100 DEVICES STOLEN FROM AT& T STORE
Two men have been charged with stealing more than 100 devices during a holdup of a north suburban AT& T store Wednesday morning.
Antuan J. Blackman, 34, faces felony counts of armed robbery and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon; and Mark D. Easley, 32, faces one felony count of armed robbery, according to the Lake County sheriff ’s office.
About 10: 30 a. m., Blackman and Easley, both wearing ski masks, entered the AT& T store at 21690 W. Long Grove Rd. in Deer Park, according to the sheriff ’s office. Blackman was armed with a firearm.
The employees were forced to place more than 100 cellphones and tablets into bags, according to the sheriff ’s office. The men drove off, but witnesses were able to describe the getaway vehicle.
A short time later, Illinois State Police troopers and Cook County sheriff ’s police located the vehicle near I- 290 and Higgins Road in Schaumburg, according to the sheriff ’s office. The suspects ran from the vehicle and were taken into custody.
All of the stolen devices and the firearm used in the robbery were recovered.
Blackman, of Chicago’s West Side, and Easley, of south suburban Glenwood, were in the Lake County Jail on $ 500,000 bonds, according to the sheriff ’s office. Jordan Owen
Police investigating arson at Montclare restaurant
Police are investigating an arson at a seafood restaurant early Thursday in the Montclare neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
Shortly before 2: 45 a. m., someone made entry through the front glass door of the seafood restaurant in the 6500 block of West Fullerton and started a fire by an office area, according to Chicago Police. The blaze was extinguished within 20 minutes, Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Walter Schroeder said. No injuries were reported. Ashlee Rezin
$ 5.9M settlement for widow of worker fatally struck by truck in 2011
The widow of an electrician who was struck and killed by a truck while working in a construction zone in west suburban Elmhurst in 2011 will receive a $ 5.9 million settlement.
Daniel Green, 38, was struck by a semi truck while working in an IDOT construction zone on Sept. 12, 2011, according to Green’s widow’s attorneys, Cavanagh Law Group.
That morning, Green was four feet from the road when the truck made a sharp right turn from York Road onto Lake Street and struck him, according to the lawsuit, which alleged that safety barricades and drums required by contracts and project conditions were not properly placed. A trial was set to begin Oct. 10, but the $ 5.9 million settlement was approved Oct. 5 by Cook County Circuit Court Judge William Gomolinski. Jordan Owen
Union: Inmate attacks up 51% since 2015
SPRINGFIELD — The union representing corrections officers said inmate attacks on state employees have increased 51 percent since 2015.
Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 said Thursday that assaults increased from 541 in the 2015 calendar year to a projected 819.
AFSCME says the Illinois Department of Corrections is reclassifying violent inmates to lower security levels to save money.
Gladyse Taylor, assistant director of corrections, said inmates are only transferred to lower- level security prisons when their progress and behavior warrants.