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September, 2007
The Fiesta Boricua crowd was a mix of white, brown and black faces on Sept. 2 in Humboldt Park. Puerto Rican flags waved alongside banners for peace. Old men sold homemade coconut ice cream, pushing carts past food stands selling roasted pork and fried plantains. People danced salsa in the blocked-off streets.
And politicians were at work. The stage was filled with familiar Puerto Rican...
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September, 2007
On Jan. 20, with just hours left in his presidency, Bill Clinton tapped his constitutional powers to issue a flurry of clemencies to 177 public officials and private citizens. The next day former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds walked out of federal prison and into a halfway house, his 78-month sentence commuted by Clinton to the 42 months he had already served.
Though elated, many Reynolds...
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September, 2007
Former Alderman Ambrosio Medrano is a rarity. He's done something few convicted elected officials have done; he admitted he did something wrong.
Medrano, who represented the 25th Ward, which includes the Near Southwest Side Mexican enclave of Pilsen, did not go to trial for his crime. He chose not to cooperate with the government in exchange for a better deal; rather, he pleaded guilty to...
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