East Chicago's future hinges on its schools

EAST CHICAGO | Putting East Chicago's vast school resources in residents' hands can only help improve education, jobs and living conditions, said Jesse Gomez, sworn in last month as president of the School City of East Chicago's first elected board.

E.C. man hit by gunfire while riding in car in East Chicago

EAST CHICAGO | Police are looking for witnesses to a weekend shooting in the West Calumet area that left a South Side resident injured.

Fight landed 12-year-old in jail for stabbing girl, police say

EAST CHICAGO | A fight among teenagers in the West Calumet area landed a 12-year-old in jail Wednesday after she admitted stabbing another girl, police said.

E.C. aims to finish rehab work at former Carnegie Library

EAST CHICAGO | Reconstruction is scheduled to begin in earnest this year to transform a century-old Indiana Harbor library building into a modern community arts center.

E.C. charts fewest murders in decades

EAST CHICAGO | East Chicago charted its fewest murders in almost 40 years last year based on totals reported to the federal government.

East Chicago eyes licensing for tattoo artists, piercers

EAST CHICAGO | Tattoo artists and body piercers would face licensing and other restrictions to do business in the city under an ordinance heard Monday by the City Council.

No raises for East Chicago officials

EAST CHICAGO | Elected officials in the city will receive the same pay in 2013 as they have been compensated this year.

Suspected Hammond home invaders caught on video

HAMMOND | Armed intruders who allegedly terrorized a Jacobs Square mother and her children dropped their masks inside — and were filmed on the home's surveillance system, police said.

Hammond VFW Post gets makeover from The Home Depot

HAMMOND | A classic Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Hessville got a modern upgrade Thursday thanks to volunteers from the service arm of a local retailer.

E.C. School Board member keeps post after court challenge

EAST CHICAGO | The sole appointed school trustee elected to serve a full term beginning next year has survived a court challenge to his position.

E.C. dredging to move upstream

EAST CHICAGO | Dredging of the western branch of the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal is nearly complete after a month of nonstop work.

East Chicago taps Indiana Bond Bank to ensure funding for next year

EAST CHICAGO | The City Council on Monday offered preliminary approval for a line of credit to hedge against the possible late distribution of property taxes next year.

Volunteers complete Hammond rehab despite burglaries

HAMMOND | Volunteers this week finished their makeover of the home of a North Hammond senior citizen, despite a pair of burglaries during the reconstruction.

Cline Avenue bridge demolition rouses Robertsdale residents

HAMMOND | Workers following an aggressive schedule to tear down the condemned Cline Avenue overpass by the end of the year may be starting a little too early in the morning for some neighbors.

E.C. properties rezoned for commercial development

EAST CHICAGO |The city is looking to rezone a stretch of eastern Chicago Avenue to make the area more attractive for development.

E.C. man recovering after being struck by city vehicle

EAST CHICAGO | A man from the South Side is recovering from brain surgery after being struck by a city-owned vehicle while crossing Indianapolis Boulevard.

East Chicago teen hospitalized after alleged burglary

EAST CHICAGO | A Calumet area teenager was hospitalized for injuries he received while allegedly burglarizing a neighbor's home on Tuesday, police said.

Hammond police write 150 tickets in first day of blitz

HAMMOND | City traffic officers issued 150 citations during the first day of a statewide focus on seatbelt compliance and impaired driving, police said.

East Chicago vows to open waterworks despite buidling finger-pointing

EAST CHICAGO | The city will go forward with plans to open its new water filtration plant despite recent denials of responsibility by designers of the non-working facility.

Agreement inked for bike trail bridge over Little Cal

HAMMOND | A three-party agreement has been finalized for constructing a new biking and pedestrian bridge across the Little Calumet River.

E.C. cop completes advanced training

EAST CHICAGO | A veteran city police officer is bringing home the lessons he learned this fall during an elite law enforcement education program.

East Chicago sells off ambulance fleet

EAST CHICAGO | The city is selling its fleet of ambulances which have not been used since emergency medical services were privatized earlier this year.

Hammond police join statewide seatbelt, impaired driving blitz

HAMMOND | Hammond police announced they will be joining a statewide focus on seatbelt compliance and impaired driving beginning today.

East Chicago eyes first sewer rate hike in 15 years

EAST CHICAGO | An estimated $1 million annual deficit in running the Sanitary District has officials considering the city's first sewer rate hike in 15 years.

Felon flees East Chicago cops, leaving behind ID, drugs, cash

EAST CHICAGO | A Gary resident out on bond for a felony weapons charge ran from a police interview over the weekend, leaving behind drugs, his drivers license and $685 cash, police said.

Hearing scheduled for fired Hammond firefighter

HAMMOND | A second termination hearing has been scheduled for a city firefighter fired last year for allegedly phoning in a prank false alarm.

Suspect in break-in a fugitive, East Chicago police say

EAST CHICAGO | The suspect in a North Harbor car break-in arrested Friday morning was found to be a wanted fugitive, police said.

Almost all new faces on first elected East Chicago School Board

EAST CHICAGO | Voters may have chosen new faces for the city's first elected school board, but most have backgrounds in education and all have histories of service to the community.

E.C. City Court judge threatens suit over budget cut

EAST CHICAGO | A decision to cut the City Court's budget for next year could land the City Council in Lake Superior Court.

East Chicago fixes water line leaks

EAST CHICAGO | Leaking water lines across the city are being repaired in anticipation of eventual full power from the year-old, but still-under-performing, new municipal waterworks.

Hammond senior can stay at home, thanks to volunteers

HAMMOND | Helen Larson's home was destined for the demolition list until efforts by dozens of volunteers made it possible for her to stay in the house her father built.

Judge orders fired firefighter reinstated with back pay

HAMMOND | City safety officials violated state law when they fired a firefighter late last year, a Lake Superior Court judge ruled, ordering that the man be returned to his job.

E.C. man tells police someone in passing car shot him in leg

EAST CHICAGO | An Indiana Harbor man told police he was shot while walking near his home Monday night by someone in a passing car.

E.C. grocery store robbed by two men wearing ski masks

EAST CHICAGO | An East Calumet neighborhood grocery store was robbed at gunpoint Monday night, police said.

Agreement near on Hammond retail development plan

HAMMOND | Investors are poised to begin a large retail and entertainment development in Robertsdale on the far north side of Hammond, city officials revealed Tuesday.

Hammond assists flood plain properties

HAMMOND | Some 1,433 structures in Hammond near the Little Calumet River were relieved of federal flood insurance requirements earlier this month, and the city is now looking to free those properties remaining in the official flood plain.

Reward offered on first anniversary of fatal stabbing

HAMMOND | The family of a young man stabbed to death outside a downtown gas station a year ago is offering a cash reward for information on the anniversary of the crime.

Veteran East Chicago educator to represent city on Ethics Commission

EAST CHICAGO | A longtime East Chicago educator will represent the city on the board of the regional Shared Ethics Advisory Commission.

East Chicago School Board election pits 24 candidates

EAST CHICAGO | Few elections in many years have energized the community quite like this season's first-ever popular vote for candidates to lead the city's expansive school system.

Students big winners in East Chicago School Board election

EAST CHICAGO | Few elections in many years have energized the community quite like this season's first popular vote for candidates to lead the city's expansive school system.

East Chicago police switch to Verizon, look to imiprove gun range

EAST CHICAGO | The Police Department is switching to Verizon for wireless Internet, and got permission to begin investigating repairs to its aging shooting range.

No pay cut for East Chicago city workers in 2013

EAST CHICAGO | The City Council on Thursday approved keeping wages and salaries for municipal employees in 2013 at the same levels as this year.

East Chicago senior restrained while his home was ransacked

EAST CHICAGO | An 84-year-old resident was restrained Monday while men who had claimed to be electrical company workers ransacked his home, police said.

East Chicago City Council calls special session on municipal employee pay

EAST CHICAGO | No pay cuts for municipal employees are planned for next year, but the City Council on Monday postponed voting on a proposed salary ordinance for a few days.

East Chicago breaks ground on new housing development at old high school site

EAST CHICAGO | Ground was broken Monday for the first in a series of new single-family homes planned for the old Washington High School site in Indiana Harbor.

At long last: Indiana Harbor, Ship Canal work expected to begin

EAST CHICAGO | Long-delayed dredging of a polluted industrial waterway which runs through the heart of East Chicago is scheduled to begin this week.

E.C. official optimistic resolution of filtration plant woes is near

EAST CHICAGO | Officials hope an agreement soon can be reached to get the city's new, but still nonworking, water filtration plant finally functional.

Thief on bicycle escapes with $30,000 in cash

EAST CHICAGO | A bicycle-riding robber made off with $30,000 in cash snatched from a customer in the parking lot of an Indiana Harbor bank on Thursday, police said.