Don Babwin, Author at Valley News

Florida alligator expert Frank Robb holds an alligator during a news conference, Tuesday, July 16, 2019, in Chicago. Robb captured the elusive alligator in a public lagoon at Humboldt Park early Tuesday. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky)

Florida expert captures elusive alligator at Chicago lagoon

by Don Babwin Associated PressJuly 16, 2019

CHICAGO — The alligator had a good run as day after day the people hunting for him in a Chicago lagoon came up empty, but in the end he was no match for an expert the city shipped in from Florida.The male gator, nicknamed ‘Chance the Snapper,’ was…

FILE - In this March 26, 2019, file photo, actor Jussie Smollett smiles and waves to supporters before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped in Chicago. A judge has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the decision by Cook County prosecutors do dismiss all charges against Smollett. On Friday, June 21, 2019, Cook County Judge Michael Toomin suggested Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx mishandled the case by recusing herself and then ordering a top assistant to handle the case. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)

Judge orders review of Smollett case

by Don Babwin Associated PressJune 21, 2019

A slab of concrete sits in the backyard of the house where Timmothy Pitzen used to live in Aurora, Ill., Thursday, April, 4, 2019. The man who lives in the house now, Pedro Melendez, says he didn't know the boy but saved the concrete slab with Tim's name, handprint and footprint etched in it when he redid the back patio. Authorities conducted DNA testing to try to determine Thursday whether a teenager found wandering the streets of a Kentucky town is who he claims to be — an Illinois boy who disappeared eight years ago around the time his mother took her own life. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger)

FBI rejects young man’s claim to be long-missing boy

by Dan Sewell Associated Press, and Don Babwin Associated PressApril 4, 2019

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail following his release, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Chicago. Smollett was charged with disorderly conduct and filling a false police report when he said he was attacked in downtown Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck, a police said. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Prosecutor: Actor orchestrated fake attack

by Don Babwin Associated PressFebruary 21, 2019

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2017 file photo, Jussie Smollett participates in the "Empire" panel during the FOX Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. Chicago's top prosecutor has recused herself from the investigation into the attack reported by Smollett. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx offered few specifics when announcing she was stepping back Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

Police suspect actor of lying about attack

by Don Babwin Associated PressFebruary 20, 2019

Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman speaks at a news conference Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, in Aurora, Ill., about the shootings at a manufacturing company in the city. Several people were killed and several police officers injured, police say, before the gunman, an employee of the company, was fatally shot. (Patrick Kunzer/Daily Herald via AP)

Police: Aurora gunman was to be fired

by Don Babwin Associated Press, and Caryn Rousseau Associated PressFebruary 16, 2019

FILE - In this May 20, 2016 file photo, actor and singer Jussie Smollett attends the "Empire" FYC Event in Los Angeles. Chicago police say they're interviewing two "persons of interest" who surveillance photos show were in the downtown area where Smollett says he was attacked last month. A police spokesman said Thursday the two men aren't considered suspects but may have been in the area at the time Smollett says he was attacked. Smollett says two masked men shouted racial and homophobic slurs before beating him and putting a rope around his neck on Jan. 29. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Chicago police arrest 2 black suspects in attack on ‘Empire’ actor

by Don Babwin Associated PressFebruary 15, 2019

Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke attends his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Chicago, for the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)

Cop Who Killed Teen Gets 7 Years

by Don Babwin Associated Press, and Michael Tarm Associated PressJanuary 18, 2019

This photo shows a memorial for Jemel Roberson on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, outside the Midlothian Police Department in Midlothian, Ill. A suburban Chicago alderman called Tuesday for prosecutors to investigate the fatal shooting of black security guard Roberson by a white police officer outside the bar where the guard worked. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Death of Black Security Guard Prompts Call for Investigation

by Don Babwin Associated PressNovember 13, 2018

Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, left, is taken into custody after jurors found him guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated battery in the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald, Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)

Chicago Officer Guilty of Murder

by Don Babwin Associated Press, and Michael Tarm Associated PressOctober 5, 2018