Nation In Brief : ILLINOIS : Looting Breaks Out in Chicago Blackout

Looting broke out on Chicago’s West Side after a generating plant fire left 40,000 customers without electricity overnight, authorities said. Beefed-up patrols in the darkened area arrested 49 people on looting-related charges and about 15 stores were ransacked, police Detective Luby Novitovic estimated. Three people were killed and four others were injured in a fire started from candles used to replace electric lights, authorities said. Power was restored to about 20,000 users late Sunday, utility spokesman Steve Hogan said, and extra police officers were deployed in the area. “(Looters) just lined up outside the stores, waiting for the police to leave,” Officer Rory Ohse said.