A string of assaults and sexual crimes committed by pastors across the country have one thing in common: The perpetrators have ties to the megachurch in Hammond, Indiana. Read more
Thanks to reporting by Rob Wildeboer, the county is set to reduce the high fees jail inmates are charged to make phone calls. It sounds very Chicago, but we're hardly alone: the FCC might tackle the cost of prison phone calls in coming months. Read more
Why is America so much more violent—in particular, so much more homicidal—than other developed countries? One vein of history and social science suggests that its roots are in the South, and the British borderland culture that it originated in. Read more
The most notorious gangland murder in the city's history kicked off an early round of gun control at the state and national level, leading to a messy but beloved Supreme Court decision. Read more
The murder of a 62-year-old immigrant in West Rogers Park is the latest victim attributed to a "game" of random street violence—one that's also cropped up in St. Louis and London. Read more
Do more coffee shops equal less crime? In Chicago, during a critical period in the city's violent history, the answer is yes: for homicides, at least. The results for robbery, however, are interestingly dependent on race. Read more
By Noah Isackson, additional research by Matt Schur
A recent spate of violent weekends, and fear that the body count could continue to rise as summer marches on, threaten to tarnish the resumé of this one-time rising star. Read more
A look at how CPS school performance, socioeconomic data—compiled by CPS to help determine selective-school placement—and 2012 homicides are distributed across the city. Read more
THE GANG THAT WOULDN'T DIE: This month three Chicago senior citizens are set to be sentenced for an audacious plot to rob a mob boss’s home. A story of thrill-seeking, revenge, and the decline of the Outfit Read more
