Afternoon Briefing: Illinoisans flock to Indiana to buy fireworks
Mike Piechocinski walked the tightly packed, but organized, aisle of Krazy Kaplans Fireworks in Hammond with his 7-year-old daughter, Savannah, looking for smoke bombs.
The father and daughter duo drove in from Wheaton to shop for fireworks 'you can't get in Illinois,' Piechocinski said, like the kind with bigger smoke and louder sounds. It would be nice if Illinois sold fireworks, Piechocinski said, but he said he's used to shopping for fireworks out of state.
Krazy Kaplans is the first exit off of I-94 driving east from Illinois into Indiana, and it's across the street from two other fireworks stores — Rock the Sky Fireworks and Cheap Fireworks. Billboards touting the latest deals at Krazy Kaplans and other fireworks stores are common sights along Illinois expressways.
Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
A DuPage County judge denied a request from a former Downers Grove high school teacher to reduce the distance she must keep from the student she is accused of sexually abusing. Read more here.
More top news stories:
Mariano's announced it is closing its west Glenview location, which has a Northbrook address and is nestled in a shopping center surrounded by Northbrook. Read more here.
More top business stories:
Vaclav Nestrasil, 18, grew up idolizing Patrick Kane, but that's where the similarities end between the Hawks legend and the 6-foot-6, 185-pound forward prospect. Read more here.
More top sports stories:
The Goodman's production uses much the same group of talent from a 2019 Drury Lane staging and the newcomers are mostly Chicago-based and Chicago-raised talent. Read more here.
More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:
The Wisconsin Supreme Court's liberal majority struck down the state's 176-year-old abortion ban today, ruling 4-3 that it was superseded by newer state laws regulating the procedure, including statutes that criminalize abortions only after a fetus can survive outside the womb. Read more here.
More top stories from around the world:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Taxi driver carjacked, hit by own vehicle in downtown Chicago
A taxi driver was carjacked late Friday night in the Loop, and the suspect then ran him over before crashing the cab. Police said, just before midnight, a carjacker forcefully pulled a 36-year-old man out of his vehicle near Madison and Wabash. The carjacker then hit the victim with the taxi before crashing it. The carjacker also hit a 53-year-old woman in the face after crashing the vehicle, according to police. Officers found the suspect blocking the street on Wabash a short time later, and he began fighting with police and resisting arrest. The taxi driver was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition. The woman the carjacker hit suffered minor abrasions, and was taken to Northwestern for treatment. The carjacker was taken into custody, and charges were pending on Saturday afternoon.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
DOJ's $225M Seizure Puts Human Cost of Crypto Scams in Focus, Former Acting U.S. Attorney Says
The U.S. Department of Justice is sending a message with its recent effort to seize $225 million in crypto tied to pig butchering scams: these funds were stolen from victims. At least, that's the takeaway from Phil Selden, a member at Cole Schotz PC and former acting US Attorney for the District of Maryland. The DOJ moved to seize these funds last month through a forfeiture motion, although it has yet to publicly identify any individuals accused of stealing the funds. But that's the point, Selden said. "This is a tone-setting case," said Selden, who's now a member at law firm Cole Schotz PC. "We have victims on American streets, and the Department made clear they didn't want to wait for an arrest to actually ensure that the crypto was actually seized." This tone, Selden said, sets the direction for the Department of Justice under Matthew Galeotti, the new head of its criminal division. Selden describes Galeotti as an experienced, methodical prosecutor used to taking down New York's toughest organized crime rings. Galeotti, Selden said, understands how criminal networks move money, how they exploit weak regulatory frameworks, and most importantly, how they hurt everyday people 'This isn't just a tech story or a finance story," he continued. "It's a story about families losing their savings, and small towns losing their banks.' That small town bank was Heartland Tri-State Bank, a Kansas-based agricultural lender that became illiquid and collapsed in 2023 after its CEO, Shan Hanes, embezzled nearly $50 million and moved the funds to crypto wallets at the direction of pig butchering scammers. Hanes was also the largest victim in the DOJ's complaint. 'In Hong Kong or Shanghai or New York or San Francisco, there's a financial institution on every corner. In Kansas, there's not,' Selden said. "If you don't have a good bank, it's hard to build or maintain a business, it's hard to get capital for that tractor or that crop cycle.' Selden anticipates that criminal charges are on the horizon, but he thinks the DOJ didn't want to wait for an arrest to ensure the crypto was seized and could be returned to its owners. Extradition of overseas suspects is one possible path, he explained, though it's a slow and complicated process that relies on mutual legal assistance treaties. Another strategy could involve luring suspects into U.S. jurisdictions where arrests are easier to carry out, such as Guam or other American territories. Even without arrests, extraditions, and high-profile trials, Selden believes the case has already done its job. It sends a message to victims that their losses are being taken seriously. 'Crypto crime isn't abstract; it isn't offshore,' Selden said. 'It's impacting real people, real communities, and the Department of Justice wants Americans to know it has their backs.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Democratic lawmakers denied entry to ‘Alligator Alcatraz' immigration jail
A group of Florida lawmakers were denied entry on Thursday into the new Florida-based immigration jail dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' one day after the first immigrant detainees began to arrive. Five Democratic lawmakers attempted to enter the facility, which was previously toured on Tuesday by White House officials, but were stopped by law enforcement officers from local agencies, according to the state representative Anna Eskamani in an interview with CNN. 'This is a blatant abuse of power and an attempt to conceal human rights violations from the public eye,' the five said in a joint statement. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the first detentions at the facility began on Wednesday, but did not respond to questions regarding the number of people detained so far. The controversial Everglades jail was quickly set up in a partnership between the federal and Florida state governments. Sitting approximately 50 miles (80km) west of Miami, the remote facility is managed by the state but in large part funded the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). 'It might be as good as the real Alcatraz. A little controversial, but I couldn't care less,' Trump said on Tuesday after touring the site. During the tour, Trump joked about immigrants being pursued by snakes and alligators if they attempted to escape. Since Trump took office, Florida has been assisting the administration's goals in rounding up a large number of immigrants to be detained and deported. Through a program called 287(g), local law enforcement agencies partner with DHS and become deputized to carry out immigration enforcement operations. According to the state government, Florida has more 287(g) deputizations than any other state in the US, which has allowed it to engage in widespread operations targeting immigrant communities. Related: Trump celebrates harsh conditions for detainees on visit to 'Alligator Alcatraz' Immigrants arrested by Florida law enforcement under the arrangement will be detained at the facility, DHS said. 'You'll have a lot of people that will deport on their own because they don't want to end up in an Alligator Alcatraz, or some of these other places,' Florida governor Ron DeSantis said after touring the facility with Trump. 'This is a model, but we need other states to step up.' Being undocumented in the US is not a crime; rather, it is a civil offense. Data analysis by the Guardian shows that there has been a dramatic nationwide increase in the arrest of undocumented immigrants with no criminal record. The White House has pressured immigration officials to arrest 3,000 people per day, with the reported goal of reaching one million a year. Two non-profit groups have sued DHS, claiming the site's buildup is violating environmental policies. DHS said it expects the facility to expand quickly to 5,000 beds.
