Don Babwin, Author at Daily Hampshire Gazette

Two women visit a memorial to those killed and wounded in Monday's Fourth of July mass shooting, Wednesday, July 6, 2022, at a veterans memorial in Highland Park, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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Police: Parade massacre suspect mulled 2nd shooting

by Michael Tarm Associated Press, Kathleen Foody Associated Press, and Don Babwin Associated PressJuly 6, 2022

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — The man charged with killing seven people at an Independence Day parade confessed to police that he unleashed a hail of bullets from a rooftop in suburban Chicago and then fled to the Madison, Wisconsin, area, where he…

Actor Jussie Smollett, right, departs the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, with his mother, Janet, after Cook County Judge James Linn gave the case to the jury in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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Actor Smollett convicted of staging attack, lying to police

by Don Babwin Associated Press, and Sara Burnett Associated PressDecember 9, 2021

Yogi Dalal hugs his daughter Jigisha as his other daughter, Kajal, left, bows her head at the family food and liquor store Monday, after the family business was vandalized in Chicago.

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Looters descend on Chicago

by Don Babwin Associated PressAugust 10, 2020

FILE - In this March 14, 2019, file photo, Empire actor Jussie Smollett arrives at the Leighton Criminal Court Building for his hearing in Chicago. Smollett faces new charges for reporting an attack that Chicago authorities contend was staged to garner publicity, according to media reports Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. The charges include disorderly conduct counts, according to the reports that cite unidentified sources. (AP Photo/Matt Marton, File)

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Actor Jussie Smollett faces 6 new charges in Chicago

by Don Babwin Associated Press, and Herb McCann Associated PressFebruary 11, 2020

In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey and vice-president Stacy Davis Gates share a hug after speaking to the media following a CTU House of Delegates meeting at the Chicago Teachers Union Center in Chicago. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via AP)

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Chicago teachers strike ends after 11 days without school

by Kathleen Foody Associated Press, and Don Babwin Associated PressOctober 31, 2019

Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during a news conference at Chicago City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019. Lightfoot said classes would be canceled Thursday after determining that she can't accept the Chicago Teachers Union's demands, which she says would cost the city $2.5 billion it can't afford. Talks are expected to continue Wednesday. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune via AP)

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Chicago teachers announce strike in nation’s 3rd largest district

by Kathleen Foody Associated Press, and Don Babwin Associated PressOctober 16, 2019

FILE - In this June 6, 2019, file photo, singer R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to 11 additional sex-related felonies during a court hearing before Judge Lawrence Flood at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. Kelly, who was arrested in Chicago on July 11, 2019 on a federal grand jury indictment listing 13 counts including sex crimes and obstruction of justice, was ordered held without bond on Tuesday, July 16. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)

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No bail for R. Kelly

by Don Babwin Associated PressJuly 16, 2019

Photo via Chicago Police

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Pregnant woman slain, baby cut from womb

by Caryn Rousseau Associated Press, and Don Babwin Associated PressMay 16, 2019

A slab of concrete sits in the backyard of the house where Timmothy Pitzen used to live in Aurora, Ill., Thursday.

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FBI rejects young man’s claim to be long-missing boy

by Dan Sewell Associated Press, and Don Babwin Associated PressApril 5, 2019

R. Kelly walks out of Cook County Jail with his defense attorney, Steve Greenberg, after posting $100,000 bail, Monday afternoon, Feb. 25, 2019, in Chicago. The R&B star walked out of a Chicago jail Monday after posting $100,000 bail that will allow him to go free while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually abused four people dating back to 1998, including three underage girls. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

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R. Kelly leaves jail after posting $100,000 bail

by Don Babwin Associated Press, and Michael Tarm Associated PressFebruary 25, 2019