Free Republic

Ada County Sheriff identifies man found dead in Boise church in 1982, possibly linked to the Tylenol cyanide poisonings in the 1980s. The following is the YT transcription. It might be better just to watch all 10 minutes of the news cast.

A Chicago man who robbed a Red Line passenger while wearing an ankle monitor for another Red Line robbery he committed while also wearing an ankle monitor has been given six-year sentences for both crimes. But he caught a break because the judge ordered his sentences to be served concurrently even though he committed the crimes on top of each other. Shannon Stephens, 24, was arrested following the February 19 robbery of a 16-year-old boy on a Red Line train near Garfield, Chicago police said. Stephens and 20-year-old Markell Harper of Gary, Indiana, allegedly approached the boy wearing ski masks...

The state of Oregon will no longer require its students to demonstrate proficiency in math, reading and writing in order to earn a high school diploma in a bid to bolster minority students. Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill late last month suspending the state's 'essential skills' requirement for graduation for the next three years while its Department of Education seeks alternative graduation requirements. The bill extended a suspension of the requirements that was put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. Proponents of the measure have said the state's proficiency specifications hurt disadvantaged students, while opponents say suspending them lowers...

Illinois GOP's Real Problem Isn't Money. It Doesn't Want Trump's Candidate To Win With just over 40 days until Election Day for the midterms, the Illinois Republican Party has yet to provide a meaningful financial boost to the man carrying its banner for governor: Darren Bailey, whom President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for this week. "I’ve already endorsed him. I’m all for Bailey," Trump said.

A would-be thief got more than he bargained for recently, when an alert gas station customer in Chicago with a concealed carry permit pulled out a gun and shot him. After the shooting, the thief hobbled away from the scene as quickly as possible. There would probably be a lot less crime if aspiring criminals were made to watch incidents like this one.

A Cook County judge is facing harsh criticism from the Cook County Sheriff and the teamsters union that represents deputies and jailers. *snip* [Judge] Lyke held them in contempt after they would not comply with his order to unshackle an inmate so he could hug a family member present in the courtroom. That inmate has a track record of being dangerous and unpredictable.

The Cook County judge who released repeat violent felon Alphanso Talley on electronic monitoring before he was charged with killing a Chicago police officer is accused of holding two courtroom deputies in contempt this week for not immediately removing handcuffs from a different inmate charged with murder. It’s an upside-down world in Judge John Lyke’s courtroom, where deputies are locked up and repeat violent offenders are sent home. On Wednesday, two deputies were escorting the inmate into Lyke’s courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Court Building when he ordered them to remove the man’s handcuffs, according to Teamsters Local 700, which...

Although a recent report on financial red flags said Chicago is on a path toward insolvency, Wirepoints founder Mark Glennon says Chapter Nine bankruptcy might not work for the Windy City like it previously did in Detroit. Reason Foundation’s report on state and local government finances said Detroit’s financial condition at the end of fiscal year 2012 would trigger seven red flags, just like Chicago received in the organization’s report last month. In July 2013, Detroit became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy. Glennon said Chicago, unlike Detroit, has sold most of its future sales tax...

An Illinois mother allegedly hanged her 2-year-old son that she described as the “anti-Christ” — hours after discussing the Lindsay Clancy case with friends, authorities said. Corie Walsh, 38, is facing first-degree murder charges after one of her neighbors found Walsh’s son, Barrett, hanging from the rafters in the family’s basement, FOX 32 reported. Walsh allegedly told investigators she killed her young son because he’s the “anti-Christ” and “devil,” according to prosecutors. Little Barrett was found with his feet off the ground, and a ligature around his neck. The neighbor told 911 operators that Walsh had no pulse while she...

A shootout inside Washington Park left one man dead and nine other people injured Saturday night, according to Chicago police, marking the city’s second-worst shooting of the year. Chicago police officers were already in the area monitoring a planned gathering in the park near the 5400 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue when multiple gunmen began shooting around 11:37 p.m., police said. Officers immediately reported “nonstop” gunfire over their radios as people ran for cover. “They’re still shooting,” one officer said as the gunfire continued. Officers quickly called for ambulances and began providing advanced first aid to the injured. Police...

COOK COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is threatening to have Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart criminally charged. In letters obtained by ABC7 I-Team through the Freedom of Information Act, ICE requested Sheriff Dart serve immigration subpoenas. The federal agency said failing to serve them could result in prosecution for tampering with a witness. The Cook County Sheriff's Office says it cannot release an individual in custody to any law enforcement agency or federal agents for an interview. The sheriff's office also says three of the individuals named in the letters were released before the office received...

Dozens of decomposing bodies were found Thursday at a Far South Side funeral home, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. A funeral was in progress when police, acting on a tip, showed up at South Chicago Chapel, 2939 E. 95th St., police said. Police had been told bodies at the South Deering funeral home were not being stored at or below 40 degrees, as required by state regulations, according to a police report obtained by the Sun-Times. Officers were met by funeral director Clark Morgan, who accompanied them on a walk-through of the building, according to the police...

Snapchat’s automated system flagged a private DM to three contacts and triggered an FBI alert in under 60 minutes, ending her teaching career Sixty minutes. That’s how long it took for a private Snapchat message to travel from Kristen Volpe’s phone to the FBI to the deputies standing in her elementary school hallway. On January 29, 2025, the 22-year-old student teacher at John L. Hensey Elementary in Washington, Illinois, vented to her boyfriend and two roommates — three people total — after a student closed her laptop mid-class and wiped her lesson plan. She referenced shooting the student or the...

In the coming months, for the first time in the 191-year history of the Chicago Police Department, white officers will no longer be the largest racial group in the department’s rank-and-file. Data from the city’s Office of Inspector General shows that likely before the end of 2026, Latino officers will overtake white officers as the plurality in the department. For many, the literal changing face of the department will take it further from the ingrained imagery of its past, when the sons of immigrants from Ireland and other points in Europe may have been the first to come to mind....

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has consistently said he’s focused on winning a third-term for governor this November — and despite the speculation, those close to him insist he hasn’t made a decision on whether he’ll run for president in 2028. But the governor is showing up in presidential polls, and he’s building coalitions with state parties while also strengthening his national name recognition. He has also explored future fundraising paths that don’t include self-funding — if a presidential run is truly in the cards. Pritzker is on the list of names popping up on presidential polls, which the New York...

Five people were killed and two others were injured in what Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly described as a targeted mass shooting against one family over the weekend in East St. Louis. Two suspects, ages 15 and 16, have been arrested in connection with the investigation. Authorities said the suspects were taken into custody at Holten State Park. As of Sunday evening, their names had not been released. The shootings took place at three different places in the city — Jones Park, a residence in the area of 39th and Summit and the Samuel Gompers Homes. “The picture is...

With Lindsey Graham's death, and John Cornyn's defeat, Mike Lee is second in seniority, next to 92 year old Chuck Grassley (elected in 1980). Grassley has been maintaining the old blue slip tradition, preventing the confirmation of US Attorneys that Democrats don't like. If Grassley dies, or chooses to be chair of another committee come January, Mike Lee will be chair (assuming the Republicans hold the Senate). Thom Tillis (who also blocked nominees) will also be gone, and Ken Paxton will likely be added. On the Democrat side, Dick Durbin is retiring (moving Whitehouse to ranking member) and Amy Klobuchar...

Twenty-four children have been reunited with their families, 305 fugitives arrested, and 179 charges filed against defendants in 140 cases in a multi-agency federal operation, says the Justice Department in annoucing a weeks-long, multi-agency operation. The DOJ posted on Thursday that 11 agencies had participated "as part of this first-of-its-kind ‘badgeless’ enforcement initiative in Chicagoland in recognition of our nation’s 250th Birthday that focused on a single mission for roughly 60 days: to set aside barriers and focus exclusively on disrupting violence in the Chicago and Rockford areas by arresting the worst of the worst offenders." [snip] Chicagoland is the...

The list: Connecticut Illinois Maine Massachusetts North Carolina Oregon Rhode Island Vermont Washington Pennsylvania

... "One of the things that we should have pride about, and that all around the country, I think people look in envy about the fact that Illinois truly does step up and protect our LGBTQ+ community," Pritzker said, "and we're not going to stop." One of the bills Pritzker signed, HB4834, removes testosterone from the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program — the electronic database that collects information about specific medications and treatments. The bill also prevents the addition of estrogen, mifepristone, and misoprostol — the latter two of which are used to end pregnancies early — to the monitoring program....