Highland Park subject of Senate hearing
Highland Park’s mayor was in Washington D.C. Wednesday for a hearing on mass shootings.
Nancy Rotering spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee about access to military-style rifles. Rotering was the driving force behind Highland Park’s 2013 ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines. Seven people were killed and dozens more injured when a man opened fire on the Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
Chicago leads in mass shootings
A new analysis shows Chicago leads the nation in mass shootings. According to CBS Chicago, in mass shootings in which four or more people are hit by gunfire in the country, Chicago has the greatest number of any city, large or small.
There have been 24 mass shootings in Chicago this year alone, which have left 12 people dead and 101 injured. Philadelphia comes in second with 14 mass shootings followed by New York City, Baltimore and Houston.
IDOT worker killed in crash
An Illinois Department of Transportation employee was killed Wednesday in Murphysboro.
Jackson County Sheriff’s police responded to a crash and found Edward Stallman unresponsive. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. Officials say the crash happened in a construction zone, but they do not believe that was a factor.
Backlash over NASCAR announcement
A Chicago alderman is upset with the way Mayor Lori Lightfoot planned and announced a NASCAR race coming to downtown next month, calling her a dictator.
Second Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins said aldermen who represent the downtown and areas around it were never consulted about the event. The stock-car racing league will bring the series to a street course downtown starting next July.
Jail death under investigation
Illinois State Police are investigating an in-custody death of a female inmate at the Pulaski County jail.
On July 14, Pulaski County officers found a 47-year-old St. Louis woman unresponsive in her cell. She was taken to a local hospital, then transferred to a Mt. Vernon hospital, where she was pronounced dead July 18. An autopsy is pending and the cause of death is unknown.
Joliet evaluating sex offender housing
Joliet city leaders are taking steps to drive out a group of sex offenders.
There are currently six registered sex offenders living in a single apartment house. An Illinois law had barred multiple sex offenders from living in the same building, but a federal judge issued an injunction after many of the tenants struggled to find housing.
The city has announced plans to purchase a nearby house and turn it into a public park. Sex offenders can’t live within 500 feet of a park.
