CALUMET CITY

Truck and car stolen from residential streets

Calumet City police are seeking information on the thefts of a pair of cars last week.

A truck was reported stolen Friday in the 500 block of Escanaba Avenue. The white 1998 Ford F-150 pickup with Illinois license plate 911J556 was stolen sometime between 7:30 and 11:15 p.m., according to police reports.

In a separate incident, a 2007 brown Honda Accord sedan with Illinois license plate 9149433 was reported stolen in the 1300 block of Balmoral Avenue.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Calumet City Police Department at (708) 868-2500.

CALUMET CITY

Local man is charged with beating his father

Twenty-three-year-old Steven Banks, of Calumet City, is accused of threatening and beating his father, 46-year-old Steven Banks, in front of the family's home in the 200 block of Marquette Avenue, according to a police report.

The elder Banks said his son repeatedly struck him with a belt buckle, and when he punched his son once in self-defense, his son smashed his father's car window and sideswiped his car when he tried to leave, according to the report.

"The 23-year-old son was arrested and charged with domestic battery," police Capt. Dan Zorzi said. "It sounded like the father and son got into it, and the son told him, 'You will be dead by tomorrow' and lunged and hit him with the belt buckle."

CALUMET CITY

Motorists could face fine for hopping curb

With a new ordinance on the books, Calumet City drivers who park their vehicles up on the curb could face a fine.

The Calumet City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting curb parking during a meeting last week.

It prohibits parking on a sidewalk, curb, parkway, catwalk, street lawn and unpaved or unfinished surface.

Previously, motorists could roll over the grass on the front parkway and not get a ticket unless they were obstructing the sidewalk, Calumet City Attorney Joe Montana said. Now they could face a minimum $50 fine, he said.

CALUMET CITY

Bar owners' lawsuit to continue in court

Calumet City bar owners are due back in court next month for a lawsuit against the city.

The case was continued until Aug. 4, said Dan Austin, an attorney representing the Calumet City Liquor License Owners Association.

The lawsuit stems from the City Council's approval of an ordinance that shortened the hours a bar is allowed to operate, starting in January.

According to the ordinance, establishments with Class B licenses are required to close at midnight. Class E businesses are allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. Besides longer hours, Class E licenses allow entertainment and alcohol sales.

SPRINGFIELD

State says the use of seat belts up in Illinois

Fewer people are dying on Illinois roads and more than 90 percent of motorists are wearing seat belts.

That's according to state officials who said Tuesday that overall deaths on Illinois roads are down almost 20 percent in the first six months of this year.

The Illinois Department of Transportation said there have been 484 deaths so far this year compared to 598 in the same period last year.

A new traffic safety division survey finds that nearly 91 percent of Illinois drivers are wearing seat belts.