IDES is the first to file fraud Illinois Link Card Fraud are yet to come

A Chicago man was sentenced today to 3 years in federal prison for his part in a fraud scheme that got $479,571 in unemployment insurance payments for about 57 people not legally allowed to work in the United States.

Roberto Cisneros, 34, had pleaded guilty to mail fraud in January and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, according to a news release.

Cisneros admitted that more than half of the fraudulently-obtained proceeds, about $261,017, was deposited into bank accounts he controlled, according to federal officials.

Cisneros is in the country illegally and has been in federal custody since he was arrested in June 2011, He was ordered to pay restitution of $479,571 to the Illinois Department of Employment Security and faces deportation following completion of his sentence, officials said.

San Diego California Zoo was notified that their Wildebeast was caught and sent to Chicago's own 26th & California Zoo after he struck a Police Officer

A California man in town for protests during the NATO summit was charged with a felony for allegedly assaulting a Chicago police officer during a pro-immigration rally downtown on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Danny L. Johnson, 31, of Los Angeles, was ordered held today on $10,000 bond on charges of aggravated battery of a police officer, a felony, and obstruction of traffic, a misdemeanor.

During the immigration rally, Johnson was seen “jumping up and down,” yelling obscenities and obstructing traffic, Assistant State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said.

When a Chicago police sergeant working a bicycle team told Johnson to move up the street, Johnson punched the sergeant in the chest, causing him to fall off his bike, Scaduto said.

Scaduto said Johnson is currently on probation in California for a misdemeanor conviction for remaining at the scene of a riot.

Johnson appeared in court with his hair in braids and wearing a black T-shirt inside-out. Scaduto told the judge the T-shirt is emblazoned with an obscenity.

His attorney, Stuart Smith, said Johnson graduated from a college in Los Angeles with an English major and is currently working for a community group there. He came to Chicago “to support people who are trying to get a better life for themselves,” Smith said.

Several of Johnson’s supporters who were at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building for the hearing refuted the police version of the arrest.

Chris McKay, who said Johnson was taking part in an Occupy walk across the country, alleged that the sergeant was the aggressor, grabbing Johnson by the shirt while he was trying to cross the street.

“I know he (Johnson) is not a violent person at all,” McKay said. He said their group was asking any eyewitnesses to come forward with video of the dispute.

Another supporter, Jason Brock, said the charges exemplified why they were protesting in the first place.

“The reason why we are here is because of things like this-- how the legal system works,” Brock said. “It’s not fair.”

Secret Service Agent is no longer secret when he stopped a hit and run

A Secret Service agent stopped a car after it struck and seriously injuried a woman near Grant Park and drove away, authorities say.

The woman was walking in the 500 block of South Lake Shore Drive around 8 a.m. when she was hit by a maroon car, according to Officer John Mirabelli, a police spokesman.

A Secret Service agent stopped the car at 200 E. Jackson Blvd. and notified Chicago police and waited for officers to arrive, according to a spokesman for the agency. The agent is assigned to the uniformed division of the Secret Service, but it was not known whether he was in uniform.

The car sustained “severe” windshield damage, according to Central District Police Lt. Richard Guerrero.

The driver was being questioned but no charges had been filed as of 10:30 a.m., the lieutenant said.

The woman was taken in serious condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to Fire Department spokesman Will Knight.

Cops: Mechanic hit former co-worker, handcuffed self to toolbox

An auto mechanic feuding with a former boss over money and tools was arrested after he handcuffed himself to a tool box following a scuffle with employees who tried to remove him from the business, according to a police report.

Employees of Motorwerks Star Motor Sales told police the 35-year-old Hickory Hills man entered the dealership’s garage about 5 p.m. on May 10, telling former co-workers, “I got bad news for you, I’m not leaving without my tools,” the report states.

Burbank police issue arrest warrant in newlywed's killing

Police continue their search today for a Brighton Park man who they say stabbed his new bride to death less than 48 hours after they were married.

An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for the murder of Estrella Carrera, and authorities are seeking the groom, Arnoldo Jimenez, 30, of the 4200 block of South Mozart Street in Chicago, Burbank police said in a news release. He is charged with first-degree murder, the release said.

Jimenez was last seen driving a black 2006 Maserati sedan. He is described by police as 6 feet tall and 220 pounds. Police said Jimenez "could be anywhere and we are following all leads."

The couple was married Friday at Chicago's City Hall. After the wedding, friends and family celebrated with dinner in the city, a rented limousine and an evening at a nightclub on the North Side, police said.

Carrera, 26, and Jimenez were last seen by family and friends about 4 a.m. Saturday, police said.

On Sunday, relatives requested police check on Carrera because she never showed up to pick up her two children and family couldn't reach her or her new husband.

Police found her stabbed to death in a bathtub in her Burbank apartment. She was wearing a silver, sequined cocktail dress, the same one she wore during the wedding festivities, police said. No sign of forced entry was found at the Burbank apartment, police said.

"This investigation is still ongoing and will continue until Mr. Jimenez is in custody for this brutal murder," police said in a news release. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Estrella Carrera and especially her small children."

Jimenez was charged in 2003 with domestic battery, but the complaining witness did not show up to court and the charges were dropped, according to court records. He also has a 2004 conviction for deceptive practice, a misdemeanor, court records show.

Jimenez is the father of Carrera's youngest child, a 2-year-old boy. Carrera was also mother to a 9-year-old daughter, relatives said.

The couple's wedding was a spur-of-the-moment affair, relatives told the Tribune on Monday.

"She didn't want to tell me she had gotten married," her cousin Sandy Lopez said. "She didn't tell anybody besides her father the day before."

Lopez said she did not approve of the relationship, which had been on and off for about three years.

"He's just a person that had problems," she said Monday, though she declined to elaborate.

Carrera's immediate family declined to comment Tuesday. Jimenez's relatives could not be reached.

16 year old denied to swim for the state championship due to her disability

Paralyzed from the waist down, 16-year-old Mary Kate Callahan relies solely on upper-body strength to power through the water in the 200-meter freestyle, her favorite race.

Accustomed to overcoming obstacles, Callahan is now fighting for the chance to swim in the state championship during the next school year.

The Fenwick High School student has been denied the opportunity to compete with her team because the Illinois High School Association lacks athletic competition standards for students with disabilities, according to a complaint drafted by the Illinois attorney general’s office.

The attorney general and Chicago-based disability rights group Equip for Equality are expected to sue the IHSA in federal court on Wednesday for discrimination, alleging that it violates the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, according to a copy provided by the attorney general Tuesday.

“I am a high school athlete, and I am like anyone else,” said Callahan of La Grange, who is named as a plaintiff. “We put in just as much effort as anyone else.”

The west suburban teen is the daughter of Jack and Joanne Callahan.

"I am ashamed of the state of illinois," her mother said.

After working for several months with administrators at the private Oak Park high school and the attorney general’s office on recommended reforms, IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman said he is “perplexed” by the lawsuit.

The state high school organization sued the attorney general’s office in April for “clarification on (the IHSA’s) obligations under the law,” said Hickman, adding that the move wasn’t intended to be antagonistic.

It’s possible, Hickman said, the IHSA might adopt a new policy in time for Callahan to qualify for the state swimming finals in November.

According to IHSA regulations, no framework or scoring system exists to allow disabled high school students to participate competitively in athletic events.

When Callahan swims at a meet, her score is not counted toward the team total. And because the state association hasn’t adopted accommodations for disabled athletes, she cannot qualify for the state finals.

Fenwick High School Principal Peter Groom said the school supports Callahan’s desire to participate in any athletic competition. He also acknowledged ongoing efforts by the high school association to resolve the situation.

“It seems to me that they are taking the issue very seriously,” he said. “They are making efforts to try to expand opportunities for disabled students at state competitions.”

Left without the use of her legs by a rare neurological disease she contracted as a baby, Callahan has spent most of her life in a wheelchair, according to the lawsuit. But in the swimming pool she moves swiftly through the water and craves the thrill of competition.

“That’s why I love swimming so much,” Callahan said. “You can fit in so easily with all the other swimmers who are able-bodied.”

Callahan, a junior, realizes that her graduation next year may come before any significant changes take place.

“I wanted to do this for the kids who are coming down the road,” she said.

Another Alcohol related wrong way driving is a good way to kill yourself not other people

A South Side man believed responsible for a wrong-way collision on the Bishop Ford Freeway last month that killed a longtime Chicago Tribune employee has died of his injuries, officials said.

Kenneth Owens, 24, was driving a black 1998 Chevy Malibu south in the northbound lanes when he struck a black 2003 Honda Accord driven by Ronnie Head, who then hit a tanker truck on April 30, authorities said.

Owens, of the 1400 block of East 66th Place, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after the crash. He was pronounced dead there Tuesday morning, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

An autopsy is scheduled for later today.

Head, 54, a Dolton husband and father of two adult children, was pronounced dead shortly after the crash. He had worked for the Chicago Tribune for 27 years as a press operator at the paper's plant at the Freedom Center.

Head's wife Sergenet said the couple were set to renew their wedding vows during their 30th wedding anniversary in June. She said she met her husband at a party at her sister's home and she knew right away that he was "my soul mate."

Illinois State police previously said they believed that the wrong-way driver had been drinking and that "alcohol appears to be a factor." According to state records, Owens was driving on a suspended license for not having proper insurance. His license was suspended in March.

Girl, 11, dies after being pulled from Bolingbrook pond

An 11-year-old girl died after jumping from a footbridge into a pond behind her Bolingbrook school during what witnesses said was a game with friends.

Divers pulled Jordan Oliver from the pond at Indian Chase Meadows Park about 45 minutes after she sank beneath the surface, according to Bolingbrook Police Lt. Mike Rompa. Paramedics administered CPR while taking her to Bolingbrook Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 8:08 p.m.

Witnesses told WGN-TV that Jordan was with friends on a footbridge over the pond around 5 p.m., jumping into the water while playing a game.

"First round, they all jump in. The girl said she couldn't swim," a witness told the station. "Second round, they went in. She jumped again." Jordan couldn't get to the shore and another girl "tried to hand her her foot. . .She jumped into the water to try to save her.

"By the time she tried to save her, the girl was already deep in the water."

Dive teams from the Bolingbrook and Naperville fire departments were called to the pond, which is behind Pioneer Elementary School in the 1400 block of Raven Drive, around 5:45 p.m.. She was found in about 12 feet of water around 6:30 p.m.

Jordan was remembered as a standout 5th grader at Pioneer.

"She was a very sweet, very responsible young lady and was an outstanding student," Pioneer Principal Carmen Killingsworth said in a statement.

A team of crisis counselors will be on hand at the school today, the principal added.

Guardian Angel gets knifed after trying to catch a theif

Four members of the volunteer security patrol known as the Guardian Angels were stabbed late Tuesday while trying to nab a man who robbed and pistol-whipped a rider on a Red Line train on the Near North Side, Chicago police said today.

The four men received minor cuts during the altercation that occurred at the Red Line's Clark and Division Stop at about 11:13 p.m., police said, citing preliminary information.

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Wildebeast attacked the Marquette Park neighborhood

A teenage boy riding his bicycle was shot and wounded Tuesday night on the city's Southwest Side, Chicago police said.

The boy, 14, suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle at about 8:45 p.m. near the intersection of Central Park Avenue and West 65th Street in the Marquette Park neighborhood, police said, citing early reports.

The victim was riding his bicycle on the street when a heavyset man got out of a passing car and yelled a gang slogan toward the boy before pointing a handgun and opening fire, police said.

The wounded boy was taken to area hospital, where he was expected to be treated and released, police said.

Authorities only had a vague description of the gunman and no description at all of the getaway vehicle.

Investigators suspected the shooting was gang related, adding that the victim had a street gang affiliation.

No arrests had been made in the shooting.

The Protesters start so lets see how many go to jail

A band of several dozen protesters marched up Halsted Street this evening from the South Side through Bridgeport, where some engaged in a shouting match with residents.
The marchers, some of whom covered their faces with hoods or bandanas, began their protest at about 51st Street and Halsted, chanting obscenities about police and police brutality.

About 20 bike-riding officers repeatedly rode to the front of the crowd of about 40 demonstrators and formed an angled line across Halsted Street to funnel them back onto the sidewalk. Then officers would walk their bikes next to the sidewalk to enforce the restriction. When protesters slipped in front again, the whole process would start over.

Some curious residents tagged along during the early part of the march, which was without incident until the marchers reached Chicago Police Deering District headquarters in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

There, angry local residents shouted at the protesters to leave, while police stood between them to prevent altercations. Some protesters repeatedly yelled "De-escalate" when things appeared to get tense.

After the confrontation, marchers continued up Halsted Street to Taylor Street, ending the march about 9:30 p.m. Police reported no arrests during the three-hour march.

It was at least the second small protest of the day as demonstrators gear up for this weekend's gathering of world leaders at the May 20-21 NATO summit.

Passenger file's against Metra after the train hit a truck in 2011

A passenger on a Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line train involved in a crash with a truck in Mount Prospect last May that injured three dozen people and killed the truck driver filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the railroad agency for his injuries.

The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court says the commuter rail agency was negligent because it allegedly used a train with no lights, no horn, inadequate brakes and an excessive number of rail cars.

The train was traveling east on the tracks near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Mount Prospect Road when it hit a concrete-carrying truck heading northwest on the Northwest Highway that tried to turn left onto Mount Prospect Road.

The lawsuit says Rafael Ortiz, the plaintiff, suffered from a number of permanent and temporary injuries to his head, body, mind, limbs and nervous systems for which he has had to pay medical bills.

The truck driver, Kazimierz Karasek, was killed in the wreck.