Latest news with #WGN
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man fought priest outside Chicago church during carjack attempt: prosecutors
CHICAGO (WGN) — A Chicago man was taken into custody this week following two alleged attempted carjackings, including one in which he's accused of scuffling with a priest. Raleigh Ford, 18, of the 1100 block of North Hudson Avenue, in the city's River North neighborhood, was arrested Monday. Authorities said Ford was taken into custody after trying to steal a car on the 1000 block of North Clark Street. A handgun was used in the case, police said. One of the arresting officers is said to have recognized Ford as a suspect in another case five days earlier that was recorded by security cameras. Prosecutors allege that on May 21, Ford attempted to steal a 2015 Toyota Rav 4 belonging to a Catholic priest outside Holy Name Cathedral. According to a charging document, the priest left the vehicle unlocked and running outside the church on the 700 block of North Wabash Avenue. When the priest returned outside after checking the mail, he allegedly saw Ford getting into the driver's seat. The priest got in the vehicle on the passenger side and 'a brief physical altercation occurred' as the men each tried to get control. The priest, who was not publicly identified, ultimately got the keys out of the ignition and Ford ran off, authorities said. The attempted theft and struggle were recorded by the church's security system, officials said. Three police officers who'd previously arrested Ford allegedly recognized him in the footage. 'The priest involved is not a member of the staff at Holy Name Cathedral,' church officials told WGN. 'He has recovered and is actively ministering at his parish. We appreciate the concern and prayers from the community.' The news organization CWBChicago reported the attack outside the church came just days after Ford was released on parole for an armed robbery conviction. Court documents reveal Ford has a juvenile criminal past that includes stolen vehicle and armed robbery cases. He is now charged with attempted vehicular hijacking, aggravated assault, and criminal trespassing to a vehicle. Ford appeared in court Friday before Judge Luciano Panici Jr. and was ordered held until trial. His next court appearance was scheduled for June 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tiffany Henyard ordered to appear for contempt hearing
DOLTON, Ill. (WGN) — Tiffany Henyard is no longer the mayor of south suburban Dolton but legal cases continue to haunt her. A Cook County judge previously held Henyard in contempt of court for failing to turn over records from her tenure as required by state transparency laws. Henyard reportedly told the judge Friday she was the 'face' of the village but didn't handle record-keeping. The judge ordered Henyard to appear in person on Friday, June 6. Jason House sworn in as Dolton mayor, marking end of Tiffany Henyard era The Edgar County Watchdogs, Inc. sued the Village of Dolton for failing to produce credit card and other records after Henyard's administration ignored Freedom of Information Act requests in January of 2024. 'The massive public exposure given to the Defendant that has brought Illinois corruption into the national public spotlight needs to be addressed immediately to save further harm to the state's reputation,' read the Edgar County Watchdog's complaint. WGN-TV also sued Henyard's administration for failing to comply with state transparency laws. After Henyard's overwhelming re-election loss in the spring, the village resolved the dispute with WGN by releasing additional records. Henyard's spending and leadership have been the focus of nearly two years of reporting by WGN Investigates. WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud The FBI has also issued subpoenas and interviewed Henyard associates as recently as this spring. Henyard has not been charged with a crime. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
White House IDs 96 Illinois counties, 7 cities on list of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions'
CHICAGO (WGN) — Seven cities in Illinois and all but six of the state's 102 counties are included on a list of 'sanctuary jurisdictions' issued by the Department of Homeland Security that federal officials claim are interfering with mass deportations 'endangering Americans and law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens.' The list of hundreds of states, counties and municipalities was issued per Executive Order 14287, signed last month, that required DHS to identify governments deemed to be interfering with immigration policies. According to DHS, the public governments named are cities or municipalities rated on several factors: If they identify themselves are sanctuary jurisdictions; their compliance with federal officials enforcing immigration laws; the sharing of information with immigration law enforcement; and if they offer protections to people in the country illegally. Jan. 2025 | Chicago's 'sanctuary city' status under investigation by federal committee amid immigration raids Chicago's history as a sanctuary city spans 40 years, 7 presidents and 5 mayors April 2025 | Trump threatens to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities The list will be used by the Office of Management and Budget to determine which is receiving federal funding before terminating the grants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is in charge of enforcing immigration laws nationwide. The White House believes the sanctuary jurisdictions on the list aren't helping or alerting ICE agents about immigrants who are wanted for deportation or who might be held at detention centers, jails or prisons in the so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. The Trump administration and DHS says if these jurisdictions 'remain in defiance,' the attorney general and the secretary of Homeland Security can use 'legal remedies and enforcement measures' they consider necessary to make them comply. 'We're going to flood the zone in sanctuary cities,' said border czar Tom Homan. 'We'll give them exactly what they don't want: more agents in the neighborhoods and more worksite enforcement.' Self-Identification as a State Sanctuary Jurisdiction Adams County Alexander County Bond County Boone County Bureau County Calhoun County Carroll County Cass County Champaign County Christian County Clark County Clay County Clinton County Coles County Cook County Crawford County Cumberland County DeKalb County De Witt County Douglas County DuPage County Edgar County Effingham County Fayette County Ford County Franklin County Fulton County Gallatin County Greene County Grundy County Hancock County Hardin County Henderson County Henry County Iroquois County Jackson County Jersey County Jo Daviess County Johnson County Kane County Kankakee County Kendall County Knox County Lake County LaSalle County Lawrence County Lee County Livingston County Logan County Macon County Macoupin County Madison County Marion County Marshall County Mason County Massac County McDonough County McLean County Mercer County Menard County Monroe County Montgomery County Morgan County Moultrie County Ogle County Peoria County Perry County Piatt County Pike County Pope County Pulaski County Putnam County Randolph County Richland County Rock Island County St. Clair County Saline County Sangamon County Schuyler County Scott County Shelby County Stark County Stephenson County Tazewell County Union County Vermilion County Wabash County Warren County Washington County Wayne County White County Whiteside County Will County Williamson County Winnebago County Woodford County Illinois counties not listed: Brown, Edwards, Hamilton, Jasper, Jefferson and McHenry Berwyn Chicago Evanston Oak Park Village Skokie St. Joseph Urbana Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Illinois man has spent 40 years rebuilding a WWII-era B-17 bomber in his barn
A man in Marengo, Illinois, is on a mission to fully restore a World War II-era B-17 bomber—a project he's been diligently working on in a roadside barn for the past 40 years. A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Mike Kellner began his journey in high school after hearing that a junkyard in Maine was looking to offload the abandoned remains of the historic bomber. The asking price was '$7,000 or best offer' for a collection of disassembled parts. Kellner loaded the 75-foot aluminum behemoth onto a house trailer (he had to extend it by about 10 feet) and hauled it halfway across the country with a pickup truck. It's lived in his barn ever since. Kellner shared the decades-long story of his restoration project with local outlet WGN earlier this week. And unlike many World War II-era roadside relics, this one isn't just collecting dust. Kellner has spent countless hours working to restore the plane to its former glory, performing his own repairs, adding finishing touches, and tracking down an array of rare and hard-to-find parts. Word of his efforts spread, attracting other aviation enthusiasts who have volunteered their time over the years to assist with the restoration. Kellner documents the entire process on a Facebook page, which features thousands of update posts dating back to 2010. He doesn't just want the project to be something pretty to look at—he wants it to fly. 'It is a piece of history, and I would like the opportunity to fly it,' Kellner told WGN. Popular Science reached out to Kellner for more details but has not heard back. The B-17 was the most iconic bomber used by the US military during the second World War. Its origin actually traces back a decade earlier to 1934, when the Army Air Corps approached Boeing with an ask to design and develop a massive plane capable of carrying bombs at 10,000 feet and for more than 10 hours. The military wanted a new breed of bomber that would be able to travel beyond enemy lines at great distances and drop bombs with precision. It needed to be able to reach altitudes high enough to fly outside of the range of enemy antiaircraft artillery. The eventual B-17 featured a state-of-the-art Norden bombsight to maintain accuracy even at extreme altitudes. Early versions of the B-17 entered production in 1937, but manufacturing ramped up significantly after the U.S. officially entered World War II in 1941. The bomber that eventually flew missions behind enemy lines featured four engines—a major upgrade from the then-standard two—and was equipped with a smattering of gun turrets, including ones in the nose, upper fuselage, and tail. This cornucopia of munitions, combined with the aircraft's mammoth size, earned it the nickname 'Flying Fortress.' The B-17 currently being resurrected in Kellner's barn reportedly carries two names. One, 'Desert Rat,' is painted in bold yellow lettering on the aircraft's exterior. The other, 'Tangerine,' was discovered later, scrawled somewhere inside the unclear how much longer Kellner will need to make his dream of flying the Desert Rat a reality. The task seems like a daunting one for someone working part-time on a shoestring budget but then again, few would have likely predicted he would have made it this far to begin with. You can keep up with all of Kellner's progress by following his official Facebook page here.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Canadian wildfire smoke to affect air quality, visibility in parts of US: What to know
(WGN/NEXSTAR) – Smoke from wildfires burning in Canada is expected to cast a haze over the skies — and diminish air quality — in parts of the U.S. over the coming days. There are roughly 160 wildfires currently burning across Canada, the majority of which are out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC). The high-intensity fires, scattered throughout the country from the Northwest Territories through Ontario, have prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents. The CIFFC also said the country's National Preparedness Level has been raised to a 5 — its highest level — meaning wide mobilization of firefighters and requests for help from outside of Canada. The wildfires are also sending smoke down into the U.S., affecting the air quality in much of the country by the end of the weekend. Group of Chicago firefighters, EMTs honored for saving child's life A forecast from the National Weather Service says visible surface smoke will begin creeping into the Midwest and Plains regions Friday before expanding to the East Coast and as far down as Texas and Georgia by Sunday. How bad it gets, however, depends on location. A reduction in air quality, as well as reduced visibility, is expected in the Chicagoland area through the weekend, Nexstar's WGN reported. Air quality alerts and advisories had also been issued for parts of Michigan, Minnesota, and state-wide in Wisconsin. 'Over the next few days, hazy skies and elevated levels of fine particle pollution (PM2.5) will likely result in poor air quality conditions in much of the state,' the Wisconsin DNR predicted Thursday. Forecasts for other parts of the country can be found at a resource spearheaded by the Environmental Protection Agency. Smoke from climate-fueled wildfires contributed to thousands of deaths over 15 years: Study Canada's Manitoba province, meanwhile, has declared a state of emergency over the wildfires, which have put more than 17,000 residents under evacuation orders. The military has also been called in to help fight the blazes, which have cropped up faster in 2025 than in previous years. Researchers say the increase in wildfire activity is driven by climate change. Such fires have also contributed to about 15,000 deaths from exposure to smoke particulates in the U.S. between 2006 and 2020. These particles can lodge deep into lungs and trigger coughing and itchy eyes with short-term exposure. But longer term they can make existing health problems worse and lead to a range of chronic and deadly health issues. Children, pregnant people, the elderly and outdoor workers are among the most vulnerable. 'We're seeing a lot more of these wildfire smoke events,' said Nicholas Nassikas, a physician and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who co-authored a recent study on the subject. 'What does it really mean in a changing environment for things like mortality, which is kind of the worst possible health outcome?' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
