Happy Thanksgiving!
I'd like to thank everyone who has stopped by, and especially those of you who've taken the time to comment here. I've learned a lot, and I really enjoy our exchanges. I also want to thank the entire ChicagoNow community, but those frighteningly efficient, coffee-fueled,' [...]
Photo courtesy of Tracy Samantha Schmidt
Last Saturday, just after I did my bit on the inaugural broadcast of Chicago Now Radio, I had a conversation with Tracy Schmidt about bullet-proof glass. Specifically, about the glass windows separating the WGN Radio [...]Taylor (Texas) Police Department Officer Keith Urban (yes, that is is real name) is one of the most patient officers I've ever seen.
While on a traffic stop, an affectionate black cat decided to use Officer Urban as a human cat tree. The cat fled on foot' [...]
Tribune photo by Lane Christiansen
The Tribune reports today that the Thomson Correctional Center in Carroll County is being considered as a possible destination for prisoners currently held at Guantanamo Bay. The Thomson Correctional Center was [...]
Teresa Puente of Chicanisima recently wrote about an incident in which a Dallas Police officer cited a woman for driving without being able to speak English. Friday she did another post discussing the revelation that Dallas PD has issued 39 similar tickets since 2007, indicating that [...]
Ever hear the saying "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is"? I hope you have. There are other sayings that relate essentially the same wisdom: "there's no such thing as a free lunch", or "there's always free cheese in a mousetrap". You get the idea. [...]
Costumed, drunk and in custody is no way to spend Halloween weekend.
There's a lot going on around the city this week: Halloween parades, costume contests for pets, and all kinds of options for low-cost Halloween fun. So the last place you should want' [...]
As you know, I'm a strong believer in public service, especially in the form of helpful public service announcements. Halloween is just around the corner, so I thought it appropriate to pass on some Halloween safety information.
It's been 3 weeks since we got the news that the 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio, and not in Chicago. Many stunned Chicago 2016 boosters asked themselves why. Was it the corruption? The videotaped beating death of [...] 
This is part of my ongoing series "Helpful Tips".
If you plan on making a living by moving moderate amounts of cannabis from your suburban home, here are some helpful tips:
Marijuana use may heighten paranoia. If you are really [...]
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."NLEOMF
The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial marked its 18th anniversary with [...]
Let me get right to the, uh, point:
Meet Robert L. English:
Freelance photojournalist Mike Anzaldi was in the right place at the right time this weekend. While stopping for lunch in Chinatown, he happened on the aftermath of a purse snatching.
What you see in this series of photos is a couple of good Samaritans detaining [...]
And here I sat up late last night typing out a Chicago-wins-the-Olympics post. I could have saved myself the trouble and just typed
.
*This is what I had earlier this morning, in anticipation of Chicago winning the games:
My family [...]
The Children's Advocacy Center of North & Northwest Cook County
needs our help. Like a lot of other not-for-profits, they're dealing
with funding problems, while the need for their services increases.
From their website:
Derrion Albert was, by all accounts, a good kid who did what he was supposed to, studied hard and stayed out of trouble. This week he became famous in death, the latest casualty of Chicago's street violence. The video images of his [...] Governor Pat Quinn announced on Friday that 1,000 lucky inmates of the Illinois Department of Corrections are going to get early releases. Quinn says he's doing this to save money, about $5 million a year.
According to this story in the Tribune, Quinn waited until late in [...]
8 years is a long time, but sometimes it seems like last week.My family was getting ready to leave for a canoe trip in Wisconsin that morning. The car was packed, my bride was writing out instructions for the dog walker, and my girls [...]
I don't know how many rehab centers injured CPD Officer Densey Cole had to choose from, but it certainly looks like he picked the right place:Chicago police: Cop hospitalized in Denver area adopted by officers therePhoto for the Tribune by Bill Ross...
' [...]
The United States Marshals Service is selling Bernie Madoff's former "luxury penthouse apartment" in New York: It's where Bernard Madoff broke down and confessed to his massive fraud, frantically wrote checks for millions of dollars as the scheme unraveled and appeared in a bathrobe to [...]
I just returned from a few days camping to find that the City of Chicago has already shut down three blocks of Michigan Avenue in preparation for the broadcast of Oprah's season premier. I have to say, I didn't pay much attention when I first heard about the' [...]
Consider this scenario:You're a 53 year old, college-educated woman on Facebook. One day a Facebook "friend", a college classmate who you haven't seen or spoken with in 30 years, contacts you on Facebook chat. She's desperate. She and her husband, traveling' [...]
Yes, I know there are plenty of candidates to choose from here in the Chicagoland area, but right now Deborah K. Rohrwasser of Geneva, Illinois is my front runner.Ms. Rohrwasser was arrested and charged with phoning in a bomb threat to the Kane County [...]
As a police officer I've always found it useful to have a working knowledge of cryptozoology. I always figured that if I was familiar with a variety of pseudo-mythical creatures, I'd be less likely to end up dead like the typical cop at the [...]
It's Wednesday, and that means weenie-wavers. They've been busy lately. Like I've explained before, they are driven by forces that they don't comprehend, and seem compelled to repeatedly act out the freaky psychodramas playing in their heads. Obligatory disclaimer: These mug photos are [...]
"He brought it upon himself...I'm sorry they took his life, but he asked for it."80-year-old Vasken Bayenderian, referring to Jacob Stolarz. Stolarz held Bayenderian hostage at knifepoint before being killed by police.In other words, Stolarz needed shooting. Stolarz was politely referred to in news' [...]
I was driving, listening to the radio, when I heard about a Chicago Police Department officer shooting and killing a knife-wielding man in the Loop this afternoon. The radio station went live to a press conference given by Superintendent Weis. A female reporter asked a question about why [...]
Well, I've learned a valuable lesson this week.I will never again allow a Japanese journalist to go on a ride-along with me, especially if he brings a photographer. At the time I admit I was pretty flattered by the attention given to me by' [...]
Ever since the Uptown mini-riot, I've been checking in with the Uptown Update to keep tabs on my old neighborhood. They're still reporting on the fallout from that event, and the ongoing frustration with neighborhood crime and the response (or lack thereof) from Alderman Helen Shiller.While I was [...]
