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CHICAGO, Oct. 9 — The leader of a Chicago-area Islamic charity was indicted on racketeering charges Wednesday, and the government accused him of fraudulently obtaining donations to support Osama bin Laden’s network and other terrorist groups. Attorney General John Ashcroft said that, if found guilty, Enaam Arnaout faces up to 90 years in prison with no possibility of parole.

U.S. Links Charity to Chechen RebelsBy Nabi Abdullaev Staff Writer The head of a U.S.-based Islamic charity who is suspected of having ties to Osama bin Laden is in jail facing a grand jury investigation after the FBI showed he had lied about his support for Chechen rebels. Federal officials accused Enaam Arnaout, a Syrian-born U.S. citizen, and his Benevolence International Foundation of perjury last month for claiming they did not provide support to "people or organizations known to engage in violence, terrorist activities or military operations of any nature." Arnaout, 39, was arrested April 30. He had been under...

<p>CHICAGO (AP) &#8212; A Muslim charity leader linked by prosecutors to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network was sentenced yesterday to more than 11 years in federal prison for defrauding donors.</p> <p>Enaam Arnaout, 41, a Syrian-born U.S. citizen who said he has met bin Laden but opposes terrorism, was calm as the sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Suzanne B. Conlon.</p>

A community college in Illinois is trying to defend itself after it decided to offer special classes only available to black people. “College: Changes, Challenges, Choice” is a one-credit introductory course at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, and is intended to help new students “assess your purpose for college, assess your study strategies, set college and career goals, examine your values and decision-making skills, and develop an appreciation for diversity.” But while the class may want students to appreciate diversity, the school doesn’t practice what it preaches. Two sections of the class are specifically set aside exclusively for...

FoxNews just reported that an agent for Saddam Hussein has been arrested in Chicago. .....developing....

PALOS HILLS, Ill. (AP) A local bank has closed a mosque's account after it donated money to an Islamic charity under federal investigation for allegedly helping terrorists. Family Bank and Trust Co. closed the account of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview after the mosque wrote two checks to the Islamic American Relief Agency, according to the mosque's imam, Sheikh Jamal Said. Mosque Foundation president Oussama Jamal said the mosque made its donations in August and September, before the federal government froze the charity's assets and raided its Missouri offices in October. The Treasury Department alleged Islamic American Relief was part...

Revelations in the Peoria Journal Star earlier this week that the Peoria/Champaign area is one of seven in the United States on a terrorist “circuit” were frightening. “Terrorists enter the United States in San Francisco and Los Angeles, then move to Phoenix, then Denver," reported Phil Luciano of the PJS. "From there some head to Peoria and Champaign. Some terrorists remain in those communities, while others head on to New York City" (emphasis added). Luciano was provided this information by Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy, who received it at a recent FBI conference held in Springfield. Names of larger cities...

<p>CHICAGO (AP) -- Federal prosecutors accused a Syrian-born American of once leading a Muslim charity that the Treasury Department calls a terrorist group, and said he tried to help Osama bin Laden get a nuclear weapon.</p> <p>The government said Mohamed Loay Bayazid was president of the suburban Chicago-based Benevolence International Foundation in 1994, about the same time he is accused of trying to get uranium for al-Qaida.</p>