News and Events
Gun law ‘does nothing to prevent mass shootings, crime’
March 9, 2023
McHenry County approves resolution denouncing new state gun ban
February 22, 2023
New gun law just another reason for people, businesses to leave Illinois
February 18, 2023
AMENDMENT 1 COULD LET ILLINOIS POLICE UNIONS UNDO SAFE-T ACT MANDATES
November 23, 2022
Winnebago CO. Sheriff Gary Caruana on IL’s SAFE-T act
October 5 ,2022
WCSO Cash Bail Discussion
October 5 ,2022
Sheriffs quitting after police “reform” bill passes, effectively tying the hands of cops and protecting criminals
October 5 ,2022
A sheriff in Union County, Illinois has become at least the fourth sheriff in the state to turn in his badge after the state implemented something called the “Safe-T Act,” an anti-police group of measures dressed up with in the guise of “police reform.”
Pritzker considering SAFE-T Act changes
October 3 ,2022
Gov. JB Pritzker is considering changes to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform to clarify provisions related to the end of cash bail in Illinois, while his Republican challenger, state Sen. Darren Bailey, continues to push for a full repeal.
EFFECT OF ILLINOIS’ SAFE-T ACT?
October 3, 2022
Come Jan. 1, pretrial cash bond will be abolished as part of the Illinois SAFE-T Act, a move that has triggered outcries, varying interpretations and lawsuits.
Lori Lightfoot Says Chicago Retailers Aren’t Doing Enough to Defend Against Theft
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has accused stores of not taking adequate measures to prevent themselves from being victims of crime. During a crime summit on Monday at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Lightfoot said she was disappointed with stores on Michigan...
Murder and Mandates in Chicago
The smartest thing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot did with her lawsuit against the Fraternal Order of Police over its opposition to her Covid vaccine mandate was to drop it. The mayor said last week she is dropping the suit because she’s now satisfied with the number of...
Cook County Public Safety Spending
December 3, 2021 In an analysis of Cook County’s FY2022 budget proposal released in November, the Civic Federation supported the Cook County budget proposal of $8.0 billion. This blog post takes a closer look at public safety spending in the County’s budget by...
Retailers Worry That Repeated Organized Thefts Could Scare Shoppers Away From Mag Mile, Other Districts This Holiday Season
CHICAGO (CBS) — Customers were pushed and shoved this week as a group of thieves ransacked the Burberry store on the Magnificent Mile – in the latest hit in a number of similar mass-thefts at high-end Chicago stores. CBS 2’s Tara Molina asked Tuesday how the crime is...
54 slayings, more than 80 charged: As Chicago’s gangs have changed, so have federal RICO prosecutions
The victims met their fates over two decades in every corner of the city: informants shot execution-style, rivals gunned down in barbershops and restaurants, a rapper targeted after online taunts, an innocent bystander felled by bullets sprayed at a pickup basketball...
‘Shocks the conscience’: Chicago police arrested 11-year-old for carjacking, Brown says
CHICAGO - Chicago's top cop had a few things to talk about Monday morning as he stood before reporters. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown introduced a new Narcotics Arrest Diversion program designed to keep drug offenders out of the system and in treatment,...
Stores Like Home Depot and Best Buy Bolster Security After ‘Flash Mob’ Robberies
Retailers and law enforcement around the country are ramping up security to combat a wave of thefts by criminal groups during the busy holiday shopping season. Some of the most brazen crimes, sometimes known as “flash mob” robberies, have happened in recent weeks. In...
GoFundMe pulls fundraiser for Waukesha suspect Darrell Brooks
GoFundMe has removed a fundraiser for Darrell Brooks Jr., who has been charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide after Sunday's Christmas parade massacre in Waukesha. A GoFundMe was created for Brooks in an effort to raise $5 million, the bail...
Why shoppers and clerks are on edge this Christmas
How the rise in organized retail theft is scaring shoppers, worrying workers and squeezing stores during the industry's prime selling season. There’s a new feature at many luxury stores in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood this holiday season: security guards posted...
Weekend Loop mob violence spurs calls for change
Merchants, Lightfoot and others look for answers amid 21 arrests and an attack that injured a CTA driver across from Millennium Park. Another outbreak of mass youth violence over the weekend has downtown merchants, a big labor union, police and others trying to...