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A man wanted in connection with a series of sexual assaults on the Southwest Side turned himself over to detectives this evening, police said.

Chauvet Stiggers, who was the subject of an arrest warrant, walked into the Wentworth Area police station accompanied by his lawyer, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli.

Stiggers, 23,  was named a suspect in the warrant in connection with sexual attacks that took place between March 4 and Sunday in the area between Maplewood Avenue and Pulaski Road, between 79th Street and 83rd Street, police said.

Police had said that Stiggers used the aliases of Rashaun Little, Andre Harris and DeAndre Harris, and was believed to be driving a green 1996 Chrysler Town & Country van with Il...

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis, under pressure from the Latino community over the department's diversity efforts, announced today that a Hispanic police district commander was returning just two weeks after he retired rather than be demoted.

Former Grand Central District Cmdr. Robert Lopez, a 31-year veteran with the department, will serve as the commander of the cold-case squad, Weis said.

The about-face came after Latino church leaders, upset at Lopez's sudden departure and the few Hispanics in top command posts, called for Weis' resignation.

Last week, Lopez told the Tribune that he had been demoted from district commander to lieutenant, but he said he decided to resign instead.

As the controversy broke last week, Weis announced four promotions late at night to top spots -- all Hispanic. But the department said the timing had nothing to do with the community outrage.

On Wednesday, as about a dozen Latino and black politicians and clerg...

Acknowledging that teenagers in correctional facilities suffer from trauma and mental health issues and that the state has fallen short in helping them, Illinois officials announced Wednesday that the Department of Juvenile Justice will be folded into the Department of Children and Family Services.

For more than three decades, the Illinois Department of Corrections had been responsible both for the state's adult convicts and for juveniles serving time. In 2006, Illinois created a new Department of Juvenile Justice.

Kurt Friedenauer, the juvenile agency's director, acknowledged earlier this year that staffing and funding troubles contributed to a decline in the quality of education at the prisons, putting the roughly 1,100 youths in custody at a disadvantage once they are released.

Toni Irving, a deputy chief of staff in Gov. Pat Quinn's office, said Wednesday that the merger of the agencies is expected to save money, bring new expertise in winning federal grants...

Overcoming their fear of deportation, a group of college-age immigrants publicly admitted their undocumented status at a rally at the Federal Building on Wednesday in hopes of putting a face on the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

Members of the newly formed Immigrant Youth Justice League spoke of missing out on typical high school experiences and not being able to apply for drivers' licenses and jobs. They urged people to phone or send texts to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) to urge him to use his leadership to pass immigration reform.

The emotional speeches followed a peaceful march of about 1,000 Chicagoans between Union Park and the Federal Plaza as pa...

Proposed state legislation to bring the now-independent DuPage Water Commission under the direct control of DuPage County government was written by an unlikely source: one of the Lake Michigan water agency's own 13 commissioners.

State Sen. Dan Cronin, R-Elmhurst, the Republican candidate for DuPage County Board chairman in November, said Water Commissioner and County Board member Jim Zay wrote legislation proposing changing control of the commission. Cronin and Rep. Randy Ramey, R-Carol Stream, each have introduced bills to convert the commission into a county department overseen by a Water Operations Committee composed jointly of municipal appointees and County Board members.

Zay initially denied knowledge of any possible legislation to abolish the commission. But on Wednesday he acknowledged that Cronin and Ramey "had asked me to prepare some ideas" for the legislation. And in an e-mail obtained by the Tribune dated Feb. 11, Zay had written, "The county has been awar...

Chicago police said there ended up being nothing suspicious found in a suitcase that caused disruptions on the CTA Red and Purple lines during the evening commute.

Chicago Police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said the Chicago police Bomb and Arson Section officers exploded a suitcase found on the street near Granville and Broadway at about 7:40 p.m. The suitcase did not have anything hazardous in it, said Mirabelli.

Because the suitcase was near the tracks, all train service had been suspended in the area, causing delays throughout the system.

As of 7:47 p.m., trains on the Red Line were still bypassing the Granville station, but other service had resumed. Some delays were still expected as equipment was getting back into position, according to the CTA Web site.

Officials from the Chicago police Bomb and Arson Section had received a call about the suspicious suitcase at 4:49 p.m. today, police said.

CTA spokeswoman Sheila Gregory...

Legislators shot down a proposal today that called for abolishing a regional education office drowning in debt and allegations of corruption and patronage.

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, sponsored a bill to eliminate the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education led by embattled schools chief Charles Flowers.

The House bill provided that the county's three intermediate service centers would take over the regional office's responsibilities, which include processing teacher certifications and carrying out safety inspections for more than 140 Cook County school districts.

The measure didn't make it out of the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on Wednesday.

Nekritz, who said she was disappointed by the vote, will continue moving forward on the effort.

"While Dr. Flowers was the impetus for it, the goal is to get the services delivered efficiently," she said. "It's not about punishing Dr. Flowers. There are other avenues for...

Republican Senate nominee Mark Kirk and his now ex-wife made more than $232,000 in 2008 -- the most since he became a congressman, according to ten years worth of tax returns his campaign made available today.

Read more in Clout Street on chicagotribune.com.