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• Final two conference semifinals begin tonight

  May 6, 2013 10:24 AM

  UNDATED - The opening games of two NBA conference semifinals are taking place this evening as Miami plays host to Chicago and San Antonio is home to Golden State. The Heat advanced with a four-game sweep of the Bucks in their first-round series while the Bulls took seven games to... more »

• Cubs chairman makes case for huge board at Wrigley

  May 1, 2013 10:02 AM

  CHICAGO - Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts says the team needs to install a 6,000 square foot video board at Wrigley Field because it would bring in much needed revenue. Addressing the City Club of Chicago Wednesday, Ricketts said the Cubs could be making $20 million a year more in... more »

• Bulls shock Heat, ending 27-game winning streak

  March 28, 2013 9:12 AM

  CHICAGO - The Chicago Bulls have ended Miami's quest to break the NBA record for consecutive wins. The 101-97 final ended the Heat's winning streak at 27, six short of the mark set by the 1971-72 Lakers. Luol Deng paced the undermanned Bulls with 28 points in 44 minutes... more »

• Bears, Bushrod agree to 5-year deal

  March 12, 2013 10:11 PM

  CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears have agreed to a five-year contract with New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl left tackle Jermon Bushrod, filling a major hole on the offensive line. The Bears announced the signing Tuesday. A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that the deal is potentially... more »

• Moderate economic growth

  March 6, 2013 7:48 PM

  WASHINGTON- The Federal reserve says the U.S. economy was growing at a moderate level in 10 of its 12 regions with Boston and Chicago lagging. The Fed's Beige Book survey says the growth is helped by strong auto sales, a recovery in housing and improved job prospects. Consumer spending increased... more »

• Peterson case returns with hearing for new trial

  February 19, 2013 7:10 AM

  CHICAGO - A spat between Drew Peterson's former lead trial attorney and current lawyers will appear in court. A judge will hear arguments Tuesday that Peterson deserves a new trial on grounds that former lead trial attorney Joel Brodsky botched last year's trial. Brodsky left the defense team in November... more »

• Obama says gun violence killing too many children

  February 15, 2013 5:25 PM

  CHICAGO - President Barack Obama says that every four months, his hometown of Chicago suffers the loss of as many children as were killed in the Connecticut elementary school shooting. Obama says gun violence is taking too many children's lives, not just in mass shootings like the one in Newtown,... more »

• Obama wraps State of Union speech tour in Chicago

  February 15, 2013 7:25 AM

  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is wrapping up his post-State of the Union tour by talking about how government can build what he calls "ladders of opportunity" into the middle class. During remarks Friday in Chicago, his hometown, Obama plans to discuss proposals to raise the federal minimum wage and... more »

• Teen perfomer at inaugural events fatally shot

  January 30, 2013 10:45 AM

  CHICAGO - A 15-year-old majorette who performed at some of President Barack Obama's recent inauguration festivities has been shot to death in Chicago. Police say Hadiya Pendleton was shot in the back Tuesday in a South Side park and died at a city hospital. Authorities say Hadiya was one of... more »

• Former Ill. Gov. Ryan to be released from prison

  January 30, 2013 2:39 AM

  CHICAGO - George Ryan is about to become the latest Illinois governor to go through a prison door. This time he's headed out. The 78-year-old Republican has served five-plus years for corruption. Authorities are expected to release him from a prison in Terre Haute, Ind., sometime Wednesday. He's expected to... more »

• Poisoned lotto winner's body to be exhumed today

  January 18, 2013 2:22 AM

  CHICAGO - Authorities plan to exhume the body of a Chicago businessman Friday in hopes of learning exactly how he ingested a lethal dose of cyanide. Urooj Khan died in July as he was about to collect $425,000 in lottery winnings. His death was initially ruled a result of... more »

• 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' package mystery solved

  December 19, 2012 12:26 PM

  CHICAGO - The University of Chicago has determined the source of a mystery package that the school received addressed to movie adventurer Indiana Jones. The school received a replica of the journal from the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" that was addressed to Henry Walton Jones, Jr. - better... more »

• Oscar maker plans layoffs in Chicago

  December 7, 2012 11:59 AM

  CHICAGO - The Chicago company that makes the familiar gold-plated Oscar statues is laying off almost 100 employees. R.S. Owens & Co. Inc. said this week in a notice to the Illinois Department of Commerce that it will lay off 95 workers on Dec. 17. The notice says the layoffs... more »

• United says failed generator forced 787 landing

  December 5, 2012 4:39 PM

  CHICAGO - United Airlines says a failed electrical generator is the reason one of its new Boeing 787s made an emergency landing in New Orleans. The flight from Houston to Newark diverted to New Orleans shortly after takeoff on Tuesday. No one was hurt. United says one of the plane's... more »

• 3 NFL QBs sidelined with concussions on 1 day

  November 12, 2012 5:55 PM

  CHICAGO - Next week's big "Monday Night Football" showcase could feature a quarterback matchup of Jason Campbell of the Bears vs. Colin Kaepernick of the 49ers. Not exactly the creme de la creme of the NFC. Why? Concussions, of course. With so much attention paid to replacement refs and... more »

• Pres. Barack Obama's victory speech Play Video

  November 7, 2012 12:34 PM

  CHICAGO - Here is the full text and video of Pres. Barack Obama's victory speech after securing a second term in the 2012 race for the White House. ----- Thank you so much. Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its... more »

• Confident Obama urges supporters to vote

  November 6, 2012 7:08 PM

  CHICAGO - President Barack Obama is imploring his supporters to vote in the final hours before polls close in many states. Obama's campaign released a web video featuring Obama urging his backers to go to the polls and to tell their friends to do the same. The president says, "Election... more »

• Obama turns re-election prospects over to voters

  November 6, 2012 8:45 AM

  CHICAGO - President Barack Obama is extending congratulations to rival Mitt Romney "on a spirited campaign." Obama says he's "confident we've got the votes to win." Obama says he knows Romney supporters are "just as engaged, just as enthusiastic." Obama spoke to reporters briefly after making calls to Wisconsin campaign... more »

• Study: Even fit baby boomers won't escape heart problems Play Video

  November 5, 2012 12:25 PM

  CHICAGO - New research shows that even many healthy baby boomers will get heart disease as they get old. But the good news is that will happen much later for them than for their less healthy peers. The findings come in an analysis of five major studies involving nearly 50,000... more »

• Government replaces body scanners at some airports

  October 25, 2012 4:26 PM

  CHICAGO - The federal government is quietly removing full-body X-ray scanners from seven major airports and replacing them with a different type of machine that produces a cartoon-like outline instead of the naked images that have been compared to a virtual strip search. The Transportation Security Administration says it is... more »

• Chicago teachers suspend strike, classes to resume

  September 18, 2012 5:20 PM

  CHICAGO - Chicago teachers are suspending a seven-day strike in the nation's third-largest city, a move that will send thousands of students back to classrooms. The union's House of Delegates voted Tuesday to suspend the strike after learning details of a tentative contract agreement. A proposed settlement was presented to... more »

• Packers entertain Bears tonight

  September 13, 2012 10:54 AM

  GREEN BAY, Wis. - The second week of the NFL season gets under way this evening in Green Bay, Wis., as the Packers entertain arch-rival Chicago. The Packers are coming off a surprising 30-22 loss at home to San Francisco in the first week of the season, while the... more »

• Talks to end Chicago teacher strike make progress

  September 13, 2012 10:19 AM

  CHICAGO - The Chicago Teachers Union president says a deal to end the city's first teachers' strike in 25 years is close, but she's pushed back her timeline a bit. Just hours after predicting students could be back in class by Friday, Karen Lewis said it might be Monday instead.... more »

• Chicago teachers strike grinds into third day

  September 12, 2012 7:56 AM

  CHICAGO - The public teachers strike that has halted classwork and upset family routines across Chicago is grinding into a third day with no sign of an imminent deal. Union leaders say they will meet this morning to review a new proposal from school board negotiators that addresses all... more »

• Union: No deal as talks continue

  September 11, 2012 2:40 PM

  CHICAGO - The Chicago Teachers Union says no deal has been reached in ongoing talks with negotiators from the Chicago Public Schools. Representatives from the union and the district returned to the bargaining table Tuesday as the teachers' strike entered its second day. More than 25,000 teachers are on strike... more »

• Romney: Chicago teachers turning backs on students

  September 10, 2012 12:07 PM

  CHICAGO - Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says Chicago teachers are turning their backs on thousands of students and President Barack Obama is siding with the striking teachers. Romney, in a statement released Monday hours before he was set to land in Chicago for fundraisers, says he is disappointed by... more »

• Parents, students consider options as teachers strike

  September 10, 2012 10:43 AM

  CHICAGO - Parents and students are figuring out their options on the first day of a Chicago teachers' strike. The district is keeping some schools open, and they're serving breakfast and lunch, but there's no instruction and it's only for a half-day. At one high school, a handful of students... more »

• Judge: No mistrial in Drew Peterson murder case

  August 2, 2012 10:53 AM

  CHICAGO - Former police officer Drew Peterson's murder trial will go on after the judge decided against declaring a mistrial. The Thursday ruling followed several blunders by prosecutors seeking to prove the 58-year-old killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004. He's also a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of... more »

• Gov. Jindal travels to Virginia, Illinois

  June 7, 2012 5:17 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Gov. Bobby Jindal is back on the road for GOP causes, with scheduled stops including a Mitt Romney fundraiser in Chicago. The Republican governor's office said Thursday that Jindal is attending a Friday fundraiser for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's political action committee. Later that day, he's headed... more »

• Suspect groom made odd phone call

  May 16, 2012 12:53 PM

  CHICAGO - The sister of a bride found stabbed to death in suburban Chicago says her new brother-in-law called a relative on the day the body was found and said he left her bleeding after a "bad fight." Jazmin Carrera tells The Associated Press that a sister of Arnoldo Jimenez... more »

• Ill. man didn't know he'd shot nail into his brain

  January 20, 2012 12:55 PM

  ORLAND PARK, Ill. - A suburban Chicago man thought the errant nail that discharged from the gun he was working with had whizzed by his head. Instead, it was lodged in his brain. Family members say Dante Autullo spent more than a day with the 3½-inch nail in his head... more »

• Lawsuit: Illinois cop issues ticket, asks for date

  January 3, 2012 3:50 PM

  CHICAGO - A Chicago-area woman is suing a suburban traffic cop for allegedly using a speeding ticket he issued to her to track her down and ask her out on a date. Evangelina Paredes filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago accusing Stickney police officer Chris Collins of... more »

• Woman accuses Cain of bold sexual advance

  November 7, 2011 1:52 PM

  NEW YORK - Speaking in a halting voice, a Chicago-area woman accused Republican presidential contender Herman Cain on Monday of making an unwanted sexual advance against her more than a decade ago, saying she wanted to provide "a face and a voice" to support other accusers who have so far... more »

• Chicago man once thought dead arrested in Vegas

  July 22, 2011 1:31 PM

  LAS VEGAS - Authorities say a former Chicago commodities broker who disappeared in 1979 and was declared legally dead has been found living under a false name and working at a casino in Las Vegas. Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles officials say 72-year-old Arthur Gerald Jones was arrested Tuesday... more »

• 5-year-old girl gets free flight to rehab hospital

  July 11, 2011 4:44 PM

  BATON ROUGE- A family's wish was granted today when their five-year-old girl got a free flight to a rehab hospital in Chicago, in order to get treatment for a severe spine injury. Sianna Paddie held her teddy bear close as she was lifted onto an AirMed airplane. Today was... more »

• Jury convicts ex-Ill. Gov. Blagojevich at retrial

  June 27, 2011 2:41 PM

  CHICAGO - Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been convicted of 17 of the 20 charges against him, including all 11 charges related to his attempt to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. Jurors deadlocked on one charge of attempted extortion in an alleged shakedown involving... more »

• Oprah Gets a Street

  May 11, 2011 7:36 PM

  Its tough to get something for the person who has everything but Oprah Winfrey got something from Chicago she doesn't have. She has her own street, 'Oprah Winfrey Way'. In one of his last official acts as mayor, Richard Daley went to her studio to rename a street outside the... more »

• Boy dies after fall from Chicago roller coaster

  April 3, 2011 11:57 AM

  NORRIDGE, Ill.- A 3-year-old boy died Saturday after falling out of a roller coaster at a suburban Chicago amusement park, police said. The boy was sitting near the front of the Python Pit roller coaster at the Go Bananas amusement park when he got underneath the ride's safety bar,... more »

• Illinois court throws Emanuel off Chiago ballot

  January 24, 2011 1:10 PM

  CHICAGO - An Illinois appellate court on Monday threw former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel off the ballot for Chicago mayor because he didn't live in the city in the year before the election. The decision put Emanuel's candidacy into doubt a month before the election. He had... more »

• Cutler leads Bears to NFC Championship

  January 16, 2011 5:01 PM

  CHICAGO -- Football's oldest rivalry has a grand new prize: a spot in the Super Bowl. The Bears' 35-24 dismantling of overmatched Seattle on Sunday sets up the biggest game in their 90-year series with the Packers. Chicago and Green Bay will play for the 182nd time next Sunday,... more »

• Few delays with airport security measures

  November 24, 2010 7:38 PM

  CHICAGO- The big opt-out was a big bust today as most of the Thanksgiving travelers selected for full body scans and pat down searches chose to submit to them, rather than create chaos on one of the busiest flying days of the year. For days, activists waged on a... more »

• Security protest could disrupt Thanksgiving travel

  November 19, 2010 5:47 PM

  CHICAGO - As if air travel over the Thanksgiving holiday isn't tough enough, it could be even worse this year: Airports might see even more disruptions because of a loosely organized Internet boycott of full-body scans. Even if only a small percentage of passengers participate, experts say it could mean... more »

• Blagojevich retrial set for January

  August 26, 2010 11:34 AM

  Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich won't be facing a retrial until next year. Federal Judge James Zagel said Thursday that he'll set a retrial date for early January. Zagel says the trial won't begin any earlier than Jan. 4. But he didn't immediately set a specific date. The new trial... more »

• Eddie Kennison signs deal to retire as Chief

  July 19, 2010 12:26 PM

  Wide receiver Eddie Kennison has signed a contract with Kansas City so he can retire as a member of the Chiefs. Kennison played in 91 games for Kansas City, from 2001 through 2007. He ranks seventh in team history with 5,230 yards receiving and eighth with 321 receptions.... more »

• Illinois lawmakers want National Guard in Chicago

  April 25, 2010 9:08 PM

  Two Illinois lawmakers say violence in Chicago is so bad, the National Guard must be called in to help. Chicago Democratic Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford asked Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday to deploy troops. Last week seven people were killed and 18 wounded in one night,... more »

• Man accused of selling wife for sex on Craigslist

  March 17, 2010 8:28 PM

  A man from Minnesota was arrested in Chicago for selling his wife's sexual services on Craigslist and police say he forced her to do it by threatening their child. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says the woman had paid sexual encounters in eight states before she called an anti-sex... more »

• Arson for profit where 7 died

  March 5, 2010 8:30 PM

  Prosecutors say a maintenance man set fire to an apartment building in Chicago at the order of the owner because the owner wanted to collect the insurance money. The arson killed seven people. The owner, Lawrence Myers, and the maintenance man, Marion Cormier, are charged with murder and arson. Both... more »

• Man mauled by daughter's dogs

  January 18, 2010 8:20 PM

  Police in Chicago are investigating the death of a man who was fatally mauled by his daughter's pit bulls. No charges were filed after the woman told investigators she came home and found her dad, 56-year-old Johnny Wilson, lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor.... more »

• Winfrey to announce Friday show will end in 2011

  November 19, 2009 6:06 PM

  Oprah Winfrey's production company says Winfrey will announce Friday that her talk show will end in 2011 after its 25th season on the air. Chicago-based Harpo Productions Inc. said Thursday night that the talk show host will give more details live on the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" broadcast Friday. ... more »

• Loyola alums plan day of service

  November 4, 2009 9:02 AM

  Alumni of Loyola University of New Orleans said they are planning a national day of service Saturday, in New Orleans and a dozen other cities. Students will join Loyola alumni on several projects. In addition to New Orleans area projects, alumni will clean a homeless shelter in Boston,... more »

• Rio de Janeiro to host 2016 summer Olympics

  October 2, 2009 11:55 AM

  UPDATE: Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 summer Olympics. It's the first time the games will be played in South America. Rio beat surprise finalist Madrid in the last round of voting. Chicago was knocked out in the first round. Tokyo was eliminated in the second round.... more »

• Chicago loses bid for 2016 Olympics

  October 2, 2009 10:31 AM

  Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting to pick the 2016 summer Olympics host city. Tokyo also lost its bid. Rio de Janeiro and Madrid are still in the running. The host city is expected to be named in about an hour. more »

• Obama's Olympic pitch

  October 1, 2009 8:39 PM

  President Obama is on his whirlwind red eye trip to Denmark to make a pitch for his adopted hometown of Chicago to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Its a nine hour flight that puts him on the ground with enough time to make his pitch to the International Olympic... more »

• Supreme Court to consider local gun control laws

  September 30, 2009 9:10 AM

  The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether strict local and state gun control laws violate the Second Amendment, ensuring another high-profile battle over the rights of gun owners. The court says it will review a lower court ruling that upheld a handgun ban in Chicago. Gun rights supporters challenged... more »

• Obama will make pitch for Olympics

  September 28, 2009 6:25 AM

  The White House says President Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen, Denmark to make a pitch for 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago. The President will leave Thursday and will join his wife, Michelle, and others in his administration, in making the pitch. Obama is first U.S. President to take on... more »

• Gunman fires shot at Chicago VA hospital

  September 23, 2009 7:16 AM

  Police in Chicago are negotiating with a man who has barricaded himself inside the emergency room of Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center after firing a shot there around 1:35 a.m. Police say no one has been injured and the rest of the hospital has not been evacuated. Police told... more »