“The court gave 180 days before its decision will be returned to the lower court
to be implemented. As our office reviews what legal steps can be taken, that
time period enables the legislature to consider whether it wants to take
action.”
* Second Amendment Foundation…
The Second Amendment Foundation has won a huge victory for the right to bear arms outside the home, with a ruling in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that declares the right to self-defense is “broader than the right to have a gun in one’s home.”
The case of Moore v. Madigan, with Judge Richards Posner writing for the majority, gives the Illinois legislature 180 days to craft a new gun law that will impose reasonable limitations, consistent with the public safety and the Second Amendment…on the carrying of guns in public.”
“We are very happy with Judge Posner’s majority opinion,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “This is a victory for Illinois citizens who have been long denied a right recognized in the other 49 states; to have the means necessary for self-defense outside the home.
“In the broader sense,” he added, “this ruling affirms that the right to keep and bear arms, itself, extends beyond the boundary of one’s front door. This is a huge victory for the Second Amendment.”
“The Second Amendment,” Judge Posner writes, “states in its entirety that ‘a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.’ The right to ‘bear’ as distinct from the right to ‘keep’ arms is unlikely to refer to the home. To speak of ‘bearing’ arms within one’s home would at all times have been an awkward usage. A right to bear arms thus implies a right to carry a loaded gun outside the home.
Later, Judge Posner adds, “To confine the right to be armed to the home is to divorce the Second Amendment from the right of self-defense described in Heller and McDonald.”
“That the court will give Illinois lawmakers six months to craft a law allowing carry outside the home recognizes that the right to bear arms means what it says,” Gottlieb concluded. “The ball is now in the Legislature’s court, and we eagerly wait to see how well they can live up to their responsibility.”
* Illinois State Rifle Association…
URGENT ALERT – YOUR IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
7TH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS DIRECTS ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO PASS CONCEALED CARRY BILL
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT:
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has rendered a decision in the Shepard/Moore v. Madigan case that states that Illinois’ ban on concealed carry is unconstitutional. The court further directs the legislature to pass a concealed carry bill within 180 days. Although the announcement of this court ruling would appear to be good news for self-defense advocates, it is really nothing more than the first volley in what will be a heated battle to preserve and protect our gun rights. The gun control movement, headed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, will be introducing a concealed carry bill of their own for the sole purpose of satisfying the court order. Madigan’s bill is sure to be a sham that will be so restrictive and impractical that only very few Illinois citizens would even qualify for a carry permit – most citizens would remain unprotected from criminals. Information obtained from within the Madigan organization indicates that the anti-gunners will piggyback an “assault weapons” ban and other onerous gun control legislation on the concealed carry bill. In order to prevent Madigan from hijacking concealed carry, Illinois gun owners need to step up and let their voices be heard on this issue.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO GET A GOOD CONCEALED CARRY BILL PASSED:
1. Contact your State Representative and State Senator. Politely advise them that you are a law-abiding firearm owner and that you support the court of appeals decision in the Shepard case. Politely advise them that you want them to vote against any sham concealed carry bill that Lisa Madigan will try to push. Politely tell them that you want them to vote for HB 148, the Family and Personal Protection Act. Advise them that you will not support any concealed carry bill that contains provisions that would discourage the average citizen from seeking a carry permit such as exorbitant fees, impossible training requirements, or excessive red tape. Advise them that you will only support a “clean” concealed carry bill that does not try to sneak through gun control schemes. If you do not know who your State Representative and/or State Senator is, please visit the Illinois State Board of Elections website link here.
2. Pass this alert along to your family and friends. Encourage them to contact their representatives as well.
3. Post this alert to any and all internet blogs or bulletin boards to which you may belong.
* Sen. John Sullivan…
“I am extremely pleased with today’s decision and could not agree more that the time has come for Illinois to join the 49 other states where it’s legal to carry a gun for self-defense in a public place,” Sen. Sullivan said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to draft a law that finally respects Illinoisans’ Second Amendment rights and makes our state a safer place for law-abiding citizens.”
Illinois law currently prohibits carrying a loaded weapon outside one’s own home, with exceptions for hunters, law enforcement officers and a few other types of individuals. Following the United States Supreme Court’s lead, the appeals court in a 2-1 decision declared that the right to bear arms includes a right to self-defense and that people need to defend themselves and their families in a variety of settings, not just in their homes. The court suggested some restrictions would still be permissible but unequivocally stated that Illinois may no longer remain the last hold-out in the nationwide movement to allow concealed carry.
* Sen. Bill Brady…
“The court’s welcome ruling today is a recognition that law-abiding citizens in Illinois have a right to defend and protect themselves, just as the citizens of the 49 other states do. In today’s society, men and women should have an opportunity to be as safe on the streets as they are in their own homes.”
“I have consistently supported measures to allow our citizens to carry concealed weapons and will work with my colleagues in the legislature to write a responsible law that meets that goal as well as to provide for safe enforcement of it. I would hope that all Illinois officials use their energy to craft a concealed carry law with appropriate safeguards that will make Illinois the model for implementation of concealed carry laws, rather than using those resources to appeal today’s ruling.”
* Congressman Joe Walsh…
“This ruling is a victory for Illinois residents and will give them the constitutional right to defend themselves, as has been established in every other state in the country,” Walsh said. “Illinois has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country and yet crime rates have soared, including a 49% jump in shootings in Chicago this past November. The right to possess and carry weapons is enshrined in our Constitution, and I am glad that this has been recognized by the Federal Courts.”
Walsh has been on the front lines of the Second Amendment debate. In June, Walsh and three other Members of the Illinois delegation sent a letter to Governor Pat Quinn urging him to give residents their constitutional right to protect and defend themselves.
“I respect the right of gun ownership, and I will remain steadfast in protecting all Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms.”
* State Rep. Jason Barickman…
“This court decision reinforces what many of us downstate have advocated for years; that our Second Amendment rights do not simply disappear when we step outside our home,” said Rep. Barickman. “I would hope that this opinion paves the way for a vote on a conceal carry measure during the upcoming lame duck session that will commence January 3rd.”
Lawmakers like state Sen. Terry Link, who vehemently opposed concealed carry, are already asking Attorney General Lisa Madigan to appeal.
“First of all, I hope they appeal it,” Link, a Waukegan Democrat, said. “Let’s get a true ruling on it.”
Supporters of concealed carry, though, say the other side might be hesitant to appeal because a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Illinois’ case could loosen other states’ restrictions nationwide.
State Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican, called the ruling “historic” and said now the sides have to negotiate what kinds of fees, training and restrictions a concealed carry law in Illinois should include.
“Those of us that support the 2nd Amendment are glad this came down, finally,” Sullivan said.
House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, a longtime gun control advocate, said she hoped the state would appeal the ruling. But Currie also said lawmakers must “get cracking” on how to respond to the ruling and begin parsing its key points.
Currie, D-Chicago, said that “justices surely do not mean that we would have to have wide-open” laws in Illinois. She said Illinois must now look at what other states are doing, such as disallowing guns in day-care centers and other locations.
“If we need to change the law, let us at least craft a law that is very severely constrained and narrowly tailored so that we don’t invite guns out of control on each of our city’s streets,” Currie said. “I don’t want people out of control wandering the streets with guns that are out of control.”
I’d look for an appeal to the Supremes. Meanwhile, the majority opinion indicated that Illinois might be able to require only “open carry” weapons — weapons carried, say, in an open holster. Just like in Dodge City.
That will be good for holster makers. And, just like in Dodge, for hearse and coffin manufacturers, too.
* The Golden Horseshoe for Best Non-political Senate Staffer award goes to Giovanni Randazzo…
It doesn’t matter what the issue is, the guy’s got the answer. And if you ever ask a technical question of someone else, the answer is often “Well,…but confirm that with Gio.” He’s a veteran to the business and a man who loves what he does.
Kim Schultz of the Senate Dems is one the kindest, most decent people I’ve met around the statehouse. Not only that, she really knows her stuff and really busted her tail this session working on Medicaid reform. Some of those Medicaid meetings were long and frustrating, but she never complains, but stays on task and continues to do her job very well.
* In the House, I’d like to give a special shout-out to John Lowder, who is leaving his job as approp director. He’s an all-time favorite and this award really should be named after him for all the hard work he’s put in over the years.
She manages some of the largest state agency budgets - DHS - HFS during a very hard time for those agencies and the clients they serve. Perhaps more timely, however, is her work on Medicaid reform. Any organization or individual that caught a glimpse of how complex the negotiations were on Medicaid reform had to appreciate the enormous time sink and the numerous interest groups that intersect on the program.
What can I say, he is the driving force behind the house research staff. He has brainstormed more ideas for legislation than anyone under the dome. He is a critical thinker, a team player, and an amazing human being. He volunteers regularly for Big Brother Big Sister, and is always encouraging others on staff to volunteer as well. He needs no motivation, he already has the drive within himself, but he is constantly motivating and cheering others on. He is the quiet under-recognized staffer that deserves to win this year.
* OK, let’s move on to today’s categories…
* Best campaign staffer - Senate Democrats
* Best campaign staffer - Senate Republicans
As always, this is about intensity, not about the number of votes. If you don’t explain your vote, it simply won’t count.
We are disinclined to engage in another round of historical analysis to determine whether eighteenth-century America understood the Second Amendment to include a right to bear guns outside the home.
The Supreme Court has decided that the amendment confers a right to bear arms for self-defense, which is as important outside the home as inside. The theoretical and empirical evidence (which overall is inconclusive) is consistent with concluding that a right to carry firearms in public may promote self-defense.
Illinois had to provide us with more than merely a rational basis for believing that its uniquely sweeping ban is justified by an increase in public safety. It has failed to meet this burden.
The Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment therefore compels us to reverse the decisions in the two cases before us and remand them to their respective district courts for the entry of declarations of unconstitutionality and permanent injunctions.
Nevertheless we order our mandate stayed for 180 days to allow the Illinois legislature to craft a new gun law that will impose reasonable limitations, consistent with the public safety and the Second Amendment as interpreted in this opinion, on the carrying of guns in public.
“The (Illinois) legislature, in the new session, will be forced to take up a statewide carry law,” said NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde.
The lobbyist said prior attempts to reach a middle ground with opponents will no longer be necessary because “those compromises are going out the window.”
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is reading the just-issued opinion and is unable at this point to comment about the prospects of filing an appeal, a spokeswoman said.
In Chicago, Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus, welcomed the ruling, citing the “unequal treatment” of people caught with weapons in Cook County.
“If you’re stopped in Chicago, it’s been a felony. If you’re stopped in one of these suburban towns, the state’s attorney has been charging you with a misdemeanor,” Brookins said.
“If you just walk out to your garage and see that your wife is coming in the house safely and you happen to have your gun on, you’re in technical violation of our ordinance. I would hope that all of these ordinances would be consolidated, and there would be one set of rules [so] people know where the bright line is.”
Brookins said he’s not at all concerned that concealed carry would turn inner-city neighborhoods already reeling from gang violence into shooting galleries.
* Senate President John Cullerton has often pointed to Wisconsin when he talks up his proposal to require publicly traded corporations to disclose their Illinois income tax payments. But at least one Wisconsin taxpayer group doesn’t think much of the idea…
Taxpayer advocates in Wisconsin, which has its own tax-disclosure law, say corporations are generally structured in ways too complicated and too widely scattered to force them to produce a simple, accurate bottom-line figure on the revenue they generate in any given state. Skeptical economists in Illinois agree. […]
Tod Berry, president of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, said the information is likely to provide the public with, at best, an incomplete portrait.
“Based on Wisconsin’s experience with a different law but in the same general vein,” Berry said, “I would say that the value of this is somewhat limited and the resulting information is probably somewhat suspect just because of the reality and dynamics of a business organization.” […]
Berry points out that many corporations consist of a number of separate subsidiaries, many paying their own taxes. And many companies legally conduct at least a portion of their business in states that have no corporate tax, such as Delaware, by incorporating there rather than in the states where they’re actually based.
“Corporate structure makes this a lot more problematic than it may seem at first,” Berry said.
Judging the effectiveness of Illinois’ corporate subsidies is a nice idea, University of Illinois economist Fred Giertz added, “but this isn’t going to allow them (to do that).”
In case you’re wondering, the Wisconsin group doesn’t appear to be one of those knee-jerk “all taxes are horrible” outfits.
* My mom sent me a link to this story along with a note about how it was a good idea. I agree. The bill helps Illinois comply with federal law and it was supported by the gas stations. It flew through both chambers and the governor is expected to sign it…
Illinois law says service stations are required to pump gas for people with disabilities. But in order to get that help, drivers have to honk or find some other way to get the attention of an attendant.
Ann Ford, with the Centers for Independent Living, says that can lead to frustration.
FORD: “One time when I was driving back from Springfield, it took going to three different gas stations and two hours to get a tank of gas, because no one could see us.”
Ford was in the Capitol testifying in support of legislation meant to address the problem. It would require gas stations to post a direct phone number to the attendant, so people can call for assistance. Gas stations can’t charge more for the service, but there are exceptions — like if an attendant is working alone and can’t leave his or her post.
* The Transportation Safety Administration reports that it intercepted 41 guns at airport security just last week alone - the same week that Sen. Donne Trotter got busted for attempting to bring an unloaded handgun through an O’Hare Airport security checkpoint.
The TSA categorizes Trotter’s gun as “loaded” because the clip, packed separately, was full. All but five of the guns seized last week were classified as loaded. From the TSA blog…
Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested.
This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that’s for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.
* Meanwhile, if you want to see the prosecutorial mentality that Trotter is up against, check out this 2008 interview excerpt of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, where she says that nobody should ever be allowed to own a gun…
I hope she doesn’t think that she can ever run statewide with that sort of stance.
* In other news, state Sen. Toi Hutchinson became the first 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate to take a swing at Trotter…
Hutchinson drew a line back from Jackson Jr. through previous representatives Mel Reynolds, also a current candidate, and Gus Savage, both of whom, like Jackson, left office in disgrace.
“I believe it was an accident. I do,” Hutchinson said of Trotter’s gun charges. “But at the same time we’ve had three congressmen in a row leave with scandals and legal issues. And I think people are ready to turn the page.
“It’s an unfortunate situation. There’s a process in place where he’s going to have to deal with it,” Hutchinson said in contrasting herself with Trotter. “I am seriously concentrating on the needs of the people in this district. And every minute we talk about these other issues, we’re not talking about jobs, we’re not talking about protecting Medicare and Social Security.”
Hutchinson pulled up short of calling for Trotter’s withdrawal from the race. “That’s a decision he’s going to have to make,” she said. “I can’t make that decision for Sen. Trotter.”
State Senator Toi Hutchinson says high crime areas should be allowed to be as tough as need be, but not so much for other areas.
“My issue is keeping communities as safe as possible and I think law-abiding citizens are very different than criminals walking around concealing and carrying right now and they don’t care what bill we pass,” Hutchinson said.
When asked by a reporter if she ever had a vote on concealed carry in Springfield, Hutchinson’s press aide said “I’m sorry, that’s all we have time for, thank you very much!”
Q: But how would you have voted [on concealed carry]?
A: I think that Illinois should be like New York. New York City has some of the toughest gun regulations in the country, but they have a version of conceal carry that works in their state. It’s county-specific and it takes into consideration regional common sense. If you are handing coffee out your window to your neighbor, that’s different than when the next house is a mile away.
Q: So if Kankakee County wanted to have conceal carry, you would be in favor of allowing that?
A: Yeah. I think the counties need to be able to manage what they can do. Cook County needs to be able to manage very different issues than the other 101 counties.
* State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s once-rising star on the wane
* Toi Hutchinson speaks out against Donne Trotter: Chicago police said Trotter will not be charged with owning an unregistered handgun in the city. Trotter told investigators he kept the pistol in Springfield.
* Will Sandi Jackson Run for Disgraced Husband’s Seat? ‘Never Say Never’
Tuesday, Dec 11, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Democratic state Senate President John Cullerton on Sunday continued his push for legislation that would give a special driver’s license to illegal immigrants.
Cullerton told congregants at a packed Spanish-language service at St. Pius V Church in Pilsen that though the bill sailed through the Senate, he would need their help to get it through the House.
“The reason why we need to pass this legislation is not just so that illegal immigrants can drive, but also so that everyone will be safe,” said Cullerton, whose talk was translated into Spanish. “I hope you can continue to encourage your legislators in the House of Representatives to vote for the bill.”
Under the measure, an estimated 250,000 illegal immigrants would be eligible for three-year renewable driver’s licenses. The special licenses would require drivers to pass vision, written and road tests. It could not be used as an official form of identification.
* The Golden Horseshoe for Best Senate Secretary/Admin. Assistant goes to Robin Gragg…
Robin Gragg in the senate presidents office. Dealing with the calls and people she deals with on a average session day would cause the normal person to be jaded. But not Robin. She gets through every day with a smile and her quick wit.
The woman is unflappable.
* Runner-up is Melissa Earle, who is coming off a particularly difficult week…
Anyone who can put up with the traffic up in that office deserves the award!!
Agreed. It can get crazy up on 6.
* Now, let’s move on to today’s categories…
* Best House Legislative Staffer - Non Political
* Best Senate Legislative Staffer - Non Political
We’ll start the “political” staff category tomorrow. Let’s keep this to the folks who generally stay on payroll year-round. And remember that this is about intensity, and not about raw vote totals. No comment = no impact. Thanks.
* After rejecting requests to lease their oil and gas rights for fracking on their land, a southern Illinois couple has discovered that their property could be fracked without their consent…
A rural Williamson County couple was surprised to learn that the rights they own for oil and gas on their property may not protect them from the possibility of fracking on their land.
Joy and David Ramsey recently discovered that despite owning the gas and oil rights on their 44 acres of land east of Marion, they could be forced into a lease that would allow high-volume hydraulic fracturing on their property. […]
According to the Illinois Oil and Gas Act, unwanted leases can result under certain circumstances.
Drilling occurs in units, which vary in size but are usually between 10 and 40 acres. Drilling permit applicants need to secure the rights for all the property within the unit.
Because units can be spread across separately owned interests, if all leaseholders agree, they may integrate their interests and develop their lands as a drilling unit. However, if leaseholders can’t agree to integration within the unit, a hearing could be set in the matter.
The hearing would determine whether the unit is integrated.
* An attempt to regulate fracking came up short last spring.
As always with legislation, the question here is one of balance. There’s a real, tangible overall good to extracting lots of natural gas in order to lower the nation’s dependency on other fuel sources. If Illinois turns out to have a large amount of frackable natural gas, the state could receive tons of tax revenues. On the other hand, there are some real concerns about the impact on local landowners from fracking. A southern Illinois group has compiled a small list of problems so far. Click here to see it.
One of the most fascinating things about the media frenzy surrounding state Sen. Donne Trotter’s arrest last week was that not one of his Democratic opponents in the 2nd Congressional District immediately jumped in front of the cameras to comment about it.
They stayed quiet even when Trotter (D-Chicago) announced the next day, after bonding out of jail on a gun charge, that he wouldn’t drop out of the race to replace former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
And still nothing was said after media reports revealed that the gun was not registered and that Trotter had not reported an outside security job on his financial disclosure reports.
Trotter was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly attempting to bring an unloaded pistol and an ammo clip through a security checkpoint at O’Hare International Airport. Reporters swarmed the courthouse after Trotter posted bond Thursday and then, when he refused comment, some descended on his home on the South Side.
His arrest was one of the biggest news stories in the city, mainly because of his congressional bid, yet none of the dozen or so other prospective Democratic candidates in the 2nd District special election issued a statement or responded on the record to questions about his arrest or his unknown second job.
One campaign insider said late last week that his operation was maintaining a “no comment” stance regarding Trotter but marveled how it was “really amazing” that everybody had shown such restraint in a race that appears to be hotly contested.
Well, Trotter is armed, I cracked.
All kidding aside, the political dynamics in black-majority political districts can be a lot different than in white districts. So many blacks have been arrested in this country that a candidate who piles on somebody right after they’re busted probably wouldn’t be received well by black voters — who make up most of the electorate in the 2nd District.
Plus, there’s an old political saw about how one should “never commit homicide when an opponent is committing suicide.”
Ironically, Trotter was arrested for allegedly violating a law that he voted for twice. Once a decade ago, when he voted to increase the penalties for his alleged violation from a misdemeanor to a felony.
And then again a few years ago when he moved that statutory language to another part of state law: “It is unlawful for any person to board or attempt to board any commercial or charter aircraft, knowingly having in his or her possession any firearm, explosive of any type or other lethal or dangerous weapon.”
Notice the word “knowingly” in the text. Trotter told police that he forgot he had the small, .25-caliber pistol and a separate ammo clip in his travel bag.
Trotter’s story is that he didn’t knowingly bring the gun through security, which seems logical because trying to do so at O’Hare would be a spectacularly stupid thing to do. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office, however, decided to charge him with a Class 4 felony, which carries a prison sentence of one to three years and a fine of up to $25,000.
A former state’s attorney in another county who once was a legislator said Trotter’s “I forgot” defense will be a “tough slog.”
“The case law on this provision (knowledge) is clear and well established,” the ex-prosecutor said in an email message. “About the only way I could see a possible defense under this provision would be if Donne picked up someone else’s luggage that looked just like his luggage and carried it to security without ‘knowing’ that it contained a gun — or that someone planted a gun in his luggage.”
He said he always liked Trotter, but the Chicago senator is “in a world of hurt with the law.” But he added it’s “ridiculous” that every unlawful use of a weapon charge is a felony.
“There is no misdemeanor provision of UUW available for first-time offenders,” he grumbled.
And word from inside is that Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez may take a hard look at Trotter’s revelation about his special gun-carrying permit via a job with a Chicago security company.
Things could get very ugly or end very quickly. And his opponents may have jumped on Trotter by the time you read this.
* And as it turns out, what I was hearing from inside the state’s attorney’s office was correct…
The pistol-packing misadventure at O’Hare Airport that landed state Sen. Donne Trotter in a lockup facing felony gun charges has spawned a separate investigation into the politically connected security company Trotter said employs him as an armed guard, DNAinfo.com Chicago has learned.
Law enforcement sources say the investigation will likely look into whether Trotter, who makes nearly $90,000 a year as senator, really does moonlight as a security guard for Allpoints Security and Detective Inc., 2110 1/2 E. 71st St.
And a separate state probe has been launched to determine if the Southeast Side security firm has acted as a “front” to procure firearm control cards for people who are not employed as armed guards, according a source close to the investigation.
Apparently, the state’s attorney likes to leak info about ongoing investigations. Not good at all.
“We’re very serious, and we have to remain serious at airports. When people want to bring firearms on airplanes, they’ve got to know they face felony charges, which is what is looming over Sen. Trotter at the moment,” Durbin said.
“What happens as a result of this case, I can’t say. But we can’t make exceptions because someone’s an elected official,” Durbin said. “This applies to everybody across the board. Don’t tempt us. Don’t try to test the system because we’re serious about safety on our airplanes.”
I would add that there shouldn’t be any special leaking about this case, either.
* Related…
* Washington: Donne Trotter’s gun is worse than his stupidity
* Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez committed what could amount to political suicide on 60 Minutes last night. The program was about the large number of false confessions in Chicago - highest in the nation. Have a look…
Byron Pitts: (Alvarez) defends the actions of the police in these two cases.
Alvarez: We have not uncovered any evidence of any misconduct by the police officers or the State’s Attorneys that took the statements in these cases.
Narration: Alvarez still believes the confession Terrill Swift gave in the Nina Glover case. Despite the fact there was no DNA evidence linking him or the others to the crime.
Byron Pitts: Did you find any of the boys’ DNA on the victim?
Anita Alvarez: No, we didn’t.
Byron Pitts: Did you find any of their DNA in the basement of the house?
Anita Alvarez: No.
Byron Pitts: How do you explain that the boys would say they raped a woman, and there not be any DNA evidence? Doesn’t that strike you as odd?
Anita Alvarez: Well, we would love to have DNA on everything. And every piece of evidence that we have, in every crime. But it doesn’t necessarily occur.
Narration: Last year, the (New York-based) Innocence Project retested the one DNA sample that was recovered inside the victim Nina Glover. It was submitted to the National DNA Database and a match was made to Johnny Douglas, a serial rapist and convicted killer, who is now deceased. But the new discovery did not change Anita Alvarez’s mind.
Byron Pitts: You find out years later that, in fact, the DNA found inside the victim’s body belonged to Johnny Douglas. And Johnny Douglas is a convicted serial rapist and murderer. That doesn’t tell you that he most likely is the person who killed this woman?
Anita Alvarez: No. It doesn’t. Is he a bad guy? Absolutely, he is. Absolutely. But, can we prove, just by someone’s bad background, that they committed this particular crime? It takes much more than that….
Narration: In the case of Robert Taylor, Jonathan Barr and James Harden, DNA found inside the 14-year-old victim Catteresa Matthews was also retested, and a match was made to Willie Randolph, a 34-year-old convicted rapist, with 39 arrests. (Innocence Project Defense attorney) Peter Neufeld says prosecutors rejected the DNA evidence and instead came up with an unusual theory to explain it all away.
Peter Neufeld: They suggest perhaps after the kids killed her this man wandered by and committed an act of necrophilia.
Byron Pitts: Necrophilia. A lot of our viewers won’t know what that means.
Peter Neufeld: Having sex with a dead person.
Anita Alvarez: It’s possible. We have seen cases like that.
Byron Pitts: Possible?
Anita Alvarez: It is. We’ve seen it in other cases.
Byron Pitts: It’s possible that this convicted rapist, wandered past an open field, and had sex with a 14-year-old girl who was dead?
Anita Alvarez: Well, there’s all kinds of possibilities out there, and what I’m saying is that I don’t know what happened.
Just days after Alvarez was embarrassed by the grand jury indictment in the Koschmann case comes this fresh evidence that she’s not up to her job. She just doesn’t know what happened? And this is the woman we expect to represent the interests of justice in Cook County?
* There has never been a statewide AFSCME strike in Illinois. The Tribune spells out what the law says about the issue…
First, the governor’s office must declare that negotiations have reached an impasse. Both sides say at this point, that hasn’t happened.
Should that happen, however, the administration could then try to impose the terms of its “best and final” offer. The union has the right to appeal that move to the Illinois Labor Relations Board to dispute the declaration of an impasse. The governor has a bit of a home court advantage because he appoints the panel.
If the board were to side with the union, talks would resume. The board also could agree with the administration that negotiations are deadlocked. Such a decision would force the union to put the contract up for a vote. The options: go along with the governor’s final offer or strike. The union would have to give the state five days notice before walking off the job.
Quinn’s office distributes a chart that attempts to paint Illinois union workers as higher paid than their counterparts in other states. But the document features just nine other states, and the administration won’t explain its methodology, so it’s unclear whether it is making an apples-to-apples comparison.
Meanwhile, union spokesman Anders Lindall tried to frame the debate by suggesting that increasing wages to keep pace with the cost of living would cost less than $1 a month per person in Illinois. But that math doesn’t take into account that not everyone in the state pays taxes. […]
The administration says an individual worker pays $564 to $1,014 a year in premiums, with copays as low as $15. The cheapest plan is in line with other states, with the national average for an individual state worker policy coming to about $563, according to a study released this year by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
By comparison, private sector employees paid on average $1,127 a year in individual health care premiums in 2010, the most recent year available. As such, the governor wants state workers to pay more in health care premiums and copays.
…the new law authorized the state to charge retirees, but lawyers for Gov. Pat Quinn say they have to negotiate an agreement on that with the state’s largest public employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Those negotiations have been dragging on for months with no end in sight.
Can’t the state now impose a premium charge for retirees? Quinn’s legal team says retiree health care has been a mandatory subject of collective bargaining since 1997, when then-Gov. Jim Edgar put the issue on the table. The lawyers say the state cannot start charging retirees for health care costs without AFSCME’s blessing. You can guess where AFSCME stands. The state’s largest public employee union has no intention of giving up one of the cushiest benefits the state offers.
When the bill passed, Madigan said the state is not obligated to provide free health care to retired workers. He made that clear several times on the House floor.
“I think it’s pretty well agreed, by everybody who’s working on these issues, that in the case of retiree health insurance there is no contractual relationship. There is no contractual obligation on the part of the state to continue to provide that health insurance. Said differently, the state is in a position to discontinue it at any time,” he said.
* The race between Democrat Cheri Bustos and Republican Bobby Schilling generated some major spending in the campaign’s final three weeks…
An eye-popping $4 million was pumped into Illinois’ 17th District congressional race in its final 20 days, according to an analysis of finance reports, bringing the total cost of the campaign to $13.9 million, by far a record for the Quad-City area. […]
In reports that covered the last three weeks of the campaign, Bustos and Schilling spent more than $1.2 million between them. But that paled in comparison to the $2.8 million that their political parties and outside groups poured into the race’s final days.
The bulk of the late outside spending came from the political arms of the House’s two parties, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee, as well as the Karl Rove-founded Crossroads GPS advocacy group. The DCCC spent nearly $928,000 in the last three weeks, while the NRCC spent about $718,000. Crossroads spent $518,000.
Bustos, meanwhile, outspent Schilling in the last three weeks, the reports said. She spent $673,823, while Schilling doled out $559,336.
