From the Hinsdale Police Blotter

Hinsdale ATM Tampering Leads to Fraudulent Withdrawals

Officials from two Hinsdale banks told police that skimming devices that record customer information including PIN numbers were likely placed on their ATMs in recent weeks.

Unknown offenders seeking card information of ATM users appear to have successfully tampered with ATMs at two Hinsdale banks, according to the Hinsdale Police Department. Northern Trust, 4 N. Washington St., and Hinsdale Bank & Trust, 25 E. 1st St., reported on Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, respectively, that a number of local customers have told bank officials that the customers’ ATM information had been used fraudulently to withdraw money at various Chicagoland banks. Officials at both banks told police they believe a “skimming device” that records card information of those used at the ATM, including PIN numbers, was placed on the banks’ machines. Northern Trust customers had fraudulent withdrawals take place between Jan. 1 and Jan. 28, police …

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Patch Poll: Super Bowl Along the Shore of Lake Michigan?

Professional football's biggest game of the season, a cause for an unofficial national holiday, is usually played in warm climates. Do you want to see that changed?

With NATO under his belt, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is looking for the next big event he would like the city to host. He wants a Super Bowl. There may be some pros to his idea, but there are a lot of cons: the small capacity of Soldier Field (after all, the $uper Bowl is all about money); the unpredictable yet usual frigid February weather and the lack of a dome over Soldier Field. Historically, the Super Bowl has been played in locations with warmer climes, where you don’t have to worry about a blizzard making it difficult to get the to the game, such as California, Arizona and Florida. Games have been played in domes in Atlanta, Detroit and Indianapolis. Who knows, though? Conventional wisdom and past history will be tested next year …

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Joe O'Donnell

11:54 am on Monday, July 23, 2012

Whatever needs to be done, I suppose.   more ›

Patch Poll: Three Inventions That Changed Our Lives

Gordon Matthews, Luther Simjian and Eugene Polley may not be household names, but their inventions are part of everyday life.

Voice mail. The ATM. The remote control. These inventions are so much of today’s life, we barely can function without them. Gordon Matthews is the inventor and patent-holder for voice mail. In the late ‘70s, Matthews began working on the technology that would come to be called voice mail. His "Voice Message Exchange" managed electronic messages in a digital format, and he patented it in 1982. At times, it seems Matthews saw himself as a bit of a Dr. Frankenstein. "I'm not really pleased with some of the things I see voicemail being used for today," Matthews once remarked. "We didn't design this technology to annoy people, but rather make their lives easier." In 1939, Luther Simjian patented an early and not-so-successful prototype of an …

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Sabrina Wu

4:05 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012

Good points, Justin. I do think voicemail is important, though, especially for those who still don't have text.   more ›