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An executive of a Loop company, upset that he was being demoted, walked into the CEO's office on LaSalle Street this morning and shot him twice before turning the gun on himself, police said. The executive, 59, was dead on the scene from a gunshot wound to the head. The CEO of ArrowStream, Steven LaVoie, 54, was wounded in the head and stomach and was in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Citing his immigrant grandfather’s frightening flight from the pogroms of Eastern Europe, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday defended his decision to open the city’s arms to 1,000 unaccompanied immigrant children fleeing violence in Central America. Some have suggested that the humanitarian effort funded by the federal government is a diversion and that Emanuel should concentrate all of his efforts on protecting Chicago’s children from the gang violence that has claimed far too many innocent victims. But the mayor argued Wednesday that a city of big shoulders with an even bigger heart can walk and chew gum at the same time....

How will President Obama feel when a Republican wins the governor’s race in his home state of Illinois? Gov. Pat Quinn is facing an increasingly uphill battle against Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner, a new We Ask America poll shows. Rauner is now sitting on a 14-point lead in the poll that was conducted July 28, which is up from his 10-point lead he had in a June poll. Rauner’s boost can be attributed to his economic plan, which includes a state income tax reduction. A poll showed while people don’t believe Illinois can afford this plan, a majority say...

Northwestern University will offer “gender-open restrooms” to its students this fall. “We are trying to be responsive to the needs of all of our students and to be inclusive,” campus spokesman Bob Rowley said in an email to The College Fix. “This is becoming a common occurrence on campuses across the U.S.” At Northwestern, the two sex-segregated bathrooms to be changed will simply have their front door placards replaced to reflect the transition – no major renovations are planned. The bathrooms are located on the third floor of the university’s main building that serves as the campus hub. Northwestern joins...

A small group of local citizens met with U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger's staff Monday to voice concerns over the government's disregard for the nation's immigration laws. The group, who call themselves Taxpayers of Congressional District 16, met with Kinzinger's representatives in the Republican's district office in Ottawa. "We have come to believe that our congressman has become a leader in the amnesty (for illegal immigrants) movement within the Republication party," said Roseanna Pulido, of Ottawa. "We also believe the immigration issue is just not a border state issue. It is a national issue of national security." John Aschinger, of Streator,...

"In broad daylight, two older men armed with guns held up a medical clinic on the West Side and made off with hundreds of dollars’ worth of Viagra and other drugs."

A six-year-old girl watched in horror as police gunned down her one-year-old dog as it stood in their front yard, her family has said. The girl's mother, Nicole Echlin, said their shepherd-mix Apollo, whom they have had since he was a puppy, got out of their yard in Hometown near Chicago, Illinois on Friday afternoon. After they chased him around the neighborhood, he returned to the yard and was standing on the lawn when police arrived and pulled out their guns, Echlin told the Chicago Tribune. 'He started showing his teeth - that's when the officer shot him,' Echlin, 27,...

It’s a picture-perfect summer day, bright sun, sparkling skies. And here I am, stuck waiting for another press conference in another stuffy meeting room. Up front stood a bundle of boys and girls, 25 or so, preschoolers in pigtails, strapping youths sporting football jerseys, assembled at the podium, to pose with the politicians and preachers. What’s wrong with this picture? These kids should be in play lots, parks and backyards. They should not be props at a photo op at a West Side church, waiting for the boring adults to make boring their speeches. Perversely, this is the best place...

The high-rise at 500 N. Lake Shore Drive is the second-most expensive in the city, with rents for a one-bedroom apartment approaching $3,000 a month, well beyond the reach of most Chicago residents. But that's not too much for the Chicago Housing Authority, which has used federal tax dollars to pick up most of the tab for four lucky residents in the year-old building, with its sweeping views of Lake Michigan, a concierge and a dog-grooming center. The tenants moved in over the past two years as part of a push by the CHA to expand its housing voucher program...

After a spate[??] of shootings across Chicago that left over a dozen dead and nearly 100 wounded, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Friday toured a new federal Gun Crime Intelligence Center, saying, “You can’t fight a war without intelligence,” the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the office will collect data on the more than 7,000 firearms used in crimes and recovered by Chicago police each year, the Sun-Times writes. “You can't fight a war without intelligence, to know where the weapons are, where the shooters are and to stop it before...

A number of prominent Democrats have pledged to spend the week learning how the other half lives. All have agreed to take the Live the Wage challenge, which entails limiting your cash outlay on food and transportation to $77 a week. The idea was developed by Brad Woodhouse, president of the labor-funded group Americans United for Change, who, according to the Washington Free Beacon, called on Congress to take the challenge. -- So how are the participants making out? Judging from a tweet by Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, it’s tough living down here among the hoi polloi. The tweet, which...

Emanuel wants city to house 1,000 more young illegal immigrants, report says Posted: Jul 26, 2014 4:02 PM CST Updated: Jul 26, 2014 4:02 PM CST FOX News - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former Obama administration chief of staff, wants to expand the city’s efforts to house young illegal immigrants from Central America, reportedly proposing to shelter an additional 1,000 of them by year's end. "The influx of unaccompanied child migrants is a growing humanitarian crisis that we can no longer ignore," said Emanuel, according to The Chicago Tribune. "While we have our own challenges at home, we cannot...

The community activist group "Put Down The Guns Young People" is headed to Chicago to spread their message of putting an end to gun violence. The group is driving to Chicago and will spend the weekend meeting with community leaders and passing out literature. Logan said he's going at the expense of his personal safety.

Last week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the troubled bastion of mainstream liberal journalistic thought in the great American heartland published a short, but typically piquant editorial piece slamming Patrick J. Buchanan for his soon-to-be released memoir of the 1968 Presidential campaign entitled, “The Greatest Comeback: How Richard Nixon Rose From Defeat to Create a New Majority.” The Post-Dispatch, anticipating the release of Buchanan’s work launched what may be charitably labeled a pre-emptive strike on Buchanan, even though his new book does not concern the PD. Tony Messenger, the newspaper editor, picked an unnecessary fight with Pat Buchanan, and, like...

If you want to know which individual political race has the biggest stakes in 2014, look no further than the Land of Lincoln. The Illinois governor’s race pits incumbent Pat Quinn, a Democrat, against upstart non-politician Bruce Rauner. Why are the stakes so huge? Because Illinois is arguably the worst-run state in America. It’s a blue state that has been run for many years by corrupt and bungling politicians including Rod Blagojevich, who went to jail for trying to sell a U.S. Senate seat, and Mr. Quinn, who has run the state’s finances into the gutter. This year shows no...

First Lady Michelle Obama returned to her hometown Thursday and decried the effects of gun violence on Chicago’s youth as she told a group of campaign donors to “write the biggest, fattest check that you can possibly write” to help Democrats make a better future for children. The First Lady noted that all children deserve a bright future of opportunity, but it was not happening in some Chicago neighborhoods. Donors paid from $500 per person to $20,000 per couple, and the First Lady asked them to give more.

The efforts of Northwestern University’s scholarship football players to unionize could have profound implications for the future of college education. northwestern university football According to the Associated Press, Northwestern University just filed a 60-page brief with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C. This comes after a regional director of the NLRB ruled this past spring that “football players who receive full scholarships to the Big Ten school qualify as employees under federal law and therefore can unionize.” If the decision of the regional director is upheld, the framework between the players and the university would be redefined...

A proposed gun shop/shooting range that has generated controversy because of its location near several neighborhood schools will be coming to Niles. The Niles Village Board of Trustees voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve a special use permit to allow firearms sales, firearms safety training and an indoor firing range at the proposed location, at 6143 Howard St. About 200 supporters and critics of the plan packed the Village of Niles Municipal Building to make their voices heard on the gun shop, to be called Sportsman’s Club and Firearms Training Academy. Dozens wore green shirts and ribbons to honor victims...

$75K bail for off-duty officer accused of shooting into home By Marwa Eltagouri July 22, 2014 A judge set bail at $75,000 today for a south suburban police officer accused of firing his handgun while off-duty in Country Club Hills, with one of the rounds ending up in a wall inside someone's home, authorities said. Country Club Hills police officer John Silas, 38, charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, was in court today before Markham Courthouse Judge Darren Bowden, who set bail at $75,000, according to a statement from the Cook County state's attorney's office. According to Ben Briet,...

Detroit Residents Fight Back Over Water Shutoff: 'It's A Life-or-Death Situation' The beleaguered city says a water shutoff is essential to recoup $89m in overdue bills. But the decision outraged thousands of Detroiters – who have taken matters into their own hands Of 178 homes whose water was shut off last week, 79 had restarted their supplies, triggering $21,750 in fines on top of what the residents already owed. When the coast is clear, and the trucks from the contractor shutting off water for the city of Detroit have rolled away, the men with water keys come. They offer residents...