Sam Charles – Page 10

E. Stevens and Asia Betancourt, in background, both members of Trail of Truth, a substance abuse prevention coalition, speak at Park No. 578 on Aug. 21, 2024, behind signs that represent tombstones of people around the country who have died due to substance abuse. (Tess Crowley/baiduhai)

Chicago and Cook County again see fewer opioid deaths in 2025

January 26, 2026 at 10:44 a.m.

Chicago and Cook County saw another steep decline in fatal opioid overdoses last year, records show, four years after a recent peak in such cases during the height of the...

Chicago police work the scene of a mass shooting outside a funeral that left 15 people wounded at 79th and Morgan streets on July 21, 2020. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Prosecutors link South Side gang faction to 14 slayings in 2 years

January 3, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Federal and state prosecutors now say a single gang faction on Chicago’s South Side committed 14 murders and shot at least 18 other people in just two years as part...

Workers build a stage on North Franklin Street at Wacker Drive on Dec. 29, 2025, ahead of the New Year’s Eve festivities in Chicago’s Loop. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Brandon Johnson, Larry Snelling urge parents to be mindful of teens ahead of downtown NYE celebration

December 29, 2025 at 4:34 p.m.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Monday urged local parents to keep vigilant over their teens' whereabouts ahead of the city’s planned New Year’s Eve celebration...

officers work on July 3, 2025, at the scene where four people were killed and 14 others were wounded in a shooting outside the Artis Restaurant and Lounge in Chicago's River North neighborhood. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Chicago violence continued to plummet in 2025 despite high-profile crimes

December 29, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Despite some headline-grabbing mayhem, Chicago’s gun violence fell to levels not seen in a decade in 2025, with a homicide total roughly half what it was just four years ago.

A privately made firearm recovered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "Privately made firearms" or "ghost guns" are often made from kits bought and sold on the Internet. A serial number is not required and buyers are not subject to a background check. In 2022, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation outlawing the possession of ghost guns in Illinois, though CPD officers still recover at least 400 every year, data show. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

CPD recovering a steady number of ‘ghost guns’ despite legislation meant to curb them

December 22, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Through mid-November, records show, CPD officers in 2025 have recovered nearly 400 “ghost guns” — effectively untraceable weapons.

Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling listens as Police Board President Kyle Cooper speaks during a public meeting at JLM Abundant Life Community Center, Dec. 11, 2025. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Number of unresolved CPD discipline cases crawls toward 500 during court fight

December 15, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

As of mid-December, CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling still must decide whether or not to bring administrative charges in 490 cases in which the Civilian Office of Police Accountability sustained allegations...

Yolanda Rivera, center, the mother of Krystal Rivera, is comforted by Krystal Rivera’s sister, Jackie Rivera, and stepfather, Rico Thompson, during a news conference on Dec. 11, 2025. The family filed a lawsuit against her partner, fellow Officer Carlos Baker, who shot Rivera in a friendly fire incident, as well as the city and the Chicago Police Department. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

Family of Krystal Rivera files suit against CPD, partner who shot her, while alleging pair had romantic relationship

December 11, 2025 at 7:36 p.m.

Attorneys for Krystal Rivera’s family said Carlos Baker was profoundly unfit to be a police officer, as demonstrated by the 11 misconduct complaints in which he was a subject in...

Cook County Department of Corrections, Sept. 18, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

After two inmates die in Cook County Jail, a family seeks answers

December 8, 2025 at 7:46 p.m.

The family of a man who died in the Cook County Jail over the weekend gathered outside the criminal courthouse Monday morning to call for clarity on the circumstances of...

Teen migrant charged as adult in fatal Loop stabbing of homeless man

November 26, 2025 at 11:50 a.m.

A 16-year-old Venezuelan migrant has been charged as an adult in the fatal stabbing of a homeless man in the Loop last weekend, Cook County court records show.

Teens charged with murder in Loop stabbing of man, police say

November 25, 2025 at 3:48 p.m.

Three teenage boys now face charges in the killing of a homeless man in the Loop over the weekend, Chicago Police announced Tuesday.

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