Are Citizens’ questions regarding police misconduct being answered?

FEBRUARY 28, 2020

City Deflects Crowd in Wake of Police Brutality Allegations

by David Larson

Monday evening’s City Council Committee of the Whole was held with a heavy police presence both inside and outside of City Hall.  Recently WREX 13 news reporter Kristin Crowley reported allegations of extreme police brutality by members of the Belvidere Police force going back nearly two decades and the settling of lawsuits totaling in the six figures.

With a standing room only crowd extending out of the City Council Chamber into the hallway, no notification was given to the audience of the custom, that if a member of the public would like to address the Council, the speaker is required to sign up to do so before the meeting begins.  As a result no member of the public preregistered to speak, and no one wad given the opportunity to address the Council.

It became obvious that there was an “elephant in the room”, according to Alderwomen Freeman, who requested a response from the Mayor why it was being ignored.

Belvidere Mayor Mike Chamberlin consulted the city attorney who stated that as long as no voting action was taken it would be permissible to suspend the rules and open the meeting for comment and return to the meeting once the suspension had concluded.  Instead the Mayor suggested it be put on the agenda of a future meeting and Alderwomen Freeman did not object.

After the meeting was conducted , an ad hoc discussion broke out in the hallway as well as members of the public giving interviews to WREX.  At that point  Mayor Chamberlin and Chief of Police Shane Woody invited those remaining back into the council chamber for informal discussion

Above is from this Friday’s Boone County Journal

No Hajj Pilgrimage this year?

Saudi Arabia halts travel to Islam’s holiest site over virus

By JON GAMBRELL54 minutes ago

1 of 5

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2019, file photo taken with a slow shutter speed, Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears of the global outbreak of the new coronavirus just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move coming as the Mideast has over 220 confirmed cases of the illness. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday halted travel to the holiest sites in Islam over fears about a new viral epidemic just months ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, a move coming as the Mideast has over 220 confirmed cases of the illness.

The extraordinary decision by Saudi Arabia stops foreigners from reaching the holy city of Mecca and the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims pray toward five times a day. It also said travel was suspended to Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina.

The decision showed the worry about the outbreak potentially spreading into Saudi Arabia, whose oil-rich monarchy stakes its legitimacy on protecting Islam’s holy sites. The epicenter in the Mideast’s most-affected country, Iran, appears to be in the holy Shiite city of Qom, where a shrine there sees the faithful reach out to kiss and touch it in reverence.

“Saudi Arabia renews its support for all international measures to limit the spread of this virus, and urges its citizens to exercise caution before traveling to countries experiencing coronavirus outbreaks,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the decision. “We ask God Almighty to spare all humanity from all harm.”

Disease outbreaks always have been a concern surrounding the hajj, required of all able-bodied Muslims once in their life, especially as pilgrims come from all over the world. The earliest recorded outbreak came in 632 as pilgrims fought off malaria. A cholera outbreak in 1821 for instance killed an estimated 20,000 pilgrims. Another cholera outbreak in 1865 killed 15,000 pilgrims and then spread worldwide.

More recently, Saudi Arabia faced a danger from a related coronavirus that caused Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. The kingdom increased its public health measures in 2012 and 2013, though no outbreak occurred.

While millions attend the 10-day hajj, this year set for late July into early August, millions more come during the rest of the year to the holy sites in the kingdom.

“It is unprecedented, at least in recent times, but given the worldwide spread of the virus and the global nature of the umrah, it makes sense from a public health and safety point of view,” said Kristian Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. “Especially since the Iranian example illustrates how a religious crossroads can so quickly amplify the spread and reach of the virus.”

The virus that causes the illness named COVID-19 has infected more than 80,000 people globally, mainly in China. The hardest-hit nation in the Mideast is Iran, where Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 19 people have died among 139 confirmed cases.

Experts are concerned Iran may be underreporting cases and deaths, given the illness’s rapid spread from Iran across the Persian Gulf. For example, Iran still has not confirmed any cases in Mashhad, even though a number of cases reported in Kuwait are linked to the Iranian city.

In Bahrain, which confirmed 33 cases as of Thursday morning, authorities halted all flights to Iraq and Lebanon. It separately extended a 48-hour ban over flights from Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, through which infected travelers reached the island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there were no immediate plans to quarantine cities but acknowledged it may take “one, two or three weeks” to get control of the virus in Iran.

As Iran’s 80 million people find themselves increasingly isolated in the region by the outbreak, the country’s sanctions-battered economy saw its currency slump to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in a year on Wednesday.

Above is from:  https://apnews.com/99cd4d90efcfe62e0518dde701a0608d

Jury questioned by judge regarding influences on Stone Decision

• 
  

Stone judge calls back jurors to address misconduct claims

By COLLEEN LONGyesterday

1 of 3

Roger Stone, center, departs federal court in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. President Donald Trump loyalist and ally, Roger Stone was sentenced to over three years in federal prison, following an extraordinary move by Attorney General William Barr to back off his Justice Department's original sentencing recommendation. The sentence came amid President Donald Trump's unrelenting defense of his longtime confidant that led to a mini-revolt inside the Justice Department and allegations the president interfered in the case. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday brought in nearly all members of the jury that convicted Trump ally Roger Stone on charges related to the Russia investigation in order to answer questions on allegations of juror misconduct.

The revelation by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson was another highly unusual twist in the Stone saga, which has included a barrage of tweets from President Donald Trump, threats by the attorney general to quit and the departure of the entire prosecution team following Justice Department leadership’s decision to back off its sentencing request.

Stone has claimed the jury forewoman was biased and requested a new trial; his first such request was denied.

During a trial, jurors are not allowed to read news accounts or social media posts about the case or discuss it with anyone until deliberations, but after their verdict is rendered, they are released from duty and can speak publicly if they wish.

Jackson told Stone’s lawyers that she had seen nothing to support his claim that something untoward occurred, but because of the unusual circumstances — including the president claiming both the judge and forewoman were biased — she was taking the extra step of questioning jurors.

Eleven of the 14 jurors turned up, and she permitted the lawyers to choose two for questioning on whether anything fishy had happened behind closed doors during trial. They chose a man and a woman, who were questioned by Jackson. The lawyers opted not to question the jurors themselves.

The man said nothing off occurred; they’d weighed the evidence and deliberated to reach a conclusion. The woman said no one brought in a social media post or news article about the case, and no one discussed news accounts during the trial. They both described the process of choosing a foreperson: Several jurors were nominated and the forewoman was chosen by secret ballot.

Jackson later questioned the forewoman, who confirmed she had posted articles critical of Trump’s policies online, but said she had done her job as a juror fairly and did not look at media during the trial. Stone’s attorneys grilled the forewoman on her social media posts.

Jackson said she would rule at a later date.

After Stone was convicted in November, one juror wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, explaining why he felt they were right to convict. And the forewoman spoke about the case in a Facebook post.

Jackson said jurors had faced harassment even before they commented, and she worried for their continued safety. She detailed comments about jurors made by Trump in tweets, by Fox News commentator and Trump supporter Tucker Carlson and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

The hearing was initially sealed, but Jackson agreed to open it as long as there was no identification of jurors who would testify.

“I think it’s without question then that this is a highly publicized case in a highly polarized political climate in which the president himself has shone a spotlight on the jury,” she said. “Individuals who are angry about Mr. Stone’s conviction may choose to take it out on them personally.”

Stone’s lawyers said they feel they were misled by the forewoman, even though they had her jury questionnaire and had a hired a jury consultant — who they said did no Google searches on potential jurors before the trial. They pointed to articles she sent online in posts made before the trial on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and other posts on the Russia investigation. Jackson asked why the posts suggest she misled them.

“It’s a question about did she lie?” Jackson asked. “I want to know what she lied about in this questionnaire.”

Jackson told Stone’s lawyers that it didn’t matter if she posted articles critical of Trump because that would not mean she could not render a fair verdict.

“It paints a picture that she cares about immigration, she cares about racial justice, that voice comes through,” Jackson said.

Stone was convicted on all seven counts of an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.

He was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted on charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Before the Feb. 20 sentencing, the Justice Department leadership backed away from its initial recommendation just hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure at the recommendation of up to nine years in prison, saying it had been too harsh.

The decision was Jackson’s to make. She sentenced him to more than three years in prison plus two years’ probation and a $20,000 fine.

Attorney General William Barr defended the decision in an ABC News interview where he also said the president’s tweets involving the Justice Department were making it “impossible” for him to do his job. He asked the president to stop tweeting, but just hours later Trump was back at it, saying he had never asked Barr to open criminal investigations — but he had the authority to do so if he wished.

The continued spotlight, in turn, prompted Barr to consider quitting, an administration official told AP. The dust has settled a bit, but it’s not clear how Trump will take the most recent news of his longtime ally.

On Tuesday while on a trip to India, he tweeted again about the case. “There has rarely been a juror so tainted as the forewoman in the Roger Stone case,” he tweeted. “Look at her background. She never revealed her hatred of ‘Trump’ and Stone. She was totally biased, as is the judge,” he tweeted.

At Stone’s sentencing, Jackson said the evidence clearly showed that Stone testified falsely to Congress and repeatedly pressured a potential witness either to back up his lie or refuse to testify.

Near the end, her voice rose as she said that Stone’s entire defense strategy seemed to amount to “So What?” Stone did not testify and called no witnesses on his behalf.

“This is NOT campaign hijinks. This was not Roger being Roger. You lied to Congress,” she told Stone.

___

Associated Press Writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report

Above is from:  https://apnews.com/e901f7ac56d9d9b29c5b52d4fe56e61e

Service Employees International Union standup against Trump

Labor union unveils $150M campaign to help defeat Trump

AP NEWS

• 
  
1. Labor union unveils $150M campaign to help defeat Trump

By STEVE PEOPLES6 minutes ago

President Donald Trump with members of the president's coronavirus task force speaks during a news conference at the Brady press briefing room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the nation’s largest labor unions is unveiling plans to invest $150 million in a nationwide campaign to help defeat President Donald Trump, a sweeping effort focused on eight battleground states and voters of color who typically don’t vote.

The investment marks the largest voter engagement and turnout operation in the history of the Service Employees International Union,  which claims nearly 2 million members. The scope of the campaign, which quietly launched last month and will run through November’s general election, reflects the urgency of what union president Mary Kay Henry calls “a make-or-break” moment for working people in America under Trump’s leadership.

“He’s systematically unwinding and attacking unions. Federal workers rights have been totally eviscerated under his watch,” Henry said in an interview. “We are on fire about the rules being rigged against us and needing to elect people that are going to stand with workers.”

The union’s campaign will span 40 states and target 6 million voters focused largely in Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, according to details of the plan shared with The Associated Press. The union and its local members will pay particular attention to two key urban battlegrounds they believe will play a defining role in the 2020 general election: Detroit and Milwaukee. There may be some television advertising, but the investment will focus primarily on direct contact and online advertising targeting minority men and women who typically don’t vote.

Few groups of voters will be more important in the 2020 general election. Trump won the presidency four years ago largely because of his popularity with working-class whites and a drop-off in turnout from minority voters.

The union’s political director, Maria Peralta, noted that Trump’s campaign has been working effectively in recent months to win over some minority voters, particularly men, who have traditionally voted Democratic.

“He’s going after our communities in ways that are pervasive. We’re deeply aware of that,” Peralta said. “They’re talking about the strength of the economy.”

The Service Employees International Union, like the Democratic Party and its allies across the nation, faces significant headwinds in its fight to deny Trump a second term. Voters who may dislike his overall job performance are generally pleased with his leadership on the economy, and unemployment for black Americans has hit record lows in recent months.

At the same time, Trump’s campaign is far ahead of where it was four years ago, when it had little national organization.

On Wednesday, the Trump campaign announced plans to open 15 “Black Voices for Trump Community Centers” in battleground states and major cities, including Michigan and Wisconsin. The offices will feature a line of campaign swag adopting the “woke” label, and videos of prominent Trump surrogates like online stars Diamond and Silk explaining their support for the president and pamphlets outlining the president’s record.

SEIU is the most diverse union in the United States. The union’s membership features those who work in health care, food service, janitorial services and state and local government workers, among others. Half its members are people of color, and more than half make less than $15 an hour.

The 2020 investment is designed to benefit Democrats up and down the ballot this fall, though defeating Trump stands as a primary goal.

That said, SEIU’s political team has determined that a message simply attacking Trump isn’t effective with its target audience, which includes a significant number of conservatives.

“We don’t want to get too caught up in the Trump bashing,” Peralta said. “Data shows people care about wages, and they care about health care across the board.”

The union also determined that it’s particularly effective to highlight Trump’s work to weaken labor unions and conditions for working-class Americans.

After campaigning for a higher minimum wage, Trump has done little to raise the federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 for more than a decade. His administration has also taken steps to make it harder for new groups of workers to form unions. And labor officials have decried his appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Supreme Court, which dealt a huge blow to labor in 2018 by ruling that government workers no longer could be required to pay union fees.

When asked, Henry had little to say about the specific Democratic presidential contenders fighting for the chance to take on Trump. SEIU may endorse a candidate in the coming months, she said, but it has decided to stay out of the messy nomination fight for now.

“We’re trying to figure out, inside our union as we walk through Super Tuesday and through March, what do working people and our members think about the choice in the field,” Henry said.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, “Ground Game.”

Above is from:  https://apnews.com/e3645cd1d3ac6d179e2defbc9542cbb4

Is Coronavirus a pandemic?

What Is a Pandemic? And Is the Coronavirus About to Become One?

Health officials have warned the globe to prepare for a pandemic after a spike in cases outside of China in Iran, Italy and South Korea.

By Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder, Staff Writer Feb. 26, 2020, at 3:44 p.m.

What Would a Coronavirus Pandemic Mean?

More

A disinfection worker wearing protective gear and preparing to disinfect against the novel coronavirus in Daerim Central Market, a neighborhood with one of the largest Chinese populations, Feb. 5, 2020, in Seoul, South Korea.(CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES)

AN UPTICK IN coronavirus cases outside of China has health officials warning about the potential for it to become a pandemic.

Though World Health Organization officials on Monday assured the public that the virus – which causes a disease officially named COVID-19 – has not yet reached this level, many are wondering if the situation is close – and what it could mean.

What is a pandemic?

WHO defines a pandemic as the worldwide spread of a new disease. A determination of whether it has become one is based on a geographical distribution of the virus, the severity of the disease it causes and the impact it has on the whole society, according to WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Photos: The Epicenter of Coronavirus

"For the moment, we are not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus, and we are not witnessing large scale severe disease or deaths," Tedros said.

The term "pandemic" comes from the Greek word "pandemos," which means "all of the people."

"So 'pandemos' is a concept where there's a belief that the whole world's population will likely be exposed to this infection and potentially a proportion of them fall sick," Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program, said Monday.

Health officials at this time are still calling the coronavirus an epidemic, which WHO defines as "the occurrence in a community or region of cases of an illness, specific health-related behaviour, or other health-related events clearly in excess of normal expectancy."

For example, WHO also considered the Ebola crisis across Western Africa from 2014-2016 an epidemic. More than 11,000 deaths were reported from Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but that situation largely remained localized.

ADVERTISING

The coronavirus is interchangeably called an outbreak, which is defined by WHO as "the occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal expectancy." That term is the same one WHO uses to describe the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Is a coronavirus pandemic possible?

Despite the fact that the virus has spread to 37 countries, WHO officials have not said it is a pandemic yet. The organization previously declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. But it has stopped short of elevating the threat level and has been mindful about spreading panic.

"Using the word pandemic now does not fit the facts, but it may cause fear," Tedros said, adding that it is "not the time to focus on what word we use."

Declaring a pandemic does not open up any funds or additional powers for WHO, which has said finance is low to fight the virus.

]

"That will not prevent a single infection today or save a single life today," Tedros said.

The last time WHO declared a pandemic was in 2009 due to swine flu, which was estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.

What would a pandemic mean for Americans?

U.S. health officials said a pandemic is likely in the coronavirus' future.

"Current global circumstances suggest it's likely this virus will cause a pandemic," said Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC on Tuesday told Americans to prepare for "severe disruptions" to their daily lives because of the virus.

"It's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness," said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

[ 

Meanwhile, cases outside of China in Iran, Italy and South Korea are rapidly increasing.

The coronavirus has killed more than 2,700 people and infected over 81,000 more. According to WHO, it has a 2-4% mortality rate in Wuhan, where the virus was first reported, and a 0.7% mortality rate outside of Wuhan.

WHO has maintained that the virus can still be contained if countries take the outbreak seriously.

"But if some fail, if some do not do everything that is needed, this can still become out of control with dramatic consequences in global health and in the global economy," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.

Above is from:  https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2020-02-26/what-is-a-pandemic-and-is-the-coronavirus-about-to-become-one

Question of police misconduct comes to Belvidere City Hall

13 Investigates report on alleged police misconduct in Belvidere sparks heated debate at city council

February 25, 202011:16 pm

Kristin Crowley13 INVESTIGATES,TOP STORIES

BELVIDERE (WREX) — Dozens of people showed up to Belvidere City Hall Monday night in response to a recent 13 Investigates special report.

That report detailed allegations of excessive force and misconduct within the police department. Two groups organized a demonstration for the city meeting, some in a show of support for officers, others in a show of support for alleged victims of police misconduct.

Those in support of police wore blue to show solidarity with the force. They filled nearly every seat in council chambers. Meanwhile, the other group filled the hallway, waiting to share their stores of alleged abuse at the hands of police.

"The physical abuse, the verbal abuse, All because of the way I look," said Antonio Sanchez.

"I have family here, I have a daughter here. I would just like peace of mind that the police are here to protect and serve me. Not harass me. Not make me feel scared," said Anthony Urban.

13 News asked multiple people who came out in support of police if they'd like to comment on camera. One person agreed.

"We need to join together and it makes me sad because Belvidere is a great town, and for you guys to feel hate or sadness or broken, it breaks my heart," said Magnolia Escamilla, who came to support Belvidere police.

With no plan on the agenda to talk about the police department, both sides came to a head outside council chambers. For hours they debated and argued a until Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody stepped in.

"You wouldn't still be here if you didn't want to still have this conversation. Let's go back and have an open dialogue," said Woody.

While more than a dozen people had already left City Hall by this time, a large group still filled council chambers. And for the first time on camera, Chief Woody and Mayor Mike Chamberlain addressed the 13 Investigates report. Mayor Chamberlain said he completely supports the police department.

"We don't beat up people. We subdue them and take them to the ground so we can control the situation," he said.

"People believe they have rights to resist, to not comply. When that truly just isn't the case. That makes it more dangerous for you, for us," said Woody.

Chief Woody said he is committed to serving the people of Belvidere and listening to those who have problems with the force.

"I'm not the type of person that shies away from the knowledge that we may not be doing everything exactly the way we want to. And that's how you grow. That's how you get better," said Woody.

The nearly four-hour night ended civilly, even with a few hugs between both groups. But a solution to the issue dividing the groups is still unknown, and the question remains over what the next step is.

A Belvidere alderwoman said she was disturbed by what she saw in our 13 Investigates report. She wants the matter added to the city council agenda next week for formal discussion.

Kristin Crowley

Evening News Anchor
Kristin Crowley anchors the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news. She is also a reporter for 13 Investigates. She brings more than a decade of experience to the newsroom. Her work at WREX has earned her multiple awards including a regional Edward R. Murrow for Investigative Journalism and three regional Emmys.

Above is from:  https://wrex.com/2020/02/25/13-investigates-report-on-alleged-police-misconduct-in-belvidere-sparks-heated-debate-at-city-council/

2016 Sycamore murder solved?

Man arrested following 2016 Sycamore double murder

February 25, 202011:08 amAndrew Carrigan

CRIME,TOP STORIES

SYCAMORE (WREX) — DeKalb County authorities say they have solved a double murder that happened in 2016, and that a man is now in custody facing charges.
Jonathan Hurst, formerly of Chicago, was taken into custody in Cincinnati, Ohio on Monday for the murders of Robert Wilson and Patricia Wilson.
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office says Hurst faces two counts of first degree murder.
The incident happened on Aug. 15, 2016 in rural Sycamore. Authorities say both Patricia and Robert, who were mother and son, were found beaten to death inside their home. Authorities say Hurst's actions were a random act of violence and he did not previously know the Wilsons.
DNA analysis ultimately led to Hursts arrest. Officials say a large amount of evidence was left on the scene, and that officials worked with the Illinois State Police crime lab and a private lab to analyze the evidence and match it to Hurst.
"We were also able to confirm through cell phone records and other evidence that he was in the area of the crime on the day of the murders," a release from the sheriff's department said.
Additionally, a car was stolen from the Wilson residence and authorities say they were able to track it back to Lincoln Park, Ill., which was a short distance from where Hurst lived on Wells Street in Chicago.
Hurst is being held in Cincinnati and is waiting to be taken back to Illinois.

Andrew Carrigan

Andy Carrigan is the Assignment Editor at WREX. He joined the 13 WREX team as a photographer in 2016 after graduating from Northern Illinois University. He also produced ’13 News Today’ from 2017-2018.

Above is from:  https://wrex.com/2020/02/25/man-arrested-in-2016-sycamore-double-murder/

Ken Terrinoni to Retire

February 21,, 2020

Ken Terrinoni to Retire

Boone County Administrator Ken Terrinoni who suffered a stroke last April , has decided to retire, effective April 30, 2020,  Terrinoni served as Boone County Administrator for 32 years and has been in high regard for his accomplishments, diligence and competence as an administrator.  As his health continues to improve, those of us at the Boone County Journal wish him and his family all the best.  We will miss him.

Above is from:  http://www.boonecountyjournal.com/

Channel 13: Belvidere Police guilty of excessive force?

BELVIDERE (WREX) — Some officers sworn to protect and serve the people of Belvidere are accused of abusing their badge.

Over the last 7 months, nearly half-a-dozen people came forward to 13 Investigates with allegations of excessive force and police misconduct.
Throughout our investigation, we uncovered even more allegations, along with multiple lawsuits and settlements involving Belvidere Police that amounted to tens of thousands of dollars.

The Belvidere Police Department would not go on camera to address our investigation, but the city's attorney did send a written response about the allegations.
We'll have that response as well as an in-depth look into the accusations against certain police Wednesday on 13 News at 10.

Kristin Crowley

Evening News Anchor
Kristin Crowley anchors the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news. She is also a reporter for 13 Investigates. She brings more than a decade of experience to the newsroom. Her work at WREX has earned her multiple awards including a regional Edward R. Murrow for Investigative Journalism and three regional Emmys.tion

Above is from:  https://wrex.com/2020/02/18/preview-13-investigates-looks-into-allegations-of-excessive-force-by-belvidere-police/

----------------------HERE IS A MORE COMPLETE Printed  REPORT-------------------------------------

13 Investigates: Belvidere Police accused of systemic abuse of power, excessive force

February 19, 202011:29 pmKristin Crowley13 INVESTIGATES,NEWS,TOP STORIES

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = "[default] http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" NS = "http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" />3.9K

BELVIDERE (WREX) — Over the course of 7 months, 13 Investigates has pored over thousands pages of documents, interviewed dozens of people, and investigated their claims of excessive force by the Belvidere Police Department.

What we found in our search through public records and interviews is the police department has been named in at least 12 lawsuits for police misconduct, it has paid tens of thousands of dollars to settle many of those claims, and two officers, who combined were named in half of those lawsuits, are still on the force today.

In one alleged incident, a driver was pulled over for a burnt out license plate light. He ended up charged with a felony because one of the officers involved in his arrest, was injured during the arrest.

Court records show the felony charge was dropped and the driver ended up with a $10,000 settlement from Belvidere Police.

This wasn't the first time Belvidere Police were accused of using excessive force and misconduct. And it wouldn't be the last.

Taylor Anguiano

Taylor Anguiano is behind bars at the Stateville Correctional Center, convicted of aggravated battery to a senior citizen and a peace officer. Those are crimes he says he didn't commit. Instead, he says he's the victim of excessive force by Belvidere Police.

"He grabbed his pepper spray and he put his knee right here on my face onto the grass and held my mouth open and sprayed the pepper spray down my throat," Anguiano told 13 Investigates when we went to visit him in prison.

He says the officer repeatedly punched him, however, the Boone County State's Attorney's Office says he was the aggressor, macing two officers and punching one in the face.

"They also said you punched an officer, too. Did you do that?" 13 Investigates asked.

Taylor told us no.

"I was already handcuffed. I was pretty helpless," he said.

There is video of the night of Anguiano's arrest. You can see Anguiano gasping for air and begging for help for at least 10 minutes. That's when the video ends. Five hours later, Anguiano ended up not in a jail cell, but in a hospital bed.

"I woke up a couple days later. I remember the nurse told me that I had 12 lumps on my head. I had two black eyes, I had scratches, hematoma contusions. I had fractured ribs," Anguiano said.

The City of Belvidere gave 13 Investigates dash cam video from the squad cars on scene that day, but none of them captured what happened during the arrest.

But Anguiano is not alone in his claims of excessive force at the hands of Belvidere Police.

"I put my hands behind my back and he was still hitting me," Kyler Cisneros told 13 Investigates.

Tammy Alm said, pointing to her chin "I had a bruise here from him throwing me." Amber Simpson was there the night of this alleged incident and says she doesn't understand how both women were arrested and charged with resisting.
"I think it was just to add another charge because he could," Simpson said.

Zak Kasprzycki also spoke to 13 Investigates about his accusations.
"One of them had my arm this way, one of them had my arm this way, and they're still moving them around yelling 'Stop resisting,'" Kasprzycki said.

These four people are all talking about separate incidents. None of them filed formal complaints, but they tell 13 Investigates their arrests by Belvidere Police left them with cracked ribs, bruised faces, black eyes and charges they didn't deserve.

It's not just accusations of excessive force they have in common.

Pictured are Officer Ryan Davenport, left, and Officer Brandon Parker, right.

They say the ones who used that force were either Officer Ryan Davenport or Officer Brandon Parker.
13 Investigates took a closer look at these officers, starting with their arrest history over the past 2 years. Out of 30 patrol officers on the force, Davenport and Parker made fewer arrests than half of them, but they still lead their department with resisting arrest charges. Combined, the two officers make up more than 23 percent of all resisting charges for the entire department.
We reached out to Parker and Davenport for comment as well as Chief of Police Shane Woody and Belvidere Mayor Mike Chamberlain. The city attorney denied our request, saying the police department treats all complaints and allegations seriously and that the Belvidere Police Department has "a very strong culture of positive service to the community." The statement went on to say appropriate discipline of officers is given when warranted.
But as 13 Investigates found out, rarely are officers with Belvidere Police ever disciplined after a complaint is made.
Belvidere Police say they received seven complaints from 2014 to 2018. That's as far back in the records it would give us. Three of the complaints involve Parker or Davenport.
One woman says Parker threatened to kill her son, report her to immigration, and shouted a racist expletive.
A man says Davenport maced him while he was on the ground after he was a victim of an assault.
At least three other officers were accused of beating people's heads in to the floor, unjustly macing people, and injuring them to the point of hospitalization.
The person who investigates these claims is the Belvidere Chief of Police.
Since becoming chief in 2018, Woody has cleared every officer of wrongdoing in complaints filed against them. In fact, there is no record of any officer being punished following any of these formal complaints except for one.
"Tom" asked us to hide his identity for his safety. He says an officer started yelling at him after taking a picture of Belvidere squad cars parked outside a local Starbucks. That's when Tom grabbed his phone, and started recording. That officer was Ryan Davenport.
"He was telling me that if I put the pictures or anything that I took on Facebook he was coming after me," Tom said.
In the video, you can hear Officer Davenport say, "If I find out that ends up on Facebook, I'm coming after you."
Tom says Davenport back-handed him during the incident, hitting his hand, camera and his face.
Tom filed a complaint with then-Chief Jan Noble, and Officer Davenport was suspended without pay for 24 hours for "conduct unbecoming," saying police members should "control their temper." Officer Davenport was also ordered to undergo "social conflict control" training.
Tom says after he filed that report, Chief Woody, who at the time was deputy chief of the department, called him down to the station.
"He put a paper in front of me, and it was a paper for me to sign that stated that I was agreeing not to press charges against the officer," Tom said. "And I felt at the time that if I didn't do that, it wasn't going to be investigated right and nothing was going to come from it."
Tom says he signed the waiver of criminal prosecution form and left the department with a target on his back, alleging law enforcement in Belvidere and Boone County started harassing his family and following them.
"And enough was enough. And we picked up and left. I mean literally picked up and left and moved out of state because of not wanting to deal with the harassment anymore," he said.
Civil rights attorney Louis Meyer says he's more than familiar with police in Belvidere, saying his office is looking into repeat offenders.
"Unfortunately we've received numerous calls for police misconduct cases involving the Belvidere Police Department," Meyer told 13 Investigates.
He says his firm has handled at least seven cases out of Belvidere in the past 3 years — all for police misconduct.
"For a department that size, that's a lot," Meyer said.

13 Investigates found records of more than a dozen lawsuits from 2001 to 2019. Davenport is named in at least one; Parker in at least five.

City records show a total of $73,000 has been paid out to people in settlements involving Belvidere Police. The settlements Parker's been named in total nearly $60,000. Some of the people paid, signed agreements not to publicly talk about the incident or the officers.

"It protects the officers because it's not in the public so people don't raise uproar about it," Meyer said.

That's why Meyer can't publicly tell 13 Investigates which officers his clients have accused of misconduct.

The people we did interview say they're done staying silent, and they want Belvidere Police to hold officers accountable.

"Somebody needs to take a stand and it needs to stop now," Tammy Alm said.

When we asked Taylor Anguiano, who has a handful of criminal convictions in his past, why we should believe him, he said this: "Because it's the truth."

Congressman Kinzinger is now wed to Trump Administration

PHOTO: Congressman Adam Kinzinger gets married over Valentine's Day weekend

2:25 pm

Contributed

Caption

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Channahon, wed Sofia Boza-Holman, a press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Saturday in Guatemala, according to social media posts. Kinzinger announced his engagement to Boza-Holman over the summer.

Above is from:  https://www.mywebtimes.com/2020/02/17/photo-congressman-adam-kinzinger-gets-married-over-valentines-day-weekend/a8ztxlb/

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

In June 2019, Kinzinger became engaged to Sofia Boza-Holman, a former aide to John Boehner and aide to Vice President Mike Pence

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Sofia M. Boza-Holman

White House Office

Regional Communications Director | $62,000

Above is from:  https://projects.propublica.org/trump-town/staffers/sofia-m-boza-holman

?????????Mike Bloomberg??????????

Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils

by Ryan Cooper

,

The Week

•February 18, 2020//

977 Comments

Like the vast majority of Americans, I have been effectively disenfranchised in the last few presidential elections. In 2011, I moved to Washington, D.C., which is so heavily Democratic that any vote for president is totally meaningless — in 2016, Hillary Clinton won with 93 percent of the vote. But last year, I moved to famously swingy Pennsylvania, and suddenly I'm a full citizen again. (I'm already lording it over my friends from California and New York.)

As I have written on many occasions, I think Bernie Sanders is the best candidate. But given the abominable Trump presidency, I have also said that I'll vote for whoever wins the Democratic nomination.

However, that was before Mike Bloomberg became a serious presidential contender (currently in third place in national polls and rising fast). I have given it very serious thought, and while I would happily vote for Elizabeth Warren, grudgingly vote for Joe Biden or Amy Klobuchar, or secure an entire bottle of Southern Comfort to get sufficiently hammered to vote for Pete Buttigieg, I will not vote for Mike Bloomberg in November if he is nominated.

To start with, it is not at all obvious that Bloomberg would even be a better president than Trump. As Alex Pareene writes at The New Republic, he is a right-wing authoritarian with nakedly racist views who constantly violated civil rights laws during his time as mayor of New York City. He locked up thousands of protesters during the 2004 Republican National Convention (where he gave a speech warmly endorsing George W. Bush, and thanked him for starting the war in Iraq), and a judge held the city in contempt for violating due process law. He created what amounted to a police state for New York Muslims, subjecting the entire community to dragnet surveillance and harassment, and filling mosques with spies and agent provocateurs. The city had to pay millions in settlements for violating Muslims' civil rights. (All this did precisely nothing to prevent terrorism, by the way.)

As Nathan Robinson writes at Current Affairs, he drastically escalated the infamous "stop-and-frisk" program in New York, in which innocent black and brown youths were jacked up by cops literally millions of times. Typically 85-90 percent of the stops found nothing, and many police used it as a handy pretext to vent their racist prejudice. At its peak in 2011, there were more stops of young black men than there were young black men in the entire city. And because it was mainly young men being targeted, some were stopped dozens of times. Innocent people were routinely beaten senseless.

Bloomberg justified the policy with straightforwardly racist collective guilt. In a 2015 speech, he said "it's controversial, but first thing is, all of your — 95 percent of your murders, murderers and murder victims, fit one M.O. ... They are male minorities, 15 to 25."

These statistics are hideously inaccurate. In reality, the relatively few whites stopped under stop-and-frisk were more likely to be carrying weapons, and as The Atlantic's Adam Serwer points out, after the program was halted, crime continued to fall unabated. The whole thing was completely useless — unless the point was to constantly remind black and brown New Yorkers that they were second-class citizens. Bloomberg also espouses the racist theory that the financial crisis was caused by government efforts to reduce prejudice in home lending — thus scapegoating minorities to deflect blame from the real culprit, Wall Street oligarchs like himself.

Bloomberg's newfound commitment to progressive policies is so transparently fraudulent that his campaign apparently plagiarized huge chunks of his campaign platform. He is just trying to trick the Democratic electorate with a tidal wave of cash (with evident success).

Now, Bloomberg does have a legitimate history of supporting gun control and climate policy. But it is exceedingly unlikely that he will be able to get past a Senate filibuster on gun control, especially given his sneering know-it-all approach. And given his politics and personal wealth, his climate policy would probably look a great deal like Emmanuel Macron's diesel tax in France — a carbon tax whose revenues would go towards cutting taxes on the rich. Macron's move sparked violent protests and was quickly abandoned.

Does this sound like a guy who would do anything substantial to reverse Trump's worst policies? If we're lucky, he might reverse the Muslim ban and let a few people out of the CBP camps. If we're not, he'll implement a much quieter and more effective version of the same policies, and partisan Democrats will reverse-engineer justifications for these being somehow necessary (or just ignore them, as they did during the Obama years). Recall that Bloomberg once argued that every Social Security card should have fingerprints so unauthorized immigrants would be unable to get jobs.

On the other hand, in some areas Bloomberg would likely be worse than Trump. As Mehdi Hasan writes at The Intercept, Bloomberg is a committed and pitiless warmonger — he supported the war in Iraq and repeated the Bush administration's lie that Saddam Hussein had plotted 9/11. (In January he said he had no regrets about doing so.) He opposed President Obama's Iran deal, and had few complaints about Trump's assassination of Iran's Qassem Soleimani. While Trump has escalated conflicts across the globe, he appears to have at least a mild hesitation about starting new full-scale wars of aggression. The chances of a shooting war with Iran probably increase if Bloomberg wins in 2020.

Given his wretched politics, even Bloomberg's superior competence is a mark against him. Right now one tiny silver lining of the Trump administration is that the people trying to commit atrocities through the federal bureaucracy are so inept they keep fumbling the legal procedures and getting stopped in the courts. Bloomberg is sure to appoint competent authoritarian maniacs.

And for all the people who complain that Bernie Sanders is not a real Democrat, Bloomberg was literally a Republican up until 2007, and worked to elect Republicans until very recently. In 2014, he or his political action committee donated to the senate campaigns of Susan Collins in Maine and Bob Dold in Illinois. In 2016, he donated $11.7 million to Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania — making it the most expensive Senate race in history up to that point, and likely securing victory for Toomey, who won by less than two points. Though he has also donated a lot to Democrats, Bloomberg is a guy who did more than almost anyone to help protect Mitch McConnell's Republican majority in the Senate, and hence to put two more conservatives on the Supreme Court.

At bottom, Bloomberg is basically just like George W. Bush, with a dollop of maddening nanny-state condescension. Without question he would be one of the top five worst major-party presidential nominees in the last century of American history.

This stance will no doubt infuriate the "vote blue no matter who" crowd who view Donald Trump as some kind of Lovecraftian nightmare. But even aside from how horrible a president Bloomberg would be, perhaps the most compelling reason not to vote for him is what his nomination would reveal about American democracy. It would mean that the oligarch class has so thoroughly corrupted the system that the voice of the people is drowned. His entire candidacy is a cartoonishly blatant instance of how money can corrupt democracy. Right now he is scooping up thousands of campaign operatives and field organizers by offering them as much as $6,000 a month — creating a desperate shortage for other campaigns. He's racking up endorsement after endorsement — of representatives, mayors, and one governor, so far — who have cashed checks from his vast empire of bribery. His nomination would mean the Democratic Party can be "bought over the counter like so many pounds of cheese."

Partisan Democrats insist that everyone has an obligation to vote tactically — that is, to always pick the lesser of two evils in the voting booth. But as Daniel Davies argues, given that one's individual vote has virtually no chance of actually deciding the outcome, the truly tactical choice is to not bother to vote at all. The only compelling reason to vote is about civic duty and one's patriotic conscience. And as Davies writes, "it seems pretty clear that there is some point at which it becomes obvious that a morally and politically valid response is simply to declare that the fundamental basis of the implied contract has broken down, and that it's a reasonable choice to simply refuse to participate further." If the choice is Cthulhu versus Nyarlathotep, I for one see little point in voting for the candidate that might have one fewer grasping eldritch tentacle.

Among Bernie Sanders supporters, I am far from the most die-hard. If I simply cannot countenance putting my name down for Bloomberg in November, there are millions more who would do the same — plus no small number of supporters of the other candidates, in all likelihood. Then there is the general fact that Bloomberg's extreme wealth and extensive record of racism and sexual harassment would negate most of the strongest attacks against Trump. Bloomberg would be highly likely to bleed enough support to third parties (or no one) to lose to Trump, just as Hillary Clinton did.

Luckily, it will be easy to avoid this dreadful possibility. Simply vote against Michael Bloomberg in the Democratic primary.

Editor's note: This article originally wrongly described the number of black men arrested under stop-and-frisk, and the percentage of stops that found nothing. It has since been corrected. We regret the error.

Above is from:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/mike-bloomberg-not-lesser-two-104502751.html

Pardon vs. Commutation: What’s the Difference?

President Trump commuted the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, but what does that mean?

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker isn’t impressed with President Donald Trump’s decision to commute former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s prison sentence.

After years of saying he was considering the move, President Donald Trump officially commuted the sentence of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday.

The decision means that the former governor can be released from federal prison. Blagojevich had originally been sentenced to 14 years in prison, and wasn’t set to be released until 2024. The president’s commutation of his sentence eliminates the remainder of the penalty.

Trump also had the option to pardon Blagojevich, but opted to simply commute his sentence instead.

Local

What is the Difference Between Commutation and a Pardon?

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a commutation reduces a sentence, either totally or partially, but does not change the fact of conviction, imply innocence or remove civil disabilities, such as the right to vote or to hold public office.

In 2017, Rod Blagojevich broke his silence for the first time since entering prison in an exclusive interview with NBC 5’s Phil Rogers.

A commutation can also eliminate financial penalties associated with a federal conviction, but that forgiveness is offered at the discretion of the president.

A pardon is “an expression of the President’s forgiveness,” according to the DOJ. Pardons are typically granted to recognize that the person has accepted responsibility and established good conduct for a significant period of time.

A pardon does not signify innocence, but removes civil disabilities associated with convictions, including giving the recipient of the pardon back their right to vote and to serve on juries, among other freedoms and privileges

Above is from:  https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/pardon-vs-commutation-whats-the-difference/2221443/

Boy Scouts are bankrupt?

U.S. NEWS

Boy Scouts of America, hobbled by multiple sex-abuse lawsuits, files for bankruptcy protection

The venerable nonprofit is following the lead of the scandal-wracked Roman Catholic Church.

Boy Scouts file for bankruptcy protection from sex-abuse lawsuits

FEB. 18, 202002:29

Feb. 17, 2020, 11:45 PM CST / Updated Feb. 18, 2020, 12:04 AM CST

By Corky Siemaszko

The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Facing mounting legal costs from defending itself against lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of boys, the venerable nonprofit sought Chapter 11 protection in a court filing early Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America said in a statement that the filing had "two key objectives: equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue carrying out its mission for years to come. The BSA intends to use the Chapter 11 process to create a Victims Compensation Trust that would provide equitable compensation to victims."

The Boy Scouts said that only the national organization had filed for Chapter 11 and that local councils that provide programming and other services are financially independent.

"The BSA cares deeply about all victims of abuse and sincerely apologizes to anyone who was harmed during their time in Scouting. We are outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children," Roger Mosby, BSA's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement Tuesday.

"While we know nothing can undo the tragic abuse that victims suffered, we believe the Chapter 11 process — with the proposed Trust structure — will provide equitable compensation to all victims while maintaining the BSA's important mission," he said.

Michael Pfau, whose Seattle-based law firm, Pfau, Cochran, Veretis and Amala, represents close to 300 people who say they were abused as Scouts in 30-plus states, called the filing historic.

"It will be far larger in terms of the numbers of victims and far more complicated than any of the bankruptcies we've seen so far involving the Catholic Church," Pfau said.

Those bankruptcies involved individual dioceses or archdioceses, Pfau said, while "this involves victims from all 50 states and several U.S. territories."

"You're looking at thousands of abuse survivors making claims," he said. "This is much bigger than the bankruptcy filings involving the Catholic Church."

In December 2018, the BSA telegraphed that it might seek this remedy when it hired the law firm Sidley Austin LLP and announced that it was "working with experts to explore all options available to ensure that the local and national programming of the Boy Scouts of America continues uninterrupted."

Now that the Texas-based organization has filed for bankruptcy protection, the U.S. Trustees Office will pick a creditors committee that will include a number of abuse victims, Pfau said. The committee, in turn, will hire a bankruptcy law firm that will represent the interests of creditors in negotiations with the BSA.

The various abuse cases against the BSA that have been filed in state courts will be halted and transferred to federal bankruptcy court for adjudication, Pfau said.

For the abuse victims, the BSA's bankruptcy filing has pros and cons, Pfau said.

"The pro is that is a far shorter process than going through a trial and the appeals process in state court," he said. "The bankruptcy procedure will probably take anywhere from 18 months to two years from start to finish.

"But the cons are significant," Pfau added. "Each individual loses his opportunity for a jury trial in state court, which is really the most powerful weapon an abuse victim has. One of the primary reasons the BSA filed for bankruptcy is to avoid jury trials."

Why?

"Juries don't like fact patterns where children are abused by trusted leaders," Pfau said. "An entity like the Boy Scouts has to consider their exposure."

Like the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts "have a horrible, sordid history of child abuse in the ranks," Pfau said. "They fought very, very aggressively to keep the extent of the abuse from the public. Now they're facing a wave of legislative reform that is sweeping across the country, with states revising their statutes of limitations to allow victims to sue."

So for the BSA, seeking bankruptcy protection is really the only option if it hopes to survive.

"It's a real day of reckoning for the Boy Scouts," Pfau said.

The organization said Tuesday that Scouting is safer than it's ever been, saying "approximately 90% of pending and asserted abuse claims against the BSA relate to abuse that occurred more than 30 years ago."

Founded in 1910 and long considered a bastion of traditional values, the BSA reported in 2016 that it has more than 1.26 million Cub Scouts, nearly 830,000 Boy Scouts and about 960,000 adult volunteers.

Corky Siemaszko

Corky Siemaszko is a senior writer for NBC News Digital.

Above is from:  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boy-scouts-america-hobbled-multiple-sex-abuse-lawsuits-declares-bankruptcy-n1125026