The Chicago Sun-Times is partnering with the founders of Washington, D.C.,’s Homicide Watch, Laura and Chris Amico, to launch a Chicago edition, the New York Times reports. The Sun-Times paid the Amicos for the technology to build the Web site. The paper plans to have its crime reporter, plus several general assignment reporters, cover murders and have interns track and follow up on the cases.
The Web site (homicides.suntimes.com) is scheduled to be up and running later this month. Jim Kirk, The Chicago Sun Times' editor in chief, said that the Web site's launch is especially well-timed. “In Chicago, the murder rate is what everybody is talking about,” he said. “This is one of many initiatives we want to experiment with, in trying to bring our readers more closely together. What Homicide Watch shows is that people do like to discuss and relate to issues in their backyard.” The Trentonian, a newspaper owned by the Journal Register newspaper chain, started a Homicide Watch for Trenton, N.J., in September.