Toddler drowns at Navy Pier • firefighter with cancer goes home • Chicagoland ranked in best places to live
FRIDAY NEWS HIT - The woman charged with attempted murder after pushing her 3-year-old nephew into Lake Michigan at Navy Pier is in court today.
Josiah Brown, of Des Plaines, was pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m. Sunday, according to Cook County Medical Examiner records.
Officials say the boy had to be retrieved from the bottom of the lake by Chicago Fire Department officials after he was pushed into the water on Sept. 19 by his aunt, Victoria Moreno. Prosecutors say Moreno waited until no one at the pier was looking and pushed the boy into the water, then watched him drown.
Moreno, 34, was charged with attempted murder and bail was denied at her bond hearing, despite defense arguments that she suffers from mental health issues. Officials said she may face greater charges in the wake of the boy's death.
Illinois firefighter with terminal cancer takes final ride home in ambulance with fiancé, dog
An Illinois firefighter diagnosed with terminal cancer took his final ride home Tuesday in the very same ambulance he once used to transport patients.
Frank Nunez, 34, was diagnosed with a rare form of soft tissue cancer called synovial sarcoma in 2019. He was treated with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, and went into remission.
In 2021, the cancer returned in his left lung, and he participated in several clinical trials. During his treatment, he never stopped working at the Itasca Fire Protection District.
He recently finished a fire inspector training class before being admitted to Northwestern Memorial in late September with terminal cancer.
Nunez is intubated, but his fellow firefighters have never left his side. They rotate visits every day and communicate with him via text message and dry-erase boards.
On Sept. 21, Nunez celebrated his 34th birthday with a commitment ceremony to his fiancé, Christina, inside his hospital room.
The two live in Crystal Lake and met two months before Nunez was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. They got engaged in June 2022, and share a dog, Max, who still waits by the door for Nunez to come home.
This week, Nunez was able to say goodbye to his mother when she visited him in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. They said goodbyes via messages on the dry-erase board.
Itasca firefighters transported Nunez to his home Tuesday, where he will be on hospice care. He was accompanied by his fellow firefighters, Christina and his furry friend, Max.
Two Illinois cities make list of best places to live in the U.S.
A Chicago neighborhood and a western suburb have made the list of best places to live in the United States in 2022-2023, according to a new report.
Digital platform Money released the rankings Thursday, revealing the top 50 places to live in the U.S. based on the most employment opportunities, racial, economic and cultural diversity, and management of cost of living in today's markets factoring in inflation.
Rogers Park ranks fifth on the list. Money reports the reason for its listing is because of its "metropolitan feel and strong sense of community."
"Rogers Park is known as the most diverse neighborhood in Chicago, which itself is one of the most diverse cities in the country," according to Money.
Naperville, Illinois takes the 16 spot.
Photo source: https://www.naperville.il.us/
Money reports that Naperville has been named the "best place to be a kid by the U.S. Census Bureau," as well as the "best place to raise a family by the education site Niche and one of AARP's top town towns for seniors."
According to the Illinois State Report Card, Naperville has some of the state's best public schools. Money also reports that the Northern Illinois Planning Commission projects more than 80,000 new jobs in the western suburb by 2023.
At the top of the list is Atlanta, Georgia. Money reports it is because of the number of opportunities the city can offer students, families, and those seeking employment.
Woman watched her ex-boyfriend massacre 6 family members, she tells jurors
The gruesome case from 2016 that left six people brutally murdered in Gage Park is back in the headlines this week as a man faces jury trial.
Diego Uribe, 28, was chardged with multiple counts of murder in the slayings of his aunt Maria Martinez and her family.
He allegedly shot, beat or stabbed various members of the family after demanding money from his aunt on Feb. 2, 2016 in the 5700 block of South California Avenue.
Jafeth Ramos, Uribe's ex-girlfriend, testified in court for two hours on Wednesday.
Ramos told jurors, "At some point he said he was going to kill them" and showed her a gun, but she said, "I didn’t take him too seriously."
Jurors viewed graphic crime scene and autopsy photos as the trial continued Thursday.
The autopsy photos shown to jurors depicted the bodies of the two youngest victims — Alexis Cruz, 10, and Leonardo Cruz, 13. Several jurors appeared to struggle to look when they were shown on a monitor in Cook County Judge Carol Howard’s seventh-floor courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Ramos, who was previously charged in the slayings, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a reduced charge of armed robbery in a deal reached for her testimony that will include prosecutors recommending a 25-year prison term at her sentencing hearing after Uribe’s trial.
Attempted robber armed with shotgun at Florida store claims 'I'm from Chicago, bro'
A man casually carrying a shotgun and claiming to be from Chicago walked into a Florida convenience store during an attempted robbery but walked out when a clerk displayed his own weapon, authorities said.
Rakim Stephen Tate, 32, made a bad decision that "became a worse decision" when he walked into a convenience store on Sept. 9 with a visible shotgun to his side, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said.
"I don't mean no harm, I'm just not from around here," Tate is heard saying while holding his weapon. "I got a big (expletive) (expletive) gun, but I'm not from around here is what I'm saying. I'm from Chicago bro."
Tate is heard asking the employee what kind of weapon he is holding. The employee responds before Tate slowly walks out of the store.
"He then fumbles for words, resorting to meaningless babble about being from Chicago," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Words seem to fail you when your felony attempt is thwarted by lawful and righteous force."
Tate was arrested on Sept. 15 in Santa Rose County, authorities said, adding "You’re not in Chicago anymore; you’re under arrest."