A woman was killed and another injured Tuesday night when their car was struck by an outbound Metra train, officials said.

Both women were taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where one was pronounced dead, according to Metra officials. The condition of the second woman wasn’t known. The Cook County medical examiner’s office confirmed the death, but declined to release her name, identifying her only as a woman in her mid 60s.

The collision between the car and the Crystal LakeThe Crystal Lake reviews-bound No. 657 train occurred at about 8:10 p.m. at a crossing on River Road, near Northwest Highway, Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the collision happened, though it initially caused delays on Metra’s UnionThe Union reviews Pacific / Northwest Line. Passengers on Train 657 were picked up by a subsequent commuter train, Gillis said.

– William Lee

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A Hazel Crest man riding a bicycle in Ford Heights Tuesday night died after he was struck by a motor vehicle, authorities said.

Ronald Sims, 61, was pronounced dead just before 2 a.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Sims’ home was in the 16700 block of Western Avenue in Hazel Crest, about seven miles from the scene.

A Ford Heights police dispatcher said officers were called to 11th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue at 10:09 p.m. She confirmed that Sims had been struck by an auto while biking, but did not have additional details.

Cook County sheriff’s police are investigating the incident, the dispatcher said.

– Staff report

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A Democratic candidate for Cook County assessor in next week’s primary election was injured during a scuffle Tuesday night outside his Northwest Side home.

Retired Cook County Circuit Court Judge Raymond Figueroa sought medical attention after getting into a “physical confrontation” outside his home near Addison Street and Avers Avenue about 7 p.m., ChicagoChicago reviews police said. 

A relative of Figueroa’s reached by telephone Tuesday night confirmed there was an “attack on him,” but said he was doing OK. She declined to comment further, and Figueroa was unavailable for comment.

Officer Ron Gaines, a police spokesman, said a suspect in the incident, whose description was unavailable, fled the scene. No one was in custody late Tuesday, Gaines said, declining to release further details.

Figueroa, 62, is running for Cook County assessor in next Tuesday’s election against Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Joe Berrios and Robert Shaw, the inspector general for the Village of Dolton.

–Jeremy Gorner

Technorati Tags: 3600 North Avers Avenue, Chicago, IL, Addison Street, assessor, attack, attention, Avers Avenue, berrios, candidate, chicago, Chicago Police, CIRCUIT, circuit court judge, comment, confrontation, Cook County, cook county assessor, cook county board, cook county board of review, cook county circuit, Cook County Circuit Court, court, democratic candidate, election, figueroa, home, inspector general, Jeremy Gorner, Judge Raymond Figueroa, Medical Attention, Nbsp, News, night, Northwest Side, Officer Ron Gaines, physical confrontation, Police, police spokesman, primary election, Reader Submitted, Relative, Retired, Robert Shaw, scuffle, spokesman, telephone, Tuesday, tuesday night, village of dolton, week

A 15-year old Dolton teenager was fatally shot as he stood outside with a group of people on Tuesday night, authorities said today.

But Dolton police are still investigating what led to the boy’s killing and they are currently interviewing several people who witnessed the incident, said Police Chief Robert Fox.

Steven Alexander, of the 13800 block of South Forest Street, was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. The teenager sustained gunshot wounds to the head and chest, a spokesman said.

The shooting occurred around 8:10 p.m. Tuesday in the 14300 block of
Irving Avenue, said Dolton Police Cmdr. David Spigolon. Police were
called to the scene because residents heard gunfire, he said.

When officers arrived, they found Alexander lying face-down between
the sidewalk and the curb, close to a driveway. The boy sustained
multiple gunshot wounds, but paramedics were able to maintain his
pulse, Spigolon said.

Alexander was taken to the hospital and died the following day, Spigolon said.

The shooting is being investigated by Dolton police and the South Suburban Major Crimes Taskforce.

– Lolly Bowean

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Two men are accused of killing another man early Sunday in his Near West SideWest Side reviews apartment, ChicagoChicago reviews police said late Tuesday night.

Opter Johnson, 23, of the 11900 block of South Lowe Avenue and Darrius Winston, 22, of the 9600 block of South Luella Avenue were charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Antwan Peter.

Johnson was also issued several traffic citations, including running through a stop sign, driving without a license and operating a vehicle without insurance.

About 3 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to a 911 call of a person shot in the 1300 block of West 15th Street, a few blocks south of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. Upon their arrival, the officers found Peter, 23, shot multiple times.

He was subsequently pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital.

On Tuesday night police could not specify the roles Johnson and Winston played in the slaying, but said the two are scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Wednesday in Cook County Criminal Court.

–Staff report

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A preliminary investigation of an explosion that destroyed an Elgin house Tuesday evening revealed that a possible cause was a 2-inch gas main leak in the street that seeped into the basement, Elgin officials said in a news release issued Wednesday night.

The Tuesday night blast destroyed the house at 708 Elma Ave.

The preliminary information was released during a city council meeting Wednesday, but fire officials are still investigating and expect to release a full report next week.

The explosion sent seven people to area hospitals. Two people are in critical condition, one is serious and four were treated and released, according to city officials.

Fire Chief Jack Henrici said Nicor employees had been in the area looking for suspected gas leaks since about 5 p.m. Tuesday, and the explosion took place a few minutes before 9 p.m. One person taken to an area hospital was a Nicor employee who was stressed and suffering anxiety, Henrici said.

Firefighters arrived on the scene at 8:59 p.m., just four minutes after receiving the emergency call, Henrici said.  When they arrived the house was completely involved in flames.

Neighboring homes were evacuated but residents have since been let back into their homes.

– Amanda Marrazzo

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The Daily Herald reports: Michael A. Cherbak, 44, of Algonquin has been arrested and charged with dealing thousands of dollars in cocaine to undercover police on two occasions last month. Police say Cherbak tried to flush away evidence before being arrested at his home Tuesday night.

Get the full story: dailyherald.com.

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The scene of an explosion that destroyed a home on the 700 block of Elma Avenue in Elgin. (Tribune / Stacey Wescott)

Five people were taken to hospitals Tuesday night after an explosion at a house in Elgin, police said. The odor of gas was detected before the blast, which happened while utility work crews were close by.

Fire and police officials were called to a residence on the 700 block of Elma Avenue, said Elgin police Deputy Chief Jeff Swoboda.

The blast destroyed the home, and five people who were inside were taken to hospitals with what appeared to be non-life-threatening injuries, according to Swoboda.

Richard Caragol, a spokesman with Nicor, said a work crew was called to 710 Elma Ave. for complaints about a gas smell at about 5:23 p.m., with crews arriving about 30 minutes later. While the crews were at the scene, the explosion occurred next door at 708 Elma Ave., Caragol said.

Next-door homes were not damaged.

Elgin firefighters investigating the fire this morning.
(Stacey Wescott/Tribune)

Neighbor Kevin Bender said he heard the explosion just before 9 p.m.
“I thought maybe a car had hit one of the houses around here,” he said.
“The house basically looks like a bomb went off inside of it because
windows were shattered and siding (was) hanging off the house,” Bender
said.

Afterward, Bender said he saw several people emerge from the house,
one crawling out of a window. Residents in homes next to the exploding
house were also evacuated. A blaze sparked by the explosion finished
off what was left of the home, Bender said.

–Kristina Miller and William Lee

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Following recent controversy over ComEd tree-trimming practices along some trails in DuPage County, the county will host a public forum Tuesday night to gather input on the matter.

The forum will be at 7:15 p.m. in the DuPage County Board Room on the third floor of the Jack T. Knuepfer Administrative Building, 421 N. County Farm Rd. in Wheaton.

The forum will include presentations by officials from ComEd, the Illinois Commerce Commission and the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office. Citizens also will be allowed to voice their concerns on the issue.

County officials have called ComEd’s tree-trimming practices “excessive.” The county also is seeking the state legislature’s help to ensure vegetation is properly replaced along the Illinois Prairie Path and the Great Western Trail after ComEd trims or removes trees near its power lines.

Although ComEd agreed to plant low-growing trees and shrubs along certain areas of the two paths near its power lines in 2009, the utility was criticized for saying it could not maintain that same standard in the future because of the costs involved.

Conservationists urge the continuation of the practice because low-growth vegetation would only have to be trimmed every 10 years instead of the current four-year cycle, saving money in the long run for both the utility and customers.

– Gary Gibula

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A 30-year-old woman found passed out and apparently intoxicated in the snow outside her Northwest Side home Tuesday night has been accused of child endangerment.

Maria Corona was found face down in the snow outside her home in the 2600 block of North Mason Avenue with her 2-year-old son left alone outside without shoes and wearing only “light outer garments,” ChicagoChicago reviews police said this morning.

Corona, who was arrested about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, was charged with endangering the life and health of a child, a misdemeanor, police said.

The boy was taken to an area hospital for treatment, police said.

Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, said the agency is investigating allegations of neglect in the incident. The child is now in the care of relatives, and there had been no prior DCFS contact with the family, he said.

– Staff report

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The Naperville Sun reports: Naperville police are investigating the apparent slaughter of four Canada geese found Tuesday night on a parkway in the suburb’s Brookdale neighborhood.

Get the full story: suburbanchicagonews.com.

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A woman who was found shot multiple times Tuesday night in an alley in ChicagoChicago reviews’s Bronzeville neighborhood on the South SideSouth Side reviews has died, authorities said.

The woman, in her 20s, was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where she pronounced dead at 12:29 a.m. today. She remained unidentified this morning.

The wounded woman was found in the alley near East 47th Street and South King Drive about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday. But the circumstances of her shooting were unclear.

Police had questioned someone in connection with the crime but further information was unavailable early this morning. Wentworth Area detectives were investigating.

–Staff report

Technorati Tags: 4700 South King Drive, Chicago, Illinois, 47th street, alley, Authorities, BRONZEVILLE, chicago, Circumstances, condition, connection, crime, Critical Condition, Detectives, Drive, East, hospital, information, morning, multiple times, Nbsp, neighborhood, News, night, Police, someone, South King, South Side, Staff Report, Street, Stroger, today, Tuesday, tuesday night, wentworth, woman, wounded woman

The Daily Herald reports: The village board of Schaumburg passed the suburb’s first-ever property tax Tuesday night, with officials saying declining revenues from other tax sources had created an $18 million budget deficit.

Get the full story: dailyherald.com

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A 25-year-old man was reported shot and killed tonight in the city’s Englewood neighborhood, officials said.

The victim was shot once at about 8:30 p.m. at the corner of 59th Street and Perry Avenue, authorities said.

The victim was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, a Fire Department spokesman said. As of 9:55 p.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office hadn’t been notified of the slaying.

Information surrounding the shooting remained sketchy Tuesday night as detectives were at the scene trying to straighten out details, a police spokesman said.

– William Lee

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WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) – Declaring “our security is at stake,” President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan Tuesday night, nearly tripling the force he inherited as commander in chief. He promised an impatient public he would begin bringing units home in 18 months.

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A 62-year-old North Riverside man’s fatal stabbing was ruled a suicide today, a day after authorities in the west suburb thought they might have had the town’s first homicide in nearly 20 years.

An autopsy performed this morning determined that the stab wound Daniel Halligan suffered was self-inflicted and was a suicide, authorities said.

The ruling came a day after Halligan was found by his wife unresponsive inside of his home in the 7700 block of West 26th Street Tuesday night, North Riverside police said.

In a news release, North Riverside police chief Anthony Garvey said the investigation was still on-going, but added they have found no evidence to dispute the Cook County medical examiner’s findings.

North Riverside has not had a homicide since 1990.

– William Lee

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President Barack Obama will address the nation on his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Technorati Tags: Academy, address, Afghanistan, Barack, Barack Obama, military academy, nation, new strategy, night, obama, point, President, strategy, Tuesday, tuesday night, U.S. Military, war, War Afghanistan, war in afghanistan, west, west point

The Weekly World News is infamous for alien encounters with U.S. Presidents (“Space Alien Backs Bush for President!” and “Obama Invites Alien Choir to White House”), but one alien admires and wants to meet President Obama. Actress Morena Baccarin, who plays “Anna,” the leader of the malevolent aliens on ABC’s sci-fi ‘V’ series, told USA Today that “I would love to meet Obama” since he’s “charming” and a “smart, smart guy,” though, she lamented, “it took us all of 30 seconds to turn against him.”

A Tuesday USA Today “Life” section article provided this quote from the Brazilian-born Baccarin (IMDb page):

I would love to meet (President) Obama. I think he is so charming and smart. It took us no time at all to turn on him. Certainly leading the country is a really tough job.

In a video which accompanies the online posting, Baccarin yearns:

I would love to meet Obama. I mean, he seems like a smart, smart guy and it took us all of 30 seconds to turn against him. But I’m really curious to meet him and know him.

The fourth of a four episode run of V aired Tuesday night. The series will return in March.

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The Hair Trends salon in Steger where a 23-year-old man was shot to death. (David Pierini/ChicagoChicago reviews Tribune)

A 23-year-old man was shot to death at a south suburban hair salon Tuesday night, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Daniel Moreno of the 3200 block of Halsted Avenue was shot sometime around 10 p.m. at Hair Trends,  3121 Chicago Rd. in Steger, according to a medical examiner spokesman.The man suffered a single gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at 12:50 a.m., according to the office.

Steger police wouldn’t comment on whether the shooting involved a robbery.

Two
candles and some flowers had been placed outside the salon this
morning. The door, apparently damaged in the shooting, was boarded up.

– Pat Curry and Carlos Sadovi

Technorati Tags: block, Carlos Sadovi, chicago, chicago rd, chicago tribune, Cook County, Cook County Medical Examiner, County Medical, curry, Daniel Moreno, David Pierini, death, door, examiner, flowers, gunshot, hair, hair salon, hair trends, Halsted, Halsted Avenue, Head, man, Man Hair, morning, Nbsp, night, office, Old Man, pierini, Police, robbery, Salon, spokesman, Steger, trends, Tribune, Tuesday, tuesday night, two candles

Firefighters hope to contain the 245-acre blaze in Verdugo Canyon near San Juan Capistrano by Tuesday night after making progress overnight with backfires to destroy brush fueling the flames.

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City fire officials and emergency managers will host post-fire erosion meetings starting Tuesday night for residents who live in and below watersheds burned by the Sayre, Sesnon, Marek and Station fires.

Technorati Tags: city, city fire officials, Emergency, emergency managers, erosion, Fire, Fires, Marek, night, Sayre, Sesnon, station, Tuesday, tuesday night, watersheds

The Beverly Hills City Council is expected to give final approval Tuesday night to an ordinance that would outlaw the declawing of pets in the city, except in case of medical necessity.

Technorati Tags: approval, Beverly, Beverly Hills, case, city, Council, declawing, final approval, Hills, medical necessity, necessity, night, ordinance, Outlaw, pets in the city, Tuesday, tuesday night

The Beacon-News reports: A fire broke out Tuesday night at the home of former Yorkville Ald. Paul James, killing the family’s dog. Occupants of the home were evacuated.

Get the full story: suburbanchicagonews.com.

Technorati Tags: Ald, alderman, Beacon, beacon news, com, dog, Family, Family Dog, Fire, home, News, News Reports, night, Occupants, Paul James, story, Tuesday, tuesday night, Yorkville, Yorkville, IL

JARRATT, Virginia (AP) – John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the sniper attacks that left 10 dead, was executed Tuesday night as relatives of the victims watched, reliving the killing spree that terrorized the Washington metro area for three weeks in October 2002.

Technorati Tags: area, Dead, JARRATT, jarratt virginia, John Allen Muhammad, Killing, killing spree, mastermind, Metro, night, October, relatives, sniper, sniper attacks, spree, three weeks in october, Tuesday, tuesday night, Virginia, Washington, washington metro area, Washington Sniper

During a live midnight EST hour Larry King Live Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, CNN’s Larry King repeatedly employed the “far right” pejorative to describe those who backed the unsuccessful New York congressional bid of the Conservative Party’s Doug Hoffman. After Wolf Blitzer announced at 12:15 AM EST that CNN had declared Democrat Bill Owens the winner, King blurted: “That may be the first defeat for the far right tonight.”

About 15 minutes later, King pressed Amanda Carpenter of the Washington Times: “Since the far right did get into that race in upstate New York, is this a legitimate defeat for them tonight?”

And a few minutes after that, King forwarded the notion “the far right” is a “threat” to the GOP, asking Ben Stein: “Do you see the far right as evidenced by — we all know who they are — as a threat to your party?”

Stein filled in the names as he rejected the premise: “Not at all. Not in the slightest. I think you’re talking about people like my wonderful friend Ann Coulter and my wonderful friend Rush Limbaugh. I think those people are activating the party, they are keeping the party alive…”

Technorati Tags: Amanda Carpenter, Ann Coulter, Ben Stein, bid, Bill Owens, Campaigns & Elections, carpenter, CNN, conservative, conservative party, defeat, Democrat, democrat bill, Doug Hoffman, est, friend, friend ann, GOP, hour, Larry King, Larry King Live, Live, MIDNIGHT, morning, New York, night, notion, party, premise, right, Rush Limbaugh, Threat, Tonight, Tuesday, tuesday night, upstate new york, Washington, washington times, Wednesday, wednesday morning, winner, Wolf Blitzer

Two males were struck and killed Tuesday night in Stickney Township by an Amtrak train bound for UnionThe Union reviews Station, officials said.

The inbound No. 304 train on the passenger line’s Lincoln Service route was traveling through unincorporated Cook County near Stickney at about 8:30 p.m., when it struck two people trespassing on the tracks, Amtrak officials said.

The tracks are owned by the Canadian National Railroad, but used by Amtrak trains.

No one on the train was injured, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. Magliari said the incident occurred about 10 miles southwest of downtown ChicagoChicago reviews.

A Cook County medical examiner’s spokesman said the incident happened on the 4700 block of South Luna and two unidentified males were killed. The men appeared to be in their 50s and homeless, a spokesman said.

The No. 304 train arrived in Chicago from St. Louis at about 11:30 p.m., about three hours late, Magliari said. The second train, No. 306 arrived in Chicago, also from St. Louis, at about midnight, about a half-hour late, Magliari said.

– William Lee and Carlos Sadovi

Technorati Tags: 50s, Amtrak, amtrak officials, Amtrak Station, Amtrak Train, amtrak trains, Canadian, canadian national railroad, Carlos Sadovi, chicago, Cook County, Cook County Medical Examiner, County Medical, downtown chicago, Incident, Lincoln, lincoln service, line, Luna, Marc Magliari, National, night, one, passenger, railroad, route, service, South Luna, spokesman, St. Louis, station, station officials, Stickney, Stickney Township, Township, train, Train Station, trespassing, Tuesday, tuesday night, unincorporated cook county, Union, union station, William Lee