EPA to update Hammond, Whiting residents on toxic cleanup
Residents of two northwestern Indiana cities are getting an update on efforts to clean up heavy metals near a former industrial smelter.
Lake County
Articles
Ex-sheriff’s official pleads guilty to lying to FBI
A former Lake County Sheriff’s Department official has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during a public corruption investigation that led to the conviction of former Sheriff John Buncich.
Judge sets hearing on request to block Indiana abortion law
A federal judge has set a June hearing in Evansville on Planned Parenthood’s bid to block a new Indiana law that requires medical providers who treat women for complications arising from abortions to report detailed patient information to the state.
Lake County Jail deal seeks to curb turnover, overtime
A county in northwestern Indiana has ratified a jail contract that increases jailers’ pay in an effort to curb turnover and overtime among corrections officers.
Ex-officer pleads guilty but mentally ill after 2016 crash
A former Lake County sheriff’s officer who authorities say struck and killed a man with his squad car while intoxicated at the 2016 Gary Air Show has pleaded guilty but mentally ill.
EPA finds more lead contamination in Hammond, Whiting
The Environmental Protection Agency has discovered more lead contamination in northwestern Indiana. Soil samples collected since October have revealed more than two dozen contaminated yards in Hammond and Whiting, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Lake County preparing for switch to Odyssey this month
Lake County will become the 62nd of Indiana’s 92 counties to adopt the online Odyssey case management system when it makes the transition on May 21.
Lake Superior Court shutters Gary Probate Division
The Gary Probate Division of the Lake Superior Court has permanently closed and all files opened in that court have been transferred to the Crown Point Probate Division. The Indiana State Bar Association announced the closure of the Gary Probate Division last month.
Gary man pleads guilty, faces life term in 7 women’s deaths
A Gary man has avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty in the deaths of seven women and instead faces life in prison without parole. Darren Vann of Gary, Indiana, entered the guilty pleas during a surprise court hearing Friday in Crown Point. He will be sentenced May 25.
AG Hill: Prosecutors have no say in defending Indiana abortion law
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is hitting back at three county prosecutors who have declined to defend the state in its most recent abortion-related lawsuit, saying the prosecutors have no authority to determine how the case proceeds. Prosecutors in Marion, Lake and Monroe counties said Wednesday the ceded the merits of a case challenging a new law that would require reporting of “abortion complications.”
Marion, Lake, Monroe prosecutors won’t defend abortion law
Three Indiana prosecutors in counties with Planned Parenthood facilities have announced they will not defend the state in a recently filed lawsuit challenging a 2018 abortion law.
Lake Station man guilty of fatally shooting girlfriend
A jury has convicted a northwestern Indiana man of fatally shooting his girlfriend, whose partially nude, decomposing corpse was found in their bedroom.
Lake County courts to switch to online filing system in May
Court officials in northwestern Indiana’s Lake County plan to switch next month to an online filing system that’s already used by nearly three-quarters of Indiana’s counties.
Top Lake County Sheriff’s official indicted for lying to FBI
A former top Lake County Sheriff’s Department official has been indicted for lying to the FBI during a public corruption investigation that led to the conviction of former Sheriff John Buncich.
Supreme Court allows legal malpractice claim to continue
A legal malpractice claim against a suspended northern Indiana attorney and his firm will continue after the Indiana Supreme Court found a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the plaintiff’s premises liability claim would have succeeded had the firm not failed to timely file her complaint.
Lake County tax case dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction
A northern Indiana trial court must dismiss a case it originally transferred to the Indiana Tax Court, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday after finding insufficient evidence to prove the tax court’s jurisdiction.
East Chicago lead contamination cleanup might take 3 years
EPA officials say excavating the remaining lead and arsenic contamination near a federal Superfund site in northwestern Indiana could take another three years.
Lake County judges seek funding to aid with e-filing shift
Judges in Lake County are seeking money to hire new staffers they say are needed to help shift to a new online filing system.
Ex-Hammond police officer sentenced in woman’s death
A former Hammond police officer has been sentenced to 55 years in prison in the slaying of the mother of three of his children.
Lake County to test decade-long backlog of rape kits
Lake County plans to test some of the 240 untested rape kits that are part of a decade-long backlog and make policy changes to help prevent another logjam, officials said.