2 found dead in Sycamore:
Officials in northern Illinois say an 85-year-old woman and her son were found dead in a home that may have been broken into. The DeKalb County sheriff’s office said early Tuesday that Patricia A. Wilson and 64-year-old Robert J. Wilson were found dead in the Sycamore home about 6 p.m. on Monday. Police said they appeared to be victims of blunt force trauma. A white sedan was taken from the residence. Authorities say no one is in custody. The DeKalb County Major Case Squad has been activated as the investigation into the death continues. That means detectives from several jurisdictions are working on the case. Sycamore is about 60 miles west of Chicago.
Illinois traffic fatalities up:
Safety and insurance industry experts say Illinois traffic fatalities are expected to pass 1,000 this year for the first time since 2008 because of higher speeds, more miles driven and an increase in the number of younger drivers on the road. As of Friday, 629 people had died in vehicle, motorcycle, pedestrian and bicycle crashes in Illinois this year, according to published reports. The number is up 50 from the same period in 2015. In 2015, there were a total of 998 traffic fatalities, which was the highest number since 1,043 died in 2008. Itasca-based National Safety Council statistics manager Ken Kolosh said much of the rising toll has been on rural interstates. “That’s where the larger part of fatalities occur,” Kolosh said. “It’s higher speeds. Crashes tend to be more violent and produce more fatalities.” Illinois raised speed limits on rural interstates from 65 mph to 70 mph at the beginning of 2014. Illinois traffic fatalities actually fell to a record low in the first full year of higher speeds before spiking last year.
Another official leaving police:
A high-ranking member of the Chicago Police Department who became interim superintendent after video of the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald is leaving the force to become chief of police at an area college, the department said Tuesday. The announcement about First Deputy Chief John Escalante comes a day after the CPD announced the departure of another high-ranking official, Deputy Chief David McNaughton, who was harshly criticized for deciding the police shooting of McDonald was justified. Also Tuesday, CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that the city’s inspector general had delivered a report on the McDonald shooting, but did not provide details on any conclusions or recommendations contained in the report.