shakedown allegations over to prosecutors

Investigators have found "sufficient evidence" to support allegations that a former Metra employee tried to shake down movie producers for...

Metra eyes lesser cuts, but fare hikes loom larger

Metra officials on Friday all but killed a proposal for weekday service reductions to offset a looming deficit in 2012, adding to the...

Hundreds line up at Crystal Lake church for food, school supplies

Kim Hassig of Crystal Lake is unable to work and lives off Social Security disability payments. She struggles to put food on the table and...

GOP remap fight gets boost from Boehner

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio headlined a suburban fundraiser Friday, helping to raise money for a Republican legal challenge to...

Seniors brace for cuts to Illinois drug program

Joyce Pennington opened a letter from the state recently and got some unexpected news: At the end of this month, she will be dropped from...

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  Drug plan cuts by the numbers

Metra to equip trains with defibrillators

Metra is poised to become only the second major commuter rail system in the country whose trains are equipped with life-saving...

Also on display at State Fair: Politicians

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois State Fair opened Friday, and politicians weren't waiting for the party rallies next week to strut their...

Chicago Teachers Union president says threat of strike 'very high'

Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis says the threat of a teachers strike this year is "very high."

Ask Tom why: Tale of 2 Julys

Dear Tom,

How to build your own plane, 'one bite at a time'

Plenty of advice and wisdom is available in the homebuilt aviation community to help someone stout-hearted enough to tackle the project....

Police say Wood Dale man had bomb-making supplies

A Wood Dale man accused of threatening to set off a bomb in a child's bedroom and suspected of blowing up a trash bin near a church was...

'Homebuilt' experimental planes a popular mix of passion, prudence and risk

As a flight adviser, Ron Liebmann's official duty is to evaluate the skills of a pilot preparing to fly an airplane for the first time. He...

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  Feeling like a big bird

Willow Creek pastor clarifies views on homosexuality

Amid accusations that Willow Creek Community Church promotes an anti-gay agenda, the Rev. Bill Hybels on Thursday tried to clear the air...

Podcast: Brizard on Chicago Live!

Quinn gives buses OK to ride I-55 shoulders

In a first for the Chicago area, express buses that can drive on expressway shoulders to maneuver around rush-hour congestion are...

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  Map: Area of Stevenson where Pace routes can use inside shoulders during rush hour

Bud Billiken Parade heads list of events to close streets this weekend

The Bud Billiken Parade on Saturday is one of many events that will draw crowds and affect traffic in Chicago this weekend, city officials...

Ask Tom why: With the exception of the summer of 1988, I don't remember it ever being so consistently warm overnight as this summer. What do the temperature data say?

Dear Tom,

More details on missing Aurora boy disclosed

An Aurora woman who killed herself in May made two earlier trips to an area where she and her missing son were last known to be together &#...

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  Search continues for missing Aurora boy

Orland Park celebrates return of soldier from Afghanistan

There was a time that Army Spc. Tim Wilkas wondered if he would ever see home again.

Accused of murder, socially awkward teen finds friends

PARIS, Ill.— Ask around this small rural town and people will tell you that something terrible was bound to happen at 50 Highland...

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  TRIB NATION: The surprise while reporting this story

Prosecutors say iPhone robber in fatal theft heard screams as he fled

Prince Watson had snatched an iPhone out of a woman's hand on a CTA train and was running down the stairs of the Fullerton Avenue station...

Shopkeeper fatally shot when bullet is fired into meat market

For six years, Alfredo Cuellar Chavez ran a neighborhood meat market for his uncle in the South Chicago neighborhood. He always sent part of...

When a co-worker is dismissed, lay off the cliches

When a co-worker was laid off recently, I wrote her a farewell email on her last day. It bounced back, indicating that she was already gone.

Mom guilty of murder for running down Elgin teen

At Timera Branch's murder trial this week, it became clear that the key question would not be whether the Streamwood woman was driving...

2 Crestwood officials charged over tainted well

Unwilling to fix leaky water mains in Crestwood, a south suburb known for its penny-pinching ways, village leaders secretly supplemented...