CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Cleveland police have charged a 28-year-old woman with aggravated murder and child endangering for the deaths of two young girls found buried in suitcases on the city’s east side.

Aliyah Henderson was arrested Wednesday evening at a home on E. 162nd after officers executed a search warrant. She was then booked into the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Cleveland police said a third child was found inside the home and appeared to be in good health. That child is now in the custody of the Department of Children and Family Services.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner identified the two girls as 10-year-old Amor Wilson and 8-year-old Mila Chatman. The girls are also half-sisters.

The bodies of the two half-sisters were found in partially buried suitcases around 6 p.m. Monday near E. 162nd Street and Midland Avenue.

This is in the city’s South Collinwood neighborhood.

A man was walking his dog in the area, for the first time in a while, due to the snow, and the dog hit on the scent.

The man immediately called 911.

When officers and homicide detectives got to the field, they found the second body nearby.

Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said the victims had been there for some time.

“These were two young lives with their entire futures ahead of them,” said Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd. “Our detectives worked tirelessly and with great care to identify those responsible. Investigations of this nature require patience, precision, and discretion. Unlike what is often portrayed on television, every detail cannot be shared publicly. Certain information must remain confidential to protect the integrity of the investigation and ensure justice for these victims. That careful and methodical work allowed our detectives to develop the evidence needed to make quick identification of a person of interest, ultimately resulting in an arrest.”

Henderson will be in the Cleveland Municipal Court on Friday at 8:30 a.m.

If anyone has any information, they are asked to call the Cleveland Police Homicide Unit at 216-623-5464.

Tips can remain anonymous.

A memorial where the two girls were found has continued to grow with teddy bears, flowers, balloons and more throughout the day.

Cleveland Missing’s resources can be found here.

Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.

SPRINGFIELD (25News Now) – Illinois mayors are asking state lawmakers for more tools to manage local budgets, roads, and growth as part of their yearly pitch.

The Illinois Municipal League, a coalition of towns, cities and villages throughout the state, laid out their wish list for lawmakers in 2026. Their message: Give cities, villages, and towns more control over how money is raised and spent close to home.

One of their core demands is for the state for fully fund all revenue that is shared with municipalities. One example is the Local Government Distributive Fund.

According to the IML, the LGDF used to spread 10% of state income tax revenues across municipalities. In 2011, that percentage was changed to 6%. This year, Governor JB Pritzker proposed allocating 6.28% to 6.47% of tax revenue towards LGDF.

“Local governments are where residents feel impacts first, so shifting costs to the local level makes Illinois less affordable for residents,” said IML President and Matteson Village President Sheila Chalmers-Currin.

“Reducing LGDF funding would leave us only two options: raise local taxes or cut critical services like public safety, infrastructure and transportation,” she continued.

City, town and village leaders with the IML are also pushing to amend laws around the Motor Fuel Tax.

“Under current law, only non home rule communities located in Cook County, or those with a population exceeding 100,000 are authorized to impose a local non home rule mobile fuel tax without a referendum”, said Mayor John Lewis and first Vice President of Illinois Municipal League.

New legislation aims to change that. The proposal would allow all Illinois municipalities to add their own local gas tax in one-cent increments, up to a maximum of three cents per gallon, on top of the state’s existing motor fuel tax of 48 cents per gallon.

Any revenue from a local gas tax would be dedicated to infrastructure projects. That includes repairing roads, replacing bridges, and funding other transportation improvements that residents use every day.

Supporters argue that a small local gas tax is a fair and transparent way to pay for the streets and bridges drivers rely on. Opponents focus on what it would mean at the pump. They warn that adding another layer of tax would drive gas prices even higher at a time when many families are already struggling with rising costs.

The motor fuel tax bill, HB 1283, was filed by Chicago Heights Democratic Representative Anthony DeLuca in January 2025. It was last sent to a House committee in March 2025.

Lawmakers will consider it during this year’s legislative session.

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Copyright 2026 WEEK. All rights reserved.

ST. LOUIS — — Rakim Chaney had 18 points in Valparaiso’s 63-62 win over Indiana State on Thursday in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Chaney added five rebounds, five assists, and three steals for the Beacons (18-14). JT Pettigrew added 14 points while going 5 of 8 and 3 of 6 from the free-throw line while they also had seven rebounds. Brody Whitaker finished with 10 points.

Camp Wagner led the Sycamores (11-21) in scoring, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Indiana State also got 12 points and three blocks from Ian Scott. Enel St. Bernard finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four steals. The loss was the Sycamores’ seventh in a row.

Chaney scored nine points in the first half and Valparaiso went into halftime trailing 37-28. After trailing by nine points in the second half, Valparaiso went on a 7-0 run to narrow the score to 37-35 with 17:11 remaining in the half before finishing off the victory. Pettigrew scored 12 second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.