Before Palin, remember those classic Doonesbury strips on Obama and Rezko? No?

Doesn't the controversy over those Sarah Palin hit pieces in "Doonesbury" — the comic strip serving as publicity shill for that...

Evanston mulls CTA Yellow Line options

A study of where to build a CTA Yellow Line station in Evanston has identified Dodge or Asbury avenues as the preferred locations.

Feds think Blagojevich could get 30 years or more, sources say

Preliminary calculations by federal prosecutors indicate that convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich potentially faces 30 years to life in...

Metra at crossroads with high-priced consultant

George Avery Grimes wasn't on the clock as a new Metra consultant when he rode the UP North Line to Ravinia last month to see a Steely Dan...

South Chicago painting itself as a neighborhood on the rebound

One day, if things go as planned, South Chicago will rise again.

Waukegan man accused of arson

Gregory Flesher is a man with deep ties to Waukegan. He owns a local contracting business, ran for mayor and Lake County Board and,...

Neighbor questioned in Northwest Side man's death

Chicago police were questioning the neighbor of a Northwest Side man found beaten to death inside his Gladstone Park neighborhood home,...

Some states cut back on casino inspections

While Illinois looks to fill long-vacant positions at its riverboat casinos and beef up staffing for video poker, many other states are...

Ask Tom why: Which calendar day in Chicago has the most reports of precipitation?

Dear Tom,

Gambling bill would weaken state's regulatory muscle, critics fear

Legislation that would bring unprecedented gambling expansion to Illinois would put state regulators in the unusual position of facing...

Gov. Quinn to tour China with business leaders and campaign donors

Gov. Pat Quinn leaves Friday for an eight-day trade mission to China, leading a delegation of 30 politicians, academics, campaign donors and...

Exhumation sought by woman who doubts son was Gacy victim

More than 30 years after Sherry Marino buried her 14-year-old son, she is asking the Cook County Circuit Court to allow the boy's remains to...

3 Hinsdale South students treated after breathing herbicide

Three Hinsdale South High School students were treated at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital on Thursday after being sickened by herbicide...

Will County gives state an ultimatum on airport

Frustrated by stalled efforts to create an authority for a proposed Chicago-area "third airport" near Peotone, Will County officials on...

Tinley Park's expanded convention center open for business

After five years of holding its annual event at the Tinley Park Convention Center, the Proud Lady Beauty Show this year moved its booths &#...

Margaret Lewis Klein, 1920-2011

Margaret Lewis Klein, 91, whose late husband founded the Chicago Bulls, died...

Man gets 70 years for killing girl on CTA bus

A Chicago man was sentenced to 70 years in prison Thursday for killing a teenage girl who was caught in the middle of a squabble on a CTA...

Walsh must prove he made support payments

A Cook County judge ruled Wednesday that U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh must prove that he made nearly $100,000 in payments to his ex-wife, Laura, in...

4 firefighters to lose jobs over mileage padding

Four firefighters will be dismissed and placed on the city's do-not-hire list for padding their mileage reports, Chicago Fire Department...

Retired detective beaten, robbed

Tribune reporter

Pond next to slain Palos couple's home searched for weapon

Divers from the Cook County Sheriff's Department on Thursday searched a pond next door to a Palos Township home where prosecutors say 17-...

Norman R. Farnsworth, 1930-2011

Norman Farnsworth spent more than 50 years studying the medicinal properties of plants, critical work in a world where, according to one...

Northside Prep, Audubon Elementary named Blue Ribbon Schools

Two Chicago Public Schools were named Blue Ribbon Schools today by the U.S. Department of Education.

Tough times threaten historic Glen Ellyn house

A historic two-story gray Queen Anne Victorian-style house in northeast Glen Ellyn — moved across town in 1989 — has an...

Environmental justice groups fight pollution problems on Southeast Side

Within a month this summer, Gov. Pat Quinn beefed up laws intended to protect poor and minority communities from toxic pollution and cleared...

Boy, 14, in coma after beating near his Logan Square home

Childhood sweethearts Brian DeLeon and Dayana Vazquez spent a typical evening Tuesday, doing their homework together and walking her mixed...

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  Boy's beating in Logan Square: "It's not right"

Emanuel cop shuffle questioned

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday indicated he's getting closer to his campaign pledge of putting 1,000 more police officers on Chicago...

CTA OKs new fees for park-and-ride lots

It will cost commuters $1 more each day to park their cars at three popular CTA park-and-ride facilities on the Blue and Orange lines...

Smoke clears, breathing troubles may not

Smoke from a wildfire in far northern Minnesota had largely dissipated in the Chicago area Wednesday but problems could linger for people...

Pace: No fare hike or service cuts in 2012

Pace riders won't see any fare increases or service cuts in 2012 and some routes will be expanded, officials said Wednesday as they released...

State SAT scores up, but does it matter?

Average SAT scores in Illinois increased across all subjects for the class of 2011, but the improved scores could be due to fewer...

Northwest Side man found beaten to death in his home

A man who appeared to have been beaten to death was discovered inside in the basement of his Northwest Side home, authorities said...

Storm-damaged Garfield Park Conservatory must juggle cleanup, fundraising

The transition from the scorching hot summer to a mild and cool autumn means the Garfield Park Conservatory staff must race against the...

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  Funds needed for hail-damaged Garfield Conservatory

Prosecutors say woman lured mother-in-law to her death

Prosecutors say a Bloomington woman carefully plotted the murder of her 70-year-old mother-in-law, luring the Crest Hill woman to a...

William Dobson 'Dobbie' Burton, 1919-2011

William Dobson "Dobbie" Burton was the longtime boys swimming coach at Evanston Township High School, where his teams were consistent...

Lake Forest panel urges city to keep Deerpath Golf Course

A city committee this week recommended that Lake Forest keep the financially troubled Deerpath Golf Course, despite suggestions to sell it....

Unions on Catholic college campuses

College/Union/Employees

St. Xavier University resists adjunct union

For years, some Roman Catholic bishops and conservatives have complained that American Catholic colleges have strayed from church teachings....

Murder trial begins for man accused of killing his mother

Robert Lyons wanted his mother to pull strings to get him skybox seats for an Avril Lavigne concert, but when she refused, he savagely...

Prosecutors will seek higher bail for alleged animal hoarder

Prosecutors will seek a higher bail for a Berwyn woman who was charged with a series of crimes after her 14-year-old son died last week...

Desk zero: 'Contagion' lurks just outside office bathroom

A terrible wave of germaphobia is spreading across the world, and all of it can be blamed on "Contagion," the new thriller starring Matt...

Richmond allegedly attacked ex-girlfriend before his arrest, court records show

The day before Jereme Richmond was arrested on weapons and assault charges after a confrontation with his ex-girlfriend's family, the former...

• 
  Former Illini player can't travel to basketball camps -- for now

Former New Trier classmates compete on 'The Sing-Off'

Will Hart and Danny Rubenstein sang together in choir ensembles at New Trier High School, went to different colleges and lost touch. But...

Photo enforcement returns to Elk Grove intersection

Elk Grove Village will reactivate red-light cameras at an intersection where the number of crashes has nearly tripled in the eight months...

Palos Township teen accused of killing parents

Weeks before his parents were bludgeoned to death in their bedroom, 17-year-old John Granat told friends he wanted to kill his mother and...

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  Recording of 911 call

Ask Tom why: How often has Chicago recorded a 90-degree reading in October?

Dear Tom,

Stroger's brother-in-law resigns from county health post

The brother-in-law of former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has resigned from his $195,906-a-year post as chief operating...

CPS executive headed for superintendent post in Florida

A Chicago Public Schools executive who was formerly the district's chief administrative officer and more recently the Board of Education's...

Michael L. Gentile 1941 –2011

Michael L. Gentile ran a drug store on Taylor Street in Little Italy for four decades, taking over the business from his father in the early...

Mentally ill and behind bars

Melissa Clark sat wide-eyed and agitated in a visiting room at Cook County Jail's Cermak Hospital, rocking her right leg so vigorously...

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  Trib Nation: How we got this story