Views, opinions, and analysis of the latest news and pressing issues.
In response to commentary that the City of Chicago wrongly contested torture of a series of victims by members of disgraced-commander Jon Burge’s crew, the city’s top lawyer writes: “The Department of Law stands with due process and the rule of law. And it stands by its defense against Mr. Wrice’s claims.”
Advocates for incarcerated people are calling on Illinois correctional officials to protect the state’s older prison population from COVID-19 disease.
Civil rights lawyer Flint Taylor questions why the Lightfoot administration has hired lawyers who aggressively challenge in court the credibility of defendants’ contentions they were tortured into confessing by members of the crew of former Chicago police commander Jon Burge.
The City of Chicago is spending heavily to oppose Stanley Wrice’s claim for damages based on evidence he was tortured by members of the crew of former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. Attorney Flint Taylor questions what Mayor Lori Lighfoot’s administration is up to.
A decade ago, a gang member Tony Rosalez was convicted of an Elgin drive-by murder after two other gang members gave statements to police that Rosalez had pulled the trigger. Both have now recanted and said Rosalez is innocent, leaving Rob Warden to question what Rosalez is still doing behind bars.
Rob Warden writes that though he opposes the idea of defamation suits, he can’t help taking pleasure in the Illinois Appellate Court this week reinstating a libel suit by a private investigator who contends that he was falsely accused of misconduct in the course of a high-profile exoneration.
Injustice Watch co-founder Rob Warden reflects on the death of Jim Tuohy, a journalism legend who helped expose the kind of judicial corruption ultimately exposed in Greylord.
Stanford law professor Larry Marshall reflects on the deaths of both Karen Daniel and Jane Raley: “Karen and Jane continuously stared injustice in the eye—and injustice blinked.”
“Not only was Karen articulate, wise, and masterful in a courtroom; she was deeply human—which perhaps is what made her the extraordinary lawyer she was.”
Karen Daniel’s death was a tragedy. But as Judy Royal writes, her legacy is indelible in the minds of all who knew her and loved her — and in the annals of criminal justice reform.