MARC CHASE: Government's veil of secrecy threatens all of us

Have you felt the weightlessness in the past couple of weeks? It's the rapid descent of some of our most basic constitutional rights at both the federal and state levels of government.

Van Til: Illiana Expressway could improve south county drainage

CROWN POINT | The proposed south county Illiana Expressway could carry a benefit beyond an expected relief valve for heavy region traffic, Lake County's surveyor said Tuesday.

MARC CHASE: Threat of secession a warning shot for townships

A collective groan could be heard from Calumet Township recently as a law opening the door for Griffith to leave the township took effect in Indianapolis. Though it might sound ominous to some, the groan has the potential to be the harmony of forced government reform.

Van Til pleads not guilty

HAMMOND | Shackled hand and foot with a chain around his waist, Lake County Surveyor George Van Til pleaded not guilty Monday to federal public corruption charges.

Feds: Van Til indicted for using public employees, resources for campaign work

HAMMOND | Lake County Surveyor George Van Til defrauded taxpayers by ordering county employees to perform political campaign work on the county dime and using county equipment, prosecutors said Friday.

C.P. business owner, Penn. gun dealer named in separate indictments

HAMMOND | Federal authorities in Hammond announced the indictment Friday of a Pennsylvania gun dealer on nine counts alleging he conspired with two former Lake County police officers in a public corruption case involving firearms sales.

MARC CHASE: New income tax not a license to fatten up

Lake County officials who just thrust a 1.5 percent local option income tax on county breadwinners would have us all believe the Lake County Government Center roof would have collapsed without the adoption of the tax.

MARC CHASE: Living on a financial prayer no way to govern

The voice of fiscal conservatism is often lacking in Northwest Indiana forums, and I'm hoping to change that as I take on a twice-weekly column for The Times.

Salinas pleads guilty to federal bribery charge, resigns from council seat

Disgraced Hammond City Councilman Al Salinas resigned from office Monday, just a few hours after pleading guilty to taking more than $10,000 in kickbacks for steering city work to a contractor.

New Lake Co. solid waste chair: No more unproven trash proposals

The Lake County solid waste board should steer clear of commercially unproven processes when considering future plans for consolidating the county's trash disposal, the board's chairman said.

Florida author hails sacrifices of Northwest Indiana Civil War soldiers

HAMMOND | Northwest Indiana Civil War soldiers fought toe-to-toe with one of the premier generals of the Confederate army and rarely get their due credit, a Florida author said Saturday while visiting Hammond.

Author to detail service of Civil War 'Boys from Lake County'

HAMMOND | Dozens of men from Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties watched as more than a third of their 73rd Indiana Infantry regiment fell in one of of the bloodiest battles of America's bloodiest war.

Powers warns of possible lawsuit following cancellation of trash-to-ethanol deal

Potential lawsuits are brewing in Lake County's trash-to-ethanol saga, according to a motion by solid waste officials and statements from the developer who had contracted to build and operate the plant.

Lake County officials cancel trash-to-ethanol contract

After four years of failed attempts to get a Lake County trash-to-ethanol plant off the drawing room floor, waste district officials unanimously canceled the contract Thursday with a would-be developer.

Region United, Nation Divided Civil War exhibit opens today in Hammond

HAMMOND | The century-and-a-half-old stories of Northwest Indiana's Civil War soldiers are getting new life in a Hammond exhibit opening today.

Hyles' daughter apologizes for 'nefarious actions' of church

The daughter of a Hammond megachurch's founder has issued a public apology for keeping silent about "the many nefarious actions" of her father and other church leaders.

Feds: Online date kidnapped, robbed

MERRILLVILLE | A Merrillville woman used a dating website to woo an Illinois man to her town where an accomplice helped her kidnap the unsuspecting suitor, federal authorities said.

Merrillville couple charged in federal insurance scheme

MERRILLVILLE | A Merrilliville couple stole more than $86,000 through false claims filed with home and vehicle insurance companies, federal authorities allege.

Trash takes high-tech, circuitous recycling route at facility

CHICAGO | A labyrinth of conveyor belts, magnets and people move and sort about 600 tons of old plastic bottles, cans and used paper each day.

The power of waste

Two regional facilities produce enough electricity to power several thousand homes, or offset municipal power bills by hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Wasteful endeavors?

Some officials throughout the country say they have learned the grass isn't always greener when it comes to alternative methods of disposing of municipal garbage.

Not your grandfather's landfills

With at least 20 years of existing capacity at Northwest Indiana landfills -- and room for expansion well beyond that -- there is no need to hit the panic button.

Waste board may cancel ethanol contract next month

The longtime champion of a Lake County trash-to-ethanol plant expects a final decision to made next month regarding whether to cancel the four-year-old contract.

Former medical resident pleads guilty to illegally issuing perscriptions

HAMMOND | A former medical resident of a Northwest Indiana hospital has agreed to plead guilty to illegally prescribing narcotic painkillers, court records show.

'Freedom' display to be part of NWI Civil War exhibition

HAMMOND | An Indiana Historical Society exhibit charting the evolving principles of freedom in America will be a part of a Northwest Indiana Civil War exhibition set for April at the Indiana Welcome Center.

Census: Lake County sees largest 2012 population decline in the state

Lake County saw the state's largest population decline in 2012, while Porter County experienced just a fraction of the growth it has seen in the past decade, U.S. Census estimates released Thursday show.

Civil War re-enactors invite governor, lawmakers to April region exhibit

INDIANAPOLIS | One of the last times the 20th Indiana Infantry visited Indianapolis, near-riots ensued when then-Gov. Oliver Morton failed to deliver on promises of new rifled muskets and blue Union Army uniforms.

Local filmmaker to debut short film at region Civil War exposition

The post-war effects of Civil War destruction on human lives is the focus of a short drama created by a region filmmaker and set to debut at an April historical exposition in Hammond.

Man, 74, pleads guilty to lesser battery charge in child molestation case

CROWN POINT | A man suspected of child molestation — who was twice released by Texas authorities before finally facing justice — pleaded guilty to a lesser battery charge Wednesday in Lake County court.

North Twp. hires new manager to organize troubled cemetery

HAMMOND | The chaos and disrepair long characterizing the city's massive Oak Hill Cemetery should be met with order following the recent hiring of a cemetery manager, North Township officials said.

Region Civil War flags to fly again at Indiana Welcome Center

In the confusion, chaos and carnage often resulting from close-quarters Civil War combat, hundreds of region men relied on their regimental flags to show them where to rally.

Some see federal ruling as opportunity to revisit canceling trash-to-ethanol contract

A recent federal ruling paints a picture of the national alternative-fuels scene that closely mirrors what Lake County has experienced for four years in its trash-to-ethanol plan: lots of promises and no results.

Region legislators seek tighter leash on Lake County solid waste district

INDIANAPOLIS | Two former Lake County solid waste officials are using their newly acquired legislative pulpit to pursue reforms of their former waste management district board.

Lake County waste board continues trash-to-ethanol watch in 2013

Lake County solid waste officials began their first meeting of 2013 in much the same position as the last of 2012 — still waiting to see if a long-proposed trash-to-ethanol project will come to fruition.

Church attorney: Important works overshadowed by pastor's sex scandal

HAMMOND | Many good works of the First Baptist Church of Hammond are being overlooked in the wake of a federal sex scandal involving its former head pastor, a church attorney said in a written release.

Former Chicago cop sentenced to 19 years in gang case

HAMMOND | The nearly two decades in prison given to a former Chicago police officer Friday is a "far cry" from the lifetime sentence he could have received, a Hammond federal court judge told the disgraced cop.

Feds: Concrete work was foundation for East Chicago corruption

EAST CHICAGO | The corrupting mix of concrete and bribery continued to pave East Chicago's political landscape beyond the infamous sidewalks-for-votes scandal of the previous decade, recent federal court filings show.

'Liberty' group appears to take liberties with Visclosky's voting record

A self-described region activist group claiming liberty as one of its pillars appears to have taken liberties with the facts behind a Northwest Indiana congressman's voting and legislative record.

A tale of two Jack Schaaps

It's a tale of two Jack Schaaps: a steadfast church leader and Christian pillar who stumbled by committing a major transgression, versus a brutal authoritarian with a penchant for extramarital affairs and sermons laced with sexual innuendo.

New Civil War grave marker honors storied stand of Valparaiso colonel

VALPARAISO | A century and a half ago this New Year's Day, Valparaiso's Col. Isaac Suman was recovering from Confederate bullet wounds after participating in one of the most storied stands of the Union Army during the Civil War.

Grave markers preserve Civil War legacy

HAMMOND | The wives of two region Civil War veterans and a Union Army private wounded in battle all received special Christmas Eve honors with the placement of new memorial markers at Hammond's Oak Hill Cemetery.

Magazine, records show pattern of sex-related allegations at Hammond church

HAMMOND | The alleged sexual indiscretions of religious leaders associated with the First Baptist Church of Hammond didn't begin with the former head pastor's recent admission to having sex with a 16-year-old church girl.

Griffith police punctuate message to dealers with drug raid

GRIFFITH | Griffith's interim police chief sent a message as loud as a flashbang grenade early Thursday to drug dealers he believes are using his town as a "safe haven" for their illegal trade.

Historical Civil War graves to receive holiday wreaths in Valpo

VALPARAISO | New Year's Eve celebrations in our divided nation may have been subdued by Civil War in 1862, but revelry was nonexistent for Valparaiso's Col. Isaac Suman.

Molestation suspect from Texas surrenders

CROWN POINT | After about four years on the run, a Texas man charged with molesting an 11-year-old Highland girl turned himself in to Lake County authorities.

Chicago man indicted on charges of forcing sex on 14-year-old Hammond girl

HAMMOND | A federal grand jury indicted a 29-year-old Chicago man this week on charges he forced a 14-year-old Hammond girl to have sex with him in a Lansing hotel room earlier this year.

Remembering Civil War history during the holidays

CROWN POINT | A century and a half ago, hundreds of men from Lake and Porter counties observed the holiday season on battlefields and in winter encampments in the southern states.

Lake County commissoner pushes for extradition of man accused of molestation

CROWN POINT | A Lake County commissioner said she is livid a fugitive wanted on child molestation charges was set free by Texas authorities after Lake County courts declined to extradite him.

Alleged molester not extradited

HIGHLAND | If some alleged felons run far enough away from Lake County, they don't have to hide, because local authorities will not pursue them.

Another E.C. city employee to face federal charges

EAST CHICAGO | The marina dockmaster of East Chicago is the latest municipal employee to be painted by federal prosecutors into a mosaic of alleged crimes and corruption dating back several decades.