Lipinski aide was stabbed:

The death of an aide to U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski has been ruled a homicide. The Cook County medical examiner’s office said Wednesday that Marianne Viverito suffered multiple stab wounds. Viverito’s body was found Tuesday in the basement of her Oak Lawn home after police received a request for a well-being check from an out-of-state police agency. The agency indicated a woman may have been injured in a domestic fight. Police have said Viverito’s death was an “isolated incident” and the public wasn’t in danger. Police said they had a suspect in the case but wouldn’t release other details. Former state senator and current Stickney Township Supervisor Louis Viverito said his 55-year-old daughter was a divorced mother of two adult sons.

Postal Service offers reward:

The U.S. Postal Service is offering a $25,000 reward for information about the recent armed robbery of a mail carrier in Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times reported the 26-year-old woman was working in the Roseland neighborhood on the South Side on Jan. 4 when two men approached her. Authorities said the men pulled out a gun and demanded her property. It was the second robbery of a mail carrier in the area within a two-day span. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the robbers.

Ex-boyfriend charged:

A Chicago man who served prison time for the 1989 slaying of his teenage girlfriend is now accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and wounding another woman. Douglas Askew, 46, has been charged with murder and aggravated battery. Authorities said Askew went to 52-year-old Sylvia Brice’s home on Dec. 31, killed her and stabbed another woman. The Chicago Tribune reported Brice had filed Nov. 30 for a protection order against Askew. A Cook County judge ordered Askew held without bail Tuesday. Askew was sentenced in 1990 to 40 years in prison for the 1989 murder of his 15-year-old pregnant girlfriend. He received two concurrent 30-year terms for the attempted murders of her sister and a man.

Museum lands Vonnegut art:

The National Veterans Art Museum in Chicago has acquired 31 screen prints by the American writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr. An exhibit of Vonnegut artwork is on display at the museum through May 6. The late Indianapolis-born author is best known for his novel “Slaughterhouse-Five,” which is drawn from his World War II experiences. He later created a series of fine art prints. Vonnegut enlisted in the Army in 1943 and was deployed to fight overseas in Europe. He was captured at the Battle of the Bulge and was held as a prisoner of war until 1945, when he returned to the United States and was awarded the Purple Heart. The National Veterans Art Museum includes more than 2,500 works created by military veterans.

Teen traps herself in cell:

A teenage girl who slipped into an abandoned prison for an urban adventure ended up serving a short sentence when she accidentally locked herself inside a cell. Illinois State Police said two teenage girls entered the Joliet Correctional Center through a hole in its fence Monday. The other girl got firefighters to the site, and they used a sledgehammer to break through a brick wall and free her companion, who spent 45 minutes in the cell. State police said the teens will face trespassing charges. The Joliet prison has been closed since 2002.