
'Polka King' Eddie Blazonczyk dies at 70
Grammy Award-winning polka great Eddie Blazonczyk, who began playing the lively music in the 1950s and went on to earn the nickname "Polka King" after ...

Chicago police get high marks for NATO protests
The sight of Chicago police raising billy clubs against demonstrators was the kind of image that has dogged the city's police force longer than most ...

Eugene Polley, inventor of TV remote, dies at 96
Couch potatoes everywhere can pause and thank Eugene Polley for hours of feet-up channel surfing. His invention, the first wireless TV remote, began ...
Ill. lawmakers vote to abolish tuition waiver perk
Illinois lawmakers have voted to end a much-criticized program that allowed each of them to hand out two four-year college tuition waivers per year.

Summit doubleheader short on surprises
A long weekend of economic and security summits was heavy on stagecraft and light on surprises. The Group of Eight gathering in Camp David, Md., and ...

Obama snubs Pakistan head over supply routes
In an unmistakable snub, President Barack Obama left Pakistan off a list of nations he thanked Monday for help getting war supplies into Afghanistan.

After NATO summit, questions about protest mindset
For activists, the NATO summit in Chicago served as one big stage from which to air a broad range of grievances — not just the war in Afghanistan or ...

Obama on Afghan: Leave on time, no 'perfect' end
President Barack Obama and leaders around the globe locked in place an Afghanistan exit path Monday that will still keep their troops fighting and ...
Court refuses to hear Ill. redistricting challenge
The Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to redistricting in Illinois despite complaints from the League of Women Voters of Illinois that the new ...

Protesters march through Chicago to NATO summit
Thousands of protesters marched through downtown Chicago on Sunday in one of the city's largest demonstrations in years, airing grievances about war, ...

NATO shifts to help an elusive Afghanistan peace
President Barack Obama and NATO allies declared Sunday that the end of the long and unpopular Afghanistan war is in sight even as they struggled to ...
Police: 45 arrested, 4 officers hurt in protests
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says the protests of the NATO Summit resulted in 45 people being arrested and four officers suffering ...
Hollande: NATO missile defense should worry no one
France's new president said Sunday that Russia and other countries should not feel threatened by the planned NATO missile defense system. Speaking at ...
Hollande sticks to Afghan pullout at NATO summit
France's new president says he's being "pragmatic" with his decision to pull French combat troops out of Afghanistan by the year's end.

2 more activists charged related to NATO summit
Prosecutors charged two more activists Sunday with crimes tied to the two-day NATO summit, accusing one of saying he wanted to blow up a downtown ...
Michelle Obama, NATO spouses visit youth center
First lady Michelle Obama and the spouses of NATO heads of state dropped by a Chicago youth center where they watched a hip-hop aerobics class for ...

Men accused of plotting attacks around NATO summit
Three activists who traveled to Chicago for a NATO summit were accused Saturday of manufacturing Molotov cocktails in a plot to attack President ...
GOP picks ballot candidate for US Rep Tim Johnson
Illinois Republican leaders have chosen a November ballot replacement for longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson after he abruptly announced his ...

Young illegal immigrants coming out of the shadows
She was tiny and trembling and looked so very vulnerable. Barely 15, having already experienced a lifetime of hardships since losing her mother at 5 ...

3 NATO protesters face terror conspiracy charges
Police say three protesters at the NATO summit in Chicago have been charged with terrorism conspiracy stemming from allegations that they planned to ...

Chicago protesters break away from nurses' rally
Hundreds of protesters broke away from a large rally and began marching through Chicago streets Friday, taunting police and shouting about everything ...

Cubs RHP Kerry Wood retires after 13-plus seasons
Kerry Wood arrived in the majors 14 years ago, a fresh-faced kid with No. 34 on his back, slinging fastballs at 100 mph, delivering breaking pitches ...

Emanuel: Chicago NATO summit is already paying off
Two days before Chicago hosts a summit of NATO leaders, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the wide-ranging security measures and months of preparations that ...

Obama stance adds fuel in marriage battlegrounds
President Barack Obama's support for gay marriage has emboldened activists and politicians on both sides of the issue, setting off a flurry of ...

Once an Obama coup, Indiana less a battleground
Barack Obama was the first Democrat in 44 years to win Indiana in the 2008 presidential race. A repeat coup seems doubtful this year. Even Democrats ...