Briefs: Chicago police seize guns
Chicago police seize guns
Chicago police say they seized 45 weapons off the city's streets on New Year's eve. The weapons included a semiautomatic pistol, a .22 caliber rifle and a 12 gauge semiautomatic shotgun. Interim Superintendent Dana Starks says every gun removed from the streets is potentially a saved life. He says police prepared for the holiday by beefing up patrols. Starks says the gun removal is part of an ongoing effort to reduce crime in Chicago. The Chicago Police Department has said that authorities are focusing on guns, drugs and dismantling gangs to reduce crime. Last summer the Chicago police ran a voluntary gun turn-in program that removed more than 6,000 guns from the streets. The city's murder rate in 2007 was the lowest it has been in decades.
Activist to lead celebration
A well-known Chicago religious leader and civil rights activist will lead a two-day event in central Illinois celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. The Rev. Michael Pfleger has been the pastor at St. Sabina Church on Chicago's South Side for three decades. Event organizers in Bloomington said Pfleger believes community issues are part of his ministry. Pfleger is founder of a center for homeless people and an employment resource center. He's worked with civil rights leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson. In July, he helped organize a gun turn-in program that took more than 6,700 weapons off the streets. The two-day event will start on Jan. 18 with a dinner. A day of gospel music will follow.
Woman killed by CTA bus
A 59-year-old woman is dead after being struck by a Chicago Transit Authority bus near her home on the city's Northwest Side. Authorities identified the victim as Ludwika Szynalik, who was hit by the No. 152 Addison bus Monday. The Cook County medical examiner's office said Szynalik was pronounced dead hours later at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. The accident remains under investigation.
Man charged with assault
An Illinois man is facing sexual assault and other charges after being accused of flying to Connecticut to meet a 15-year-old girl. Police said 24-year-old Karl Uebel of Big Rock is due in court Feb. 6. He was arrested after police said they were alerted by someone who saw Uebel and the teen in a parked car at a library in Canton, Conn. Police said Uebel met the teenager on the Internet in May and flew to Connecticut last week. In a telephone interview Monday, his mother, Deborah, said the charges against her son were implausible because he wouldn't become involved with a minor. Big Rock is about 45 miles west of Chicago.