SOPHIA TAREEN

Associated Press
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Judges uphold Democratic-drawn congressional map

A panel of federal judges has upheld a new congressional map drawn by Illinois Democrats, but still referred to it as a "blatant political move to increase the number of Democratic congressional seats."

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DNA test shows construction worker was Gacy victim

After her older brother disappeared in 1976, Laura O'Leary suspected that the 19-year-old construction worker had probably died at the hands of John Wayne Gacy. But the family was never able to prove it.

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Sheriff: DNA identifies John Wayne Gacy victim

More than 30 years after finding bones beneath John Wayne Gacy's house, authorities have identified a 19-year-old Chicago construction worker who disappeared in 1976 as one of Gacy's eight unnamed victims.

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Catholic Charities ends Ill. civil unions dispute

Catholic Charities announced Monday that it was ending its legal battle over Illinois' civil unions law and no longer is providing state-funded services.

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Convictions vacated against 3 in 1991 Ill. slaying

After spending almost two decades in jail for a rape and murder he didn't commit, Robert Taylor walked out of an Illinois prison a free man Thursday with just one word to describe the feeling: Beautiful.

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Filmmaker promotes festival in tough Chicago 'hood

Striding quickly through the streets he learned as a boy, Mark Harris handed out fliers hoping to entice people to spend a weekend in Chicago's most violent neighborhood, where barred windows are the norm and even residents keep watchful eyes on their parked cars.

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Illinois launches Asian carp anti-hunger program

Asian carp may be a plankton-gobbling nuisance threatening the Great Lakes, but Illinois officials on Thursday expressed hope in changing that perception one bite at a time.

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APNewsBreak: Chicago to publish crime stats online

Long a city with a reputation for withholding information, Chicago now wants to make public every crime over the past 10 years — a highly unusual move among the nation's major police departments.

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Soul food disappearing in Chicago as blacks leave

Duct tape covers a large crack in the premier booth at Hard Time Josephine's Cooking, where waitresses call you "sweetie" and customers come for the steaming shrimp bisque and homemade peach cobbler that leaves a hint of cinnamon on the tongue.

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Elaborate outdoor concerts amp up safety concerns

When thunderstorms slammed New York's Central Park before this summer's highly anticipated Black Eyed Peas concert, officials made the rare decision to call off the event. Tens of thousands of fans were livid, but safety experts praise the decision for bucking the industry's aversion to such last-minute cancellations.

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Pioneering gay Pakistani Muslim poet dies at 64

Men and women in conservative dress sat quietly before the start of a what promised to be a typical Pakistani Muslim community gathering, until Ifti Nasim — the gay Pakistani Muslim poet, activist and Chicago radio show host — strode in wearing leather pants, a leather overcoat and pimp hat with feather.

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DOJ: Al-Qaida member loses $20M in investments

Poor financial decisions with a Chicago futures brokerage firm lost an alleged al-Qaida operative with links to Osama bin Laden some $20 million dollars in just eight months, according to a lawsuit filed recently in Chicago by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Jury may have doubted key Mumbai attacks witness

Five days of testimony from the government's star witness in the trial of a Chicago businessman accused in the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks provided a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a Pakistani militant group and its suspected ties to the country's main intelligence agency.

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Mumbai terror trial defense done after 2 witnesses

Testimony in the trial of a Chicago businessman accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks wrapped up swiftly Monday as defense attorneys called only two witnesses before resting their case.

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Headley is a rare breed among admitted terrorists

In 2000, David Coleman Headley called a phone number he saw on a recruiting poster in a mosque in Pakistan, and in doing so launched a nearly decade-long career as a terrorist.

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Jury selected in Mumbai terror case

The 12 jurors selected Wednesday in the federal trial of a Chicago businessman accused of helping plan the deadly 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks are mostly minorities and mainly women.

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Hispanic growth key to suburban Chicago changes

When Fernando Molina left central Mexico to move to Illinois, he was searching for affordable housing, job opportunities and established Hispanic neighborhoods with grocery stores, bakeries and clothing shops.

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Authorities close case on Ill. and Ind. shootings

Investigators officially closed the books Tuesday on shootings last year in rural Illinois and Indiana after DNA evidence helped show a man killed in a suburban Chicago robbery attempt months later was the shooter.

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Farrakhan: Libya's Gadhafi remains a friend

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan said Sunday that he considers Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi a friend and won't distance himself from him despite the deadly crackdown on protestors in the turbulent North Africa country.

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Nation of Islam convention to include talk of UFOs

The Nation of Islam, long known for its promotion of black nationalism and self-reliance, now is calling attention to another core belief that perhaps isn't so well-known: the existence of UFOs.

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Rapper Rhymefest in Chicago city council runoff

Grammy-award winning rapper Che "Rhymefest" Smith has made it into a runoff race for a Chicago City Council seat.

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Chicago officials defend cameras after ACLU report

Chicago emergency management officials defended the city's expansive network of cameras following a scathing report from a leading civil rights group that raised concerns about the loss of privacy, a lack of regulation and fears the technology could violate the First Amendment.

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China's Hu meets business leaders, visits school

Chicago's mayor courted Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday during a whirlwind visit that included a tour of a local high school and stop at a business expo in an effort to boost economic ties between the world's second-largest economy and companies in Chicago and elsewhere in the Midwest.

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Chinese president praises Chicago's Mayor Daley

Chinese President Hu Jintao is praising Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's decades in office, calling him America's "most senior ranking" mayor.

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Chinese president lauds Chicago during first visit

Mayor Richard Daley's long effort to build ties with the world's second-largest economy seemed to pay off Thursday as Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived for his first visit to Chicago, his only stop outside Washington during this trip.

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