Tag Archives: Chicago

The Chicago Tribune reports: Lori Lightfoot won a resounding victory Tuesday night to become both the first African-American woman and openly gay person elected mayor of Chicago, dealing a stinging defeat to a political establishment that has reigned over City Hall for decades. After waging a campaign focused on upending the vaunted Chicago political machine, Lightfoot dismantled one of its …

NBC News Chicago reports: The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice will review the case involving “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett, President Donald Trump tweeted early Thursday. Representatives for the FBI and DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday morning. The surprise decision to dismiss all charges, which was celebrated by Smollett and his …

Deadline reports: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson dismissed Empire actor Jussie Smollett’s latest insistence on his innocence and decried the prosecutors’ dismissal of criminal charges against the Empire actor as, in Emanuel’s words, “a whitewash.” Emanuel lambasted Smollett as selfishly exploiting hate crime laws for his own personal gain. “He took those laws and turned them …

“I want you to know that not for a moment was it in vain. I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I was accused of. This has been an incredibly difficult time. Honestly, one of the worst of my …

Chicago’s ABC affiliate reports: Charges against actor Jussie Smollett have been dropped, his attorneys said Tuesday. Smollett is in court to make an emergency court appearance. In a statement, Smollett’s attorneys Tina Glandian and Patricia Brown Holmes said, “Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic …

The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Lori Lightfoot jokingly refers to herself as a “triple-threat” because she is an African-American woman vying to become Chicago’s first openly-gay mayor. Now, her sexuality is the subject of a dishonest and deceptive flyer distributed to parishioners at black churches on the South Side and elsewhere. On one side of the flyer is a picture of …

The Chicago Sun-Times reports: Michelle Obama’s alma mater Whitney Young Magnet High School will be naming a $4.3 million facility in her honor, marking what is believed the first time ever that a public facility in Chicago has been dedicated for the former first lady. The new facility, which is expected to be named after Obama in May, will serve …

CBS News Chicago reports: Dozens of workers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital may have been fired for improperly reviewing the medical records of Jussie Smollett, who was treated at the emergency room after he claimed he had been attacked by two men. Sources said those workers have been terminated after gaining access to the “Empire” actor’s medical chart. Smollett has since …

The Chicago Tribune reports: Musician R. Kelly was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after failing to comply with a judge’s order that he pay more than $161,000 in back child support. More than a hour after Kelly entered a closed court hearing in the Daley Center, he walked out accompanied by Cook County sheriff’s deputies. “He’s in our custody,” said …

Reuters reports: Two black women will face off in an historic April runoff for Chicago mayor, one a former prosecutor and anti-establishment candidate and the other a career politician, as the third-largest U.S. city struggles with crime and racial divisions. Lori Lightfoot, 56, the former president of independent civilian body the Chicago Police Board, had 17 percent of the first …

USA Today reports: “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett choreographed a homophobic, racist attack against himself with the help of two brother he knew, in an attempt to raise his profile because he was dissatisfied with the salary he was making, police said Thursday. Eddie Johnson, superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, kicked off the presser, explaining what their investigation concluded. “This …

CBS News reports: “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett is in custody to face charges of making a false police report when he said he was attacked in downtown Chicago late last month by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck, police said. Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said prosecutors charged Smollett with felony disorderly …

CBS News Chicago reports: Sources told CBS 2 News that Smollett paid the two men $3,500 to stage the attack in Streeterville. The brothers, seen on surveillance video near the scene of the alleged attack, told investigators Smollett directed them to buy the rope used in the incident, and paid for the purchase at Crafty Beaver Hardware Store in Ravenswood …

CNN reports: Two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that Chicago Police believe Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault. The brothers, who were arrested Wednesday, were released without charges Friday after Chicago police cited the discovery of “new evidence.” The sources told CNN that the two men are now cooperating fully with law …

Chicago’s ABC News affiliate reports: Chicago police confirmed Thursday that detectives are talking to two persons of interest in connection with the alleged attack on “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett. Multiple sources have told ABC7 Eyewitness News that police are investigating whether Smollett and the two men staged the attack allegedly because Smollett was being written off of “Empire.” A source …

The Associated Press reports: Jussie Smollett was blunt, emotional and defiantly determined Saturday night at a Southern California concert some urged him not to play, telling the crowd before singing a note that he had to go on with the show because he couldn’t let his attackers win. “The most important thing I can say is ’thank you so much, …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday called the attack of “Empire” star Jussie Smollett “horrible,” condemning the assault committed by individuals whom the actor alleged referenced the president’s campaign slogan as they attacked him. “It doesn’t get worse, as far as I’m concerned,” Trump said of the attack during an Oval Office exchange with the White House press pool …

Variety reports: The Chicago Police Department has released two images from surveillance video of “potential persons of interest” in the alleged attack of “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett. Smollett’s music manager also confirmed that he was on the phone with the actor at the time he was attacked in Chicago early on Tuesday morning, and that he heard some of what …

The Weather Channel reports: The polar vortex is gripping the Midwest Wednesday with the coldest Arctic air in a generation, forcing widespread school and government office closures, leaving tens of thousands without power, and in a rarity, prompting the U.S. Postal Service to suspend delivery to a widespread swath of the region. The break in the polar vortex brought a …

AccuWeather reports: The coldest weather in years will put millions of people and animals throughout the midwestern United States at risk for hypothermia and frostbite to occur in minutes during the final days of January. On Tuesday night, widespread lows under 30 below zero will grip much of North Dakota, eastern South Dakota and Minnesota. Temperatures in Chicago can drop …