Ronnie Carrasquillo will be resentenced after 46 years in prison after an appellate court panel ruled he has not been given a ‘meaningful’ opportunity for parole by the state’s Prisoner Review Board. The ruling follows a 2017 Injustice Watch series, “The Long Wait,” which examined the board’s opaque process.
News

Chicago man becomes first in Illinois to get reduced sentence under new law
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A law passed in 2021 empowered prosecutors to revisit excessive sentences, but so far, only two people have been released. Said one: ‘Two years into it, it’s helped two people?’
News

Pritzker defends denials of medical release requests from dying and disabled prisoners
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“We’re not just going to push everybody out the door just because there’s somebody who complains that we haven’t done it the way they would like it done,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in response to an Injustice Watch and WBEZ investigation.
Exploited Elders

Citi wealth adviser accused of steering older clients into money-losing film projects
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The horror film producer is accused in court docs of soliciting investments from elder clients, part of what experts say is a growing national trend of financial professionals preying on older Americans and their bank accounts.
Exploited Elders

Probate court cases illustrate Illinois’ broken adult protection system
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In a letter to a social service agency, the Cook County Public Guardian criticized a lack of state intervention in several instances in which older adults with disabilities were being defrauded.
Judicial Elections

Cook County Democrats back Illinois Supreme Court Justice Cunningham and slate of judicial candidates for 2024
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In a political ritual preceding every election cycle, those who want to be judges appear at a colorful meeting to vie for the support of Democratic power brokers. The slating event is often a strong indication of who will become a judge.
News

How we reported on elder financial exploitation
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Injustice Watch reviewed thousands of pages of records, analyzed previously unpublished federal data, and interviewed more than 50 victims, family members, and experts for our project on elder financial exploitation.
News

In Illinois, a system meant to protect against elder financial exploitation is failing
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Cases are near an all-time high, while arrests and prosecutions have plummeted. Meanwhile, many older adults, like 91-year-old Paul Borik, are losing their life savings as social service caseworkers watch from the sidelines.