Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Sun-Times Wire

Elevated lead levels found in drinking water of some Aurora and Elgin homes

2025-07-15T11:20:54.397-05:00

Elevated lead levels have been found in the drinking water of some homes in suburban Aurora.

Between January 2025 and June 2025, the city of Aurora’s Water Production Division collected 100 samples and analyzed them for lead with more than 10 percent of the samples collected exceeding the EPA’s action level for lead, the city of Aurora said in a press release Monday.

The city is continuing to test tap water of designated homes and buildings and ongoing lead service line removals throughout Aurora, the press release stated.

The city of Elgin also reported elevated levels of lead in drinking water of some homes and buildings.

The source of the lead is likely lead service lines leading from the city’s municipal water pipes to homes, the city of Elgin stated in a press release. No lead was found in Elgin's source or drinking water.

In the first half of 2025, 48 of 100 Elgin homes were found to have lead-in-water levels above 15 parts per billion, which is above the EPA's action level, the city said.

The results from the drinking water monitoring represent homes and buildings built or plumbed before 1988, which are most at risk for lead in water. Lead can enter the drinking water through the corrosion of plumbing materials.

Elgin is removing almost 1,000 lead service lines annually costing about $15,000 per household or business, according to the city. So far this year, 350 lead service lines have been removed.

In total, Elgin has more than 24,000 lead free lines with almost 8,900 lead lines remaining, according to the city’s website.

Elgin is also offering free testing and water filters to residents living in homes built in 1988 or earlier and partnering with local health departments to protect the public from exposure to lead through testing, education and outreach.

Exposure to lead in drinking water can put all age groups at risk of serious health issues. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span and adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney, or nervous system problems, the city said.

Impacted residents are encouraged to use their filter properly, use cold water, leave water running, have water tested and learn about construction in their area.

Woman fatally assaulted on Far South Side

2025-07-15T08:07:04.242-05:00

Police continue to question a person of interest after a woman was fatally assaulted Friday morning in Riverdale on the Far South Side.

No charges have been announced as detectives continue to interview a person of interest, according to a police spokesperson.

Shaniqua Kinnard, 30, was found unresponsive around 8:10 a.m. Friday inside a home in the 13000 block of South Martin Luther King Drive, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Kinnard was pronounced dead at 8:48 a.m., the medical examiner's office said. An autopsy determined she died from multiple injuries from an assault and her death was ruled a homicide.

SWAT concludes in Chatham after argument leads to suspected gunfire

2025-07-15T07:01:31.221-05:00

No one was found inside a home that was the scene of a SWAT situation which concluded after more than five hours Tuesday after an argument sparked apparent gunfire in Chatham.

A 77-year-old woman was arguing with a 45-year-old man around 1:05 a.m. inside a home in the 8100 block of South Prairie Park Place when she heard a "loud noise suspected to be gunfire," Chicago police said.

Responding officers requested SWAT units at the scene, police said.

The incident concluded after no one was found inside the home, officials said.

No injuries were reported, the fire department confirmed.

Teen, 16, shot, critically wounded in East Garfield Park

2025-07-15T06:57:25.879-05:00

A teen was shot in East Garfield Park Monday night, according to Chicago police.

The boy, 16, was outside in the 300 block of West Jackson Boulevard at 10:11 p.m. when he was shot multiple times in the legs, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

No one is in custody.

14-year-old boy shot in Greater Grand Crossing

2025-07-15T06:34:22.822-05:00

A 14-year-old boy is listed in good condition after someone shot him early Tuesday in Greater Grand Crossing on the South Side.

The boy was walking outside just after midnight in the 6400 block of South King Drive when he was struck in the groin by gunfire, Chicago police said.

He was taken to Comer Children's Hospital where he was in good condition, police said.

No one was in custody.

Woman hospitalized, teen arrested in Austin stabbing

2025-07-14T22:16:17.474-05:00

A woman was hospitalized and a teen arrested after a stabbing in Austin, Chicago police said.

Officers responded to a call in the 500 block of South Laramie Avenue at 8 p.m. Monday and found a woman, 31, inside a residence with stab wounds throughout her body, police said. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested at the scene, police said. Charges are pending.

Drinking water notice issued in Peoria after tests find high lead levels

2025-07-14T21:47:49.338-05:00

A drinking water notice was issued for Peoria on Monday after nearly 15% of water samples collected in the area had elevated levels of lead.

Fourteen of 103 water samples collected contained more than 15 parts per billion of lead, legally triggering the notification, though Illinois American Water Co. said the issue was not systemic. It did not release the locations of the samples that were collected, though it said no water with elevated levels of lead was coming from water treatment plants.

The company said it was conducting further testing — beyond the federally required testing that initially spotted the issue — and assessing its corrosion control methods.

“Please understand that these test results are specific to each of the individual sites tested,” the company wrote in a statement.

Lead is especially harmful to children with developing brains and can cause a number of serious health conditions in adults. Lead can damage the brain and nervous system, as well as cause slowed growth and developmental, behavioral and learning difficulties.

To help reduce lead exposure, those with lead pipes should run their faucet with cold water for five minutes if it has gone unused for more than six hours,

Filters rated to remove lead, labeled NSF/ANSI Standard 53, and particulates, labeled NSF/ANSI Standard 42, can help reduce exposure, according to the state health department. Boiling water does not remove lead. Residents can also get their water tested and clean their sink screens, among other preventive measures.

The notice comes days after the Illinois Department of Public Health added 180 ZIP codes across 47 counties, roughly 13% of the state, to the list on July 1. Every Chicago ZIP code appears on the list.

Some of the newly added ZIP codes are in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.

Illinois sending nearly 40 search-and-rescue volunteers to Texas flood zone

2025-07-14T20:13:47.892-05:00

Nearly 40 search-and-rescue workers from Illinois fire departments are headed to Texas to help efforts following the state’s devastating floods.

Illinois was one of 24 states offering assistance as 101 people remain missing and at least 132 people killed, state officials said.

It’s just the latest in the thousands of deployments of Illinois rescue workers in response to hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other disasters since the resource sharing agreement was passed in 1996.

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this devastating tragedy and hope we can be of service,” Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security Acting Director Theodore Berger said in a statement. “Just as many towns, cities, and counties in Illinois have agreements to assist each other in times of disaster, states have agreements to do the same.”

PAWS Chicago was also aiding in the rescue efforts on the pet end, taking in 22 dogs and puppies at Nebraska City Municipal Airport. Volunteers with the group were then driving the animals 500 miles to Chicago and were expected to arrive late Monday night. Another transport flight of pets is expected in Wednesday.

What to know about the flash floods in Texas that killed over 100 people

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue teams fully resumed operations Monday, said Obed Frometa, FEMA Blue Incident Support Team information officer. Some others held off or were ordered to stop because of worries about the weather forecast and the possibility of more flooding.

Levi Bizzell, a spokesperson for the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department, which has been organizing about 200 searchers, said the department suspended operations for the day Monday because several inches of rain were expected to fall on Kerr County by late afternoon.

“Everybody here wants to be out there working,” Bizzell said. “They literally come in in the morning whether they are tired or not, and they just want to get out there and work because they want to find closure for these families.”

Kerr County meanwhile advised all volunteers to leave the river area and move to higher ground, saying only those teams working under the direction of Kerr County Emergency Operations Center Unified Command were permitted in the response zone.

Contributing: AP

Chicago man charged with making false bomb threats, threatening a public official

2025-07-13T20:26:03.783-05:00

A Chicago man is facing charges after he allegedly threatened a public official through false bomb threats, Chicago police said.

Kenneth Weddington, 28, faces two felony charges of threatening a public official and disorderly conduct related to making false bomb threats, police said. The name of the official being threatened was not released.

Weddington was arrested July 11 in the 200 block of South Michigan Avenue, police said. He is expected in court Monday.

Motorcyclist, passenger hospitalized in Greater Grand Crossing hit-and-run

2025-07-13T20:07:24.505-05:00

A motorcyclist was hospitalized along with his passenger after a pickup truck hit them and fled in Greater Grand Crossing on Sunday evening, Chicago police said.

A blue Chevrolet pickup truck hit the two on the motorcycle in the 7100 block of South Michigan Avenue at 6:33 p.m., police said. The truck then fled the scene.

The driver of the motorcycle, a man whose age wasn’t known, and his passenger, a 19-year-old woman, were both taken to University of Chicago Medical Center, police said. He was listed in critical condition with a skull fracture, and she was listed in good condition with a fractured right arm.

No one is in custody.