Illinois

Paras Griffin/Getty Images (SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — The Illinois Supreme Court has thrown out former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for lying about a 2019 hate crime. Smollett was found guilty in 2021 for faking a racist and homophobic attack and lying to the police. His lawyers said this violated his Fifth Amendment rights because, in 2019, […]

Getty Images – STOCK/ilbusca (SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — A funeral was held Friday for Sonya Massey, the Springfield, Illinois, woman who died after authorities say a police deputy shot her after she called 911 to report a possible intruder. Sean Grayson, the deputy involved in the shooting who has since been fired, was indicted on three […]

Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office (CHICAGO) — An Illinois Sheriff’s deputy has been charged in the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a Springfield woman who called authorities to report a possible intruder. The deputy, Sean Grayson, is facing three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, according to a statement from […]

Getty Images – STOCK (JOLIET, Ill.) — An Illinois man was arrested and charged on Wednesday with attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly shot and injured a neighbor in an incident that “appears to be racially motivated,” according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO). John P. Shadbar, 70, of Lockport Township, was arrested on […]

Douglas Sacha/Getty Images (ROCKFORD, Ill.) — An adult male allegedly stabbed multiple victims in the Rockford, Illinois area on Wednesday, leaving four people dead, one in critical condition and four others in stable condition, authorities said in a press conference Wednesday. A postal worker is among the four individuals who died, Rockford Police confirmed. Late […]

Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Illinois, Florida and California had the largest total increases in the number of abortions performed in the first 15 months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to data gathered in the WeCount report released by the Society of Family Planning on Wednesday. […]

Getty Images/Jordan McAlister (WILMINGTON, Ill.) — A citywide boil water advisory is in effect in Wilmington, Illinois, after a state of emergency was declared this week due to flooding. Residents are advised to boil any water used for drinking and cooking purposes. Wilmington is about an hour southwest of Chicago. Officials said the boil water advisory […]

The booking photo of Joseph M. Czuba — Will County Sheriff’s Office (PLAINFIELD, Ill.) — An Illinois man was charged with stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy to death and seriously injuring his mother in what police said was a hate crime linked to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East. Joseph […]

Sergio Amiti/Getty Images (SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — During the coronavirus pandemic, Shreya Nallamothu, now 16, said she, like so many others, began to spend more time on social media, where she saw countless parents who documented their own lives and their kids’ lives on different platforms. “The more I fell down that rabbit hole, I kept […]

Dennis Macdonald/Getty Images (SPRINGFIELD, Ill.) — The Illinois State Supreme Court found a strict assault weapons ban passed after the Highland Park shooting to be constitutional in a ruling issued Friday. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit that claimed that the ban violated the equal protections clause of the 14th Amendment to the […]