Posted on December 26, 2012 in Chicago News

The fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha was having a party on November 1^st called “Parents Night”.  It was an unauthorized party both by the standards set by Northern Illinois University and the national chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha.  It was termed “Parents Night” because senior members of the fraternity “parent” new pledges.  Pledges move from room to room answer trivia questions and drink copious amounts of alcohol.

On the morning of November 2^nd, the body of a 19-year-old boy from Palatine was found dead in a bed.  David Bogenberger’s death was ruled accidental at that time.  Further investigation into his cause of death showed that alcohol played a massive role in his death.  His blood-alcohol level was around 5 times the legal limit for driving of .08.  The excessive drinking caused his heart to suffer a cardiac arrhythmia and stop.

As of December 7^th, Pi Kappa Alpha has lost its status as a student organization and more sanctions are pending.  NIU has also found that 31 members of the fraternity have violated the Student Code of Conduct.  The punishments for this kind of infraction range from a reprimand to expulsion from the University.

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 Posted on December 05, 2012 in Chicago News

Heroin seems to be making a comeback on Chicago’s North Shore, according to the Chicago Tribune, and it’s being used by people younger than ever before. According to the Tribune, Meghan Murrin, 21, is a high school senior at New Trier High School, and died for a few minutes—but was luckily revived with adrenaline—after a heroin overdose. Several north suburban police departments are dealing with an increasing number of stories like Murrin’s: “more arrests, more overdoses, more deaths.”

Wilmette Police Chief Brian King told the Tribune that “it’s currently more available than it probably has been in a couple decades. You can get a bag $10.” King said that he plans to launch a public information campaign, and numbers show “an uptick in the drug’s popularity.” There were two recent incidents in which people were arrested for likely buying the drug in Chicago and attempting to inject it in parking lots off the Eden Expressway. Recent arrests include two Glenview women in their early 20s, and a 32-year-old Skokie man who was found overdosing outside of his vehicle in the Edens Plaza parking lot.

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 Posted on November 30, 2012 in Chicago News

Andre V. Scott, 31, of Carbondale, was arraigned in federal court in Benton, according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. Scott “was charged by indictment on November 6, 2012, with Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.” He was then held without bond and is awaiting a January 2012 jury trial. An offense such as Scott’s carries a penalty of up to “10 years’ imprisonment, 3 years’ supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 upon conviction.” The investigation was conducted by the Carbondale Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Chicago has long had a pretty severe firearm ordinance, but in June of this year it took a heavy blow when “a federal judge ruled that the section banning permits for people convicted of unlawful use of a weapon is vague and unconstitutional,” according to the Chicago Tribune. This ruling offers some hope for Scott and those accused like him, because it means that a conversation deciding whether or not a person convicted of even a misdemeanor offense can own a firearm is already well within the public psyche.

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