The Latest Breaking News from Loop

CHICAGO — Over a 48-hour period two weekends ago, three shootings erupted within a mile of one another in Chicago’s downtown area, leaving two people dead. During that same time, some 17 other people were shot around the city, most of them in neighborhoods where a higher level of violence…

The shooting Sunday stemmed from a robbery during a drug deal at a Taco Bell in the 100 block of North Wabash Street around 5 p.m., according to Chicago police.

In one of the attacks, four people were wounded when two gunmen opened fire on an SUV stopped at a light in the Loop.

CHICAGO — Four people, three in an SUV and a pedestrian crossing the street, were injured during a single shooting in the Loop around 1:35 a.m., according to Chicago police.

A blue Dodge Durango was stopped in the 400 block of South Wells Street when the gunmen fired from a sidewalk around 1:35 a.m. Tuesday, according to police.

The Sunday night crowd at the Nederlander Theatre was sent home just before curtain and offered refunds or ticket exchanges.

“There were two guys running down the alley, running westbound toward State Street, and somebody was shooting at them,” a stagehand told the Sun-Times. “My buddy ended up getting in the crossfire.”

CHICAGO —The 30th anniversary of the Great Chicago Flood of 1992 was two weeks ago, and it was a crisis that submerged the Loop in 124 million gallons of water from the river when an abandoned subterranean tunnel was breached during repairs to one of the bridges downtown.

About 150 parents with several community groups rallied outside CPS’ Loop headquarters Wednesday ahead of the monthly Board of Education meeting to decry budget cuts at their schools.

I respect the interest in historic preservation. But the Dirksen Courthouse and those who work in it have been targeted before, and security vulnerabilities around the courthouse must be addressed.

The quirkiest and least lethal Chicago disaster, 30 years ago today, is not forgotten.