Free Republic

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) gave us another amusing demonstration of his ability to humiliate Joe Biden’s unqualified judicial nominees during Wednesday's confirmation hearing. United States District Judge Nancy Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois, who has been nominated by Joe Biden for a spot on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, had previously signed a brief supporting a ban on "assault weapons" in Illinois state courts in the 2010s, yet, when he asked her to define "assault weapons,” she couldn’t. “You said, ‘assault weapons may be banned because they’re extraordinarily dangerous and are not appropriate...

On March 8, 2024, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman decided against a federal ban on gun ownership for illegal immigrant Heriberto Carbajal-Flores. The case at hand centered on Carbajal-Flores, who was “charged with possession of a firearm while illegally or unlawfully in the United States.” He had a handgun in his possession “in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois,” on June 1, 2020. He was charged for being a non-citizen in possession for a firearm. Coleman ultimately concluded, “The noncitizen possession statute, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5), violates the Second Amendment as applied to Carbajal-Flores. Thus, the Court grants...

(RNS) — A federal judge in Illinois ruled that a state school district is not responsible for the actions of a teacher who allegedly proselytized students in a public school classroom, leading a Muslim student to convert to Christianity. Judge Iain D. Johnston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, ruled that officials of Community Unit School District 300 were not responsible for the teacher’s actions, as he was disciplined and later resigned after being confronted by those public school officials. The ruling is the latest twist in a long-running legal dispute over religion...

It isn't often a Federal Judge calls politicians morons, but that's the message here: A federal judge permanently blocked an Illinois law on Dec. 14 that he previously called “stupid” that targets maternal health care centers and sidewalk counselors for expressing their pro-life message. And in news for taxpayers: The defendant, Mr. Raoul, was sued in his official capacity. [...] The judge dismissed the lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning the case cannot be litigated again. The court “shall retain jurisdiction over this action to enforce the final judgment,” the order states. The order also states that NILFA “may file a motion...

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a new Illinois law that allows the state to penalize anti-abortion pregnancy centers if they use deception to interfere with patients seeking the procedure. U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston said Thursday the new law “is painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment.” The law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week bans anti-abortion pregnancy centers, often referred to as “crisis pregnancy centers,” from using “misinformation, deceptive practices, or misrepresentation” to interfere with access to abortion services or emergency contraception. Violators faced fines of up to $50,000. The bill was...

A federal judge in Chicago has denied a motion seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block Illinois’ assault weapons ban and a similar ordinance in Naperville. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall ruled Friday that the Illinois and Naperville bans on selling assault weapons are “constitutionally sound.” Lawyers for the National Association for Gun Rights and Robert Bevis, who owns a gun store in Naperville, had sought the court orders in a lawsuit to stop the bans. As is now common in such cases, they argued that it’s “impossible” for the new state gun law and a similar...

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has approved a $9.25 million settlement by the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union in two long-running lawsuits stemming from the layoffs of hundreds of Black educators at underperforming schools, officials said Wednesday. Those eligible to receive payments under the settlement have until Friday to submit claims, attorneys for the teachers union said. Eligible to receive payments are all Black persons employed as teachers or para-professionals in any school or attendance center subjected to a “turnaround” policy that targeted schools that had been put on probation due to substandard test scores and...

A star of a Netflix series about young cheerleaders was sentenced on July 6 to 12 years in prison. Jerry Harris, 22, was ordered imprisoned for 12 years, followed by eight years of supervised release. U.S. Judge Manish Shah, an Obama appointee, handed down the sentence in federal court in Chicago. Harris, a surrogate for then-candidate Joe Biden, was arrested in 2020 after authorities said he sent explicit videos and photographs to a young boy and solicited explicit materials from the male. Pleaded Guilty Harris pleaded guilty in February to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count...

A lawsuit that aimed to stop the Obama Presidential Center from being built in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park has been dismissed by a federal judge. The crux of Protect Our Parks’ complaint is that under regulatory statutes, federal agencies should have considered relocating the proposed Obama center site entirely to avoid damage to the environment, according to the lawsuit. The city and Obama Foundation officials have said federal agencies closed the final review into the project because they determined the Obama center’s construction and nearby roadway fixes would not pose a “significant impact” on the environment - a finding the...

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge in Chicago ruled Friday that an attorney for Jussie Smollett might have defamed two Black brothers who testified that they participated in a fake racist and homophobic attack on the actor when she suggested they had been wearing “whiteface.” U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland’s ruling centers on comments Tina Glandian made on NBC’s “Today” show in March 2019, shortly after the Cook County State’s Attorney announced it was dropping charges accusing Smollett of lying to police about the incident two months earlier. Discussing how Smollett had told police that one of his attackers was white,...

“The Seventh Circuit was skeptical Thursday of a parks advocacy organization’s arguments opposing the construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Jackson Park, in a case that has left many supporters of the former president bewildered and angry. “If the Clinton Foundation had approached New York City and asked for 20 acres of Central Park for its Harlem headquarters, it would have been laughed out of court. “But that is essentially what the Obama Foundation asked of Chicago - and got, in a sweetheart deal inked under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who previously served as Obama’s chief of staff....

Today, at the conclusion of an emergency hearing, a federal District Court of Illinois issued a temporary restraining order against NorthShore University HealthSystem on behalf of 14 health care workers who have been unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate. The court said the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on Title VII and the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The court set November 16 for a preliminary injunction hearing. In the meantime, Liberty Counsel will file a brief with the court for conditional class status to extend the relief for the entire class...

Liberty Counsel has filed a class action lawsuit along with a motion for a temporary restraining order and injunction in the federal Northern District Court of Illinois against NorthShore University HealthSystem on behalf of 14 health care workers and numerous others who have been unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate. As of last Friday, NorthShore had already started purging those employees with sincere religious objections to its “Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy,” by removing many of those employees from the November work schedule, including those whose appeals were still pending. Unless this court intervenes and...

On September 13, 2021, Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr. rendered an opinion and order. The ban on possession of firearms by concealed carry license holders in the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) is unconstitutional. The judge issued a temporary stay on the order to give the Illinois legislature six months to address the issue if it so desires. From patch.com: CHICAGO — A state law that bans the concealed carry of firearms in the Cook County Forest Preserve District is unconstitutionally broad, according to a federal judge.U.S. District Judge Robert Dow issued a ruling Monday that found a...

Chicago police Superintendent David Brown late Wednesday issued an angry statement against a federal judge’s decision to release the man accused of making a straw purchase of the gun used to kill Chicago police Officer Ella French. Jamel Danzy, who faces federal charges of conspiring to violate firearms laws, was granted a $4,500 appearance bond pending trial, meaning he will not need to pay bail to get out of custody. At a brief hearing conducted by telephone, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Gilbert on Wednesday noted Danzy’s steady employment history and lack of criminal background. ADVERTISEMENT

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Construction is to begin next month on the Obama Presidential Center unless a court challenge delays it. The group Protect Our Parks has asked a federal court to hold up the start of construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Aug. 16. In the lawsuit filed in April, the group asked the court to review and enforce the federal laws designed to “to protect local historic sites, environmental impacts, impairment of dedicated public parkland, and related community natural resources.” According to Crain’s, the matter is back in court Tuesday. Protect Our Parks has...

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied review in Elim Romanian Church v. Pritzker, (Docket No. 20-569, certiorari denied, 3/29/2021). (Order List). In the case, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a church's challenge to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's COVID-19 orders which restrict-- or in their latest form urge restriction-- on the size of worship services. (See prior posting.)

A federal judge in Chicago issued a nationwide halt Monday to President Trump’s attempt to make more immigrants have to prove self-sufficiency in order to win a path to citizenship. Judge Gary Feinerman ruled the government cut too many procedural corners in issuing what was known as the “public charge” rule. Homeland Security had asked him to confine his ruling to a limited geography and to delay its effectiveness while it was appealed. The Obama appointee rejected both requests, announcing a nationwide policy.

Last week, the Senate confirmed 8 judges to district courts, however I noticed that one of the judges, Franklin U. Valderrama on the Northern Illinois Court was confirmed by a 68-26 vote with the 26 NAYS as all Republicans, and every democrat voting YAY including Hirono and Gillibrand who almost always vote against Trumps judges--even the more "moderate" picks of his. Does anyone have any insight into this Franklin U. Valderrama guy and why so many Republicans would vote against him? The last time I am aware of so many R's going against a Trump nominee was Judge Mark Bennett...

So the good MAGA news is that the US Senate has confirmed 6 judges so far this week (with 2 more pending today) to the bench 4 of them on central district of CA, 2 in south IL and 2 in north IL--all of which are liberal cesspools as far as the existing benches go, with lots of vacancies still to fill. So it's great news that Trump is filling slots with judges that at least will follow the law, But can someone who might know more about how this works explain something to me: Two district judges for the...