Roofer dies after falling into shaft at Northwest Side construction site

A man working on the roof of a new four-story residential building on the Northwest Side stepped into a shaft and fell to his death.
Jorge Padilla died on scene this morning at a building construction site in the 3600 block of West Belmont Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Officers were told the victim, a 41-year-old roofer, was working on the building’s roof when he stepped into a hole and fell 60 feet down a shaft

Man's body found in West Side trash bin

The body of an unidentified man was found this morning in a Humboldt Park area trash receptacle, and police said they were treating the case as a death investigation.

The body was found about 5 a.m. in an alley in the 4300 block of West North Avenue in the Hermosa neighborhood. The address is listed to a Dollar Day Plus general merchandise store.
The Cook County medical examiner's office said the man was Hispanic and believed to be in his 40s

13-year-old charged with wounding his brother, 6

Charges have been filed against a 13-year boy who shot his 6-year-old brother last August, causing the boy lose an eye.
The teen was charged as a juvenile with reckless conduct. His name was not released.
The 13-year-old boy fired a pellet or BB gun at his 6-year-old brother in their home in the 7200 block of South Artesian Avenue on Aug. 18

Chicago aldermen OK watchdog amid complaints it will be 'toothless'

The Chicago City Council today appointed an attorney from New York today to investigate accusations of wrongdoing by aldermen -- but not before several council members dismissed the watchdog as essentially toothless.

Concrete beam kills worker at South Side demolition site

A construction worker at a South Side demolition site was killed this morning when a piece of a concrete beam fell on him.
Paramedics and police were called shortly before 9 a.m. to 11 E. 79th Street, officials said. The victim, a man in his 40s, had been working on the top floor of the three-story building when the beam and part of the ceiling fell on him.
Another man was working with him but was not injured.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.
The victim lived in Chicago and was working for Heneghan Wrecking.
UPDATE: The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the man as Miguel Caltzontzin, 39, of the 2400 block of South Sawyer Avenue

3 injured, 1 dead in Eisenhower wreck

A West Englewood neighborhood motorist who was killed when he crashed after losing control of the car he was driving on the inbound Eisenhower Expressway early Sunday has been identified.
Antwuan Alexander, 21, of the 7300 block of S. Wolcott Avenue. was pronounced dead at 4:36 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
The victim was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu "at a high rate of speed" in the far left lane when he lost control, drove across all lanes and the car's front end hit a concrete median wall near Kedzie Avenue.
Two women and another man who were passengers were not badly hurt.
They were transported to Mount Sinai Hospital.

1 dead in 2-car crash on Southeast Side

One man died and three others were injured in a two-car crash on the Southeast Side early Sunday morning.
Two cars collided with each other about 3 a.m. near 102nd Street and Indianapolis Boulevard near the border with Indiana, police said. One of the cars hit a light pole.
A 49-year-old passenger in one car, identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office as Steven Libner, of 4736 E. 1351 St. in Earlville in north central Illiois, was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 4:15 a.m
Two others were transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in serious-to-critical condition and one was transported to Advocate Trinity Hospital in good-to-fair condition,

Lawsuit alleges cops used Tasers on wrong man

After misidentifying him as a wanted man, Chicago police shocked a motorist with their Tasers 11 times in four minutes, the man alleges in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday against the city.
Tapia, 27, was charged after the confrontation with several counts of aggravated battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. Prosecutors said he fought with the officers, swinging his arms, kicking his feet and stiffening his body.
But Tapia was found not guilty of all charges in a jury trial last week.
Tapia has a prior criminal record, including a conviction on a 2006 charge of aggravated battery on a police officer, for which he served two years of probation, court records show.

CPS high school payroll clerk pocketed money after she cashed phony checks

A payroll clerk at the state's top high school was charged with theft for forging time sheets and pocketing money she got from cashing checks belonging to students believed to be in a work study program.
Maha Shahwan, 47, a clerk at North Side College Prep High School, a Chicago Public School on the North Side, was charged with felony theft and appeared in court this morning and ordered held on $15,000 bail.
As payroll clerk, Shahwan's duties included submitting time sheets for students enrolled in a work study program.
For three months, beginning in March 2010, she put in time sheets for students who were no longer participating in the program.
One of those students had graduated from the school and was attending college. Another phony claim was for a student who had moved out of the country. Shahwan would process the time sheets, cash the checks and pocket the money.
The scheme was uncovered when several of the students, whose names were used without their knowledge, received W-2 forms and then contacted the school.
Shortly after, an investigation revealed that three checks were deposited into Shahwan's bank account.
The rest of the checks were cashed at her bank, and her signature and back account number were on those checks.

Boy seriously hurt when struck by car near South Side school

An eighth-grader was seriously injured this afternoon when he was struck by a car near Wrightwood School on the South Side.
The 13-year-old boy was walking toward the bus stop from the grade school in the 7900 block of South California Avenue when he stepped into the street shortly before 2:30 p.m. , according to a friend, Brian Dockery Jr., 12.
The boy was hit by a quickly approaching car and landed on the windshield, Brian said. A man and woman were in the car, Brian said.
 “She stopped right away,”Brian said. “He wound up on the street. It pushed him and he landed on the windshield and flew up and then landed on the street.”
The boy suffered head and leg injuries and was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

The driver remained on the scene and was being questioned by police

Phony cops turning up at homes on Northwest Side

Men posing as undercover police officers have recently talked their way into two Northwest Side homes and were unsuccessful in a third try, prompting investigators to warn residents of three neighborhoods.
The unknown number of men have shown up at least three times since Saturday, approaching homeowners, identifying themselves as cops while flashing gold badges and wearing police-style radios, according to a community alert issued by Grand Central Area detectives.
The phony cops went to a home Saturday in the 4000 block of North Harding Avenue in the Irving Park neighborhood before popping up twice on Sunday--once in the 4900 block of North Karlov Avenue in the North Mayfair neighborhood , then minutes later in the 5000 block of West Gunnison Street in the Jefferson Park neighborhood
Police didn't say how many men were suspected of participating in the scheme, but had vague descriptions of some of the fake cops.
They were described as being either white and/or Hispanic, between 18 and 36, between 5-foot-7 and 6-foot-3, and between 140 and 230 pounds. They were wearing baseball caps, zippered gray sweatshirts or black hooded sweatshirts.
The men fled in a large dark red sport-utility vehicle or a navy blue Chrysler Town & Country van.

Man arrested after jumping through car window onto driver's lap

A man tested positive for PCP after speeding through a red light, hitting a car, jumping out of his vehicle and then diving head-first through the open window of another car, onto its driver’s lap.

Officers arrested Charles Farris, 21, shortly after he landed on the surprised driver in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood Friday afternoon.

Farris, who lives in Chicago, had been free on bond on a separate charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated from September, court records show. In the newer incident, he was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, along with a host of other counts, including resisting an officer, driving on a suspended license and reckless driving.

About 3 p.m. Friday, Farris was seen speeding and weaving in a Dodge Durango near Division Street and Pulaski Road before he ran a red light and hit a car, leaving that vehicle’s driver with a broken rib, authorities said. The vehicle Farris was driving spun out and hit a fence

.With police in pursuit, Farris ran down the middle of Division Street before diving into the stopped car, Bhandari said. The driver got out of the vehicle and officers arrested Farris, but not before pepper-spraying him.

A urine test came up positive for PCP and marijuana

6-year-old crossing South Side street dies after being hit by car

A 6-year-old girl was killed and a 16-year-old family friend was injured after being struck by a car Saturday evening as they were walking to a Halloween party on the South Side.
Diamond Robinson, of the 6700 block of South Michigan Avenue, was pronounced dead at 10:46 p.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Diamond was walking with a female friend of the family at 70th Street and Loomis Boulevard about 8:20 p.m. when they were struck by a car driven by Thomas Young, 36, of the 6700 block of South Normal Avenue. The 16-year-old girl suffered a broken arm in the accident. She's in stable condition at Christ Advocate Medical Center.
Young, who was driving his car south on Loomis, was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk resulting in death, failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk resulting in personal injury, driving too fast for conditions and not having insurance

5 injured, including 4 children, on I-94 near Armitage

Five people, including four children, were hospitalized in serious-to-critical condition this morning after an SUV they were in was cut off by another vehicle and rolled over several times on the northbound lanes of I-94.

The accident happened about 9:15 on the northbound lanes of the Kennedy Expressway about 500 feet north of Armitage Avenue.
Preliminary information indicates that the female driver of the SUV, a 1996 Chevrolet Blazer, was driving northbound when she was cut off by another vehicle, police said. The driver of the SUV swerved to avoid the accident which then caused the SUV to flip over several times.
The other vehicle kept driving and did not stop. Police did not have any details about that vehicle.
All of the passengers in the SUV were wearing seatbelts and stayed inside the vehicle.
Police said they were in the process of trying to notify the parents of the children, who were all under 17, about the crash.
Chicago Fire Department officials said one adult was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, three children were taken to Children's Memorial Hospital and a fourth child was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

Burglar struck North Side garages

Police today said a 47-year-old man arrested this week is responsible for a spate of burglaries in North Side garages.
The arrest Monday of Robert Gayol while he tried to sell stolen golf clubs has cleared at least two burglary cases, and police expect more cases to be solved as additional victims identify their stolen property.
A clerk at a sports re-sale shop on the 3900 block of North Ashland Avenue recognized Gayol Monday as a person who previously had sold stolen golf clubs, and stalled him while police were called. An arrest was made without incident.
After investigation, police were able to connect Gayol to a garage burglary pattern on the North Side, and later found numerous stolen items in Gayol's garage on 5200 block of West Newport Avenue.
Detectives from the Belmont Area continue to investigate as more victims come forward to identify stolen property.
Gayol has been charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property, and could face additional charges later

Woman dies after being struck near Washington Park

 52-year-old woman struck by a vehicle as she crossed a Washington Park neighborhood street Tuesday has died.
Cheryl Poole, of the 1900 block of West Harrison Avenue, was pronounced dead at 5 p.m. at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.
Geno Green, 25, was charged with aggravated driving under the influence charge in the accident that injured Poole at about 1:25 p.m. Tuesday.
Green was driving a white 2004 Jeep Liberty west on Garfield Boulevard, near Dearborn Street, when he struck Poole who was crossing the street, police said. The woman was struck and thrown onto the pavement by the vehicle.
Poole had been taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital where she later died.
Green also faces a marijuana possession charge and has been cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian, failing to carry a driver’s license and failure to reduce speed.

Man grabs teen girl on Southwest Side

A 15-year-old girl who was grabbed by a man in the Ashburn neighborhood this week managed to break free and flee.
Police are looking for a suspect in the attack, which took place Tuesday at about 3 p.m. on the 7700 block of South Central Park Avenue.
A community alert issued by police today describes the attacker as a black man, 18-21 years old, 5-foot-9 to 6-foot-1, 130-150 pounds with blue eyes, black curly hair and a light brown complexion.
He was wearing red-and-black nylon sweatpants, a red-and-black Adidas jacket and a black baseball cap, police said.
The girl was walking along the street when the man approached and told her to follow him, police said. When she didn't comply the man grabbed her.
The girl was able to struggle free and flee to her home, from which she called police.

Woman pedestrian struck, killed by van on West Side

A woman who was struck by a white van on the West Side this morning has died from her injuries.
The accident happened about 11:12 a.m. on the 4800 block of West Chicago Avenue in the Austin neighborhood.
The woman, who was described as being in her late 40s, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where she was listed as in critical condition. She died about 30 minutes later from her injuries.
The woman was identified as Brenda Gray of the 4800 block of West Huron Street, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. She was pronounced dead at 11:44 a,m, at Mount Sinai Hospital
The driver of the van was taken into police custody and was issued several citations, including not exercising due care, driving on a revoked license and no insurance

Cable worker dies after falling from ladder on West Side

A man working on overhead cable television lines in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood died after falling from a ladder this morning.
The man, 26, was working on the cable lines in an alley in the 1400 block of North Kolin Avenue about 9:23 a.m. when he fell from a ladder and hit his head.
The man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was declared dead at 9:59 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. He was identified as Marcos Canizales of the 2300 block of West 21st Street, according to a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office

Community alert: Teen girl abducted, assaulted on South Side

South Side detectives are asking for the public’s help in finding two men who abducted a teenage girl in the Gresham neighborhood and forced her to have sex with one of them.
The girl, 15, was walking in the 8100 block of South May Street about 7:45 a.m. on Oct. 11 when a man wearing a mask and carrying a gun forced her into a van, according to a community alert from Calumet Area detectives issued today.
The attacker sexually assaulted the girl while a second man wearing a mask drove the van away from where the girl had been picked up.
Her abductors released the girl soon after the assault and fled in the van, according to police.
The first man was described as black, between 20 and 29, with a dark complexion and a skull tattoo on his right shoulder. He was wearing a black tank top, black jogging pants and white Adidas gym shoes at the time of the assault.
The driver was described as black, 19 or 20 years old, with a light complexion, and wearing a red shirt. He was driving a black utility van with black-painted windows