Category Archives: Chicago

Jussie Smollett case: brothers who helped stage attack sue actor’s attorney

Posted on by

Defamation lawsuit alleges that Smollett’s lawyer and firm repeatedly assert that the brothers carried out a real, bigoted attack on actor

Two brothers who say they helped Jussie Smollett stage a racist and homophobic attack against himself filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Empire actor’s attorneys, alleging that they repeatedly asserted publicly that the brothers carried out a real, bigoted attack on Smollett despite knowing that was not true.

A lawyer for Olabinjo Osundairo and Abimbola Osundairo filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of the brothers. It names the well-known defense attorney Mark Geragos and his law firm as defendants.

Continue reading...

Jussie Smollett: Chicago sues Empire actor to recoup cost of investigation

Posted on by

Actor had refused to reimburse city for overtime as police sought to verify his account of a racist, anti-gay attack

Chicago filed a lawsuit against Jussie Smollett on Thursday in a bid to recoup the costs of investigating a racist, anti-gay attack that authorities say was orchestrated by the Empire actor as a publicity stunt.

The 12-page civil lawsuit, filed in Cook county court, is the latest volley in a legal battle that shows no signs of abating since Smollett reported that masked men beat him up on 29 January in Chicago, shouting slurs and wrapping a rope around his neck.

Continue reading...

Chicago runoff election: Lori Lightfoot becomes first black female mayor

Posted on by

Former head of city’s police board also becomes first openly LGBT mayor after winning runoff vote

Lori Lightfoot made history on Tuesday as she defeated Toni Preckwinkle in a runoff election to become the next mayor of Chicago, becoming the first black woman – and first openly LGBT person – to hold the position in the city.

The reform candidate will succeed mayor Rahm Emanuel this spring.

Continue reading...

Jussie Smollett: Chicago orders actor to pay $130,000 for cost of investigation

Posted on by

Donald Trump has said the FBI and justice department will review the case after city prosecutors abruptly dropped charges

Chicago city officials on Thursday ordered the Empire actor Jussie Smollett to pay $130,000 to cover the cost of the investigation into his report of a street attack that police say was staged to promote his career.

A letter from the city’s legal department to Smollett and his attorneys said that figure covers overtime worked by more than two dozen detectives and officers who spent weeks looking into Smollett’s claim in January, including reviewing video and physical evidence and conducting interviews.

Continue reading...

Jussie Smollett: prosecutors drop charges against actor accused of fabricating attack

Posted on by

State’s attorney’s office says 16 counts against Empire actor dropped ‘after reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case’

Prosecutors agreed on Tuesday to drop criminal charges against the Empire actor Jussie Smollett for faking a hate crime attack in Chicago.

Smollett was charged with 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct for allegedly hiring two men to stage a racist, homophobic attack against him in downtown Chicago earlier this year.

Continue reading...

Jussie Smollett: Chicago mayor attacks ‘whitewash of justice’ as charges dropped

Posted on by
  • Decision to suddenly drop 16 charges questioned
  • Smollett: ‘I have been truthful and consistent on every level’

Prosecutors have agreed to drop criminal charges against the Empire actor Jussie Smollett for apparently faking a hate crime attack in Chicago, drawing claims from mayor Rahm Emanuel of a “whitewash of justice”.

Smollett was earlier this year charged with 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct for allegedly hiring two men to stage a racist, homophobic attack against him in downtown Chicago.

Continue reading...

Bernie Sanders’ Chicago 2020 speech to focus on fight against racism

Posted on by

The Vermont senator will conclude a two-part launch in the Windy City, harking back to his student days in the civil rights era

With the Chicago skyline around him, Bernie Sanders will on Sunday conclude his two-part presidential campaign launch by emphasizing the role of race and racial discrimination in American society.

Related: Bernie Sanders draws on personal history in 2020 campaign launch

Continue reading...

R Kelly remains in jail as lawyer says ‘not easy’ for singer to pay $100,000 bail

Posted on by
  • Singer being held in 7,000-inmate county jail in Chicago
  • Lawyer says Kelly not wealthy despite string of hit records

R Kelly remains in jail as confidants make arrangements to pay the $100,000 bail needed to free him as he awaits trial for aggravated sexual abuse, his lawyer said.

Related: R Kelly: judge sets $1m bail for singer on sexual abuse charges

Continue reading...

R Kelly due in court following arrest on 10 sexual abuse charges

Posted on by
  • R&B singer taken into custody in Chicago on Friday
  • Cook county state’s attorney says abuse dated back as far as 1998

The R&B star R Kelly is due in court in Chicago on Saturday, charged with 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse involving four victims, including at least three between the ages of 13 and 17.

Related: R Kelly in police custody after being charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse

Continue reading...

R Kelly in police custody after being charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse

Posted on by

Indictment filed in Illinois and seen by Guardian includes nine counts involving victims aged between 13 and 17

R Kelly is in police custody in Chicago after turning himself in at the Chicago police precinct on Friday night.

Earlier in the day, the R&B star had been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Illinois for incidents dating back as far as May 1998.

Continue reading...

Jussie Smollett staged attack because he was unhappy with salary, police say

Posted on by
  • Empire actor appeared in court where bail was set to $100,000
  • Police say scratches and bruises ‘most likely self-inflicted’

The actor Jussie Smollett claimed he was attacked and beaten by two masked men shouting racist and homophobic slurs because he was “dissatisfied with his salary” on the TV show Empire, Chicago police have said.

Related: Trump targets Jussie Smollett over what police say was fake attack – live updates

Continue reading...

Jussie Smollett: Chicago police still seeking follow-up interview

Posted on by
  • Actor’s lawyers angrily reject reports he may have staged attack
  • Police spokesman says trajectory of investigation ‘shifted’

Chicago police are still seeking a follow-up interview with Jussie Smollett after receiving new information that “shifted” their investigation of a reported attack on the Empire actor.

Related: Jussie Smollett attorneys dismiss reports of involvement in own 'attack'

Continue reading...

Jussie Smollett: brothers arrested in alleged attack on Empire actor released

Posted on by

Chicago police say they no longer consider the brothers suspects in reported assault

Chicago police have released two Nigerian brothers arrested in connection with the alleged assault on Empire TV series actor Jussie Smollett and said they have new evidence to investigate as a result of questioning them.

“The individuals questioned by police in the Empire case have now been released without charging and detectives have additional investigative work to complete,” Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Polar vortex: soap bubble freezes and breaks in Arctic Chicago cold – video

Posted on by

One social media user filmed a video of a soap bubble freezing solid and then breaking in the dangerously cold weather that continued to shatter records across the midwest on Thursday, due to the polar vortex. 

Chicago broke all-time low temperatures on Thursday morning, earning it the nickname Chiberia. There, the mercury dropped to -29C (-21F).

Polar vortex: midwest to creep out of icy grip after record lows

Continue reading...

Feel the chill: icy examples of polar vortex in US – video

Posted on by

Frozen winds have brought record-low temperatures to the US midwest as a blast of Arctic air, known as the polar vortex, unnerves residents accustomed to brutal winters... Wet clothes freeze after 10 minutes, ice arrives after a hot shower and ships break their way through the Chicago River

Continue reading...

Polar vortex: eight dead as Arctic air spreads across midwest

Posted on by

Thousands of flights canceled, schools close, and post office halts deliveries as Chicago lows approach record

Frozen Arctic winds brought record-low temperatures across much of the US midwest on Wednesday, as a blast of Arctic air known as the polar vortex unnerved residents accustomed to brutal winters.

As of Wednesday evening, at least eight deaths were linked to the system, including an elderly Illinois man who was found several hours after he fell trying to get into his home and a University of Iowa student found behind an academic hall several hours before dawn. A man was struck by a snowplow in the Chicago area, a young couple’s SUV struck another on a snowy road in northern Indiana and a Milwaukee man froze to death in a garage, authorities said.

Continue reading...

Lake Michigan like a ‘boiling cauldron’ as temperatures plummet in Chicago – video

Posted on by

Wind chills fell as low as -47C in Chicago, with the temperature hitting -23C, as bitterly cold weather moved into Illinois, US. A local newscaster published this video of Lake Michigan, as viewed from Chicago’s Edgewater neighbourhood, appearing like a ‘boiling cauldron’ on Wednesday. State and local officials have asked residents to stay indoors if possible and check on neighbours

Continue reading...