Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Crime

Hate crime suspect accused of looking up synagogue locations before shooting Jewish man The shooting Oct. 26 in the West Ridge neighborhood was a ‘planned attack’ according to prosecutors. Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi was captured after he was wounded in a shootout with police.

November 22, 2024   

(Chicago Sun-Times) A man now facing hate crime charges after shooting an Orthodox Jewish man and firing on police and paramedics last month had mapped the locations of several Chicago synagogues and Jewish schools in the days leading up to the attack […]

Government & Politics

Orland Park mayor rejects Gaza cease-fire resolution, suggests those opposing U.S. interests ‘go to another country’ The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Keith Pekau’s comments, calling them ‘ignorant and dangerous.’ Pekau said he valued the ‘respectful views of all my constituents.’

February 6, 2024   

(Chicago Sun-Times) The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Tuesday condemned Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau’s suggestion that those who disagree with America’s interests regarding the Israel-Hamas war can “go to another country.” The southwest suburban mayor made the remarks […]

Government & Politics

Muslim community leaders will meet in Chicago to push campaign against Biden as deaths mount in Israel-Hamas war Chicago’s #AbandonBiden event is scheduled to coincide with the annual Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America convention, expected to draw more than 30,000 to McCormick Place over the weekend.

December 29, 2023   

(Chicago Sun-Times) Muslim community leaders from across the country will rally in Chicago Saturday, calling for voters to drop their support for President Joe Biden because of his administration’s refusal to call for a cease-fire in Gaza as the civilian death toll […]

Alcohol & Drugs

Lombard man pleads guilty to trafficking fentanyl and providing support to ISIS Jason Brown, 41, has been in custody since his 2019 arrest. He was accused of shipping fentanyl from California to the suburbs and sending money to the Islamic State of Iraq.

December 6, 2023   

(Chicago Sun-Times) A suburban man pleaded guilty Wednesday to trafficking drugs and attempting to provide materials to the Islamic State of Iraq in 2019. Jason Brown, 41, was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, one count […]

Internet

Former DePaul University student gets 7.5 years for trying to help Islamic State with computer program Thomas Osadzinski’s prosecution was believed to be the first of its kind when it began three years ago — a terrorism case brought against a U.S.-based defendant involving computer code.

November 17, 2022   

(Chicago Sun-Times) An unusual terrorism case in Chicago came to a close Thursday when a federal judge handed a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence to a former DePaul University student who tried to aid the Islamic State with a computer script. Before he was […]

Internet

Former DePaul University student guilty of trying to help Islamic State through computer program Defense attorneys said the case ran up against fundamental questions about free speech, insisting that Thomas Osadzinski 'had a right to watch those videos. He had a right to share those videos.'

October 18, 2021   

(Chicago Sun-Times) A federal jury on Monday convicted a onetime student at DePaul University of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State in the form of a computer script that helped disseminate the terrorist group’s propaganda. Jurors at the Dirksen […]

Legal

Zion man gets more than 13 years in prison for conspiracy to support Islamic State, telling informant ‘I want to see blood flowing’ U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood called Edward Schimenti the 'more culpable' of the two men charged in the case, but she also described the crime as 'on the less serious end of a scale that starts at a very serious level.'

April 9, 2021   

(Chicago Sun-Times) A federal judge on Friday sentenced a Zion man to 13 and a half years in prison for taking part in a conspiracy to support the Islamic State, in part by collecting cellphones he thought could be used as detonators […]

Internet

Chicago man accused of helping preserve Islamic State propaganda on social media Thomas Osadzinski, a 20-year-old college student, has been charged in a criminal complaint with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization

November 19, 2019   

(Chicago Sun-Times) Thomas Osadzinski said he couldn’t just “sit in the chair while Muslims are dying,” so he allegedly studied bomb-making and promised he would not be stopped “once I get my gun and explosive belt.” But the 20-year-old Lake View resident […]

Government & Politics

Muslim civil rights group sues feds over delays in asylum applications CAIR-Chicago is asking a federal court to force immigration agents to rule on seven asylum applications that have been in the pipeline for years.

September 9, 2019   

(Chicago Sun-Times) The Chicago chapter of the country’s largest Muslim civil rights group is asking a federal court to force immigration agents to rule on asylum applications that have been in the pipeline for years. Asylum applicants have the right to live […]

Clothing

Lawsuit claims DMV rule about head coverings violates religious, civil liberties The lawsuit’s plaintiff said she felt pressured to sign the form last year at a driver’s license facility in Rockford, and now fears losing her license if she’s seen without a head covering.

August 26, 2019   

(Chicago Sun-Times) A civil rights group is suing Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White over a rule it claims violates people’s religious rights at driver’s license facilities across the state. The issue: Anyone wearing a religious head covering while taking a driver’s […]

Banks & Banking

Woman charged with robbing Rogers Park, Skokie banks in one day Willie M. Thomas demanded money from a Wintrust Bank in [Chicago] and a Byline Bank in [Skokie] Aug. 15, according to federal prosecutors.

August 23, 2019   

(Chicago Sun-Times) Federal charges have been filed against a woman in two bank robberies in north suburban Skokie and West Rogers Park earlier this month. Willie M. Thomas robbed both Aug. 15, stealing more than $8,000 in total, according to a criminal […]

Banks & Banking

Woman robs banks in Skokie, West Rogers Park on same day: FBI The same woman is suspected in an April 29 robbery at a Huntington Bank branch in Oak Lawn. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for tips that lead directly to her arrest.

August 16, 2019   

(Chicago Sun-Times) A woman robbed two banks Thursday in north suburban Skokie and West Rogers Park on the North Side. About 11:50 a.m., a woman with a gun robbed the Byline Bank at 8400 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, according to the FBI. […]

Law Enforcement

Two suburban men guilty of providing support to Islamic State It’s rare for a terrorism case to go to trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. And in the lead-up to this one, defense attorneys convinced the judge they should be allowed to present an entrapment defense to the jury.

June 20, 2019   

(Chicago Sun-Times) The FBI descended on their north suburban home in a raid two years ago that began with a “boom,” neighbors said. Then, the feds unveiled a 77-page criminal complaint in April 2017 that accused Joseph D. Jones and Edward Schimenti […]