Jake Griffin

Chicago

Tax Watchdog Editor and Columnist at Daily Herald

Daily Herald tax and government columnist. You should read my stuff and take that seriously; most of my tweets? Not so much. Once scored 833 in Yahtzee.

Articles

Well-known Addison shopkeeper (and one-time presidential candidate) mulls retirement after robbery

5 days ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

Ed Gombos, an 88-year-old shopkeeper in Addison, is thinking about retirement after a recent robbery and the uncertain future of the building housing his USACO store. Brian Hill/[email protected] Ed Gombos has a story about everything. Which is fitting since his 7,000-square-foot Addison USACO silk-screening shop — tucked into a nondescript business park along South Addison Road — has just about everything in it.
Reckless driver wreaks havoc, injuring several people during chase through Lake County

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

A reckless driver caused mayhem in Lake County and injured several people during a police chase Tuesday evening near Gurnee. According to a Lake County sheriff’s office release, the unidentified 34-year-old Lake County man was believed to be driving impaired just before 6 p.m. around a gas station on the 36000 block of Grandwood Drive near Gurnee.
Report: Thieves make off with $10,000 in goods from Oak Brook yoga store

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

Posted June 17, 2025 8:03 am Oak Brook police are searching for several suspects wanted for stealing an estimated $10,000-plus in merchandise from a yoga store at Oakbrook Center Monday, according to a report from ABC 7 Chicago.
Fire departments are handling more false alarms, so why isn’t there more concern?

1 week ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

False alarms are growing across the state for firefighters, but they remain level as a percentage of all calls Illinois fire agencies handle annually, according to the state fire marshal’s office. Daily Herald file photo/2011 Firefighters in Illinois responded to 17,437 more false alarms in 2024 than they did three years earlier when the Illinois State Fire Marshal first began tracking those figures.
Authorities searching for man who robbed Kildeer bank branch Friday

2 weeks ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

Suspect wanted in connection with a bank robbery in Kildeer Friday. Courtesy of the FBI Authorities are searching for a man they said is responsible for robbing a Bank of America branch Friday morning in Kildeer. Police were called to the branch on the 20200 block of North Rand Road at 10:30 a.m. for a report of an armed robbery. The suspect is described as a white male, about 60-years old, weighing roughly 210 pounds, standing 5-feet, 7-inches tall with a gray goatee.
DOJ: Mexican national with criminal convictions facing fourth deportation

2 weeks ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

A Mexican national with multiple criminal convictions in the United States is facing his fourth deportation hearing since 2004, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. Salvador Guerrero-Lopez, 42, was residing in Island Lake illegally and was charged late last month with unlawful re-entry after removal. He is awaiting an arraignment hearing in Chicago. Guerrero-Lopez, who authorities said also goes by the alias Jovani Hernandez Pina, was deported three times before — in 2004, 2011 and 2021.
Authorities: Teen shot relative in the face

2 weeks ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

Francis Lodesky A Lake County teenager is charged with attempted murder and other felonies after Lake County sheriff’s officials say he intentionally shot a 61-year-old relative in the face with a revolver Wednesday night at their home near Gurnee. Authorities said Francis Lodesky, 18, of the 34000 block of Route 21, intentionally shot the victim who also resides in the house with Lodesky.
Suburban drug overdose deaths show sharp decline, but will it last?

2 weeks ago | shawlocal.com | Jake Griffin

Drug overdose deaths in the Chicago area mirror a statewide and national trend showing a sharp decline from 2023 to 2024. Combined, Cook County and the five collar counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will show a 24.6% decline in the number of fatal drug overdoses during that time period, according to data from coroners and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Suburban drug overdose deaths show sharp decline, but will it last?

2 weeks ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

Alex Mathiesen, director of programs at Live4Lali in Arlington Heights, holds one of the safe supplies the organization makes available. Overdose deaths are plunging, but there are ominous signs that a reversal of the trend could take place. Brian Hill/[email protected] Drug overdose deaths in the Chicago area mirror a statewide and national trend showing a sharp decline from 2023 to 2024.
Schaumburg motorcyclist dies after collision with sedan in Buffalo Grove

3 weeks ago | dailyherald.com | Jake Griffin

Posted June 06, 2025 8:41 am A Schaumburg man is dead after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a sedan in Buffalo Grove Thursday evening. The crash happened near the intersection of Arlington Heights Road and Plum Grove Circle at about 5:30 p.m., Buffalo Grove fire officials said.