Rob Warden details the circumstances of Alstory Simon’s repeated confessions to murder and concludes: Northwestern University disgraced itself by settling Simon’s lawsuit against the school.
Commentary
Commentary: Illinois Supreme Court fills the big job vacancy that few noticed
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The Illinois Supreme Court has filled a key state post: The head appellate defender for indigents. It was a job opening that attracted little notice or attention; James Chadd, a deputy defender, has won the post.
Commentary
Big Illinois justice job about to be filled: Trouble is, few know of opening
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Illinois court officials are working to fill a key job: The chief state appellate lawyer. The agency is facing a large backlog, and potential budget crisis, a situation where innovative leadership is critical. Yet poor outreach has left the pool of applicants disturbingly tiny.
Commentary
Time for Kim Foxx to do the right thing
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Ronnie Carrasquillo has been locked in prison for decades, since being convicted of murdering a cop in 1976. As evidence mounts that the conviction, and sentence, were wrongly imposed by a corrupt judge, Rob Warden wonders: Where is the new state’s attorney?
Commentary
A fitting legacy for Dick Gregory and J. Edgar Hoover
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The death of Dick Gregory caused Rob Warden to recall how low J. Edgar Hoover would stoop.
Commentary
Shaping Trump’s Refugee Policy, Sessions Misrepresented His Own Data
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The U.S. Supreme Court in October will hear arguments on the travel ban that the President has called “an important tool for protecting our Nation’s homeland.” But like so many of Donald J. Trump’s assertions, that claim is dubious. It rests upon two premises, neither one consistent with actual experience. Tellingly, many clues indicate that both originated with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who began pushing them back when he was a U.S. Senator from Alabama, before the president had even been elected. The first premise: Domestic terror is predominantly an imported danger.
Commentary
Are we safer yet?, part 2: Islamophobia in the White House
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There are reasons to worry about Islamophobia within the Trump White House. One main concern: The views promoted by chief advisor Stephen Bannon.
Commentary
Are We Safer Yet? Real Facts — Not Alternative — On Immigration and Terrorism
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Some real facts — not alternative facts — undercut the reasoning behind President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on immigration. If guarding against terrorism is the goal, this order does the opposite.
Commentary
Commentary: Van Dyke case points to need for sentencing reform
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Two years after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke’s murder case highlights the rigidity of Illinois’s firearms enhancements and truth-in-sentencing laws.
Commentary
Why Cash Bail Needs to End
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Without money bail, how do we decide who stays in or out of jail before trial? A pretrial justice expert weighs in.
Commentary
Shocked, shocked, that officers’ versions appear misleading
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We’re left with two questions in the Laquan McDonald case: Why would the process take so long, as officials have had the video since long before its public release? And will the statements of officers in other incidents also be up for review?