Also happening today, a 59-year-old man is facing charges after allegedly causing a head-on crash with a CPD squad car; Gary's mayor could be going to court to force the state-controlled Gary community school corporation to tear down a number of abandoned and blighted school buildings; charges are pending against three men and police are looking for a fourth after a woman was robbed on a CTA Red Line train last night; and much more.

Also happening today, the mayor of Gary is pursuing a court order to get the city's school district to demolish abandoned school buildings; a Westmont man is going to prison for a 2018 drunk driving crash that killed a woman; two people are hospitalized after being stabbed on the West Side last night; a Florida fugitive picked the wrong state as his hideout; a 24-year-old Aurora man is facing 16 years in prison for a 2017 shootout with police; and much more.

In other top stories this evening: Boy, 5, loses hand in fireworks accident; more applications filed for recreational-pot licenses; long lines continue at weed distribution points; owls a highlight of the latest Chicago-area bird count; and more.

Also happening today, Governor Pritzker's office has issued a statement saying Illinois has achieved a monumental milestone; Chicago-based Cresco Labs says it served more than 3,100 people yesterday; a series of violent attacks on the CTA’s Red Line have police keeping a closer eye on trains and platforms; Chicago police are issuing an alert after three break-ins to businesses along the same street; and much more.

Also happening today, a series of violent attacks on the CTA’s Red Line have police keeping a closer eye on trains and platforms; Chicago-based Cresco Labs said it served more than 3,100 people on New Year's Day - the first day recreational marijuana was legal in Illinois; a family who lost its mother and then their permanent home is looking forward to the new year thanks to some Good Samaritans; and much more.

In other top stories this evening: Bears linebacker Roquan Smith okay after car crash; an Indiana man went too far shooing away duck hunters, authorities say; New Year's Eve travel can be dangerous; and more.

In other top stories this morning: Former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger Jr. abandons another bid for elected office; Chicago Riverwalk attracts hundreds of thousands of people; Naperville police dealing with series of vandalism incidents; and more.

In other top stories today: man accidentally shot his college-student girlfriend while playing with gun, prosecutors say; Chicago Trolley ending tours; Evanston plans "First Night" New Year's Eve event; and more.

Also happening today, a group of as many as 10 young people beat and robbed a 61-year-old man and a 21-year-old passerby who tried to help him Sunday at a Red Line station in the Loop; six people were killed and 23 wounded by gunfire over the weekend; Michigan State University student Lyniah Bell, 19, who was home on holiday break, suffered a gunshot wound to the head at the hands of her boyfriend, Lafayette Hodges; Nirmalaben M. Shah, 68, was struck by a vehicle Saturday while crossing Milwaukee Avenue from the Golf Mill Mall parking lot; and much more.