* AP…
An inmate punched a correctional lieutenant at an Illinois prison, sparking an assault that involved six prison employees and five inmates, the prison workers union said Monday.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said four correctional officers and two lieutenants were treated for scratches, bruises and possible concussions suffered in the incident Sunday at the Pontiac Correctional Center. They have all been released from the hospital.
“An inmate just began punching the lieutenant and knocked her to the ground,” said Joe Lewis, a correctional officer at the Pontiac facility in central Illinois and president of AFCSME Local 494. “Then other inmates joined in the assault, injuring the other employees who had come to her assistance.”
The Illinois Department of Corrections has put the facility on lockdown and is investigating. IDOC spokeswoman Nicole Wilson said Monday that the prison will remain on lockdown until the department finishes its investigation. At that time, the department will refer the case to the Livingston County prosecutor, she said.
* From the union…
A troubling culture of inmate violence at Pontiac Correctional Center in Pontiac, Ill. culminated in an assault by multiple inmates on prison staff yesterday afternoon. Four correctional officers and two lieutenants were transported to the local hospital emergency room where they were treated for abrasions, contusions and possible concussions. None suffered life-threatening injuries and all six have now been released from the hospital.
“An inmate just began punching the lieutenant and knocked her to the ground,” said Joe Lewis, a correctional officer at Pontiac CC and president of Local 494 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents employees at the prison. “Then other inmates joined in the assault, injuring the other employees who had come to her assistance.”
Immediately following the incident, Lewis insisted that steps be taken to lock down the correctional facility to ensure the safety of both staff and inmates.
“It’s essential that the facility remain on lockdown until a state tactical team can be brought in to conduct a thorough search of cells and inmates to eliminate any contraband or weapons,” Lewis said.
Pontiac CC is a maximum security correctional facility that houses many of the state’s most dangerous inmates. When the state’s only “super-maximum” facility, Tamms Correctional Center, was closed in 2013, many of its inmates were transferred to Pontiac.
“Since the Tamms’ inmates have been integrated into our general population and allowed unrestricted freedom of movement, there has been a growing level of harassment and violence against correctional employees,” Lewis said.
“Officers have repeatedly had urine and feces thrown on them, been kicked, punched or head-butted, and even stabbed with shanks,” he added. Several of the inmates involved in the most recent incident are believed to have been transferred to Pontiac CC from Tamms CC.
The local union at Pontiac CC had repeatedly called attention to the growing safety issues at the facility—to no avail. Policies and procedures, designed and implemented to keep staff safe in a difficult and dangerous environment, have been ignored or put aside for new practices that, with a very short history to draw from, have proven ineffective and dangerous.
“There have to be consequences for this kind of behavior,” said AFSCME Council 31 Regional Director Eddie Caumiant. “IDOC is allowing these kinds of assaults without any kind of penalty. We believe it is critical that this incident be referred to the local state’s attorney and that criminal charges are filed.”
“Safety must be paramount for all involved,” Caumiant said. “That has to become a priority of the Department of Corrections.”
More here. An informational picket is planned for Friday.
*** UPDATE *** IDOC appears to blame it on the guards…
Officer safety is our first priority. This was a terrible and dangerous incident and we want to thank those DOC employees that quickly responded and brought the situation under control. IDOC will forward the case to the Livingston County State’s Attorney for prosecution once our investigation is complete.
While DOC’s investigation is ongoing, the events that led to this incident do not appear to be the result of a lack of policy or a breakdown in existing policies but rather a failure to follow workplace safety procedures already in place. DOC‘s investigation will include why procedures weren’t followed and how future incidents can be prevented.
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* Tribune…
Asked Monday to weigh in on U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s recent characterization of President Barack Obama as the nation’s “drug dealer in chief,” Gov. Bruce Rauner literally threw up his hands.
“I heard something about that,” Rauner said. “I don’t want to comment on that.” […]
“I will say that the senator has been a strong advocate, I think a good advocate, for trying to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power,” Rauner said of Kirk, a Republican ally who helped him win election in 2014. “And I applaud him for that work. And also, I’ll make one other general statement and that is I am strongly, strongly opposed to ransom payments of any type for hostages.”
Pressed to address Kirk’s comment about President Obama more specifically, Rauner repeatedly raised his hands in air as he tried to shrug off the questions.
“I won’t comment on word selection,” he said at one point.
You should really watch the video for the full impact. [Fixed link.]
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Unclear on the concept
Tuesday, Aug 23, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From The Hill…
Donald Trump’s former campaign manager on Monday night defended the Republican presidential nominee’s pitch to black voters in a heated debate on CNN.
Corey Lewandowski explained on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ why he was all right with Trump delivering his pitch to black voters while speaking to predominantly white crowds in places like Wisconsin.
“As a campaign manager, wouldn’t you want your candidate saying some of these things directly to the people he’s supposedly addressing?” Anderson Cooper asked.
“You know what’s amazing to me, is no one remembers Donald Trump went to go have a rally in Chicago at the university,” responded Lewandoski.
“And do you remember what happened? It was so chaotic, and it was so out of control, Secret Service and the Chicago Police Department told him you could not get in and out of that facility safely, and that rally was canceled. And you showed the footage many times of the individuals who attended that rally. Donald Trump had that rally booked,” Lewandowski said.
“That is a black community. He went to the heart of Chicago to go and give a speech to the University of Chicago in a campus, which is predominantly African-American, to make that argument. And you know what happened? The campus was overrun, and it was not a safe environment,” he said.
* OK, first of all, the rally was at the University of Illinois at Chicago, not the U of C. From the university’s Wikipedia page…
* UIC is on the city’s Near West Side…
…Adding… As noted in comments, the CPD denies ever telling Trump to cancel the event…
Interim Supt John Escalante confirmed in a press conference that police became aware the event was being cancelled at 6:30pm, adding: “The Chicago Police Department had no role, we were not consulted or provided an opinion as to whether or not the event should be cancelled.
“In fact we did assure the Trump campaign that we had more than adequate resources outside the UIC pavilion and we guaranteed them we could provide save access and exit for Mr Trump.
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* Press release…
Today, the Thomas More Society filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Chicago over its abortion clinic “bubble zone” ordinance. The law makes it illegal to approach within 8 feet of someone who is walking towards an abortion clinic once they are within 50 feet of the entrance, unless that person consents. This confusing law is being challenged by the Pro-Life Action League and sidewalk counselors who reach out to women who may feel they have no option other than to end their baby’s life. The complaint charges the City, Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld with unconstitutionally curtailing the rights of pro-life advocates. A press conference detailing the lawsuit is scheduled at noon (Central) on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, outside of a northside Chicago Planned Parenthood at LaSalle and Division. Speakers include: Thomas More Society Special Counsel Stephen Crampton, Pro-Life Action League Vice-President Ann Scheidler, and sidewalk counselor Veronica Price.
This civil rights action asserts the unconstitutionality of the ‘bubble zone’ law under the First and Fourteenth Amendments both on its face, and as applied by the Chicago Police through selective enforcement owing to a misunderstanding of the law and also prejudice against pro-life counselors, which has caused false arrests and harassment of pro-life counselors and advocates.
“The precious right of free speech — so central to our democracy — is being denied to these individuals on the basis of their pro-life beliefs,” explained Thomas Olp, Senior Counsel at the Thomas More Society. “Pro-life advocates are being singled out and their Constitutional protections are being trampled by Chicago’s ‘bubble zone’ ordinance – a law created solely to discriminate against people who wish to offer abortion-bound women information about alternatives to abortion. No other business or industry is sheltered in this way. Through this law, the mayor and his administration are partnering with abortion vendors to violate the rights of those who wish to reach out to women seeking abortions.”
The court filing document case offers numerous Constitutional violations and other illegal abuses including:
Pro-life advocates being told by a policeman, upon challenging his application of the “bubble zone,” that if he was forced to go get the ordinance from the station he would come back and arrest them.
Police determining and communicating to sidewalk counselors that they were not allowed within 150 feet of an abortion provider’s entrance.
Law enforcement personnel insisting that pro-life advocates could only hand literature to someone who asked for it and deciding that the ordinance prohibited any kind of verbal expression by sidewalk counselors.
Police imposing absolute and illegal buffer zones, telling sidewalk counselors that they were prohibited from approaching within 50 feet of the clinic entrance or with 8 feet of persons heading toward the clinic - even outside of the 50 feet “bubble zone.”
Officers stating that the ordinance banned sidewalk counselors from even standing within 8 feet of anyone approaching the abortion facility door.
The complaint also details several wrongful arrests of pro-life sidewalk counselors under the “bubble zone” ordinance and cites rampant abuse of citizen rights without provocation.
Scheidler rallied the pro-life community, saying, “I feel confident we will prevail in court. Only two years ago, the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a ‘buffer zone’ law in Massachusetts. Now it’s time for Chicago’s unconstitutional ‘bubble zone’ to burst.”
The lawsuit is here. I’ll let you know if the other side provides a response.
*** UPDATE *** From Planned Parenthood of Illinois…
Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) knows, first hand, the need for bubble zones. These protections help ensure that those giving and seeking health care can safely enter and leave medical facilities, keep entrances open, prevent traffic problems, maintain distance between individuals, minimize physical contact and reduce harassment and intimidation.
“Chicagoans should be able to access health care services without fearing intimidation and harassment,” said Linda Diamond Shapiro, PPIL Interim CEO. “The Chicago Bubble Zone Ordinance enables patients in this city to do just that.”
Chicago’s Health Care Bubble Zone Ordinance ensures that patients and staff have unimpeded access to and from health care facilities. The Bubble Zone Ordinance is part of the City Code regarding disorderly conduct that also provides protections for schools and places of worship. The ordinance protects the free speech rights of protesters while ensuring that patients can exercise their own rights to healthcare.
“As sponsor of this ordinance, I felt it was important to protect a patient’s right to health care while making sure that the rights of others were not infringed,” said former Alderman Vi Daley. “The eight foot bubble allows protestors to be heard while ensuring that a patient can enter a health center without obstructions.”
The first provision of the ordinance is similar in scope to a Colorado law that has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The second part reflects language in the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), a law that was passed in 1994 and has also been upheld by each of the eight federal appeals courts.
Recently, protestors have started wearing the same color vests as PPIL escorts (volunteers who provide safe passage for patients) with “Parenthood Volunteer” and an icon that looks similar to Planned Parenthood’s logo. This tactic scares and confuses patients as they try to access the health center.
“A bubble zone of eight feet enables staff and patients to go in and out of health centers without being swarmed by protestors,” Shapiro stated. “This small distance can make an enormous difference in keeping entrances accessible and reducing aggressive confrontations.”
The Chicago ordinance allows protestors to continue to express their right to free speech as long as they do not approach within 8 feet of other people who have not given their consent to be approached within the 50 foot buffer zone.
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