Illinois

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — A gunman opened fire inside an Illinois bowling alley, killing three people and injuring three others Saturday night in what authorities believe was a random attack.

A 37-year-old male suspect was in custody after the shooting at Don Carter Lanes, Rockford police said in a social media post.

Two of those who were shot were teenagers, police Chief Dan O’Shea said during a news conference.

CHICAGO (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a substantial and somewhat divisive figure in Democratic Party politics, to serve as his transportation secretary.

Biden’s selection of his nominee to lead the Transportation Department is not believed to be imminent and Emanuel is among multiple candidates in the running for the Cabinet position, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.

LASALLE, Ill. (AP) — State officials have launched investigations into a coronavirus outbreak at a veterans nursing home in Illinois that has infected nearly 200 residents and staff members, and killed 27 veterans.

News outlets reported Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office and the state’s Department of Veteran’s Affairs are attempting to determine what caused the outbreak at the state-run LaSalle Veterans’ Home. The department on Tuesday requested an independent probe into the facility, which was the focus of a state Senate committee virtual hearing on the outbreak.

(Reuters) - Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans said Friday he was disappointed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s decision Thursday to end several of the Fed’s key pandemic lending programs on Dec. 31.

“I think that backstop role my be quite important for quite some time so it’s disappointing,” Evans said in an interview on CNBC.

CHICAGO, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Economists at University of Michigan (UM) are expecting a rebound in economic activity, falling unemployment and life returning to "close-to-normal" by the end of next year in the United States.

In their annual U.S. Economic Outlook released on Thursday, UM economists forecast the real gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States will rise by 4.2 percent in 2021, against an anticipated 3.6-percent drop in 2020, and real GDP may return to pre-pandemic levels in the second half of 2021.

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker self-isolated Friday and was awaiting test results after learning that he may have been exposed to the coronavirus at a meeting earlier this week, the third time during the pandemic that the Democratic governor has taken the step.

Pritzker’s press team disclosed that the governor was self-isolating about an hour after he announced that he might have to impose more safety restrictions if the state’s coronavirus cases continue to escalate. Illinois has seen more than 20,000 new cases in the past two days.

ANTIOCH, Illinois (AP) — A visibly upset 17-year-old accused of fatally shooting two demonstrators in Wisconsin told officers at his local police station in Illinois where to find an assault rifle he said he had used just two hours earlier to shoot several people, according to police records.

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — A 17-year-old from Illinois accused of killing two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has been extradited to stand trial on homicide charges, with sheriff’s deputies in Illinois handing him over to their counterparts in Wisconsin shortly after a judge on Friday approved the contested extradition.

In his afternoon ruling that rejected Kyle Rittenhouse’s bid to remain in Illinois, Judge Paul Novak noted that defense attorneys had characterized the Wisconsin charges as politically motivated.

CHICAGO (AP) — Long before Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced her as his running mate, Kamala Harris was the target of widespread online misinformation.

Social media posts included racist claims that she was ineligible to serve in the White House or that she was lying about her Black and Indian heritage. Her mother is from India and her father from Jamaica.

CHICAGO (AP) — A 17-year-old accused of killing two protesters days after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is due back in court Friday as his attorneys fight efforts to send him to Wisconsin to stand trial on homicide charges.

No immediate decision is expected during Kyle Rittenhouse’s scheduled hearing in Lake County, Illinois. At Rittenhouse’s last court hearing in late September, Judge Paul Novak gave his attorneys two weeks to prepare filings and said he would then schedule a hearing on the issue.