The congregation at St. Sabina Catholic Church rose to its feet and erupted with cheer last Sunday when they learned they would have only one more Sunday without their longtime pastor in the pulpit.

R&B singer R. Kelly asserted his constitutional right Tuesday to not take the witness stand in his child pornography trial. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Vincent Gaughan asked Kelly if his attorneys advised him that it is his sole decision to testify in the case against him. "Yes, Your Honor, they did," Kelly answered.

Somebody pinch me. Did I hear correctly? Sen. Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee to run for president of the United States? Yes, even a week later, some of usmyself includedare still in somewhat of a state of disbelief about the historic milestone this great country of ours has reached. Did that really just happen?

Former Marshall High girl's basketball star Cappie Pondexter has been named to the 2008 U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team.

The famous blue and yellow tent does not come to Chicago very often, but when it does, it brings a lot of magic with it. This time, KOOZA, the latest Cirque du Soleil show, will be in Chicago from June 26 to August 10 at the United Center.

The beginning of summer normally brings thoughts of cookouts, picnics, summer travel and fanciful feelings of cooling refreshment to beat the summer heat. While some are looking forward to frolicking in water parks, many Chicago youth are instead looking for cover. In Chicago, the first day of summer is approached with a bit of dread because, unfortunately, the warm summer months usually bring a spike in violent crime, particularly shootings, in the city neighborhoods.

In our offices here at the Defender, we have a photo hanging on the wall of Oscar DePriest. DePriest was the first African American elected to Chicago's City Council and later became the first African American elected to Congress from a northern state. He was a Republican.

Dear Gwen, I am sad to say that I don't have a good relationship with my mother. The reason I believe she might have some disdain for me is because of who my dad is/was. (He is dead now.)

In accordance with the Chicago Public Schools' push to get freshmen students on-track for graduation, the district has launched a pilot program that, for the first the first time ever, offers online credit recovery to CPS students during the summer.

One day he's getting beat up. The next day he's getting free snacks and a few dollars. Then he's getting his bike taken. This is all within a one-week span.