Bald eagles were spotted nesting near the grounds of a Chicago Police proposed shooting range in Hegewisch earlier this week. The CPD may have to re-evaluate the plans which were backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in January. more ›

The two officers also were accused of stealing guns and drugs and receiving monetary compensation for their efforts. more ›

The man was snorting and licking his hands while seated behind the steering wheel. more ›

We were not the only ones puzzled by the Chicago Police Department decision to buy lots and lots of Chevy Tahoes a few years back. Apparently, they are looking for new, less goofy, patrol cars. more ›

By cutting security detail for several top officials, new "Top Cop" McCarthy cut costs by $650,000 and likely pissed off Ald. Ed Burke. more ›

Chicago residents will now be able to send photos and videos to 911 operators via their phones, according to a report from the Sun Times. The Office of Emergency Management and Communication began taking images from Chicago residents as part of a pilot program in September and so far has received at least 40 images. Chicago is the first city to pilot such a program. more ›

We trust that a good number of cars are still buried under piles of snow in and around the city. Although the weather today calls for 'some sun,' it won't be warm enough for the snow to magically disappear. The good news in all this? The city of Chicago has temporarily halted parking ticket enforcement. more ›

It's not a secret that the Chicago Police Department had a rough year last year, and news of this fatal incident is definitely not a happy way for the Chicago Police Department to ring in the new year. more ›

Despite the cruel weather we've been having recently, a record number of people showed up to take the Chicago Police Department's entrance exam at McCormick Place yesterday. Around 9,600 people were able to take the exam during two different sessions. The number of people who showed up for the exam yesterday was more than twice the number of test takers in 2006, when about 4,061 people took the entrance exam. more ›

A "rave" in Wicker Park was shut down by Chicago police officers after an anonymous person texted the information through the Chicago Police Department's "TEXT2TIP" system around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night. The rave was in full effect when the police showed up:

Shakespeare District officers who responded found partygoers going into a storefront -- an unlicensed venue -- and alcohol being served to 50 to 75 people, most of whom were not old enough to drink, according to the release. Some were holding alcoholic beverages and waiting to pay an entrance fee when police arrived, the release said.

A new strategy is being tested this summer with curfew violators. Instead of taking teens to police stations and giving citations they'll be transported to park district fieldhouses. The minors will be supervised by police officers currently assigned to desk duty and will remain at the locations until a parent picks them up. If a parent cannot be reached then the minors will be taken to the police station. "We just think it's a better place for them to be held. It's not as intimidating," Police Superintendent Jody Weis told the Sun Times. Previously, hefty fines were imposed on parents for curfew violations. more ›

Just a few weeks after two state representatives suggested that the National Guard be brought in to help Chicago Police control the violence, Chicago Police are actually touting a drop in some violent crime. Police superintendent Jody Weis announced crime is down almost seven percent, most violent crime is down 11 percent and the number of homicides this year is below the five-year average for the same period. Weis attributes the decrease to "smart policing; sharing more information among federal, state and local police; and building partnerships within communities." more ›

Rep. John Fritchey is among a few law-makers calling on the National Guard to help quell the outbreak of violence in Chicago. But is this the right answer or just a quick fix? more ›

• A pair of area deaths related to H1N1 have been reported. In related news, a truck with 900 H1N1 vaccine doses was stolen in Milwaukee though police have apprehended a suspect.
• As the search continues for a hit & run driver responsible for the death of 25-year-old Rachel Gilliam, a surveillance tape is making the rounds that shows the alleged car that moments later hit Gilliam and her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the driver.
• With 1,000 officers eligible to retire, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis admits he's "nervous" about retirements cutting into the CPD's already thinned ranks.

The city's LGBT community (in addition to, ya know, people who don't enjoy police misconduct) received good news Thursday when it was announced Officer Richard Fiorito has been placed on desk duty pending the resolution of 20-some federal lawsuits alleging his misconduct. more ›

At the end of this year, Chicago could be short 800 cops compared to last year the police union told the Sun-Times. The shortage is attributed to vacancies, attrition rates, and Mayor Daley’s 2009 budget which has significantly slowed down hiring. Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis told the Sun-Times last week that the CPD hopes to use federal grant money to hire 150 new officers this year. In the short term Weis will manage the officer shortage by shifting officers from desk jobs, or pay officers overtime with federal grants to cover the streets this summer. more ›

Yesterday hundreds of records of special education students at Lake View High School dating back two decades were found in a Lakeview alley. Those records included confidential and sealed records instructed to be opened “only by the psychologist.” more ›

Details on the return of Bear, a Chicago Police K9 who was found Sunday morning after close to four days of searching, were shared at a press conference yesterday afternoon. Howard Overton spotted the 2 1/2 years old German shepherd "near a cemetery on the border between Evergreen Park and Chicago," according to Chicago Breaking News. Realizing the tan and black K9 looked like "the dog on the news," Overton got the attention of a nearby police car. more ›

While the Chicagoist intern isn't startled by storms, we know that's not true for all dogs, including some police dogs. This morning, the Chicago Police Department reported that one of its K9s, BEAR, went missing last night. According to an email sent out by the CPD, the dog's handler took it outside for a potty break when a crack of thunder - and we had plenty of that last night - scared the dog who scaled a five-foot fence and took off. The 74 lb black and tan shepherd was last seen near the 3800 block of West 109th Street. more ›

Carnell Pitts, 18, was shot and killed at a house party on the South Side late Friday night, just two weeks after his younger brother, Kendrick Pitts, 17, was shot and killed along with two others. Carnell Pitts had allegedly been arguing with someone and was shot in the back. He later died at Advocate Trinity Hospital of multiple gunshot wounds. The death was ruled a homicide, and the police do not have any suspects in custody at this time. more ›

The Chicago Police Department's Internal Affairs division has completed its investigation into the Vincent Richardson affair, the case of the 14-year-old teen cop impersonator. Tina Skahill, chief of the Internal Affairs Division, said, “We did find evidence that department members — at least five — violated department rules and regulations." The full report won't be released to the public until CPD superintendent Jody Weis has a chance to review it himself. Investigators interviewed witnesses and examined surveillance footage as part of more ›

The now-former Senator from Illinois continues to dominate the news around here (though we'll pass on his gym updates, Trib). more ›

We're third in population, but first in murders. For the first time in 10 years, Chicago has surpassed New York City in murders (and L.A. to boot). As of Tuesday, Chicago has had 426 murders so far in 2008 compared to 417 for New York City and 302 for L.A. Just more trouble for embattled Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis who will appear before the City Council today to discuss budget issues for the CPD. Chicago is on pace to top 500 murders for the year, which is still short of the bloody 1998 when the total was around 700. more ›

Last week, we wrote about the shortage of police officers as crime in the city was rising, a correlation Mayor Daley denied. In keeping with his line of (faulty?) thought, a number of the proposed job vacancies being eliminated in the City's attempt to get it's $420 million budget under control includes several hundred police positions. According to the Sun Times, "the Chicago Police Department has 329 sworn vacancies and 424 openings for non-sworn police employees. That's in addition to the 705 officers on medical leave and 625 officers on limited or convalescent duty status." These vacancies would be eliminated in spite of Daley's promise earlier this year to add more officers to the force. more ›

Just days after another officer was killed in the line of duty, Officer Richard Francis, who was killed in the line of duty in July, was honored today with a special ceremony during which his star was retired. It was the 462nd CPD star to be retired more ›

Chicago police officers are making fewer arrested and taking fewer guns off the street this year, and some say it's because officers are afraid of being investigated—and don't feel supported—by the Jody Weis regime. more ›

An off-duty Chicago police officer appears to have shot his two young children and then killed himself this morning. The 9-year-old boy is currently in critical condition, but the 7-year-old girl died from her injuries. (Earlier reports put the children at 6 and 8, then at 8 and 12, but the most current says 7 and 9.) [S-T, Trib]
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The CPD is considering changing how its cars and SUVs look. And lo, the options are fug. more ›