New medical evidence undercuts Lake County murder case
In the 14 years since Jason Strong was convicted of murder in Lake County, evidence has steadily emerged that clashes with the case against him. The prosecution was unusual from...
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Small-town watchdogs search for misconduct, misspending
They are the muckrakers of the farm fields, bloodhounds for small-town waste and corruption, self-appointed guardians of taxpayer money who comb through the books of municipal governments all across Illinois...
After Quinn frees man, prosecutors to set aside convictions in 1993 killing
Cook County prosecutors on Monday plan to set aside the conviction of a Chicago man who served nearly 22 years in prison for a murder he has long insisted he...
Judge orders tests for alleged evidence tampering in Juan Rivera case
A federal judge has ordered forensic tests aimed at determining whether Lake County authorities tried to manufacture bogus evidence in one of the most troubled criminal cases in the county's...
State keeps 1,250 parolees behind bars due to housing shortage
State prison officials hold close to 1,250 inmates beyond their release dates every year — not because they pose a threat to the public but because they cannot find a...
Quinn clemency case raises questions about who is deserving
Among the thousands of clemency requests beseeching Pat Quinn to shorten a prison sentence or wipe a criminal record clean, Carlos Villarreal's seven-page petition and its tale of an innocent...
Quinn commutes sentences of 2 men with shaky murder convictions
In his final minutes in office Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn granted 43 clemency petitions, including two commutations that will lead to freedom for convicted murderers whose appeals had been stuck...
Serial killer Brian Dugan gives 1st prison interview: ‘I could not stop’
Sitting under a paper sign reading "Offender Sit Here," he unspooled the story of his life: a childhood with alcoholic parents, the rapes and murders that put him on death...
Attorneys: Police planted blood on Juan Rivera’s shoes in Waukegan slaying
Before Juan Rivera went to trial for the August 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, police and prosecutors in Lake County heralded a piece of evidence they said...
Prosecutors free inmate in pivotal Illinois death penalty case
Rewriting a key chapter in Illinois' death penalty history, Cook County prosecutors Thursday threw out the murder and manslaughter conviction of Alstory Simon, whose videotaped confession unraveled one of the...