The legendary Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago is one of the great hotels in the world, and our intrepid publisher, Kevin Ketchum, captured its beauty during a recent visit. (Photo credit Kevin Ketchum)
Author: Paul Stukel
A 62-year-old Naperville man convicted of two counts of First Degree Murder for the beating death of his wife has been sentenced to 38 years in prison by a DuPage County judge. According to a press release from DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin, Judge Ann Celine O’Hallaren Walsh has sentenced Alan Wang man to thirty-eight years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for fatally beating his wife, thirty-five-year-old Hongyan Yang, in early 2020. According the prosecutors, on March 8, 2020, at approximately 4:50pm, personnel from the Naperville Police and Fire Departments responded to a call at the couple’s residence…
Three men are in custody after being charged with armed robbery, mob action, and other felonies following an investigation into an incident that occurred Thursday morning in Naperville. According to Naperville police, officers were called to the 1700 block of West Ogden Avenue just after 4am Thursday for a report of an armed robbery. Once on scene, the officers learned that the two female victims had allegedly arrived at the location so one of them could fight a 19-year-old male from Montgomery who was known to the women. During the fight, two other suspects – later identified as a 19-year-old…
Update: Subsequent to an autopsy, the Kane County Coroner’s Office has confirmed that the deceased female discovered in the Fox River Sunday was 16-year-old Destiny Neal from Elgin. Neal had been reported missing by her family since Friday. According to the coroner, determination of Neal’s cause of death is pending the result of toxicology tests that have been submitted. The manner of her death is also pending investigation by authorities. This story remains developing. Elgin police discovered the body of a deceased female in the Fox River Sunday afternoon. According to police, at approximately 3:51pm detectives located the victim in…
Elgin police discovered the body of a deceased female in the Fox River Sunday afternoon. According to police, at approximately 3:51pm detectives located the victim in the Fox River, just north of the Kimball Street Bridge. The Elgin Fire Department along with the Kane County Coroner’s Office responded to the area, at which time they recovered the victim. Information regarding the identity of the female is being withheld pending a determination by the Kane County Coroner’s Office. This story will be updated as further information is made available.
The FBI is assisting the Aurora Police Department in identifying any additional victims of sexual abuse at the hands former Aurora Christian Schools Board Member Michael Herbert. Herbert was arrested in May and charged with numerous felonies involving sexual crimes against children. Following is the announcement from the FBI, issued yesterday: “The FBI’s Chicago Division is assisting the Aurora Police Department in seeking to identify potential victims of Michael Herbert, who was recently charged with criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor, possession of child abuse material, and involuntary servitude. The FBI believes he primarily targeted minor boys between the…
An Aurora couple has been charged with sexually exploiting a child after a video surfaced showing them performing sexual acts in the child’s presence. The male suspect, 25, has been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child Under 13, a Class 4 felony (4 counts), and Obscenity, a Class A misdemeanor. The female suspect has been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child Under 13, a Class 4 felony (4 counts). According to prosecutors, on May 7, 2026, a woman reported to Aurora police that the male suspect had sent her a video showing him and his girlfriend, the female…
At least two tornadoes impacted Illinois and northwestern Indiana Thursday evening, and the Fox Valley region was not spared. Although assessments are just getting underway in earnest, damage in some areas was significant. In Bartlett, near Route 59 and Stearns road, a tornado caused major damage to a BP gas station and reportedly severely damaged several homes in its path. According to a social media post from the National Weather Service – Chicago, teams will be sent out today to survey damage in Streator, Naperville, Bartlett and Northwest Indiana. Tornadoes were confirmed in Streator and Northwest Indiana. This story is…
A 29-year-old convicted felon from Aurora was arrested Tuesday afternoon after investigators from the Aurora Police Special Operations Group (SOG), with assistance from the Community Oriented Policing (COP) Unit and K9 officers, executed a search warrant at his residence, resulting in the recovery of firearms, narcotics, and drug-related paraphernalia. According to police, at approximately 5:00pm, investigators executed a search warrant at a residence in the 300 block of Evans Avenue as part of an ongoing narcotics investigation. Prior to the warrant being served, officers observed the suspect leaving the residence and conducted a traffic stop, taking him into custody without…
A 52-year-old Geneva man has agreed to a life sentence in prison in the brutal stabbing death of his girlfriend and her 13-year-old son. Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser announced today that Alejandro Cota has agreed to a sentence of natural life in prison in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea to two counts of First-Degree Murder, Class M felony. Judge Julia Yetter accepted the plea. According to prosecutors, on December 26, 2024, Cota stabbed his girlfriend, Christina L. Chavira, age 47, and her son, D.C., age 13, multiple times causing their deaths. At approximately 8pm…
