Meier: There’s two surefire ways to avoid online scams: face-to-face transactions, preferably in a public place, and cash only.

Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle was president of the Illinois Sheriff’s Association when the SAFE-T Act was written and passed.

Joliet police officer Tony Lakota brought Christmas cheer to children while dressed as Santa Claus. Officers helped children select gifts for the 36th annual Santa’s Cops event at Walmart.

The Ogle County Sheriff’s Office participated in the statewide “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” mobilization from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2, 2025, to reduce crashes and save lives.

A Skokie man accused of supplying a fatal dose of fentanyl to a 25-year-old woman from West Chicago has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Shortly before 3 p.m. on Thursday, deputies responded to the area of Green Garden and Princeton Street in Lockport Township regarding a vehicle that crashed into a fence, Will County Sheriff’s Office said.

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office announced that it issued 15 speeding citations and one DUI arrest during the statewide Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement period surrounding Thanksgiving.

A Morrison school was placed on lockdown Thursday after a report of an attempted armed robbery at a nearby home.

A domestic violence call in Mokena led to a large police response following reports of man making violent threats and the sight of a rifle during an altercation. 

Four individuals have been charged with stealing merchandise from three DuPage County businesses in separate incidents this past weekend, prosecutors said.

Authorities are investigating the death of a person struck by a freight train early Sunday near downtown Downers Grove.

A small single-engine airplane veered off the runway and rolled over Friday afternoon at Brookeridge Airpark in Downers Grove, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said.

A man on parole for armed robbery has been charged with robbing an Oak Brook gas station.

Earlier this month, a Momence man agreed to plead guilty to battering a 72-year-old man in Momence in June.

A Plainfield man barricaded himself inside of his residence with a firearm after leaving the scene of a single-vehicle crash, police said. 

Plainfield police were at an active incident at the area of Crossing Drive and Spring View Court on Sunday. Joliet police assisted at the scene.

Meier: Do not respond to an unexpected or unsolicited text, phone call, or robocall unless you know who sent it.

Jalen Davis, 18 of Joliet, has been charged with three counts of burglary, possession of burglary tools, criminal damage to property and obstructing identification.

An Oregon man died Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, after a car driven by a Camanche, Iowa, man struck him on Illinois Route 2, just north of Grand Detour, according to the Ogle County Sheriff's Office.

The city of Morris and the Morris Police Department have announced the launch of the Flock Community Camera Program, which they say will aid first responders react faster and smarter and keep the public safer.

A Chicago man charged with shooting two people as they sat in a parked vehicle in Addison to 42 years in prison.

Three Cook County individuals, including a juvenile who was allegedly armed, have been accused of stealing a 2019 Nissan Altima out of Willowbrook, prosecutors said.

A Chicago man currently on pre-trial release for a felony retail theft in Lombard has been charged with stealing merchandise from three DuPage County businesses over the past few weeks, prosecutors said.

A man who shot a pregnant woman in 2022 in Willowbrook has been sentenced to 48 years in prison.

A new app, developed in part by a retired Kankakee police officer, is on the market and aims to help protect those in harms way.

Tytis D. Givan, 19, of Oswego, and Tyrell I. Mays, 18 of Montgomery, are each charged with five felony counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.

Officers were called to a Batavia home at 5:44 p.m. Friday after a resident reported seeing two unknown men inside the house while remotely monitoring a home surveillance system, Batavia police said.

This Thanksgiving, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office is joining the Illinois State Police and local partners to keep holiday travel safe.

A Steward man has been identified as the victim of a Monday farm equipment and field fire in rural Steward and Lee County

An Aurora man was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for a 2022 incident in which one man in Aurora was shot dead while another recovered after also being shot, officials said.

The inaugural Ogle County K-9 Fund Bark and Whine Ball was held Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at the River’s Edge Experience in Oregon and raised $34,000 for the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, Deputy Ali VanVickle said.

Political influence has moved from reasonable policy setting into operational micromanagement, and that shift is corroding public safety, Tom Weitzel argues in his Roll Call column

A Villa Park teenager accused of punching a Villa Park police officer in the face after leading police on a high-speed chase will remain in jail until at least his next court appearance, prosecutors said

An Addison man has been charged with felonies after authorities said he fired multiple gunshots at police, striking one officer in a protective vest during a four-hour standoff at his home Thursday.

The driver of a Jeep Wrangler was taken to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet where she was pronounced deceased at 1:06 p.m on Friday, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office.

Bradley police are investigating a 42-year-old Bradley man being struck by a southbound Canadian National Railway train early Saturday morning.

The accident happened early Saturday morning.

Jonathon Gounaris, 33, is charged with shooting three members of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team after a three-hour standoff when police tried to enter his home in Lost Lake, a rural subdivision east of Dixon in June 2024.

A man fired multiple gunshots at police officers, striking one in a protective vest, during an hourslong standoff Thursday at an Addison home, authorities said.

Illinois State Police will conduct Distracted Driving Enforcement Program patrols in Cook, DuPage, Kane, and Will counties.

Kevin Most was sworn in as the city of Oregon's new detective Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

A Wheaton man charged with possessing images of child pornography and failing to register as a sex offender will remain in jail until at least his next court appearance

A sex offender has been accused of recording himself having sexual contact with an underage girl.

A Rochelle woman is dead following a two-vehicle crash Monday morning on Interstate 88 near Ashton, the Winnebago County Coroner’s Office and Illinois State Police said Wednesday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will pursue their own charges at the federal level regarding the alleged battery of two agents in Bolingbrook, police said.

Police departments from around Grundy County were well represented in last weekend's Chicago Marathon, with six members of the Minooka Police Department and one member of the Morris Police Department participating.

The Lockport Township Fire Protection District broke ground on its new first responder training facility on Monday.

Police departments must prioritize data analysis as a crime-prevention tool

Two federal immigration agents carrying out an arrest in Bolingbrook claim they were struck by two people, according to Bolingbrook police officials.

Three DuPage County men have been charged with conspiring to impersonate a peace officer while traveling to numerous No Kings protests on Saturday, prosecutors said.