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Viviana Rossi initially denied helping steal a pricey exotic bird from a Naperville pet store. Then police searched her purse and found several feathers, along with bird seed, DuPage County prosecutors said Thursday.

Two men were charged with attempting to murder two Chicago Police officers Thursday, a day after the officers were shot while executing a search warrant on an alleged gang member in Englewood. Antonio Jones, 20, of the 7700 block of South Hoyne, and Demario Thomas, 21, of the 200 block of East Garfield, are each charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to police. They will appear for a bond hearing today. Both officers were treated and released at Advocate Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

A man doing maintenance work on the Washington Street bridge fell 30 feet into the structure's gear mechanisms after he slipped on a catwalk early Thursday.

Poring over crossword puzzles, reading and listening to tunes might slow or delay brain decline at first, but being mentally active might speed up dementia once it hits, Chicago researchers have found.

When Bridget Polaski stored naked pictures of herself on her cell phone, she never dreamed they would fall into the hands of cops.

Christopher Barbee was among a handful of reputed gang members summoned last month to a meeting with Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis and other local and federal law enforcement officials. "They said, 'Stop the violence or we'll lock you all up,' " Barbee said.

They were left with swollen, scarred hands, arms, legs and faces. They're just 8 and 5, but the Reyes sisters were burned so badly in a 2008 arson fire, they still cannot go into the sunlight. For 23 hours a day, they wear clear masks and special garments to help heal their tender skin. On Thursday, in an emotional hearing that left even the judge and court reporter dabbing their tears, the two little girls personally pleaded to put away the people who started a fire that nearly killed them. "Make them go to jail until they have no more birthdays," 5-year-old Alondra Reyes wrote on a victim-impact statement.

She survived cancer and was about to get a Make-A-Wish dream, but then she developed a second cancer that kept her out of class her entire junior year at Shepard High School in Palos Heights. But Kahla Harper worked hard with tutors and was able to keep up and graduate with honors. Now Harper, 18, of Calumet Park, finally is getting something really special from the Make-a-Wish Foundation -- not the trip she originally asked for, but a scholarship that will make it possible for her to go to college.

McHenry County Republican power broker Al Jourdan told a 911 dispatcher she could check his "qualifications" and "credentials" with the county's sheriff and undersheriff when he called to report his conversation with Metra Executive Director Philip Pagano on the morning Pagano killed himself, a copy of the recording indicates.

Chicago Public Schools students who show up for the first day of classes next Tuesday will find more than new classmates and teachers awaiting them.

The first week of the final season of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will include a selection for Oprah's Book Club.

Four males died after being shot Thursday night in a garage on the Southwest Side, officials said. Noel Casares, 25; Roberto Riviera, 30, and Alonzo Pena, no age available, were found dead about 8:30 p.m. in the 6100 block of South Kildare. Another victim, who had duct tape on his body, died at a local hospital. The shootings were drug-related, police said.

It's been a good year for frogs and toads in the Chicago area, experts say.

A Little Village woman seriously injured while participating as an extra in the movie "Transformers 3" remained hospitalized Thursday.

Grabbing a metal butter knife from a food tray, an Aurora man repeatedly stabbed an elderly woman sharing a room with his mother at Provena-Mercy Hospital in an apparently unprovoked attack, authorities said Thursday.

A man who broke into a Skokie home repeatedly apologized to the homeowner before taking several hundred dollars and jewelry from the woman, police said.

Gang members Thursday complained police had treated them unfairly in a meeting last month saying they would be held accountable for killings done by other gang members. But one gang member at both meetings said he's already started asking fellow members to stop the violence.

The stolen birds are safe and one woman has been charged in connection with the thefts of exotic pets -- worth more than $5,000 -- from three west suburban pet shops this week.

The half-sister of a man accused in a highly-publicized Bucktown baseball bat beating  is facing 50 years in prison after  orchestrating an arson in a jealous plot that permanently injured two children.

Police in west suburban Wheaton are investigating 31 motor vehicle burglaries reported over the last month.

A 17-year-old boy was approached by at least two offenders and fatally wounded in what police say was a gang-related slaying Thursday afternoon in the South Side Chatham neighborhood.

Using a dinner knife taken from a food tray, an Aurora man stabbed a 78-year-old woman sharing a room with his mother at Provena-Mercy Hospital in an apparently unprovoked attack, authorities said.

A man was shot and killed on the West Side in the East Garfield Park neighborhood late Wednesday.

Add another name to the list of key staffers to Gov. Quinn leaving state government under a cloud, even as the governor looks for ways to prop up his sagging poll numbers.

Chicago Fire Department personnel rescued a worker who slipped on a catwalk and fell about 30 feet into the gear mechanisms of a Loop bridge early Thursday.

Chicago renters would get relocation assistance and longer notice before their buildings are converted to condominiums under protections recommended by a mayoral panel.

Two assailants are being sought after a 15-year-old boy was shot in the foot and shin Wednesday in the Washington Heights neighborhood on the Far South Side.

Chicago is one of the easiest places in the country to get into a car accident, according to a report by Allstate Insurance.

You could call it Ford's version of the blue-light special, only this one has flashing red lights, too. On Wednesday, the automaker unveiled the new vehicle that the men and women of law enforcement will be riding in come 2012. The Police Interceptor, which will be built at Ford's Southeast Side factory, will be sold in sedan and sport-utility versions.

Mary Mitchell: At 10 a.m. today, a group of black men will gather in front of the Columbus Park Refectory on the West Side to denounce Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis' threats to crack down on gang leaders. These are not the usual suspects. They aren't ministers leading a march. Nor are they activists and politicians rallying constituents around a cause. They are men affiliated with some of the city's most notorious street gangs.