Dispatches from Chicago's south side.
[VIDEO] Since he was mentioned in the comments on this blog we hear from Chief Cook County Judge Timothy Evans on Chicago Tonight who answering to the criticism of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Supt. David Brown as far as the recent spike in crime. The Mayor and Supt believes the courts aren't upholding their part in upholding the law even as police officers are taking people charged with murder off the street.
[VIDEO] Just saw this on YouTube this afternoon and decided to share it with you. This is how Chuck Goudie starts off his report:
For months the I-Team has been looking into a nationwide run on guns and especially the appetite for firearms in Illinois, following COVID lockdowns and the violence after the George Floyd killing by police.
Every time a gun is sold in Cook County, the taxpayers benefit because the gun buyer pays a tax. According to Open Records data obtained by the I-Team, business was booming last year.
Total gun tax revenue in Cook County was more than $1.9 million dollars, a tax revenue increase of 56% compared with the previous year.
How many of you have purchased a gun? Are you concerned about these uprecedented and uncertain times?
[VIDEO] Kim Foxx successfully fended off a seemingly strong challenge to her office from Republican Pat O'Brien on Tuesday night. Here's the story from CBS Chicago about her declaring victory for a second term as Cook County State's Attorney.
I just have to add 2nd City Cop isn't happy.
[VIDEO] It's been quite a while since I've shared anything from Public Affairs host Jeff Berkowitz who recently interviewed Foxx's Republican opponent Pat O'Brien. The video you see above.
Lately State's Attorney Kim Foxx has gotten a lot of attention and it started with the Jussie Smollett fraud. Did you know a judge who called for a special prosecutor in that case didn't get endorsed by the Cook County Democrats.
And nationally - well actually with the right wing to be honest - she's been getting some attention for he handling of the unrest in Chicago especially after the death of George Floyd and last month after the looting in the wake of a young Black man getting shot.
To also share 2nd City Cop wants to see former Democrat and Cook County Judge Pat O'Brien defeat the sitting state's attorney they dub Crimesha.
I also want to note the last Republican who held the state's attorney office was Jack O'Malley who was defeated by Dick Devine for the office in 1996. He later became an appellate judge.
1,105 new cases, 18 new deaths https://t.co/rasi5iVzai— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) March 29, 2020
The virus’s trend line has improved.
“It looked like we were on a similar trajectory as New York City. Over the last couple days, we’ve seen cautiously optimistic that maybe we will avoid that scenario. In Illinois the social distancing kicked in in just enough time. In the last few days we’ve seen the flattening of that curve, but we’re not taking our foot off the gas pedal. That’s why we’re opening up spaces like this,” Rumuro said.
This includes adding computer terminal stations and adding space in unconventional ways, a feature from when the building was designed 15 years ago.
But today while some trend lines are promising, there are others less comforting.
“What’s been interesting over the last 48 hours is the number of very sick people that are coming in,” said Rumuro. “We hope we don’t peak. The idea here with the social distancing is to flatten that curve out and not seeing a peak. That’s what we’re hoping for.”
At the time of Cuomo’s press briefing, he said that 37,000 in New York state had tested positive for coronavirus, an increase of 6,400 from the previous day. Around 18,000 tests had been administered in the last 24 hours.
Cuomo said that while the number of cases continued to go up each day, the slower rate in growth was encouraging. “'We're looking for a reduction in the rate of increase as opposed to the number of absolute cases, that's what we're looking for.”
This Lightfoot vs. Preckwinkle fight could have far-reaching consequences https://t.co/dkdmVM9JAF— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) September 23, 2019
Get the money, mayor https://t.co/Zr0OOARzlH— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) September 23, 2019
Question of the day https://t.co/UnIYJkt3T1— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) September 11, 2019
Dorothy Brown won’t seek reelection https://t.co/8j9ckAaPpq— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) August 14, 2019
Stop arguing and get to work https://t.co/kG4prr4ZDN— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) July 19, 2019
Durkin wants Raoul to review Smollett case https://t.co/M1nmmW6iUq— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) March 28, 2019
But almost nothing has been said about fixing the broken system in which we select the final arbiters of justice: judges. Instead, we stick with a ridiculous election system in which we all troop to the polls every couple of years to elect or retain dozens of officials whose performance we're in no position to evaluate. We have no firsthand knowledge of who we're voting for, so we rely on others to make the choice, and that almost always results in political insiders controlling the outcome—insiders such as Ald. Edward Burke. In case you've forgotten, he's in charge of Democratic organization slating for judges, and those candidates almost always win.Heh, somewhere at home I do have a nail file from a long-ago judicial candidate. Perhaps I'll share a pic of it on ig.
The current system "is a total joke,” says Lightfoot, and she's absolutely right. Stephenson hasn't yet faced voters, since she was appointed by other judges to fill a vacancy—a process that's is even less transparent than meaningless elections.
So, amid this mayoral race, let's have some renewed discussion about “merit selection” of judges, with appointments made based on recommendations by panels of experts who are far more qualified to make a choice than a voter buttonholed by a precinct captain.
Will that be perfect? No, but that's the way it works in most states.
Is there a risk big law firms will dominate the process and leave out minorities? Absolutely. But tell me you have any faith at all in the current system.
For Chicago's policing system to work, we need police to be accountable and held to the highest standards, and we need a civilian population that trusts and works with them to fight crime. We also need judges who know what they're doing and are held to equally high standards of accountability.
Let's have that conversation.
Months after being convicted for second-degree murder, former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison and two years of mandatory supervised release for the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald, a judge announced Friday.This is further broken down on the CapFax and not long after they shut down comments for the weekend.
How Jason Van Dyke’s projected 96-year sentence wound up being 81 months https://t.co/8RwzD8dZcq— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) January 19, 2019
Three current and former Chicago Police officers have been acquitted of criminal charges accusing them of conspiring to cover up the circumstances of the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald in 2014 in an effort to protect fellow officer Jason Van Dyke.Finally, this is how upset some people were with this verdict. And let's not count this out, last year one judge didn't get retained thanks to a very concerted effort.
Cook County Judge Domenica Stephenson found former officer Joseph Walsh, Officer Thomas Gaffney and ex-detective David March not guilty of felony counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and official misconduct.
“The state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was an agreement between any of these defendants or others, or any act in furtherance of their agreement,” she said. “This court finds that the state has failed to meet its burden on all charges.”
In announcing her verdict, Stephenson said prosecutors did not prove the statements the three officers made in official reports on the shooting were false. She also said deciding the case was not a simple matter of comparing the video of the shooting to official police reports, noting the dashcam video was not filmed by the officers.
Musical interlude: “Welcome to the Machine” https://t.co/3K7BhsWuf9— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) December 5, 2018
The racially charged comment came from Judge Richard D. Schwind as he sentenced 31-year-old Deon Lindsey in a misdemeanor battery case.The bigger man walks away, however, the N-word is offensive whether or not we're slaves. And I'm with Dartesia Pitts - who was formerly President of the Cook County Bar Association - stating: “It was totally unnecessary for the judge to make this commentary on the record at all relating to slavery”. Yes, it was unnecessary!
Lindsey admitted hitting his ex-girlfriend’s white brother at her apartment in Hoffman Estates in May. But Lindsey told police he was provoked by being called the N-word, records show.
Speaking from the bench on July 18, the judge said the slur was an “ignorant term” for the recipient of the punch to have used with Lindsey.
But the transcript shows Schwind then told Lindsey, “You take offense to a word that — you, you were never a slave, but you take offense to it. And I understand that. But the bigger man walks away. You don’t resort to violence. That’s why society is the way it is now.”
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After hearing cases Wednesday in Courtroom 101 in the Rolling Meadows branch, Schwind declined to comment.
But on Thursday, the spokesman for Chief Judge Timothy Evans told WBEZ that the court system’s executive committee will review the matter at its Oct. 3 meeting.
The spokesman, Pat Milhizer, added that judges must abide by an Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct rule stating, “A judge shall perform judicial duties without bias or prejudice.”
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Schwind, 66, became an associate judge in April 2012 and has been assigned to the 3rd Municipal District courthouse in Rolling Meadows since 2013. Associated judges are chosen by a vote of circuit court judges elected by voters.
He is currently serving a four-year term that expires on June 30, 2019.
A graduate of John Marshall Law School, Schwind worked for seven years for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office and then more than 27 years for the Illinois Attorney General’s office, rising to chief of the criminal enforcement division.
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At the sentencing hearing, Schwind said, “Mr. Lindsey, it’s my understanding … the victim in this case used a term that is insulting to you. And I understand that.”
Lindsey told the judge that the slur was used “in front of my daughter.”
“That doesn’t give you a right to hit him,” Schwind replied.
Fascinating insights into Jason Van Dyke’s judge https://t.co/ZPYwOslNYt— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) September 12, 2018
