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Ted Gregory

Looking down at Negro Creek, April 22, 2012, as it winds through Seatonville. Negro Creek twists and turns through De Pue and Seatonville Illinois. On one road in Seatonville where the road passes over the creek there is a small plaque bearing the name. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

Debate over Negro Creek's name turns neighborly

Last updated Thursday, May 3, 2012 - 12:02pm

SEATONVILLE, Ill. -- Phillip Mol is pushing to change the name of a narrow, meandering creek that was given its official title about the time Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.

The brook is Negro Creek, one of 15 geographic places in Illinois with Negro in its name. Flowing into the Illinois River about 100 miles southwest of Chicago, the stream drifts along a peaceful, 11-mile path amid farms and small towns of Bureau County.

Name, Race, National Read more Comments

Community considers ban on eating while driving

Jim Jaworski, Ted Gregory Chicago

Last updated Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 5:50pm

OAK PARK, Ill. -- An arborist who travels throughout the Chicago area, Phil Fitch is in his car much of the work day, which means his automobile is often his dining car.

Fitch was chagrined Wednesday to learn that Oak Park, the community where he had stopped at a fast-food eatery for lunch, was considering a comprehensive crackdown on distracted drivers, banning everything from using a hand-held cell phone to grooming to eating while driving.

Ban, Distracted driving, National Read more Comments

Closings of small-town post offices threaten community spirit

Ted Gregory Chicago Tribune

Last updated Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - 9:13am

WEDRON, Ill. -- In September 1926, a young airmail pilot named Charles Lindbergh crashed his plane in a field on the outskirts of this Fox River town about 80 miles southwest of Chicago. Eight months later, he made the world's first solo transatlantic airplane flight.

About 16 miles to the northeast, Millington was once called Milford until the post office opened in 1861, prompting officials to change the name to avoid confusion with a Milford in a different county.

Now both tiny towns are bracing for a different brush with history. The U.S. Postal Service is considering making their cottage-size post offices extinct.

Features, Mail, Post Office, Postal Service Read more Comments

Debates over proposed mosques center on religious versus residential rights

Chicago Tribune, Serena Daniels, Ted Gregory

Last updated Tuesday, February 8, 2011 - 10:55am

CHICAGO -- On one side, the issue is about the right to have a sacred space where believers can pray. On the other, it's about preventing religious institutions from crowding residential neighborhoods.

Mosque, Muslims, Religion, National Read more Comments

Suspect arrested in Chicago area triple murder

Angie Leventis Lougos, Liam Ford, Ted Gregory Chicago Tribune

Last updated Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 8:13pm

CHICAGO -- A 23-year-old man sought in the slayings of three family members in Darien, Ill., was taken into custody at his parents' home in southern Florida this afternoon, officials said.

Crime, National Read more Comments