I'm a reporter and sometime rewrite at the Tribune's Breaking News Center. We keep an eye on breaking stories, take quick information on breaking stories from reporters in the field and watch out for what our competition knows that we don't--but should.

I'm a native of Chicago's Austin neighborhood, and now live on the Far North Side with my wife and two children. I've been at the Tribune since early 1998 and with the Breaking News Center since late 2008. From March 1998 to early 2001 I worked mostly with Tribune columnist John Kass and earned the nickname "Slim." From 2001-2004 I covered the renovation of Soldier Field as part of my beat reporting on the Chicago Park District; my book on the history of the stadium, "Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City," was published in October 2009. Before coming to the Tribune, I was a reporter, rewrite and sometime radio news editor with the legendary City News Bureau of Chicago for several years; I started my career as a reporter at the Montgomery Advertiser in Montgomery, Alabama. My family's been in Chicago since at least 1857. I'm the eldest of eight siblings.

I read and write about history and politics. Much of my free time is spent with my wife and kids at various Chicago parks and museums. As part of my interest in Chicago history, I sometimes take photos of buildings that are about to be torn down, and I collect old photographs of Chicago buildings. I keep bees.

NATO summit: Loud cheers as those arrested and detained released from police facility 5/21/2012
At least 20 people arrested or detained by Chicago police during Sunday's NATO protests were released from custody overnight, according to other protesters and representatives of a lawyers' organization offering them free legal advice.

Cops: 2 men shot dead on Near West Side 5/21/2012
Two men were shot and killed this morning on the city's Near West Side, police said.

1 killed, 4 wounded in separate South Side shootings 5/21/2012
An Alsip man was fatally shot Sunday night on the city's Southwest Side, while four others, including a 17-year-old girl, were injured in separate shootings across the city.

Weeks of NATO-related warnings could mean smooth downtown commute 5/21/2012
The morning commute around downtown Chicago may be a nightmare as the NATO summit winds downs, but there's a chance it could be quieter than usual.

Neighbors mourn South Side boy 5/21/2012
12-year-old shot and killed Saturday night in South Chicago Residents of a South Chicago neighborhood gathered outside the home of Nazia Banks, 12, on Sunday morning to remember a happy boy whose life was cut short by a gunman who shot him in the head as he walked back to his family's house Saturday night.