#Patrick Kenneally

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Illinois is set to become the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail after the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a landmark criminal justice reform law did not violate the state’s constitution.

The opinion was released more than six months after the Pretrial Fairness Act was halted by the Justices just hours before it was to go into effect Jan. 1 in response to legal challenges. The high court said the law should now go into effect in September.

In its 5-2 ruling, the court said the state’s constitution “does not mandate that monetary bail is the only means to ensure criminal defendants appear for trials or the only means to protect the public. Our constitution creates a balance between the individual rights of defendants and the individual rights of crime victims. The Act’s pretrial release provisions set forth procedures commensurate with that balance.”

The majority rejected claims that the Legislature had overstepped its authority by eliminating bail through the Act, writing that “the legislature has long regulated the bail system.”

The court’s only two Republican Justices dissented, saying “the legislature’s abolishment of monetary bail is in direct violation of the plain language of our constitution’s bill of rights and, more specifically, the vested rights of crime victims. ... This court has an absolute obligation to declare the pretrial release provisions of the Act to be invalid and unenforceable no matter how beneficial the abolishment of monetary bail may be.”

The bail system overhaul was one of the most controversial provisions of the widely scrutinized SAFE-T Act, a major bill that mandated wide-ranging reforms to policing, court proceedings and victims’ rights in the state.

The court’s ruling stems from a flurry of lawsuits last year brought by roughly 60 sheriffs and state’s attorneys who argued that eliminating cash bail would reduce public safety, put law enforcement in harm’s way and violate the state’s constitution.

In December, Kankakee County Chief Judge Thomas Cunnington agreed with the groups and ruled the cash bail provision unconstitutional, though his ruling would have only applied to counties that had sued.

An appeal by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sent the matter to the state Supreme Court, and the Justices ordered that the entire Pretrial Fairness Act wouldn’t go into effect until further notice “in order to maintain consistent pretrial procedures throughout Illinois.” 

In the ruling Tuesday, Chief Judge Mary Jane Theis said Cunnington’s decision ignored the plain language of the bail clause in the state’s constitution, which never included the term “monetary, so does not cement the practice of monetary bail, however long-standing and prevalent across Illinois, into our constitution.”

Raoul released a statement Tuesday morning saying “someone’s experience with the criminal justice system should not vary based on their income level. The SAFE-T Act was intended to address pervasive inequalities in the criminal justice system, in particular the fact that individuals who are awaiting criminal trials — who have not been convicted of a crime and are presumed innocent — may spend extended periods of time incarcerated because they cannot afford to pay cash bail.”

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who supported the bail reform, said the ruling “is a monumental milestone toward achieving equal justice for all in Cook County and Illinois. ... Ending cash bail is in line with our values and is a critical step toward economic and racial justice in Cook County and Illinois.”

But McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally, an opponent of the bail act, called the ruling “a sad reflection of state of ideological capture in our three branches of government. ... We at the state’s attorney’s office will continue to do everything within our power to ensure that dangerous offenders remain behind bars pre-trial or that other measures, such as electronic monitoring, are in put in place to minimize risk.”

Despite a two-year ramp-up before bail reform was to go into effect, opponents waited until late last year to mount a serious effort to overturn the law, as well as a political pressure campaign before last year’s statewide elections.

In the weeks before the election, opponents derided the SAFE-T Act as a “purge law” and claimed it would make the state — with a particular focus on Chicago — less safe by releasing more violent criminals to prey on the public.

Supporters of the Pretrial Fairness Act said its provisions would simply remove cash bail as a condition that could be set by a judge when considering whether someone was likely to return to court for their hearings or posed a danger to the public.

Studies of jurisdictions that have nearly eliminated cash bail have shown no significant increase in crime generally, nor by defendants released while awaiting trial. In some cases, defendants were more likely to return to court.

The elimination of cash bail does not mean people charged with crimes cannot be held in custody pending trial.

Under the act, the courts will continue to hold detention hearings for people accused of serious crimes to determine whether someone poses a safety risk if released and whether someone is likely to show up for their hearings — the same considerations that now often determine cash bail.

People charged with misdemeanors and other minor offenses will be released without bail or pretrial conditions. In more serious cases that meet standards where a person can be held in custody, prosecutors will be required to request a person be detained and make arguments on public safety and the risk of flight.

In cases where prosecutors seek to hold a person in custody, the defendant’s attorneys will be given more time to prepare for the hearing. The decision on whether a person should continue to be held in custody pretrial can also be revisited by the court at future hearings.

Cook County had planned to move forward with bail reform on Jan. 1 until the Justices halted its implementation. “I feel very confident that we will be ready to go in 60 days,” Pretrial Division Presiding Judge Marubio said Tuesday.

Until Sept. 18, judges will continue to set bail in cases in Cook County, just as they had been doing up until Dec. 31, Marubio said.

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, the lone Republican appointee on a state Senate panel that recommended revisions to the bail reforms in the SAFE-T Act last fall, said changes adopted in the December veto session largely addressed “glaring deficiencies” and expanded judges’ discretion to detain defendants who might pose a danger to the public if released.

Berlin did not join the lawsuit that led to Supreme Court case because of the potential conflict with his role on the panel.

“At this point, I would say (the public) shouldn’t be panicked,” Berlin told the Sun-Times. “With the amendment (passed in December) I am confident that violent criminals are going to be detained.”

Berlin said he expected an influx of defendants seeking hearings when the law takes effect, and that his office will petition judges to hold any person his office deems a threat to public safety.

He also noted that even multimillion-dollar bail amounts are not a guarantee of safety. “I have seen people put up $200,000 and walk out of jail on a $2 million bond,” he said.

Berlin said he and his fellow state’s attorneys planned a conference call Tuesday afternoon to discuss options, but personally he felt that another lawsuit was not likely. “I think we need to move forward with the General Assembly and use the legislative process,” he said. “At this point, I’m not sure legally what else there is to do.”

Berlin said he would advocate for changes that would make the Act resemble bail statutes in New Jersey, which largely did away with cash bail in 2017. New Jersey’s laws allow judges to set a cash bail when prosecutors show “clear and convincing evidence” people are likely to flee, threaten or intimidate others if set free before trial, or otherwise pose a threat to safety.

Harold Krent, a professor at IIT-Kent Law School who has studied the separation of powers, agreed there likely is no path for further challenges in the courts.

“There is no traditional injury they can point to that is going to get them through the doors of federal court,” he said. “This is a case where a state law was found constitutional under the state constitution. I’m not sure what their federal claim would be.”

The bail reforms were just one part of the SAFE-T Act, some of which have already taken effect. Other measures include requiring all police departments to equip officers with body-worn cameras by 2025, expanding services for victims of crimes and changing how people who are incarcerated are counted for redistricting maps.

Many Republican candidates made the SAFE-T Act a focus of law-and-order campaigning last year, but Democrats held off most challengers in what was expected to be a bruising midterm election for the party across the country and even expanded their majority on the state Supreme Court.

The elections of Justices Elizabeth Rochford and Mary Kay O’Brien were believed to be significant to preserving Illinois’ strong abortion protections, as well as the future of the SAFE-T Act. Both Justices sided with the majority of the court.

Justices Lisa Holder White and David Overstreet, the high court’s only Republicans, joined in the dissent.

[chicagochinesenews]

【大麻爭議】伊利諾州大麻爭議：健康風險與法律角力

(芝加哥時報快訊) 在伊利諾州一場圍繞大麻使用及其對心理健康影響的爭議正在升溫。這場爭議的主角是自稱「大麻媽媽」的一群立法者和自稱「心理健康之父」的麥亨利郡（McHenry County）檢察官派翠克·肯尼利（Patrick Kenneally）。這些稱號是雙方在互相攻擊時半開玩笑地使用的。 Continue reading Untitled

[corkcitylibraries]

What your teenager is reading online - and other items popular with our younger readers in 2020

by Ann Riordan

You don't need librarians to tell you that 2020 has been a very unusual year. Libraries were closed for ten weeks, and like everyone else we tried to make sense, adapt, and prepare for an unknown future. For the ten weeks we were closed, we doubled our efforts in providing e-books and e-audiobooks so our loyal readers would have something to bridge the gap. We missed our readers, and the feedback was that our readers couldn't wait for us to re-open.

Usually in September with Children's Book Festival around the corner, and with the renewed enthusiasm for reading that comes with the new school year, we eagerly prepare a list of the most borrowed children's and teen items. As you might guess, the most borrowed child item in 2020 so far is not a paper book, but an e-audiobook.  Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was borrowed 342 times in e-audiobook form, and 95 times in e-book form. There were no surprises in the rest of the lists of items borrowed by children - physical books and e-books alike. David Walliams, Liz Pichon, Jeff Kinney, Dav Pilkey and Jacqueline Wilson are still the most popular authors among our young library readers.

Young adults and teen readers often get bad press for spending too much time on screens and devices. I argue a reprieve for e-books and e-audiobooks! During lockdown, we saw an increase in use of our e-books and e-audiobooks services by our young adult members. There were many days where every single e-book and e-audiobook in our collection was out on loan.

Fantasy and magic themes dominate the young adult top 10. Stepsister, a dark retelling of Cinderella by Jennifer Donnelly is the most borrowed young adult e-book so far in 2020. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is the second most borrowed young adult e-book, and it also takes the number one spot for most borrowed young adult e-audiobooks. Holly Black appears twice in the top 10 of both e-books and e-audiobook loans with titles from her Folk of the Air series. Holly Black is also well known as the author of the Spiderwick Chronicles. Wicked like a Wildfire, number 8 in the young adults e-books list, by Lana Popović is a fantasy novel about twins with a magical gift.

World social events, and the Black Lives Matter movement has also affected what our young people are reading. Number four on the most popular e-books read by teenagers is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. First published in 2017, this novel deals with police racism in the USA. The narrator, Starr, witnesses her childhood friend shot and killed by a white police officer, and is compelled outside her wealth bubble to take a stand against injustice.

So the next time your teenager is glued to their device, think twice before intervening - they might be reading!

Interestingly, in my research, I did find one surprise. Bearing in mind that sometimes parents borrow items for their children on their own card, I looked at children's items borrowed by readers of all ages - and Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren was borrowed 61 times by adults so far in 2020! Is this the nostalgia effect caused by lockdown? More likely it is because 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the first publication of Pippi Longstocking, back in 1945. Happy birthday Pippi!

Children’s Book Festival 2020 takes place online this year. Visit our website from 1 October 2020 for details of online events. Remember membership of the library is free, and all readers can take up to 12 books, plus 5 e-books and 5 e-audiobooks with a library membership. Visit our website and our BorrowBox page for more information. Happy Reading!

The Lists

All lists cover the period 1 January - 11 September 2020.

Child titles borrowed by adults, teens and children combined. (Physical books)

Harold by Robin Davies, 63 times

Double down : diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney, 63 times

Billionaire boy by David Walliams, 61 times

Tom Gates : spectacular school trip (really...) by Liz Pichon, 61 times

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, 61 times

A lazy afternoon by Enid Blyton, 57 times

Dogzombies rule (for now) by Liz Pichon,  56 times

Alan The Bear Bedtime by Sue Hendra, 54 times

Dancing the Charleston by Jacqueline Wilson 52

Guinness world records 2020 52

Child titles borrowed by readers under 18 (Physical books)

Billionaire boy by David Walliams, 58 times  

Harold by Robin Davies, 49 times

Dogzombies rule (for now) by Liz Pichon, 49 times

Double down : diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney, 48 times

Tom Gates : spectacular school trip (really...) by Liz Pichon, 47 times

Tom Gates is absolutely fantastic (at some things) by Liz Pichon, 45  times

Dancing the Charleston by Jacqueline Wilson, 45 times

Dog Man by Dav Pilkey, 40 times

Where's Wally? : the wonder book by Martin Handford,  39 times

A lazy afternoon by Enid Blyton, 38 times

Childrens e-books

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, 95 times

13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, 67 times

Time Travel Diaries by Caroline Lawrence, 56 times

Eva's Journey by Judi Curtin, 43 times

Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd, 40 times

Hogwarts Library Collection by J.K. Rowling, 26 times

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, 25 times

Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams, 24 times

Great Dodo Comeback by Fiona Sandiford, 24 times

Chosen Ones by Scarlett Thomas, 23 times

Children's e-audiobooks

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, 342 times

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, 98 times

Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann, 96 times

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, 82 times

Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon, 76 times

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, 74 times

Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd, 71 times

Time Travel Diaries by Caroline Lawrence, 70 times

13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, 64 times

Little Princess Treasury by Tony Ross, 61 times

Young adult e-books

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly, 45 times

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, 37 times

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein, 21 times

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, 20 times

Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso, 20 times

Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally, 18 times

Margot & Me by Juno Dawson, 18 times

Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic, 17 times

Bedlam by Derek Landy, 16 times

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black, 16 times

Young adult e-audiobooks

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, 40 times

The Butterfly Tattoo by Philip Pullman, 32 times

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan, 31 times

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, 31 times

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, 30 times

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, 24 times

Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan, 24 times

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, 23 times

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, 20 times

The Wicked King by Holly Black, 19 times

[ericvick]

How a assembly in Dorchester in 1971 performed a role in a judge's busing ruling

On June 21, 1974, Federal Choose W. Arthur Garrity issued his acquiring that Boston’s faculties were segregated by the actions of the Boston School Committee. He ordered busing as a treatment commencing that September.

There was fierce opposition to the ruling amid several whites in Boston when Black people and youngsters acted with bravery that tumble when rocks pelted their buses on arrival at their new colleges.

The heritage of so-named “busing era” in the middle of the 1970s is a tale of some of the most significant events in Boston in the next 50 percent of the final century.

The suit that began it all – Morgan v. Hennigan – was filed on March 14, 1972. The named plaintiff, Tallulah Morgan, was just one of 15 Black parents with 43 children driving the suit the named defendant was James Hennigan, the chairman of the Boston University Committee.

A major influence on Decide Garrity’s decision happened at a September 20,1971 assembly at the Patrick O’Hearn College (now named the William Henderson Inclusion Faculty) on Dorchester Avenue around St. Mark’s Church and Fields Corner. Some 400 moms and dads, most of them white, crammed the school auditorium though various hundred additional listened exterior.

The impetus for the collecting was a vote taken by the College Committee that yr to overturn a vote it experienced taken in the late 1960s involving the construction of a new school on Talbot Avenue named immediately after a longtime faculty committee member, Joseph Lee.

The faculty experienced obtained distinctive state funding on the issue that it be opened as an built-in faculty, and the University Committee experienced agreed to this at a time when the neighborhoods around the Lee School were being general relatively built-in.

The nearby Franklin Subject and Franklin Hill developments housed mostly Black families and the neighborhood streets close by around Woodrow Avenue and off Norfolk Street had been primarily populated by white citizens. 

But by 1971, those demographics had modified noticeably. In 1968, most of this area was designated by the Boston Banks Urban Renewal Group (BBURG) to permit African Americans to buy residences there, a stunning go on its deal with due to the fact Black households in the city had long been discriminated from when it arrived to home getting. 

Considering that the BBURG system restricted the place its plan could be utilised typically to this place, real estate firms quickly established up offices there and utilized vicious blockbusting tactics to get whites to promote and shift out of the community. The real estate firms’ conspiracy concerned a marketing campaign of doorway-to-door canvassing, mailings, and phone calls to urge white people to promote, stating explicitly that because Blacks have been going in, they wouldn’t get a good rate if they did not provide ideal away.

In just couple decades, the proof of how this malevolent hard work experienced succeeded was stark: Hundreds of whites, a large amount of them Jews from the streets off Blue Hill Avenue, were being absent from the BBURG neighborhoods, leaving the spot predominantly Black and the Lee College no extended a prospect for significantly built-in standing.

In an endeavor to continue to keep the determination to open up the university as built-in, the School Committee arrived up with a program for some white learners from the neighborhoods about the O’Hearn in the St. Mark’s/Fields Corner region and the Emily Fifield University in Codman Sq. to be assigned to the Lee Faculty and some African-American students to be assigned to courses at the O’Hearn and Fifield campuses. The University Committee voted, 3-2, to approve the prepare, which was not probably to be well known with white parents.

Some Black mother and father had been not delighted with their young children staying assigned to a college located as considerably a mile absent from wherever they lived, specifically because the nearby Lee Faculty was manufacturer new, with a particular auditorium for the arts, a massive gymnasium, and other particular options.

Several white moms and dads ended up opposed to obtaining their little ones go to a farther away university in a Black community so that it would open up integrated. Some of this response was driven by worry, some of it by resentment that their children would have to go away their neighborhood faculty, and some of it by racism. 

Black mother and father in basic considered that built-in faculties had been their childrens’ only route to good instruction as overall the colleges in Black neighborhoods had fewer means, less expert academics, and desired a lot more repairs.  But in this circumstance, some of these parents favored a close by new university to getting their children travel farther to integrate one more college.

White dad and mom from sections of Codman Square, the St. Mark’s spot, and Fields Corner quickly organized by themselves and established out to get the College Committee to reverse the final decision.  The Sept. 21 mass meeting at the O’Hearn University was a forum for their enterprise.

All the area (all white) Dorchester politicians were there with the moms and dads….Condition Reps. Paul Murphy and Joseph Walsh, point out Sen. George Kenneally, and then-Congresswoman Louise Working day Hicks. Rev. Leonard Burke, the pastor at St. Matthew’s Church on Stanton Street down from Codman Sq., was a main chief of this energy. 

The focus of the organizers was University Committee member James Craven, who was then operating for City Council. His prospects in that election faced excellent odds considering the fact that he experienced voted for this coverage that experienced white parents up in arms. Craven utilised the celebration to announce that he was changing his vote, a instant greeted by loud cheers since his reversal insured the repeal of the Lee Faculty strategy. Craven claimed he’d originally been supplied fake info on the specifics of the approach, declaring that his candidacy for Metropolis Council, which failed in the finish, had practically nothing to do with his improved vote.

State Education Commissioner Neil Sullivan said he was “completely amazed and considerably disappointed” by the vote to reverse the integration prepare. Congresswoman Day Hicks, the very long-time leader of opposition to college desegregation, said at the conference that she was “delighted to be in this article and choose portion in democracy in motion,” in accordance to a Boston Globe report.

Make sure you take what you may perhaps have experienced or go through about the attitudes and politics that prevailed in 1971 and place yourselves in the sneakers of the white and Black moms and dads (and college students) and think about what you could have carried out in that predicament.

I recall chatting to one particular white parent, Patricia “Pat” Jones, now deceased, who attended this meeting in opposition to the integration approach. A couple of years later on, she labored for the Citywide Education and learning Coalition that attempted to support make the courtroom-requested desegregation begun in 1974 accomplish its purpose.  Not numerous white doing work-course individuals would have related themselves for a team like that in these times.

Black dad and mom submitted the Morgan v. Hennigan fit six months just after these occasions, on March 14, 1972, and the Boston NAACP and the Center for Regulation and Education and learning represented them.

James Hennigan often resented the court docket go well with owning his name on it irrespective of his obtaining voted in favor of the integration plan for the Lee Faculty. As advised in Jim Vrabel’s “A People’s Record of the New Boston,” Hennigan was lamenting: “People stated there was no leadership, but when we tried out to demonstrate management, the individuals did not want it.”  Choose Garrity’s 1974 determination discovering segregation and purchasing busing was appreciably impacted by the University Committee’s reversal in this story of the Lee, O’Hearn, and Fifield schools.

The Boston faculties however assign learners primarily based on the legacy of that courtroom determination. Little ones do not probable go to their neighborhood college, but a single of lots of in a part of the metropolis that they utilize to.  The ugly incidents of racism amidst the protests from busing stained Boston’s standing for many years into the present. 

Mayor Kim Janey created a level to check out the Edwards School in Charlestown on her first working day in office environment. That was wherever she had been bused as a small woman and greeted with racial slurs and rocks as her bus arrived. 

It has now been 50 decades because that Dorchester marketing campaign and meeting proved sizeable in the huge functions we variously connect with busing and desegregation.

Lew Finfer is a Dorchester resident and an organizer for Massachusetts Communities Action Community.

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[angelofberlin2000]

Thank you yo much to Viktoria Blythe for making this amazing vid on occasion of Keanu’s 53rd birthday! 

Viktoria Blythe

3 hrs

🎉💛🎉This day has finally come, the 2nd of Septemeber, Keanu’s 53rd Birthday. I must admit that I’ve been waiting eagerly for it. It’s a special occassion for Keanu but also for his wonderful fans, a huge community of his great admirers, who are preparing wishes, edits, videos dedicated to him. This year, just like I did in 2016, I’ve created a special video edit. I combined one of my favorite clips from his films, interviews, movie premieres with a very nice song. I worked on it  Thanks for a couple of days, especially trying my best to find the most beautiful excerpts from the movies in which he has appeared in recent years. I hope that Keanu is spending this big day in the great company of his close friends and family. I’ve included birthday wishes in the video but I want to write them again, here, in a longer form. Those ones who have been following me for some time, probably have already managed to notice how important Keanu is to me, how much I admire him for his hard work, constant dedication to his craft, huge effort he puts, not only into playing his roles, but also in every single project that he decides to implement. I would like to wish him, first of all, great health becasue, just like all his fans, I want to see many more movies with him, loads of more incredible stories told by Keanu, always in such an accurate, precise way.  I hope that he’ll continue to do what he truly loves, what makes him happy and never stop amazing us with his incomparable performances, magnificent interpretations of roles. He’s a method actor, a true artist, who chooses unconventional, remarkable productions, always wants to provide his enormous, supportive audience entertainment and cares about their opinions. I want him to still portray phenomenal characters, have many artistic opportunities, achieve his goals successfully and be more appreciated for his talent, unique skills, commitments which he always makes by preparing so diligently to roles, doing a lot of extra things to picture a gripping story super perfectly, absolutely authentically. I can’t wait to see him in ‘Replicas’, ‘Siberia’ and ‘Destination Wedding’. However, maybe it might sound exaggeratedly but undoubtedly not in the case of Keanu, I’m already entirely sure that these films are going to be really engrossing cause Keanu never fails to enchant me by his beautiful, movie creations. I also would love to wish Keanu to have plenty of good friends- kind, warm people who will be able to fully respect him, his privacy, encourage him and help him whenever he needs it. I want him to find soulmates, lead a happy, fortunate life, to experience only cheery moments. I would like to wish his prodigious company to develop. I hope that they will create lots of new fantastic motorbikes, expand the activity into Europe. I hope that Keanu will continue to ride on his marvelous, two-wheeled machine and travel a lot, visit lots of terrific places, but also have time only for himself, to read, reflect, as he once said in an interview. Hopefully Keanu will always be such a genuine, humble, down-to-earth, grounded guy and the movie industry will eventually recognize him and he will be honored with some well-deserved awards but even without them, for me he will still be a gifted, outstanding, one of a kind actor.  His choreography, movie fights are always breathtaking, perfectly acted, with attention to every detail. I hope that we’ll see many of them in the near future and that he will have numerous possibilities to show his extraordinary abilities in a variety of movies. I wish him to work with creative people and keep on exploring, learning, getting to know new things thanks to starring in different, splendid productions. I want Keanu to never change and continue to be such a precious person, an impressive actor and especial artist for the next 53 years. Happy Birthday, Keanu! 🎉🌟🎉#happybirthday #keanureeves #53years #myvideo #edit #specialday #birthday #2ndSeptember #2017 #wishes #birthdaywishes #dedicatedfan #thankyou

🎈This is the first part of my Birthday post, it's long but because of that special occasion, I must have written a lot and it was too difficult for me to express everything only in a few words 😄🎈

--------------------------------------------------------- This is of course a non-profit video made purely for fun. I don't own the movies, the interviews or the music.

Music: Coldplay-Everglow

Footage (in the chronological order): The World- Interview with Keanu Reeves (credit to Keanu Reeves Russian Club), CBC Interview with Keanu Reeves, Keanu Reeves on Good Morning, America; The Matrix Behind The Scenes- Training Injuries (credit to Movieclips Extras), Side by Side- Interview with Keanu Reeves (credit to HitFix), 47 Ronin Interview-Keanu Reeves (Movieclips Coming Soon), John Wick 2 Interviews (FOX 5 DC), Keanu Reeves poleca kujawsko-pomorskie (credit to Gazeta.pl), TIFF Dracula and TIFF The Devil’s Advocate (credit to Sabrina Bottroff), Speed: Keanu Reeves on the cast (DVD Extra, credit to WendyCR72), For LTICS (credit to Jean Rea), Something’s Gotta Give (2003, directed by Nancy Meyers), clip from the interview from TIFF ‘Henry’s Crime’ premiere, Knock Knock Interview (Movieclips Coming Soon), My Own Private Idaho (1991, directed by Gus Van Sant), Point Break (1991, directed by Kathryn Bigelow), Much Ado About Nothing (1993, directed by Kenneth Branagh), The Devil’s Advocate (1997, directed by Taylor Hackford), Constantine (2005, directed by Francis Lawrence), The Matrix (1999, directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski), Sweet November (2001, directed by Pat O’Connor), Hardball (2001, directed by Brian Robbins), The Lake House (2005, directed by Alejandro Agresti), Henry’s Crime (2011, directed by Malcom Venville), 47 Ronin (2013, directed by Carl Rinsch), John Wick (2014, directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch), John Wick 2 (2017, directed by Chad Stahelski), Chris Kenneally: The Making of “Side by Side” Documentary (credit to Alexandros Maragos), Keanu Reeves Reading From Paul Gauguin’s ‘Noa Noa’ (FondationBeyeler), Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant Book Signing Event (TTL Nerd), Arch “The Story” (credit to ARCH Motorcycle Company on youtube), Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger ride the new Arch KRGT-1 (credit to ARCH Montorcycle Company), It starts with the style (credit to ARCH Motorcycle Company), videos of Keanu riding a bike are from youtube (Bloomberg, CBS Sunday Morning), video from the Sanremo Music Festival (from Facebook, credit to the owner), John Wick 2 Behind The Scenes (from DVD Extras), Point Break Chasing Scene, Speed (1991, directed by Jan de Bont), The Matrix Behind The Scenes- Dojo (Movieclips Extras), The Matrix scene, 47 Ronin, John Wick (2014), John Wick 2 (2017), Interview with Keanu from The Tonight   Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Interview with Keanu from JW2 promotion (youtube, credit to the owner), Kid Stand-Up from Jimmy Fallon’s Show, a clip from Man of Tai Chi interview with Keanu Reeves and Tiger Hu Chen (credit to the owner), 47 Ronin interview (Entertainment Tonight), Keanu Reeves Knock Knock Interview, JW2 Behind The Scenes (DVD Extras), 2 scenes from Sweet November, 2 scenes from The Lake House, Speed Interview (DVD Extras), Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron from Oscars, Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski Interview (Build Series), video from Dogstar backstage (credit to the owner), clip from The Ellen Show material, fan videos from Winnpeg, Saint Petersburg, clip from the Camerimage Festival journalist material, Build Series Interview, interview from The Graham Norton Show (February, 2017), video from the ‘Henry’s Crime’ premiere (movingpicturesnet), Point Break scene, Speed scene, A Walk in The Clouds clip, The Devil’s Advocate scene, Sweet November scene, Hardball scene, The Matrix Reloaded scene (2003, directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski), The Lake House scene, 47 Ronin Scene, John Wick scene, The Grandmaster-Exclusive clip (IGN), interview from the Sundance Film Festival (The Hollywood Reporter), Keanu Reeves on The Dan Patrick Show, Keanu Reeves JW interview (2014, credit to the owner), Keanu Reeves Interview (Collidervideos), Keanu Reeves in Motorcycle Show (To Keanu with Respect), clip from the 47 Ronin Japanese premiere, Keanu Reeves- charming and funny (credit to csnelli), JW2 interview (credit to the owner), clip from the Jimmy Fallon’s interview (June, 2017),  clip from the CBS Sunday Morning Interview.

[ericfruits]

Sources and acknowledgments

In addition to those people quoted in this special report and those who spoke anonymously the author would like to thank: Dwight Billings, Ivy Brashear, Emily Campbell, Raj Chetty, Sheldon Danziger, Dee Davis, Joe Flood, Catherine Flowers, Rebecca Gallant, Irwin Garfinkel, Robert Gipe, Edward Glaeser, Adam Gorlick, Samuel Hammond, Chris Harris, David Harris, Peter Hill, Elisabeth Jacobs, Keith Janis, Dwayne Mills, Wes Moore, Tracy Occomy, Mimi Pickering, Joel Ratner, Jason Segedy, Jenna Severson, Jay Shambaugh, Rebecca Toseland, Cory True, Christopher Wimer, and James Ziliak. Further reading

American Apartheid, Douglas Massey and Nancy Denton

Appalachian Legacy, James Ziliak

A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect, Robert Sampson

Coming Apart, Charles Murray

Legacies of the War on Poverty, Martha Bailey and Sheldon Danziger

Night Comes to the Cumberlands, Harry Caudill

Our Kids, Robert Putnam

Places in Need: The Changing Geography of Poverty, Scott Allard

The Great Risk Shift, Jacob Hacker

The Other America, Michael Harrington

There There, Tommy Orange

The Truly Disadvantaged, William Julius Wilson

Stuck in Place, Patrick Sharkey

Upstate Girls, Brenda Ann Kenneally

Worlds Apart, Cynthia Duncan

Special reportPoverty in America

https://ift.tt/2lFrjoh

[kacydeneen]

Parents Charged in Illinois Boy's Death After Body Found

The parents of Andrew "AJ" Freund, the 5-year-old boy missing from Crystal Lake, Illinois were charged with murder Wednesday after police said they recovered what they believed to be the young boy's body. 

Joann Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr. were both charged with the death and disappearance of AJ, authorities announced Wednesday, one week after the child was last seen and six days after he was reported missing.

Cunningham was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated domestic battery and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Freund Sr. was charged with five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, one count of aggravated domestic battery, two counts of concealment of homicidal death and one count of failure to report a missing or child death.

Authorities said a body wrapped in plastic was uncovered from a remote location in the northwestern suburb of Woodstock, just miles from the Crystal Lake home where the boy was reported missing. 

Police said both parents were questioned overnight and into Wednesday morning after information was obtained during a "forensic analysis of cell phone data." 

"Once presented with the evidence obtained by investigators, both Joann and Andrew Sr. provided information that ultimately led to the recovery, what we believe is the recovery of deceased subject AJ," Crystal Lake Police Chief James Black. 

The cause of death was not immediately known and police said it would be determined "at a later date." 

"To AJ’s family, it is our hope that you may have some solace in knowing that AJ is no longer suffering and his killers have been brought to justice," Black said. "We would also like to thank the community for their support and assistance during this difficult time. To AJ, we know you are at peace playing in heaven’s playground and are happy you no longer have to suffer." 

Wednesday marked one week since AJ's parents said they last saw the child, putting him to bed at their home in northwest suburban Crystal Lake.

The following morning, Freund Sr. called police to report that his son was not in the house and that they had canvassed the neighborhood, went to a local park, checked an area gas station and called his school - but AJ was nowhere to be found, according to the 911 call released Tuesday. 

Law enforcement and first responders descended on a large wooded area in Woodstock Wednesday morning. At the same time, police were seen searching the family's home on Dole Avenue in Crystal Lake. 

Moments later, evidence technicians brought items from an evidence van into the Crystal Lake police station. Those items included a mattress, a large bin, two large brown bags, and an item that appeared to be a shovel with a long wooden handle.

Police scoured the area surrounding the family's home for days after the boy's disappearance, searching hundreds of acres of land and water before centering their investigation on the house, saying they found no evidence of an abduction. 

The boy's parents initially told authorities that they put him to bed at their home around 9:30 p.m. on April 17. 

"We have a missing child," the father told dispatchers at the beginning of the 911 call the next morning, later saying they had checked "closets, the basement, the garage, everywhere" in the house to no avail.

LISTEN TO THE 911 AUDIO HERE

On Tuesday, McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally urged anyone who may know something to come forward. Kenneally said the worst thing someone could do in the case would be to conceal the truth.

“We will literally be working on this case every day until we find AJ or get justice for him," he said.

Police also asked the public for any video surveillance from the area in the days leading up the time the boy went missing, specifically for video taken between 7 a.m. on April 15 and 9 a.m. on April 18.

"This would include video from home surveillance devices like the Ring Home Security System," police said in a statement Tuesday, asking the public to email jmattson@crystallake.org.

The missing boy's father continued to stay at the family’s home throughout the search, meeting with investigators over the weekend.

"I have no control over what people think," Freund Sr. said over the weekend. "I just want my son to come home, OK?"

Cunningham retained an attorney early in the investigation and was not cooperating with police based on advice from her lawyer, who said she was being treated as a suspect and alleged authorities had stopped searching for the boy - a claim Crystal Lake police denied.

Both parents appeared Tuesday in McHenry County Circuit Court for a custody hearing related to their other son, who was taken into custody by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services the day AJ was reported missing.

The hearing was continued, with the next hearing set for Monday at 9 a.m. CST.

Photo Credit: Crystal Lake Police Parents Charged in Illinois Boy's Death After Body Found published first on Miami News

[pitz182]

Chicago May Begin Prosecuting Dealers For Overdose Deaths

When someone dies of an overdose, is it their own responsibility, or should the person who provided the drugs be held criminally liable? That’s the question that law enforcement and prosecutors around the country have been asking, and in Chicago the answer is beginning to change. Although the Chicago Police Department has not investigated drug deaths as homicides in the past, it is beginning to do so, according to CBS. “It’s becoming an epidemic, so we need to do what we can to reduce that,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. The Chicago Police Department now has plans to create a task force to investigate drug-related deaths and prosecute dealers under the state’s drug-induced homicide law.The Chicago Police Department has been inspired in part by the success of prosecuting drug dealers in nearby McHenry County. There, police and prosecutors target dealers in overdose deaths. “Every single overdose case that happens in McHenry County, we assign a lawyer to work with police,” said McHenry County State’s Attorney, Patrick Kenneally. His office has prosecuted about 20 drug-induced homicide cases in the past three years, including 8 in 2017, when there were 80 overdose deaths in the county. The next year there were 51 overdoses, and 15 prosecutions for drug-induced homicide. “This, we truly believe, is tangibly resulting in lives being saved,” Kenneally said. In Chicago, only one overdose case has resulted in prosecution in the past four years. The victim in the case was the 18-year-old stepdaughter of Theresa Almanza, a police officer.Despite Almanza’s law enforcement experience, she was told that the city would do nothing to prosecute the people who provided her stepdaughter with drugs. Almanza said, “The Chicago police department told me they don’t investigate these cases criminally. That Sydney made a choice and they weren’t going to investigate it.”The department said that the cases were difficult to prove, costly and time-consuming. However, Almanza didn’t give up, and eventually Brent Tyssen and Cynthia Parker were charged in connection with Sydney’s death.Tyssen was sentenced to six years in jail, while Parker was placed on probation. Almanza hopes that sentences like these will deter people from selling drugs, and help stem overdose deaths. Now others, including police superintendent Johnson, are willing to give the strategy a try. Johnson said, “I’m confident we’ll be able to model what they have out in McHenry County. Our children, their lives matter too, and these cases must be investigated criminally.”

[corkcitylibraries]

Seamus Murphy | Tributes in Verse

Blackpool has links with more individuals who have contributed to Cork’s cultural history than might initially be realised.

Chief amongst these is the sculptor, Seamus Murphy.

At the age of 14 he began an apprenticeship which ended with him becoming, in his own words, “the only legitimate stonecarver in Cork for 25 years’’.

In 1934 he opened his studio/workshop on Watercourse Road, Blackpool. There he produced many of his works which are now judiciously distributed throughout the city.

Seamus Murphy was to stonecarving what Harry Clarke was to stained-glass windows or James Joyce to literature, each a renowned master at their craft.

For generations poetry has been used as a concise and eloquent way of paying tribute to individuals who stood apart in terms of their contribution to our nation’s cultural heritage.

In 1980, five years after his death, The Cork Review published an edition dedicated to the memory of Seamus, featuring recollections of the man and his work through essays and poetry.

Blackpool library has chosen the poems printed in that volume as its focus in celebrating Heritage Week 2020.

In this exceptional year when we came to realise that not everything we take for granted is carved in stone we remember Seamus Murphy whose works in stone remind us that some things do, in fact, endure.

Each poem is a poignant reflection on the sculptor. Murphy himself might have approved of how Christy Kenneally, a native of Blackpool, put it:

                  ���And when ‘twas time to die

                  God chisel hammer-honed him down

                  to His image and likeness

                  called his name

                  and freed him from his plinth ‘’.

 Here is a selection of poems, chosen by library staff about Seamus Murphy:

Seamus  Murphy

‘Stone is in my system’

Of the materials he mastered

Stone meant the most to him:

Time and again

The tough and stubborn grain

Was civilised

By his bright chisels

 Showing its secret strength

As clear thought,

As sound feeling.

 No small matter this

Recreation

Of the deeper core

 Now tools forget his hand

And lose precision.

The streets grow dull without that keen

    perception,

Without those eyes

And that warm wit

Among curious lines.

 Light on his feet,

With his grey hair on end,

Gentle, but stubborn and active as a terrier,

A small man goes away

Leaving us here like old dust and chippings.

 He will be missed by all manner of people.

And yet we have been lucky:

Such cut and character

Bite into time,

And so we keep his mark.

 Look: on her mountain the young saint’s

   Tranquil stance.

And the steady face of courage in the city park.

                                                          by Seán Lucy

Gobnait   (for Seamus Murphy)

 witch now in this stone bewitched,

stone robed in our present mythologies

of ordinariness : a Bandon cloak

about your buxom form, no hint

of holy or satanic slyness;

around you a feast of green hills,

the familiar drone of your bees.

 Lady, for so now you are, behold my

incompetence to reach back to innocence,

to shift the mandrake root by prayer :

I need an older medicine,

as once you practised in the nights

on stone alters alone with the

winds and hills for congregations.

 such priests are dead as were before

Patrick and taught no grim theologies

but the unisons of earth and star:

Gobnait, recall the midnights and the

moons, saint of people and their witch,

and from your stone plinth hear me:

magic the mandrake from the root.

                              by Robert O’ Donoghue

   In Memoriam Seamus Murphy:  October 1975

 It is deserted today in the municipal park;

Deserted swing and slide, deserted path and riverbank;

Yet the more deserted the municipal park by the river

The more life-like appears the Virgin of the Twilight.

 What is a sculpture, Daddy?

A small girl asks of her father

As they wander through the municipal park

And he points to a sculpture

Named Virgin of the Twilight

And he stoops down and he explains:

“That was made by a man called Seamus Murphy

And it is a sculpture ‘’.

 And the daughter stares up at the Madonna and child

Carved in white limestone

And the father stares down at the daughter transfixed

In her fascination with the mystery of birth

Knowing that she too one day will wait

Alone and desolate in the world

Bereft lit creased soaked scourged

By wind rain sunlight and snow.

 “And where is Seamus Murphy now? ‘’

Cried out the small girl turning upward her eyes:

“He has gone home to God...’’ stammered the father

“And...’’ as he groped for words

She interposed as though

Already having arrived at

A final, restful and most satisfactory conclusion:

“And he has left his sculpture behind him, Daddy’’.

 And the sculpture remains:

And father after daughter

Disappears off

Into the vanishing light.

                                                            by  Paul Durcan

    Seamus Murphy, died 2nd October, 1975.

Walking in the graveyard, a maze

Of angels and families

The path is coiled like a shaving of wood

We stop to read the names

 In time they all come around

Again, the spearbearer, the spongebearer

Ladder and pillar

Scooped from shallow beds

 Carrying black clothes

Whiskey and ham for the wake

The city revolves

White peaks of churches clockwise lifting and falling

 The hill below the barracks

The sprouting sandstone walls go past

Finding below the old clockface

 The long rambles of the spider

In the narrow bed of a saint

The names in stones travelling

Into a winter of stone.

                                                       by Eiléan Ni Chuilleanáin

Seamus Murphy - Sculptor

The hat

incongruous

upon a head

half-finished.

The face beneath

crevised and quarried

by the dint of searching...

searching for life and grace

where we saw

stone:

that face

soft planed

sandpapered

saved from all severity

by a sad, wry eye

And when ‘twas time to die

God chisel hammer-honed him down

to His image and likeness

called his name and freed him from the plinth.

                                       by Christy Kenneally

[alexdmorgan30]

Chicago May Begin Prosecuting Dealers For Overdose Deaths

When someone dies of an overdose, is it their own responsibility, or should the person who provided the drugs be held criminally liable? That’s the question that law enforcement and prosecutors around the country have been asking, and in Chicago the answer is beginning to change. Although the Chicago Police Department has not investigated drug deaths as homicides in the past, it is beginning to do so, according to CBS. “It’s becoming an epidemic, so we need to do what we can to reduce that,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. The Chicago Police Department now has plans to create a task force to investigate drug-related deaths and prosecute dealers under the state’s drug-induced homicide law.The Chicago Police Department has been inspired in part by the success of prosecuting drug dealers in nearby McHenry County. There, police and prosecutors target dealers in overdose deaths. “Every single overdose case that happens in McHenry County, we assign a lawyer to work with police,” said McHenry County State’s Attorney, Patrick Kenneally. His office has prosecuted about 20 drug-induced homicide cases in the past three years, including 8 in 2017, when there were 80 overdose deaths in the county. The next year there were 51 overdoses, and 15 prosecutions for drug-induced homicide. “This, we truly believe, is tangibly resulting in lives being saved,” Kenneally said. In Chicago, only one overdose case has resulted in prosecution in the past four years. The victim in the case was the 18-year-old stepdaughter of Theresa Almanza, a police officer.Despite Almanza’s law enforcement experience, she was told that the city would do nothing to prosecute the people who provided her stepdaughter with drugs. Almanza said, “The Chicago police department told me they don’t investigate these cases criminally. That Sydney made a choice and they weren’t going to investigate it.”The department said that the cases were difficult to prove, costly and time-consuming. However, Almanza didn’t give up, and eventually Brent Tyssen and Cynthia Parker were charged in connection with Sydney’s death.Tyssen was sentenced to six years in jail, while Parker was placed on probation. Almanza hopes that sentences like these will deter people from selling drugs, and help stem overdose deaths. Now others, including police superintendent Johnson, are willing to give the strategy a try. Johnson said, “I’m confident we’ll be able to model what they have out in McHenry County. Our children, their lives matter too, and these cases must be investigated criminally.”

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 http://bit.ly/2X1lgHD

[emlydunstan]

Chicago May Begin Prosecuting Dealers For Overdose Deaths

When someone dies of an overdose, is it their own responsibility, or should the person who provided the drugs be held criminally liable? That’s the question that law enforcement and prosecutors around the country have been asking, and in Chicago the answer is beginning to change. Although the Chicago Police Department has not investigated drug deaths as homicides in the past, it is beginning to do so, according to CBS. “It’s becoming an epidemic, so we need to do what we can to reduce that,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. The Chicago Police Department now has plans to create a task force to investigate drug-related deaths and prosecute dealers under the state’s drug-induced homicide law.The Chicago Police Department has been inspired in part by the success of prosecuting drug dealers in nearby McHenry County. There, police and prosecutors target dealers in overdose deaths. “Every single overdose case that happens in McHenry County, we assign a lawyer to work with police,” said McHenry County State’s Attorney, Patrick Kenneally. His office has prosecuted about 20 drug-induced homicide cases in the past three years, including 8 in 2017, when there were 80 overdose deaths in the county. The next year there were 51 overdoses, and 15 prosecutions for drug-induced homicide. “This, we truly believe, is tangibly resulting in lives being saved,” Kenneally said. In Chicago, only one overdose case has resulted in prosecution in the past four years. The victim in the case was the 18-year-old stepdaughter of Theresa Almanza, a police officer.Despite Almanza’s law enforcement experience, she was told that the city would do nothing to prosecute the people who provided her stepdaughter with drugs. Almanza said, “The Chicago police department told me they don’t investigate these cases criminally. That Sydney made a choice and they weren’t going to investigate it.”The department said that the cases were difficult to prove, costly and time-consuming. However, Almanza didn’t give up, and eventually Brent Tyssen and Cynthia Parker were charged in connection with Sydney’s death.Tyssen was sentenced to six years in jail, while Parker was placed on probation. Almanza hopes that sentences like these will deter people from selling drugs, and help stem overdose deaths. Now others, including police superintendent Johnson, are willing to give the strategy a try. Johnson said, “I’m confident we’ll be able to model what they have out in McHenry County. Our children, their lives matter too, and these cases must be investigated criminally.”

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8241841 https://www.thefix.com/chicago-may-begin-prosecuting-dealers-overdose-deaths

[booksofrequirement]

Happy New Year! I hope you guys had a wonderful time celebrating the holidays with your loved ones and rang in the new year in style.

Due to the holidays, work being busy, and wanting to spend some time with my family, I didn’t have a lot of time to read, but I did get to a few books that I’ve been wanting to read for awhile.

I am excited for what the new year brings, reading and non-reading wise, and I hope you guys are too!

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren – ★★★★☆ – This is Christina Lauren’s third book of 2018 and I think their books just keep getting better. Their plots are original while still keeping the tropes I love, their banter is clever and hilarious, and their romances are hot and swoon worthy, and My Favorite Half-Night Stand is a prime example of their phenomenal abilities as a writing duo.

Invaded by Melissa Landers – ★★★☆☆

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally – ★★☆☆☆

Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas – ★★★★★ – I loved this book way more than I ever hoped I would. Maybe it was because I love Sarah J. Maas anything writes, maybe it was because I already know and love these characters, or maybe it was because Selina Kyle reminded me of Aelin a little bit, but I had the most fun time reading about the crimes of Gotham City. I just have two questions, can Harley Quinn get her own book, and can Sarah J. Maas write it?

The Wizard of Oz by Frank l. Baum – ★★★☆☆

2018 Reading Challenge Progress

At the beginning of last year, I combined a whole bunch of different challenges to make one that would allow me to read books I would normally read as well as books outside of my comfort zone. Click here my entire wrap up of the 48 different prompts I came up with for the 2018 year.

…a book you’ve started but never finished. (Invaded)

…a book about/involving a sport. (Catching Jordan)

…a childhood classic you’ve never read. (The Wizard of Oz)

Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge Progress

The Wizard of Oz by Frank l. Baum

January TBR

The Wicked King by Holly Black

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

What was your reading month like? Have you read any of the books mentioned? Leave a comment!

December Wrap-Up/January TBR Happy New Year! I hope you guys had a wonderful time celebrating the holidays with your loved ones and rang in the new year in style.

[420jobsboard]

McHenry County state's attorney asks local lawmakers to vote against marijuana legalization   Northwest Herald McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally has asked state representatives to vote against legalizing marijuana in Illinois, if and when the time comes.

[writers-live-twice]

Dumpu, New Guinea, 7 October 1943. Members of the 2/2nd Australian Independent Company on their return to camp after a twelve-day patrol in the Ramu Valley, Left to right: NX37195 TROOPER (TPR) F. J. THORPE; WX11366 CORPORAL J. F. FOWLER; NX130254 TPR J. A. PRIOR; WX13118 TPR W. R. WATSON. The 2/2nd Commando Squadron was one of 12 independent companies or commando squadrons raised by the Australian Army for service during World War II. The 2/2nd served in Timor, New Guinea and New Britain during World War II, taking part in the Battle of Timor in June 1942 as part of Sparrow Force. Following the capture of the island, the company was withdrawn in December 1942 and returned to Australia, later taking part in operations in New Guinea in 1943–44 and then on New Britain in 1945. After the war, some of the unit's members became advocates for the rights of the Timorese people, recognizing the contribution that they had made to Australia's war effort. One member, John Patrick "Paddy" Kenneally, who died in March 2009 at the age of 93, said that the Australians would "...not have lasted a week had the Timorese not protected them". Kenneally visited East Timor four times after World War II; once in 1990 and a further three times after independence from Indonesia was achieved in 1999. In 2005, he appeared in TV advertisements promoting a fair deal for the people of East Timor in negotiations over Timor Sea gas and oil and was instrumental in securing a fair share of the gas field for the Timorese people.

[huntleybiz-blog]

Special prosecutor to be appointed in Linderman case by Nov. 24

WOODSTOCK Attorneys could learn Nov. 24 if a special prosecutor has been appointed to handle the case of a 23-year-old McHenry woman accused of trying to find someone to kill her ex-boyfriend. Broken jail elevators prevented Stephanie E. Linderman from being in court Friday, but attorneys agreed to meet Monday to discuss Linderman's bond, and again Nov. 24 to determine if a special prosecutor has been appointed. McHenry County Judge James Cowlin on Thursday granted the state's attorney's request for a special prosecutor. McHenry County State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally filed the motion to avoid a conflict of interest, after Linderman's father, Mike Linderman, donated $2,500 to Kenneally's election campaign fund in August. The special prosecutor will come from the Illinois Office of the State's Attorney Appellate Prosecutor. In the meantime, the McHenry County State's Attorney's office likely will continue to oversee hearings concerning only Linderman's bond while the court seeks a new prosecutor. Linderman was charged Saturday with solicitation of murder, solicitation to commit aggravated battery and disorderly conduct for intentionally making threats to her ex-boyfriend. She is being held in McHenry County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond. If convicted, Linderman could be sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison.

[ericfruits]

Photos Should Finish Law Career

The Illinois Administrator has filed a complaint

On May 24, 2015, a McHenry County Grand Jury indicted Respondent on one count of the offense of child pornography, a Class 1 felony, in the matter of The People of the State of Illinois v. James T. Zeas, docket number 15CF000297, in the Circuit Court of the Twenty Second Judicial Circuit, McHenry County. Count One of the indictment charged that Respondent committed the offense of child pornography, in that Respondent knowingly filmed A. S., a child whom defendant knew or reasonably should have known to be under the age of 18 years, depicted or portrayed in any pose, posture or setting involving the lewd exhibition of the unclothed fully or partially developed breasts of A. S. and where within one year of the victim attaining the age of 18, the statute of limitations was extended pursuant to Chapter 720, Section 5/3-5(a) of the Illinois Compiled Statutes to allow for a prosecution of this offense to be committed at any time, in violation of Chapter 720, Section 5/11-20.1(a)(1)(viii) of the 2009 Illinois Compiled Statutes. A certified copy of the indictment is attached as Exhibit One.

On February 3, 2017, following a bench trial before the Hon. Michael Feetterer, Respondent was found guilty on Count One of the indictment.

On June 14, 2017, the Hon. Sharon Prather sentenced Respondent to four years imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections. 

Details from the McHenry County Times

Patrick D. Kenneally, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that James Zeas, 48, was found guilty of Child Pornography after a bench trial heard by the Honorable Michael Feeterer.

The evidence introduced at trial showed that in June of 2009, Zeas took three children to Lifetime Fitness in Algonquin, Illinois to go swimming. Zeas then secretly placed a video camera in the family bathroom and recorded a young teenage girl changing out of her swimsuit.

Zeas kept the video on his computer where it was discovered a few years later.

(Mike Frisch)

http://ift.tt/2uoBlsu

http://ift.tt/2uoBlsu