What’s with the female mug shots?

Is it my imagination, or have girls gone wild here in the Fox Valley? Check out the local news recently and you’ll notice mug shots have taken on a decidedly more feminine look. In Tuesday’s paper alone, there are three female photos staring back at …

Tragedy puts America’s game in a poignant light

I’ve got two pint-size tykes in my life — one a grandson; the other a step-grandson — who run around in diapers just about every waking minute of their lives with a bat and a ball in their hands. It’s pretty amazing to watch: Like …

Derby gala coming up roses for Hesed House

Mary Ensor knows a thing or two about throwing a party. I met her years ago when she was pulling together a huge fundraising gala for Mutual Ground: an organization close to her heart because she served as board president for the Aurora domestic violence …

Denise Crosby: Schools earn high marks in fight against heroin

On first glance it was like any other of the myriad messages that go home to parents from the schools. But this one, trust me, was a big deal.

“We are writing a joint message to you once again to let you know about two …

Crisis calls take personal toll on 911 dispatchers

For 10 years Heather Pierce was the steady voice on the other end of a 911 call. Throughout that decade — five years with Ken-Com Public Safety Center in Yorkville; another five with Tri-Com Central Dispatch now in St. Charles — she calmed the hysterical, …

Denise Crosby: Crisis calls take personal toll on 911 dispatchers

For 10 years Heather Pierce was the steady voice on the other end of a 911 call.

Throughout that decade — five years with Ken-Com Public Safety Center in Yorkville; another five with Tri-Com Central Dispatch now in St. Charles — she calmed the hysterical, …

Denise Crosby: Until facts are all in, local hoodie march is out of step

I have no doubt Kelly Ingram is a nice lady. And I also believe her intentions are good. In fact, we should all have her passion and courage to do more in life than sit along the sidelines and yap our flaps about all the …

Hit-and-run victim: Getaway car got away with more than clothes

The hit and run occurred the first week of November while she was Christmas shopping at Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora. But Naperville resident Melissa Sandve still has $4,000 in damage to her car and a beef with the Aurora Police Department, neither of which …

Denise Crosby: March madness has nothing to do with basketball

E-gads! Gas — climbing faster than a chimp on amphetamines — is predicted to hit five bucks a gallon! It’s only the third week of March and we’ve got air conditioners on high! Trees in full bloom! Allergies and pelicans showing up way too early! …

Denise Crosby: March madness has nothing to do with basketball

E-gads! Gas — climbing faster than a chimp on amphetamines — is predicted to hit five bucks a gallon! It’s only the third week of March and we’ve got air conditioners on high! Trees in full bloom! Allergies and pelicans showing up way too early! …

Denise Crosby: Animal shelter folks fighting like cats and dogs

This headline was way too easy to write. Unfortunately, it most accurately reflects what’s going on behind the scenes at A.D.O.P.T. Pet Shelter in Naperville: Tensions have escalated to the point there’s a nasty name-calling blog, volunteers are being banned from membership; legal threats are …

Denise Crosby: Mother says something must be learned from daughter’s overdose

You wouldn’t know it by all the news coverage she received this week, but Amy Miller isn’t really through hiding yet.

That’s why, six weeks after her daughter Megan overdosed on heroin in the bedroom of the family’s Naperville home, Miller still walks her dog …

Denise Crosby: Mother says something must be learned from daughter’s overdose

Amy Miller isn’t really through hiding yet. That’s why, six weeks after her daughter Megan overdosed on heroin in the bedroom of the family’s Naperville home, Miller still walks her dog in a different neighborhood. It’s why she got her hair done at a Plainfield …

Second heroin forum set, and a few positive updates

If you were one of the hundreds who got turned way at the community forum on heroin held last month at the 95th Street Public Library in Naperville, here’s a chance to get caught up — and have your questions answered. From 7 to 9 …

Denise Crosby: Naperville man, sex offender, hopes for second chance

Chuck Balogh seemed to be Mr. Suburbia in every sense of the word. The IT specialist lived with wife Mary and their two children in a beautiful Naperville home. Balogh taught religious education, was secretary of his homeowners association and was active in the booster …