While the Cook County state’s attorney’s office declined to charge two men in the first bond court hearing of the year for low-level marijuana possession, they still spent a night locked up.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Police consent decree report raises ‘alarm signals’ for next superintendent
|
The independent monitor’s first report finds that the Chicago Police Department is behind in implementing required reforms on use of force, accountability and community engagement.
Criminal Justice
Chicago’s new interim top cop Charlie Beck comes with a Black Lives Matter warning
|
After three ‘tumultuous’ years, Superintendent Eddie Johnson’s resignation raises questions about police reform as a former LAPD chief steps in.
Criminal Justice
Has weed been overpoliced in your neighborhood? Map shows where entrepreneurs could qualify for a boost
|
Living in an area disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests can be a plus on your cannabis business application in Illinois, one of several “social equity” measures accompanying legalization next year.
Criminal Justice
Laquan McDonald activists want federal civil rights charges filed against Jason Van Dyke and other officers
|
William Calloway said organizers will consider a mass protest on Black Friday if they don’t get a response from U.S. Attorney John Lausch.
Criminal Justice
Stop-and-frisk down 80% in Chicago but Black and Latinx people still hit the hardest, judge finds
|
President Donald Trump took aim at the Chicago Police Department as a new report details reform efforts ushered in by an agreement with the ACLU.
Government and Politics
Chicago City Council quietly begins push to decriminalize psychedelics
|
Ald. Brian Hopkins sponsored a resolution calling for the city to deprioritize arrests and investigations of adults using the drugs and for the public health department to study the plants as alternative treatment options.
Criminal Justice
The Kim Foxx effect: how prosecutions have changed in Cook County
|
The state’s attorney promised to transform the office. Data shows she’s dismissed thousands of felonies that would have been pursued in the past.
Criminal Justice
Timothy Trybus gets probation for viral hate crime, a common outcome for white defendants in Cook County
|
Trybus avoided up to five years in prison for berating a woman wearing a Puerto Rican flag T-shirt last year.
Criminal Justice
Will Timothy Trybus go to prison for viral rant? Most white men charged with hate crimes in Cook County do not
|
Trybus was found guilty of hate crimes for berating a woman wearing a Puerto Rican flag T-shirt last year, as captured in a viral video.
Criminal Justice
An innovative strategy to reduce gun violence: beautify Chicago neighborhoods
|
The city is spending millions on creating jobs to clean up vacant lots and green public spaces in areas with high shooting rates, an approach backed by research on blight and crime.