Niles

Niles North Teacher Accused of Playing Strip Poker with Cheerleaders Pleads Guilty

Jeffrey Tackes, the former Niles North math teacher and cheerleading coach who resigned after being accused of sexual exploitation of a minor, plead guilty at the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton Thursday

Tackes admitted to inviting the Niles North cheerleading team to his Bensenville home on Dec. 15. After the party had ended, two students stayed behind and played strip poker with Tackes, the Chicago Tribune reports. Tackes also exposed himself to the minors, who were 16 and 17.

Tackes was sentenced to 250 hours of community service and probation, the Tribune reported. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.

The allegations were brought to light on Feb. 13, 2012 when Tackes was charged.

He was accused of coercing a Niles North student younger than 17 years old to remove her clothing for his sexual arousal or gratification, Bensenville police said. Tackes resigned one day after being charged. He had been coaching cheerleading the 14 months from the time of the incident until he resigned.

Algonquin

Police Investigate Report of Stranger Approaching Girl

The Algonquin Police Department is investigating a report of a man who drove up to a girl and asked if she needed a ride home Tuesday afternoon. 

The incident occurred at Barrett Drive and Broadsmore Drive in Algonquin at 3:45 p.m., according to an Algonquin Police Department press release. 

The girl described the man as a black male in his 20s or 30s who was bald with a clean, shaved face, according to the news release. The vehicle was described as an older dark red or maroon minivan with small wheels and rust spots. 

The girl fled the scene and the vehicle left in an unknown direction. A handful of other reports of strangers approaching children in Algonquin have been reported this year, including one incident in May and three in January

Crystal Lake 

Crystal Lake Man Convicted in Local News Anchor's Death Charged with DUI

The Crystal Lake man sentenced in July 2009 to three years probation for his part in an alcohol-related snowmobile accident that took news anchor Randy Salerno's life has been charged with DUI.

Scott D. Hirschey, 49, 1919 Blue Pine Drive, Crystal Lake, was arrested July 27, 2012, by Crystal Lake Police.

Hirschey was charged with one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol content of .08 and one count of illegal possession/ transportation of liquor, according to reports released by the CLPD.

Wheaton

St. Francis Alum Megan Boken Shot to Death

A 23-year-old Wheaton native was shot to death while outside a St. Louis apartment building on Aug. 18, authorities said.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Megan Boken was found about 2:20 p.m. Saturday with gunshots to her neck and chest. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Witnesses told police they’d seen Boken arguing with a man who was either exiting her vehicle or had opened the door to it.

Police questioned a man Thursday morning who they believed was a person of interest in the Aug. 18 killing of Megan Boken, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

No charges have been filed.

Evanston

Three Northwestern Students Robbed at Gunpoint

One day after a man was robbed at gunpoint in Evanston, police report that three Northwestern University students were the victims of another armed robbery early Sunday morning. 

As of Thursday, Evanston police have a lead on one of the suspects. Records show that one of the credit cards stolen in the robbery was used at 7-Eleven, 3441 Church St., Skokie, at 1:35 a.m. Sunday. 

The students, all female, were walking in the 2000 block of Pratt Court, near Foster Street, around 1:10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, when two men approached them, according to a press release from the Evanston Police Department. One of the men pulled out a silver handgun and demanded that they hand over their valuables, police said.

The man with the gun stole one woman's purse and her cell phone, then took the purses of her two companions. He and the other man ran away on foot, heading west on Foster Street, according to police. 

Palatine

No Charges Filed in Deadly Stabbing

The 22-year-old man who stabbed and killed Palatine resident, Corey Frazier acted in self-defense and will not be charged, the Cook County Assistant State Attorney’s Office ruled on Tuesday.

According to the Palatine Police Department, 21-year-old Corey Frazier of Palatine was the aggressor in the physical altercation that resulted in his death on Sunday Aug. 19.

Before Frazier suffered multiple stab wounds, the 21-year-old severely beat the suspect. Witnesses told police Frazier repeatedly punched the 22-year-old man in the head.

According to police, Sunday night’s deadly stabbing concludes an 8 month period during which Frazier threatened 22-year-old man with physical harm. Neighbors said Frazier and the 22-year-old man were involved in a verbal altercation over a dog shortly before the stabbing at the 700 block of E. Rand Grove Lane in Palatine. 

St. Charles

Tanner Conroyd of St. Charles Area Found Safe in Chicago

Tanner Conroyd, the St. Charles-area woman whose disappearance on Sunday after an argument with family members sparked a search from Chicago to Normal, was located safe in a Chicago hospital, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office reported Thursday shortly before 12:30 p.m.

“At approximately 11:15 a.m. Today, the Kane County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a Chicago area hospital who confirmed that Tanner is at their facility and being treated,” sheriff’s Lt. Pat Gengler wrote in a release. “The Sheriff’s Office is not releasing the name of the facility or going into details of her condition. Based on the information that we have she was not the victim of foul play.”

According to Gengler, detectives were told by hospital staff that it was the media that led them to realizing who she was and led them to call the sheriff’s office with the information.

The search for the 20-year-old involved authorities from at least five jurisdictions from Chicago to Normal.