Free Republic

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against federal immigration agents over their use of force during Operation Midway Blitz, telling lawyers for the Trump administration she found their evidence "simply not credible." "It is difficult to conceive how an injunction requiring the government to comply with the Constitution could possibly be harmful," U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said as she explained her decision. She said she is granting "complete relief to plaintiffs" and rejected the government's request for a stay pending appeal, saying they have not made a strong showing that they're likely to succeed on the merits of...

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge in Chicago will issue an extensive injunction restricting federal agents’ use of force, saying Thursday that a top Border Patrol official leading an immigration crackdown repeatedly lied about threats posed by protesters and reporters.The preliminary injunction detailed in court Thursday came in response to a lawsuit filed by news outlets and protesters who allege federal agents have used excessive force during the operation that has netted more than 3,000 arrests and led to heated clashes across the nation’s third-largest city and its many suburbs. “I see little reason for the use of force that...

Rioters then shot at agents with commercial artillery shell fireworks. A Border Patrol transport van carrying illegal aliens attempting to get to the safety of the perimeter was then attacked. Border Patrol agents were able to secure the van and get it into the perimeter. The mob of rioters grew more hostile and violent, advancing toward agents and began throwing rocks and other objects at agents, including one that struck Chief Greg Bovino in the head. Border Patrol agents repeated multiple warnings to back up and that chemical agents would be deployed if warnings were ignored. Riot control measures were...

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras, a judge said Thursday after seeing tear gas and other aggressive steps used against protesters. U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said she was a “little startled” after seeing TV images of clashes between agents and the public during President Donald Trump’s administration’s immigration crackdown. “I live in Chicago if folks haven’t noticed,” she said. “And I’m not blind, right?” Community efforts to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have ramped up in the nation’s third-largest city, where neighborhood groups have assembled to monitor...

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...

downstate judge has ruled in favor of a Republican legislator in his lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker over whether the Democratic governor exceeded his legal authority in issuing a stay-at-home order in March to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Just hours earlier, Pritzker notched a win in federal court against the Illinois Republican Party, which sued the governor claiming he violated the GOP’s constitutional rights to assemble during the coronavirus outbreak. In the downstate lawsuit, state Rep. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, and his attorneys fought hard to keep it in state court. And Clay County Judge Michael McHaney ruled in favor of...