Inmate accused of seeking to kill girl, 11, her sister and mother

A man jailed on charges of having sex with an 11-year-old girl tried to hire someone to kill the girl, her 16-year-old sister and their mother, according to the Cook County sheriff's office.

Brian Thurman, 28, of the 2400 block of North Mannheim Road near Melrose Park, sought a hit man after he was jailed the middle of last month on charges with predatory criminal sexual assault and ordered held on $480,000 bail, the office said.

On Jan. 29, Thurman asked another inmate with street gang connections to find someone to kill the three, the sheriff's office said. The next day, he was given the phone number of a sheriff's undercover investigator posing as a hit man, authorities said.

Over the phone, Thurman offered the "hit man" his SUV and $8,000, the office said. During a jail visit on Feb. 4, Thurman met the undercover officer and repeated the offer, police said.

In return for his Mercury Mountaineer and the cash, Thurman wanted the 11-year-old girl, her 16-year-old sister and their mother killed "as soon as possible," the sheriff's office said.

Thurman was charged with murder for hire and solicitation of murder for hire, both Class X felonies, and is scheduled to appear in Bond Court on Sunday, police said.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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Hundreds line up early at funeral for Hadiya Pendleton

Hundreds of mourners lined up early to pay respects to Hadiya Pendleton this morning at a visitation and funeral expected to be attended by First Lady Michelle Obama.

Hadiya was a majorette for King College Prep's band and performed during President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities just days before she was slain, shot in the back while hanging out with friends at a North Kenwood neighborhood park.

Thirty minutes before the doors were set to open, hundreds stood waiting in line amidst heavy security to get into Greater Harvest Baptist Church in the Washington Park neighborhood, about two miles from where the 15-year-old girl was gunned down last month. Among the groups of high school-age students waiting in the line was the King College Prep majorettes team, who came together in their yellow and black majorette coats.

Guests who were invited by the family were given orange wristbands and were able to enter through a shorter security line. Classmates and friends of Pendleton were given green wristbands and allowed to enter through that same line.

Trinity Dishmon, 40, said her daughter Deja, 15, and Hadiya were close friends in middle school. The two girls stayed in touch and were texting about their upcoming 16th birthdays while Hadiya was in D.C. for the president's inauguration in January.

"Hadiya was a gift to everyone that knew her," Dishmon said, tearing up. "These last 12 days have been unbelievably numbing. It's not six degrees of separation anymore, it's one. It's just unreal."

Dishmon said she feared that the day was less about the teenager and more about a larger issue.

"This is Hadiya's day and should be about her -- not something sensational," Dishmon said. "But maybe by honoring her life we can help make a difference."

Police took two men into custody after they got into an altercation near the back of the long line of mourners waiting to get into the church. One man was agitated, complaining about the long wait to get in. A second man confronted him and they began shoving each other before police intervened.

Inside the church, Hadiya’s silver casket was placed in the front, surrounded by flowers, and two large hearts, one with her picture on it. Behind the casket, a TV screen showed pictures of Pendleton with her family, from birth to her teenage years.

At 9:09 a.m., friends, students and others with wristbands were allowed to file down the aisle to view the body. Her young friends were seated in the front pews, directly behind the casket. Her classmates and friends filled the middle section of the church — 11 rows in all. Members of the Crystal Elegance Majorette squad held on to each other as they filed down the aisle in pairs to view the body. 

A funeral director wearing a suit and white gloves came outside at 9:40 a.m. to announce to the hundreds still waiting in line that the church was “at capacity.” Those still in line could come in and view the body, he said, but would have to leave before the services.

The funeral procession arrived at about 9:45, including three limousines and dozens of cars.

Michelle Obama's plan to come to the funeral puts Chicago solidly in the middle of a national debate over gun violence that has polarized Congress and forced President Obama to take his gun control initiatives on the road to garner more public support.

The first lady's visit is being seen not only as a gesture of condolence to the family but as part of an effort to draw attention and support for the president's gun initiatives.

But the visit also meant scores of security, police and Secret Service agents, metal detectors and other security measures.

Other dignitaries were expected to attend the funeral, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser to Barack Obama.

The church is surrounded by an iron fence and all of the openings -- a pedestrian gate in the front, front and side doors to the church, and a driveway to the north -- are guarded by city police or men in white shirts, ties and long black coats. Chicago police vehicles -- two wagons, a handful of squads and SUVs -- guarded the outside of the church while other vehicles circle the block.

Chicago police staffing the event are wearing dress blues -- a blue overcoat with pockets that allow access to the duty belt, creased navy pants, and a hat.

King College Prep math and engineering teacher Alonzo Hoskins stood quietly in line with others. He said he taught Hadiya in his first period geometry class, where he now has an empty desk.

"She was full of life," Hoskins said.

Hoskins looked at the sea of people that preceded him in line. "I want to support the family. For me, this isn't about the dignitaries," Hoskins said.

"But I don't know if I'll even get in." 

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @chicagobreaking 

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Blizzard packing more than 2 feet of snow reaches Northeast

The leading edge of a powerful storm expected to bring driving winds and more than 2 feet of snow, along with the potential for coastal flooding, reached the Northeast early this morning, canceling thousands of flights in its wake.

Blizzard warnings were in effect from New Jersey through southern Maine, with Boston expected to bear the brunt of the storm. The day began with light snow and winds that were due to pick up with much heavier snowfall by afternoon.

"The snow has taken over and it is accumulating," said FOX CT meteorologist Joe Furey in Hartford, Conn. "This is really serious. This is a storm that can cripple all of southern New England. A blizzard is not about the amounts of snow. A blizzard is about sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or higher over three hours or longer."

Officials urged residents to stay home, rather than risk getting stuck in deep drifts or whiteout conditions.

In New York City, still not fully recovered from the effects of October's devastating Hurricane Sandy, officials said they had 1,800 Sanitation Department trucks equipped with snow plows ready to be deployed.

Motorists, mindful of the severe fuel disruptions after Sandy, rushed to buy gasoline, leading to shortages in New York City. A Reuters photographer reported at least three service stations had run out of gas in the borough of Queens on Friday morning, with long lines formed at others.

Sandy knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes, taking gasoline stations out of service, and damaged port facilities, exacerbating the shortages by preventing operable stations from refueling.

"You always get long lines ahead of a storm, but as the wounds from Hurricane Sandy are still so fresh, it's not surprising that people are rushing to fill up," said Michael Watt, executive director of the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association. "It's understandable. Even people like me who would normally think it was foolish to panic buy will be thinking about it."

Boston and surrounding communities said schools would be closed on Friday, and city and state officials told nonessential city workers to stay home.

Officials across the region ordered nonessential government workers to stay home, urged private employers to do the same, and told people to prepare for power outages and encouraged them to check on elderly or disabled neighbors.

In New Jersey, also hit hard by Sandy, state officials expected major coastal flooding, high winds, and possible blizzard conditions in the northeastern section of the state.

"This is a dangerous storm, and we ask motorists to be careful while driving," said Colonel Rick Fuentes, director of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. "(The) evening commute will be treacherous throughout much of New Jersey."

The National Weather Service, warning of a "major, maybe even historic, snowstorm," said Boston and much of New England could get up to three feet of snow on Friday and Saturday, its first heavy snowfall in two years. Winds could gust as high as 60 miles to 70 mph. If more than 18.2 inches of snow falls in Boston, it will rank among the city's 10 largest snowfalls. Boston's record snowfall, 27.6 inches, came in 2003.

Cities from Hartford, Connecticut, to Portland, Maine, were expected to see at least one foot of snow.

Airlines have canceled more than 3,000 flights for Friday, according to website FlightAware.com, with the largest number of cancellations at airports in Newark, New Jersey; New York City; Chicago and Boston.

Another 881 flights were canceled for Saturday, according to the flight-tracking site.

Boston's Logan International Airport warned that once the storm roars in, all flights would likely be grounded for 24 hours.

United Continental Holdings Inc, JetBlue Airways Corp and Delta Air Lines Inc all reported extensive cancellations.

For some in the Boston area, the forecast brought to mind memories of the blizzard of 1978, which dropped 27.1 inches, the second largest snowfall recorded in the city's history. That storm started out gently and intensified during the day, leaving many motorists stranded during the evening commute.

Dozens of deaths were reported in the region after that storm, many from people touching downed electric lines.

Officials warned of a high risk of extensive power outages across the region due to the combination of heavy snow and high winds. Residents were also at risk of losing heat at a time when temperatures would dip to 20 degrees. Across the region, store shelves were picked clean of food and storm-related supplies such as shovels and salt as residents scrambled to prepare.

Some big employers said they were considering pleas by officials to let workers stay home, including State Street Corp, one of Boston's largest employers in the financial sector.

Reuters and the Hartford Courant

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Freezing rain advisory for morning commute, snow later

CAPTIONS

Rain now, snow later
Commuters wait at a salted Barrington Metra Station during the light rain on Thursday morning. (Stacey Wescott, Chicago Tribune /February 7, 2013)

Staff report

9:30 a.m. CST, February 7, 2013

A freezing rain advisory is in effect this morning for the Chicago area, which could then get hit by some snow by tonight.

At 7 a.m., freezing rain was being reported across northeast Illinois, mainly along I-88 and north of the expressway, according to the National Weather Service.

State police were reporting no major problems on expressways and tollways, though side streets in some areas were slick with ice.

The advisory is in effect until 10 a.m. "By then it should be warm enough that there shouldn't be a threat of additional freezing rain," said Andrew Krein, a weather service meteorologist. "It will be warming up so. . .mostly rain all day.

"We're hovering around 32 degrees but warmer air is not too far away, and it won't be long before it moves in," Krein said.

There's a chance of up 1-3 inches of snow this evening and overnight, with lows in the upper 20s, the weather service said.

Chicago fanned out 199 plow trucks across the city this morning, "salting the city's main streets as needed," according to the Streets and Sanitation Department.  as a storm system moves across the area," according to the streets department.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @chicagobreaking

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Metra investigates open door on moving rush-hour train

Metra officials say they're investigating why a rush-hour train left Union Station and ran at express speed with a passenger door open Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. (Posted Feb. 6, 2013)

A Metra express train bound for Naperville left Union Station with an open door Tuesday evening, running for several minutes – and with passengers only a few feet away – until a conductor came along and shut it.

BNSF Line train No. 1283 left the station at 6:14 p.m. with a full load of passengers, but a door on a middle car remained open. Dozens of passengers, meanwhile, walked through the vestibule past the open door as the train was moving.

The incident was captured on cellphone video by a Tribune reporter who was aboard the train. At least one passenger tried to close the door while the train was moving, reporter Rob Manker said.

Express trains often run 60 mph or faster, but it's unclear how fast this train was going at the time.

The door remained open for 13 minutes until a conductor passing through the vestibule while collecting tickets was able to pull it closed, he said.

Spokespeople for Metra and Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF Railway Co., which operates the line with its employees for Metra, said late Tuesday that the matter was being investigated.

“We are taking it very seriously,” Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said. He added that the train equipment was being checked overnight before going back into service.

The incident raises questions about whether crew members followed rules to ensure that all doors are closed and passengers are safe before the train moves.

Those rules were prompted by the 1995 incident in which violinist Rachel Barton was caught in the door of a moving UP North Line train and was dragged, causing her to lose part of a leg. A jury awarded Barton $29 million.

According to Metra, before a train leaves a station, a conductor must close all doors except his own, then take a second look down the platform to ensure the doors are completely shut and that no one is still trying to board.

A light in the engineer’s cab is supposed to indicate when all doors are closed, Gillis said.

Metra has had more recent incidents in which trains began moving when doors were not completely shut or passengers were caught.

In March 2011, a 63-year-old Indian Head Park woman escaped serious injury when she was caught in the doors of a BNSF Line train while attempting to board in La Grange. Fellow passengers were able to open the doors and free the woman as the train began to roll.

In December 2009, a 4-year-old boy's boot was caught by the door of a SouthWest Service train and his mother yanked the child's leg free as the train left the Worth station. Two crew members were disciplined as a result.

rwronski@tribune.com

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Chicago commute one of nation's most unpredictable: study

You can predict with a high degree of confidence that the time it takes to drive from Point A to B on any given day is unpredictable.

And it's not just snowy or rainy days. It can be any day.

If there is a bright side, it's that Chicago was not the worst.

Residents of the Chicago area are accommodating that increasing uncertainty by setting aside more time each day — just in case — for the commute, new research shows.

For the most important trips, such as going to work, medical appointments, the airport or making a 5:30 p.m. pickup at the child care center to avoid late fees, drivers in northeastern Illinois and northwest Indiana should count on allotting four times as much time as it would take to travel in free-flowing traffic, according to the "Urban Mobility Report" to be released Tuesday by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. The analysis is based on 2011 data, which are the most recent available.

It is the first time that travel reliability was measured in the 30-year history of the annual report. The researchers created a Planning Time Index geared toward helping commuters reach their destinations on time in more than 95 percent of the trips. A second index, requiring less padding of travel time, would get an employee to work on time four out of five days a week.

"If you plan only for average traffic conditions on your trip in the Chicago area, you are going to be late at least half the time," said Bill Eisele, a senior research engineer at the Transportation Institute who co-authored the study.

The constant unreliability that hovers over commuting is stealing precious time from other activities, crimping lifestyles, causing mounting frustration for drivers and slapping extra costs on businesses that rely on just-in-time shipments to manage inventory efficiently, researchers found.

The Chicago region ranked No. 7 among very large urban areas and 13th among 498 U.S. cities on a scale of the most unreliable highway travel times. The Washington area was the worst. A driver using the freeway system in the nation's capital and surrounding suburbs should budget almost three hours to complete a high-priority trip that would take only 30 minutes in light traffic, the study said.

The Washington area was followed on the list by the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, New York-Newark, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Seattle.

Rounding out the top 10, the Chicago metro area was trailed by San Francisco-Oakland, Atlanta, and Houston.

Truck driver Frank Denk said he usually adds an hour or two to his trip through the Chicago area. Sometimes, it's not enough, other times traffic isn't a problem, he said. The one constant, Denk said Monday afternoon while taking a break at the O'Hare Oasis on the Tri-State Tollway, is that it is almost impossible to anticipate correctly.

"Job-wise, it can be very detrimental to truckers," said Denk, who is based in Green Bay, Wis. "All of a sudden, you're not able to make your delivery."

But quadrupling the time to travel back and forth each day? That's excessive, said Mike Hennigan, a 64-year-old accountant who regularly commutes from his Evanston home to his office near the junction of the Kennedy and Edens expressways. He recommends doubling the anticipated travel time.

"I can predict when it's going to be bad," Hennigan said, although he is less optimistic about his travel times when he heads toward downtown.

"Coming into the Loop can be deadly, especially later in the week," Hennigan said.

Overall, traffic congestion in the Chicago region is getting worse as the economy improves, although it's not as severe as the grip that gridlock has taken recently on some other very large metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to the report. The Washington area again topped the list, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, New York-Newark, Boston, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Seattle.

No longer being ranked at the very top of the congestion heap provides little consolation for Chicago-area drivers.

What should be a 20-minute jaunt across town in Chicago or the suburbs if highway capacity were sufficient to permit vehicles to travel the speed limit now becomes about an 80-minute ordeal, according to the Texas A&M study. Scheduling 80 minutes for the trip would ensure an on-time arrival 19 out of 20 times, the study concluded.

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Biggest snow of season hits the morning rush

Commuters got a crash refresher course on driving to work in the winter as the heaviest snow to hit the Chicago area in a year caused cars to spin out, trucks to jackknife and travel times to nearly double.

"They're everywhere," State Police Master Sgt. Jason LoCoco said, tallying up all the accidents on expressways this morning.

State police responded to dozens of accidents on the Kennedy, Dan Ryan and Eisenhower expressways. The most serious appeared to be a jackknifed truck on Interstate 290 at Lake Street that shut down three lanes.

No serious injuries were reported.

Andrew Ulm, 49, said it took him about an hour and a half to travel from Aurora to the Loop for a doctor's appointment this morning.

"They were fair, but it was a crawl," he said of the roads he took between 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.

"I left about a half-hour early to try and compensate, to try and get here on time," he added, standing in the lobby of a State Street parking garage.

Trasha Embry, a 44-year-old attorney, adjusted her normal commute to dodge the brunt of this morning's snowfall.

"I drove in later and I drove slower," she said as she was heading out of a Loop parking garage around 9:30 a.m. "I was not expecting it to be bad, but I am intentionally later."

Embry drives into the Loop from around 53rd Street.

She said Lake Shore Drive wasn't a problem, but her neighborhood roads were less plowed than they she thought they would be at that point in the morning. Her travel time was its usual 20 minutes, she said.

By the time the snow tapers off today, accumulation in most parts of the Chicago area will range between 2 and 4 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

As of 6 a.m., 2.6 inches had been recorded at O'Hare International Airport, making this the largest snowstorm to hit the Chicago area since Feb. 24 of last year, when 3.5 inches were recorded.

"We're not going to get much more," said Matt Friedlein, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. "A half-inch to an inch more maybe. More in Indiana."

Arlington Heights had about 3.4 inches as of 6 a.m., Elgin 3.3 inches, Elk Grove Village  2.8 inches, Woodstock  2.3 inches, St. Charles 2.2 inches, Oak Park 2 inches, Countryside 2 inches and Aurora  1 inches.

In Chicago, snow plows were focusing first on clearing main streets and Lake Shore Drive, according to the Department of Streets and Sanitation. After clearing those roads, plow drivers will shift their focus to side streets.

The snow was also forcing cancellations and delays at O'Hare. As of 7 a.m., 127 flights had been canceled and 57 delayed, according to FlightStats, which draws data from airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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1 killed, 4 injured in accident on Tri-State Tollway

Photo: Scene of crash (WGN-TV / February 3, 2013)

Staff report

9:38 a.m. CST, February 3, 2013

One person was killed and four others were hospitalized this morning after a three vehicle crash happened on the Tri-State Tollway this morning, Illinois State Police said.

The accident happened at 6:47 a.m. on the Tri-StateTollway (I-294) at Lake County Road and Lake-Cook Road in Lake County, Illinois State police officials said.

The accident involved three vehicles and resulted in one person being pronounced dead on the scene and four others being treated for non-life threatening injures, police said. Four people were taken to Highland Park Hospital for treatment, police said.

Police had no further information available about the fatality or the injuries.

There were no delays reported on the tollway, police said.

No other information was available.

Chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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Convicted killer back in custody after he was found watching TV

The convicted murderer who was mistakenly allowed to leave Cook County jail is now back in custody. (WGN - Chicago)

Convicted murderer Steven Robbins was arrested late Friday in Kankakee, two days after he was mistakenly released from the Cook County Jail after being brought to Chicago to dispose of an old case against him, according to the Cook County sheriff's office.

Saturday morning, Robbins is being held at the Cook County Sheriff's police lockup in Maywood, said Frank Bilecki, a spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

Robbins will be moved later this morning to the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California where authorities will ask the judge to have the recent arrest warrant (issued after he was mistakenly released) stricken off the record, said Bilecki.

After that, he will be driven to Michigan City, Ind. and delivered to the Indian Department of Corrections, according to Bilecki.

Robbins, 44, who was serving a 60-year sentence for murder in Indiana, was apprehended "without incident" about 10:55 p.m. in the 400 block of Fraser Avenue in Kankakee, according to Bilecki.

“He was found at the home of an acquaintance, watching TV’’ said Bilecki. “They caught him totally off guard.''

Once they got into the home, sheriff’s authorities were trying to keep everyone calm, including a couple of young children who were there with Robbins.

Bilecki said Dart was on the scene and assisted in the arrest.

Authorities tracked Robbins through interviews with family and friends who helped provide his location, according to the sheriff's office. 

Earlier, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart took responsibility for mistakenly letting Robbins walk out of County Jail after a local charge against him was dismissed.

“We let people down, no mistake about it,” Dart said in an interview at sheriff’s offices in Maywood. “Our office did not operate the way it should have, clearly.”

The FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and Cook County Crimestoppers raised $12,000 as a reward for information leading to Robbins’ capture, he said.

Dart said his office is still looking at where and how the system broke down to allow Robbins’ mistaken release from the jail,  but he said that officials at the  jail had no paperwork showing he was serving time in an Indiana prison for murder.

Like other indigent people, Robbins was outfitted with clothing from Goodwill – a long-sleeve brown shirt and brown pants – before being released out the front entrance, Dart said. He also likely was given bus fare.

Dart said the sheriff’s office uses an archaic system – entirely paper-driven – in handling the movement of an average of about 1,500 inmates every day. Some are entering the jail after their arrest and others are being bused to courthouses around the county for court appearances.

The sheriff said the warrant for Robbins’ arrest should have been quashed by prosecutors when armed violence charges were dismissed against him in 2007. In addition, he said prosecutors signed off on the sheriff’s office traveling to Indiana to pick up Robbins at the prison in Michigan City and bring him back on the outstanding warrant.

“We were able to get an extradition warrant on a case that didn’t exist,” Dart said. “That’s the first problem.”

Earlier, documents reviewed by the Tribune showed that paperwork filled out by Cook County sheriff’s officers this week made it clear that Robbins was serving a 60-year sentence for murder in Indiana and was to be returned to authorities there after being brought to Chicago to dispose of an old case against him.

“Please be advised that this subject is in our custody under the temporary custody provision of the interstate agreement on detainers,” a sheriff’s order accompanying Robbins’ paperwork read. The order noted Robbins’ murder conviction and 60-year sentence and then stated he “must be returned to the custody of Indiana DOC.”

In addition, Judge Rickey Jones, assigned to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, ordered the Illinois case dismissed on Wednesday and wrote on paperwork that Robbins was to be released for “this case only,” the records show.
 

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Indiana killer mistakenly released from Cook County Jail

A convicted murderer from Indiana is on the loose because of some bad paperwork in Cook County. (WGN - Chicago)

An Indiana man convicted of murder has been on the loose since Wednesday night after Cook County Jail officials mistakenly released him, authorities said.

The sheriff's office confirmed that Steven Robbins, 44, was released after appearing in Cook County court on armed violence and drug charges, and the charges were dismissed.

But the office didn't alert the public that Robbins, who was convicted of a 2002 fatal shooting of a Kentucky man, was on the loose until Thursday evening.

Robbins spent the night in the Cook County Jail on Tuesday to attend a court date Wednesday on a warrant for a 1992 criminal case, in which he was charged with armed violence — committing a felony while using a gun, said Frank Bilecki, a spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.

After attending the court hearing, Robbins was released at 7 p.m. Wednesday because there was no indication in his jail paperwork that he was ordered to remain in custody, Bilecki said. Robbins left through the jail's main entrance.

On Thursday, the Cook County fugitive warrant unit called the jail to make arrangements to send Robbins back to an Indiana prison. Jail staff realized that Robbins was gone.

The sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service, were notified.

Authorities didn't want Robbins to immediately know that they were on to him, which is why the public wasn't told right away, Bilecki said.

"We were trying to hit all the spots where we thought he might be before he became aware that we were looking for him," he said.

A warrant for Robbins has been issued in Illinois and Indiana.

A similar issue occured at the Cook County Jail in 2009 when convicted sex offender Jonathan Cooper, who was serving a 30-year prison sentence in Mississippi for manslaughter, was mistakenly freed after prosecutors here dropped sex-related charges against him.

In a telephone interview, Robbins' ex-wife, Nicole Robbins, who divorced him in 2008, said she hadn't spoken with or heard from him in a year and a half.

"He was mistakenly released? I haven't heard from him," she said. "I don't know where he is."

Steven Robbins was serving time in Indiana State Prison when he was brought to Cook County to appear on the warrant.

In 2002, Robbins was arrested at a Day's Inn in Merrillville, Ind., according to an archived story in the Merrillville Post-Tribune. He was convicted of shooting Richard Melton, 24, with whom he'd gotten into a fight at a party. Robbins shot Melton on Mother's Day, authorities said.

He was sentenced in 2004 to 60 years in prison for murder and carrying a handgun without a license, according to Indiana Department of Correction documents. He was eligible for parole in 2029. Robbins has relatives in Gary and Bloomington, according to the archived story.

Robbins was described as black, 5 feet 5 inches tall and 190 pounds, with a tattoo on the right side of his neck that reads "Nicole." Anyone with information on Robbins' whereabouts is asked to call 708-865-4915.

The Cook County charges had actually been dropped in 2007, but Robbins was still required to appear in court in Illinois to answer for the warrant on those charges, court records show.

Tribune reporters David Heinzmann and Jeremy Gorner contributed.

ehirst@tribune.com

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80 fire departments battle 8-alarm blaze in Wisconsin

Emergency officials are on the scene of a 5 alarm fire at a plant in Burlington Wisconsin.

By Peter Nickeas




Tribune reporter

8:05 a.m. CST, January 31, 2013

More than 300 firefighters and paramedics from 80 departments across two states battled an 8-alarm fire overnight at Echo Lake Farms Produce Company in Burlington, Wis.

The fire broke out about 6:05 p.m. Wednesday was still smoldering this morning, with firefighters pouring water on hot spots, officials said.

“As of right now, we have departments from Racine to Milwaukee and Waukesha and Kenosha counties, and some from northern Illinois,” said Burlington City Administrator Kevin Lahner.

The factory processes egg products, Lahner said. There was some “ammonia present” and a hazardous materials team from Racine was monitoring air quality around the site.

Ten homes and an apartment complex nearby were evacuated because of smoke, Lahner said, displacing about 50 people.

Fireghters were regularly checked for symptoms of cold exposure because of the frigid temperatures, Lahner said.

The plant covers about 70,000 square feet and is one of the town's largest employers, according to Lahner. The plant's 300 workers were told to stay home today.

pnickeas@tribune.com
Twitter: @peternickeas

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Ex-Gov. Ryan arrives at halfway house: 'He has paid a severe price'

A somber and silent George Ryan arrived at a West Side halfway house this morning after the former governor was released from a federal prison in Indiana.

Wearing a gray sports coat, white shirt and maroon tie, Ryan was surrounded by TV cameras as he walked down the street and entered the four-story red brick building at Ashland Avenue and Monroe Street shortly before 7 a.m.

Ryan smiled tightly as he refused to answer questions from reporters. Ryan's son, George Ryan Jr. and former Gov. Jim Thompson accompanied Ryan into the house.

After Ryan checked in, Thompson came back out and told reporters "today is another step in a long journey for George Ryan. . .He would like me to tell you he's grateful to leave the penitentiary. He's grateful also for the encouragement and support from many people. He has paid a severe price. The loss of his wife and brother while he was in the penitentiary, the loss of his pension, his office, his good name and 5 1/2 years of imprisonment. Now near 80 years old, that is a significant punishment. But he is going to go forward."

Ryan left the prison early this morning and managed to escape the notice of media camped at the facility. The first indication that Ryan has been released was around 6:45 a.m. when he left a building down the street and started walking toward the halfway house.

His son put his left hand on his father and guided him out the door. Ryan kept his head down, his hands in his pockets as he talked to his son and walked slowly through the knot of TV cameras.

As they neared the halfway house, a worker opened the door and tried to clear a path through the cameras. Ryan raised his head, his hands still in his pockets, his son to his right, as he walked down five steps and into the halfway house.

Thompson said Ryan didn't speak much during the van trip to Chicago.

"He didn't talk much, just small talk," Thompson said. "He looks good. He's been lifting weights. . .He knows something about carpentry now.

"He tied his own tie this morning, he hasn't forgotten that," Thompson said. "He's in decent spirits. He has to become accustomed to seeing things differently. . .We came down Michigan Avenue and he was looking at the lights left over from Christmas. That was sort of wonderful, I think. He hasn’t seen the city of Chicago in 5 1/2 years.”

Thompson said people forget that Ryan "was a very good governor." But he added that Ryan "is not bitter, he's not angry. He's accepting. This has been a long fight."

Ryan completed more than 5 years of a a 6 1/2-year prison sentence in Terre Haute, Ind. for a corruption conviction. 

Ryan entered prison on Nov. 7, 2007. His wife of more than 50 years, Lura Lynn, died of cancer in June 2011.

If Ryan does well at the halfway house, he would be eligible to move to home confinement at his Kankakee residence to finish out his sentence, which ends July 4.

The halfway house, operated by the Salvation Army a few blocks east of the United Center, has been a way station for about 20,000 men and women since opening in 1975. Many corrupt Illinois politicians have finished their sentences at the facility. Among the most recent graduates was former Chicago Ald. Edward Vrdolyak.

Ryan's conviction for fraud, racketeering and other charges was the culmination of the federal Operation Safe Road investigation that exposed rampant bribery in state driver's license facilities while he was secretary of state as well as misdeeds as governor.

After a six-month trial, a federal jury convicted Ryan in 2006 of steering millions of dollars in state business to lobbyists and friends in return for vacations, gifts and other benefits to Ryan and his family.

The conviction overshadowed Ryan's long career in government.

The Kankakee native rose from speaker of the Illinois House to win statewide election as lieutenant governor, secretary of state and then one term as governor. His actions as governor included placing a moratorium on the death penalty and emptying death row, moves that won him international acclaim.

Thompson said Ryan may become involved in death penalty issues after his sentence ends in July. "It's way too soon to tell."

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @chicagobreaking

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Woman charged with DUI in crash that killed 2 changing tire

Chicago police are investigating a fatal car accident that killed 2 people as they were changing a tire.

Staff report

9:17 a.m. CST, January 29, 2013

Police say a Humboldt Park woman was intoxicated when her car struck and killed two people changing a tire in the Parkview neighborhood.

Delia Aguila, 27, has been charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving and a handful of other felonies and misdemeanors, police said.

Aguila was driving in the 3800 block of West 87th Street about 10:45 p.m. Saturday when she swerved and struck two people who were outside a vehicle.

Killed were William Brunson, 39, of the 8200 block of South Harper Avenue in Chicago, and Victoria R. Means, 34, of the 14100 block of South School Street in south suburban Riverdale.

Brunson was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:55 p.m. and Means was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:21 p.m., according to the medical examiner.

Aguila, of the 900 block of North Lawndale Avenue, is due in bond court Tuesday.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @chicagobreaking

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2 killed in West Rogers Park in possible carbon monoxide leak

Police are investigating whether a carbon monoxide leak led to the deaths of two people in West Rogers Park.

The family of a 77-year-old woman and her 18-year-old granddaughter are in shock after the two died Sunday in their West Rogers Park apartment building as authorities investigate whether a carbon monoxide leak is to blame.

Rasheeda Akhter was pronounced dead at 11:14 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Her granddaughter, Zanib Ahmed, died at 9 p.m., according to the medical examiner's office.

"Our family is going through a tough time, they were very good people," said a relative who did not give his name. "We were up all night."

Paramedics were first called about 10:30 a.m. Sunday to the building in the 2500 block of West North Shore Avenue to transport one woman to the hospital, Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim said.

The woman was taken in cardiac arrest to Swedish Covenant Hospital, Ahlheim said.

Fire officials at the scene called for a second ambulance, and another woman was taken to Swedish Covenant as well.

Both women died at the hospital.

Back at the building, fire officials checked the carbon monoxide levels but found no indication of a leak, Ahlheim said.

Paramedics were called back to the scene, however, about 3:45 p.m. for another woman found unresponsive. She was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in critical condition, Ahlheim said.

Officials checked carbon monoxide levels again, and while the meter readings in residential units did not indicate a leak, officials found a positive reading for a low level of carbon monoxide near a boiler in the basement, Ahlheim said.

Police suspect the deaths were caused by accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, but no official determination will be made until autopsy results are reported, Police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said.

A spokeswoman for Peoples Gas, Jennifer Block, said representatives from the company were called to the building to assist police and fire officials. She referred further questions to the police and fire departments.

asege@tribune.com

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @AdamSege

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Fire kills at least 245 in Brazil nightclub

A fire swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 245 people and leaving at least 200 injured, police and firefighters said. (Jan. 27)

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil—

A fire in a nightclub killed at least 245 people in southern Brazil on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing patrons were unable to find the emergency exits in the ensuing panic, officials said.

The blaze in the southern city of Santa Maria was started when a band member or someone from its production team ignited a flare, which then set fire to the ceiling, said Luiza Sousa, a civil police official. The fire spread "in seconds," she said.

An estimated 500 people were in the Boate Kiss nightclub when the fire broke out early on Sunday, and many were unable to find the exits as dark smoke quickly filled the room. At least one exit was locked, trapping hundreds inside to die, many from asphyxiation as they inhaled smoke, police said.

"When I looked around, all I saw were dead bodies all around, lying on the floor. It was macabre," survivor Taynne Vendrusculo told GloboNews TV. "It all happened so fast. Both the panic and the fire spread rapidly, in seconds."

Television footage showed people sobbing outside the club, while shirtless firefighters used sledge hammers and axes to knock down an exterior wall to open up an exit.

By noon (1400 GMT), the death toll had risen to 245 and 48 people were being treated in local hospitals, said Major Cleberson Bastianello, head of the military police unit leading the rescue efforts. He said all of the bodies of the victims had been removed from the nightclub.

President Dilma Rousseff, who started her political career in the same state where the fire happened, cut short a visit to Chile to return to Brazil to visit the scene. Before departing, Rousseff gave a televised statement in which she broke out in tears as she pledged government help for the victims and their families.

"We are trying to mobilize all possible resources to help in the rescue efforts," she said. "All I can say at the moment is that my feelings are of deep sorrow."

The disaster recalls other incidents including a 2003 fire at a nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, that killed 100, and a Buenos Aires nightclub blaze in 2004 that killed nearly 200. In both incidents, a band or members of the audience ignited fires that set the establishment ablaze.

Brazil's safety standards and emergency response capabilities are under particular scrutiny as it prepares to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Olympics.

The Boate Kiss nightclub was a popular venue in Santa Maria, a university town of more than 275,000 people. The massive nightclub sometimes attracts up to 2,000 people on a given night, according to reviews on the Internet.

One of the club's owners had already surrendered to police in Santa Maria for questioning, GloboNews reported.

Rio Grande do Sul state Health Secretary Ciro Simoni said emergency medical supplies from all over the state were being sent to the scene.

Santa Maria is some 186 miles west of the state capital of Porto Alegre. "A sad Sunday!" tweeted Rio Grande do Sul Governor Tarso Genro. He said "all possible measures" were being taken in response.

(Additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Gustavo Bonato, Leila Coimbra, Todd Benson, Jeferson Ribeiro and Brian Winter; Editing by Todd Benson, Kieran Murray and Eric Beech)

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3 dead, 2 wounded in pair of early morning shootings

After a few quiet nights, gun violence returned to Chicago's cold streets early Saturday morning with three people killed by gunshots and one person left with tears, blood-stained clothing and a friend's body.

Laverne Smith stood crying at one end of a vacant lot in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side early this morning while her friend, close like a brother, lay covered by a white sheet behind a maroon van at the other end.

Ronnie Chambers, 33, no address available, had been in the driver's seat of the van, which had just arrived in the 1100 block of South Mozart Street when one person, probably two, opened fire, police said. Chambers, identified by family members at the scene and later by police, died at the scene, in Smith's arms.

In the other fatal overnight shooting, three men were shot about 4 a.m. outside of a diner at the corner of Wallace Street and Pershing Road in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side, police said. Two men died at the scene.

Smith wore a pink blood-stained shirt under a pink jacket, white pants dotted with drops of blood, and pink sandals. She paced the crime scene, at the north end of Mozart Drive where it ends at Fillmore Street, letting out occasional screams and leaning on her friend for support.

"I held him, they had to pry me from him," she said, crying. "He was breathing, gasping."

At least one other man, 21, was inside the van when the shooting started, police said. He had jumped from the front passenger seat to the back, quick thinking that police said probably saved his life. He was wounded in the thigh and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Police did not say how many people were inside the van. They also did not say exactly how many shooters there were, but did say seven shots were fired.

The shooting happened across the street from Safer Foundation North Lawndale, an Illinois Department of Corrections transitional facility for adults with criminal records, and half a block west of a fire station.

Family and friends, none of whom wanted to give their names, circled the north end of the scene, marked by yellow tape hung around trees, light poles and cop cars.

A young man at the scene who refused to give his name but said he saw the shooting called the gun used a "big boy."

"Look at that (bullet) hole," the young man said, motioning to the passenger side door on the van. "That's a full nickel."

An east-facing car sat abandoned in the T intersection formed by Mozart and Fillmore. Police weren't sure whether the people who abandoned the car were involved in the shooting or freaked out and fled the scene. Police found casings from two weapons – one a rifle – whose bullets had entered the van from both sides.

"He was gangsta with his (expletive)," the man said of the individual or individuals who did the shooting. "He knew what he was doing."

Despite his apparent proximity to the attack, he explained to a detective that he could not help police do their jobs. He later complained to a supervisor about their response time – he said 27 minutes but police said 3. Police said that they received one 911 call about shots being fired in the area.

A 16-year-old boy who said he was with the victims when the shooting happened wandered around the lot, looking toward the ground most of the time. He looked emotionally spent after being held by police for a short time at the scene.

"I just want to go home," he said, though he had no ride home. "It just happened so fast. I'm tired of explaining myself."

pnickeas@tribune.com

Twitter: @PeterNickeas

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Video sparks protest of Ultimate Fighting event

Women's advocacy groups in Chicago are urging the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization to prevent a fighter who appeared in a video that made light of rape from fighting Saturday at an event in the United Center.

Sharmili Majmudar, executive director of Rape Victim Advocates in Chicago, said she and other activists came out with a letter of opposition Thursday because Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, the man in the video, is about to fight on Chicago turf.

"It's kind of despicable that anyone would take so lightly the issue of sexual violence," Majmudar said. "This isn't Chicago. This is not something that's consistent with Chicago (values)."

Although UFC officials say they find the video tasteless, they suggest another motivation behind the letter and the news release that accompanied it, said Lawrence Epstein, UFC's chief operating officer.

The letter to the UFC, its sponsors and the Fox television network included an email address for Jen Suh, a research analyst for the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas. Its parent union is the national UNITE HERE organization.

Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta III are the majority owners of Station Casinos LLC in Las Vegas, and the company has long been at odds with the Culinary Workers Union over the unionization of casino workers. The Fertittas also are the majority owners of the UFC.

"They think if you harass an employer enough, they'll say 'take my workers,'" Epstein said. Suh, when asked for comment, said the union's website contains a list of grievances against the company.

In October, the National Labor Relations Board held that Station Casinos violated federal labor law in 82 cases in its response to union-organizing efforts. But the union and the Fertittas are still a long way from settling their dispute.

The most recent news release on the Culinary Worker Union's website announces that the U.S. Marine Corps did not renew its sponsorship of UFC.

Jackson will "absolutely" fight Saturday, Epstein said. Although the UFC did not punish Jackson for the video, Epstein said its officials made it clear to Jackson and his manager that his behavior was inappropriate.

Also on Thursday, the UFC released a statement about its new code of conduct, which will include punishments such as fines and community service for fighters who violate the code. Matt Hughes, a former UFC fighter who made the organization's Hall of Fame, joined UFC as vice president of athlete development and government relations to help enforce the policy.

Epstein said Jackson's video was tasteless.

The video, with nearly 1,200 views on YouTube as of Thursday evening, shows Jackson instructing viewers on how to "pick up a gurl." Jackson suggests comfortable shoes, chloroform and zip ties. In the video, he stalks a woman in a parking garage and tries to grab her from behind. Before he has the chance, she elbows him in the gut and pulls a gun.

Jackson has said in other interviews that the video was an attempt at humor. He told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting in October that he was trying to emulate comedian Dave Chapelle and that he put out the video to get kicked off the UFC roster.

The UFC and Jackson's relationship has been rocky for months. Jackson hasn't fought since February, in Japan, before the video appeared, a UFC spokesperson confirmed. The fight Saturday at the United Center is the last one of his current contract.

ehirst@tribune.com

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Massive warehouse fire rekindles

A fire at a warehouse at 37th and Ashland has rekindled in the Bridgeport neighborhood.

Fire has rekindled at a Bridgeport warehouse that was gutted by a massive extra-alarm blaze earlier this week.

Fire officials had expected the fire to start up again because of the magnitude of Tuesday night's 5-11 alarm fire and the old timber in the warehouse, according to Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim.

"We expected it. We have companies working there again," she said this morning. "We were working there well into yesterday."

A still-and-box alarm, standard for working fires, was called this morning and a rapid intervention team was on the scene in case any firefighters are hurt.
 
“No one’s going in,” Ahlheim said. “We do have (a team) at every working fire.”

The Fire Department also deployed a piece of equipment from the 1960s dubbed "Big Mo" that can shoot 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of water a minute from two turrets fed by 10 water lines.

Firefighters had expected the fire to rekindle in areas where the roof and floors had collapsed, Ahlheim said.  “There are hot spots under those collapses we haven’t been able to reach. When debris gets moved, there’s more oxygen for the fire to grow,” she said. “Then we get to those hot spots.”

“This is something we had expected and had seen before,” she said.

The fire originally broke out at the former Harris Marcus Group building at 3757 S. Ashland Ave. Tuesday evening. Extra alarms were quickly called as the fire spread throughout the warehouse and the roof collapsed and the more than 200 firefighters contended with frozen hydrants and icy ladders.

Chicago Fire Cmsr. Jose Santiago said the fire was Chicago's largest in seven years. "This was a very large fire, unbelievable fire load, a lot of wood, timber, old stuff, varnish," Santiago said on the scene. "Once it caught, it caught and ran.

"Everything is wood inside these buildings, beautiful façades on the outside. They've been up for a long time. When they start burning like this, they start coming down," Santiago said.

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