MICHAEL PFLEGER

The legislation introduced in December would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, help to further implement Illinois’ Firearm Restraining Order law and address illegal gun trafficking in the state.

Expressing feelings of immense gratitude, the Rev. Michael Pfleger began his homily on Sunday by thanking his parishioners, friends and staff a day after he was reinstated at service following a second abuse allegation that was deemed unfounded.

The Archdiocese of Chicago reinstated Father Michael Pfleger after allegations of sexually abusing a minor more than 30 years ago arose.

The Archdiocese of Chicago's investigation "concluded that there is no reason to suspect Father Pfleger is guilty" of child sexual abuse allegations that forced him away in October.

Good morning, Chicago. Here are some of the top stories you need to know to start your day.

Supporters have submitted affidavits in hopes of speeding up archdiocese investigation.

St. Sabina Church parishioners gathered Sunday for service, pushing back against a sexual abuse claim against the Rev. Michael Pfleger.

A well-known priest in Chicago, Illinois is under investigation for a new sexual abuse of a minor claim. A past allegation against Father Michael Pfleger surfaced in January 2021.

A well-known priest in Chicago, Illinois is under investigation for a new sexual abuse of a minor claim. A past allegation against Father Michael Pfleger surfaced in January 2021.

A Catholic priest who gained national fame as an activist has been asked to step away from his ministry while allegations that he sexually abused a minor decades ago are investigated. The development came a little more than a year after another probe cleared the priest, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, of allegations that he sexually abused children. In a letter sent Saturday, Cardinal Blase Cupich said Pfleger was asked to relinquish his duties at the church, Faith Community of Saint Sabina, after allegations were made that he sexually abused a minor decades ago.

Rev. Michael Pfleger is stepping away from his popular ministry while under investigation for another sexual abuse allegation.

Good morning, Chicago. Here are some of the top stories you need to know to start your day.

The landmark decision has shaken all corners of American life, but it has particular resonance among Catholics.

The family of the 14-year-old Wendell Phillips Academy High School student wants local and state officials to take action to stem gun violence.

Chicago experienced one of its bloodiest days of the year on Thursday as four people were killed and several dozen were seriously injured, including several young children.

An activist Roman Catholic priest cleared by an Archdiocese of Chicago investigation into decades-old sexual abuse claims has returned to lead worship at his longtime Chicago church.

Father Michael Pfleger leads Sunday mass for the first time in five months after being cleared of abuse allegations.

“It’s good to be home,” an emotional Rev. Michael Pfleger said to a packed and jubilant crowd at St. Sabina Church — his first time leading a congregation in five months.

In a letter to parishioners, Cardinal Blase Cupich said he is reinstating the Rev. Michael Pfleger. Read the letter here.

Nationally known activist Chicago priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger will be reinstated as the leader of his parish after an investigation found “insufficient reason to suspect” he sexually abused children.

The pastor of a west suburban church has stepped aside due to allegations that he sexually abused a minor three decades ago.

In a recent letter to the community, the Rev. Michael Pfleger wrote that he intends to find other ways to work in the Auburn Gresham community as the Chicago Archdiocese continues to investigate allegations that he molested two brothers in the 1970s. Read the letter below.

Michael Pfleger, a charismatic priest of a thriving Black Catholic parish, inspired her to become an activist and recruited her to run his South Side church's violence prevention office. Stories like Bosley’s are recurrent at St. Sabina Church, a close-knit community that’s been a social activism hub for 40 years under Pfleger. Black Catholic parishes are few and dwindling. Of roughly 21,000 American Catholic parishes, about 800, or less than 4%, are mostly Black, according to a University of Notre Dame and National Black Catholic Congress study. Black priests are more rare, making up 250, or under 1%, of roughly 36,500 Catholic priests, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Michael Pfleger speaks to protesters before marching on the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago. A third man has come forward with allegations that Rev. Pfleger made an unwanted sexual advance against him as a teenager, following two brothers' allegations that the priest abused them decades ago when they were teens. The 59-year-old man alleges in an affidavit shared late Tuesday with church officials that the Rev. Pfleger has denied the brothers' allegations.

On Friday, attorneys for Rev. Michael Pfleger released a letter he received from DCFS confirming its investigation was “unfounded” and that his name will not be added as a perpetrator on the state’s child abuse and neglect central registry. Read more here.

Nearly five decades later, the two men now say that former choir director, the Rev. Michael Pfleger, molested them dozens of times over several years beginning in the early 1970s. The men, who are in their early 60s and live in Texas, said the abuse was a secret they had never revealed, not even to each other, until the younger of the two filed a complaint Jan. 4 to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago.

“We, the Cabinet of the Faith Community of St. Sabina, believe that these accusations are unfounded and we boldly stand behind the integrity, passion, work and ministry of our Sr. Pastor, Rev. Michael Pfleger. His ministry spans over 45 years and he has maintained his mission of Luke 4:18, ‘to proclaim the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to the prisoners, sight to the blind, and set the oppressed free’, reaching thousands of citizens in the city of Chicago and worldwide,” the statement said.

FILE In this Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, file photo, Kajal Dalal walks through the her family's food and liquor store after it was vandalized in downtown Chicago. A Chicago police task force that was formed after crowds swarmed into downtown and smashed their way into hundreds of stores in August is still investigating and making arrests four months later. They keep adding to the nearly 100 video clips they've posted online in the hopes someone might identify suspects. “The message (to suspects) is the task force isn’t quitting ... and you will eventually be found and arrested,” Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan said. Just as detectives stitched together videos to follow two men who allegedly participated in the attack on Smollett, Looting Task Force detectives followed suspects as they moved from store to store.

Nathan Wallace stands outside of his home holding a button showing his daughter, Natalia Wallace, on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, in Chicago. In New York City, there have been 237 homicides in 2020 compared to 181 for the same period last year. After recording 25 homicides in the first seven months of 2019, Boston had 35 during the same period this year. But every day headlines around the country tell story after story of children dying while doing nothing more than being children. Chicago had suffered 440 homicides by the end of July, compared to 290 for the same period last year.

Lightfoot's action to fire Johnson came less than a month after she lauded him as he announced plans to transition out of the job early next year and help his interim successor transition into it. Brown called Johnson's firing an "unnecessary humiliation" given that he was so close to retirement. "It's not about Eddie Johnson," FOP President Kevin Graham told the Chicago Sun-Times. Revelations about Johnson came during a week of other troubling stories for the department. The firing has raised concern that the final chapter in Johnson's career might distract from the serious questions about racism and excessive force that continue to dog the department.