Author: Paul Stukel

Six-time Tony-Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen makes its Chicago-area premier at The Paramount Theatre in Aurora beginning tonight and running through March 22. With music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, based on the book by Steven Levenson, and under the direction of Jessica Fisch, Dear Evan Hansen has been called an honest and original story for all of us who just want to be seen. “Dear Evan Hansen: Today is going to be a good day and here’s why…” That’s how Evan starts every day, writing himself a letter about why it’s going to be a good…

A 19-year-old Naperville man is in custody after allegedly being caught in possession of a stolen vehicle Sunday morning. Naperville Police were dispatched to the 900 block of North Brainard Street on Sunday for reports that several vehicles on the block had been burglarized overnight and that one, a 2007 Honda Civic, had been stolen. At approximately 2:30pm on Monday, the stolen vehicle was detected by license plate reader technology and followed into the Naperville area by an Illinois State Police trooper. When Naperville Police arrived in the area, the driver stopped the vehicle in the 800 block of N.…

A 62-year-old Pingree Grove man has been found guilty of murdering a Crystal Lake man execution-style and subsequently hiding the body at a residence in Hampshire Township. Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced that a jury has found Douglas Ottesen guilty of First-Degree Murder (a Class M felony) and Concealment of a Homicidal Death (a Class 3 felony). According to prosecutors, on April 4, 2024, the Crystal Lake Police Department initiated an investigation into a resident who had been last seen alive March 12, 2024, as he was attempting to travel to family in Florida. An investigation indicated that the circumstances…

A 28-year-old Chicago man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for breaking into a Naperville home in the summer of 2022. At the time of the offense, the man was on probation out of Cook County after pleading guilty to aggravated domestic battery charges in April 2022. DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced that Adam Stone, formerly of the 600 block of East. Groveland Park, appeared at his sentencing hearing in front of Judge Margaret O’Connell, who handed down the sentence. On May 6, 2025, following a two-day bench trial which concluded on April 22, 2025, Judge O’Connell…

Two people are dead after a house exploded in the Fox Chase area of Oswego Thursday evening. Authorities suspect a natural gas leak was involved, but have not yet determined the exact cause of the explosion. Just after 5:00pm Thursday, the Oswego Fire Protection District was dispatched to the 200 block of Fox Chase Drive North, where they found a collapsed house completely engulfed in flames. Fire suppression and a search began immediately. Once the fire had been largely extinguished, a natural gas line continued to burn, which required a dig team from NICOR to clamp off the gas supply,…

The Oswego Police Department announced yesterday that criminal charges have been filed in connection with the murder of 41-year-old Oswego woman Monday afternoon. After consultation with the Kendall County State’s Attorney’s Office, 44-year-old male defendant has been charged with First Degree Murder (a Class M Felony); Home Invasion (a Class X Felony); Armed Violence (a Class X Felony); Residential Burglary (a Class 1 Felony); and Aggravated Stalking (Ca lass 3 Felony). Also yesterday, the Kendall County Coroner’s Office completed a forensic autopsy which indicated that the victim, 41-year-old Ashley A. Stewart of Oswego, sustained multiple sharp force injuries. The defendant…

A suspect has been apprehended in the killing of an Oswego woman in her own garage Tuesday afternoon. The suspect is believed to be the woman’s ex-husband. At approximately 1:10pm on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, Oswego Police Department officers were dispatched to a residence in the 400 block of Valentine Way after a caller reported that he believed his wife was in danger after observing, via home surveillance, a male subject run after his wife into their garage. The caller believed the male to be the wife’s ex-husband. Officers arrived on scene and located an unresponsive adult female. Oswego Fire…

A 39-year-old woman has been hospitalized in critical but stable condition after being shot outside a near east side residence in Aurora. According to police, at approximately 4:08am this morning Aurora Police officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert in the 600 block of South LaSalle Street in Aurora. While enroute, officers were advised that a 39-year-old female had been shot outside a residence. Upon arriving, officers immediately rendered aid to the victim until Aurora Fire Department paramedics arrived on scene and assumed care. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of critical injuries and was later transferred…

A 64-year-old Bartlett Public Works employee was tragically killed Monday morning when the snow plow he was operating was struck by a Metra train. According to police, at approximately 8:35am Monday, the employee was operating a small snow plow at the intersection of Oak Avenue and Railroad avenue when it was struck an Elgin-bound Metra passenger train. The Bartlett Police Department and Bartlett Fire Protection District immediately responded to the scene where they provided emergency medical care. The injured employee was subsequently transported to St. Alexius Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. No other people were injured in…

A 34-year-old Aurora man was sentenced today to 9 years in prison after pleading guilty to driving under the influence and crashing into an oncoming vehicle, killing a female driver. DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced today that Joshua Crye of the 1800 block of Westfield Drive in Aurora has been sentenced to nine years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after a blind plea of guilty to one count of Aggravated DUI Causing Death, a Class 2 Felony. The State had asked for the maximum allowable sentence under the law of fourteen years. Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh…