Law Enforcement, Community Gathers at Police Memorial

Illinois police, Cook County police, Chicago police and local police departments including Park Ridge, Niles and Des Plaines, participated in a memorial service in Park Ridge on Monday.

Park Ridge residents and community groups gathered with elected officials and members of law enforcement to honor police killed in the line of duty on the steps of city hall on Monday. Members of the Illinois State Police Department, Cook County police, the Chicago Police Department and local police departments including Park Ridge, Niles and Des Plaines, participated in the ceremony, which was hosted by the Park Ridge Police Chaplains Association. Andrew Liaugminas, of Mary, Seat of Wisdom Catholic Church in Park Ridge, welcomed the crowd to the remembrance ceremony. “And in gratitude for the daily service and dedication that our police personnel give to our community,” Liaugminas said. Mayor Dave Schmidt read a proclamation acknowledging…

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Jac Charlier

11:26 am on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Thank you to our police officers who serve our communities across this nation both day and night, through thick and thin and come whatever may. Today especially, we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and hold their families in our prayers.   more ›

Niles Cops Sent Racially, Politically Charged Emails: Report

The Journal & Topics newspaper reports several Niles police officers sent the emails, sparking a Board of Ethics inquiry.

  Offensive emails sent by several Niles police officers are the center of a Niles Board of Ethics inquiry, the Journal & Topics reports. The newspaper confirms emails sent through village computers from 2009-2012 by Division Commander Dennis McEnerney, Chief Dean Strzelecki and Police Sergeant Thomas Fragassi were the subject of a complaint filed last year. One email sent by Strzelecki from his personal to his village of Niles email account showed anti-Obama bumper stickers with the following phrase: “Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing an idiot.” Violations of the Niles Code of Ethics were not breached, although police personnel have since been ordered to undergo sensitivity training, the newspaper reports. 

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J C

10:23 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Here dry your eyes with some of our tax money !   more ›

Update: Driver Critical After Three-Car Crash

The driver of a minivan demolished in a traffic crash Saturday remained in critical condition Tuesday. Updated with additional details about emergency response and extrication.

Niles Honors Police Volunteers

Members of the VIPS program assist police with tasks such as crowd control and directing traffic at events, freeing up police officers for more specialized tasks.

  In honor of National Volunteer Week April 21-27, the village of Niles honored the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) who volunteer with the Niles Police Department. Police call on VIPS members to help out with crowd control, directing traffic and similar duties. Sometimes their phones ring at all hours, as they did last week when some helped out during the flooding Niles experienced April 18. They also assist during planned events, such as the Niles Fourth of July parade or the December Our Lady of Guadalupe pilgrimage, during which thousands of religious worshippers walk up Milwaukee Avenue to a shrine in Des Plaines. If you are interested in learning about how to volunteer with VIPS, contact Sgt. Robert Tornabene at (847) 588-6505 or …

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Man Charged With Theft, Cannabis, Reckless Driving

An arrest is merely an accusation and not evidence of a conviction.

  Eric Biarnesen, 18, of Niles was charged with reckless driving, theft and possession of cannabis about 5:15 a.m. April 15 in the 8000 block of Ottawa. Niles police were helping another police department track a Kia four-door involved in a theft case, and they spotted it on Ottawa. They started following it and observed the driver, Biarnesen, throw items out the window. The items were later identified as a green leafy substance, suspect cannabis, and an electronic scale.  The driver drove for awhile, then threw out another item, later identified as a white Nintendo DS, with a serial number that indicated it was not stolen. As police got ready to stop the vehicle, it crashed into a white Cadillac, continued on, drove over a curb and …

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Son Hits Father's Face With Hammer

It happened after a dispute over whether the son would stay. An arrest is merely an accusation, not evidence of a conviction.

  #2013-07181 INCIDENT TYPE: Domestic Dispute DATE OF INCIDENT: 4/5/2013 at 0712 hrs to 4/5/2013 at 0712 hrs Location: 9200 block of Maryland (Apartment) SUMMARY: A 51-year-old Niles man told police he was asleep in his home April 5 just after 7 a.m. when his 30-year-old son, of Chicago, let himself in with his key, according to police reports. The father told the son to leave, and they began arguing. The son picked up a hammer and hit the father once, above the left eye, then fled, police said. Niles paramedics and police responded, and the father told them the son had taken the hammer with them. Police searched the area but did not find the son, according to the report. The father told police the son uses public transportation, is …

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Woman Charged With Theft: Paid For Only Some Items At Niles Store

And in another incident, a man attempted to walk out of a store wearing jeans and a belt under his own jeans and belt. An arrest is merely an accusation and not evidence of a conviction.

  Natasha Wood, 30, of Round Lake Park was charged with retail theft March 29 after an incident at a store in the 8500 block of Golf Road. A security agent said he saw her go to exchange some items while she had store bags in her shopping cart, according to the police report. She selected other merchandise from store displays and put it under the shopping bags in her cart, went to the self check-out and paid for some items, leaving the others concealed under the shopping bags, the report indicated. Then she left the store without paying for $174 worth of merchandise, police said. Her court date is April 28 in the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts. Man charged with theft; police say he stole pliers to remove clothing security devices …

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Police: Woman Says Man Slapped Her 5 Times

She said he got angry inside motel room, according to the report. In another incident, a family wrestled with an 18-year-old who knocked over furniture and screamed and cursed at her family and police.

  Police responded March 27 to a pharmacy parking lot in the 7100 block of Milwaukee Avenue for a call from a 20-year-old Rockford woman who was sitting in her car crying. She said she met a 29-year-old Evanston man two days ago and was hanging out with him and his brother in a room at the motel in the 7200 block of Waukegan Road.  The woman said the Evanston man started suddenly acting brutal and calling her foul names, then punched her five times on her face, pushed her down on the bed and slapped her, according to the report. Niles Fire Department paramedics offered treatment, but she refused it. Police said there were no signs of redness, bruising or swelling on the victim's face, and they arrived just minutes later.  The woman said …

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Niles Crime: DUI, Theft, Traffic Arrests

An arrest is merely an accusation and not evidence of a conviction.

  Rainie Nelson, 44, of Park Ridge was charged with retail theft March 26 at a store in the 6100 block of Touhy Avenue. Police said she concealed various items of clothing, with a total value of $226, and exited the store without paying. Her court date is April 25 in the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts.  Man charged with driving without a license Armando Bello-Hernandez, 32, of Chicago, was charged March 26 with driving without a valid driver's license after police stopped him in the 8400 block of Milwaukee for driving 50 mph in a 35 mile zone, according to the report. Police found he did not have a valid driver's license, they said. They cited him for speeding and being uninsured. His court date is April 15 in the Skokie branch of…

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