January 2, 2017

Illinois law enlists hairstylists to help prevent domestic abuse

An Illinois law that took effect Sunday aims to take advantage of the trusted relationship between hairstylists and their clients to prevent domestic violence.

Stylists, barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, hair braiders and nail technicians in Illinois will receive an hour of mandated abuse-prevention training as part of the licensing process. The law does not require them to report any violence, and it shelters them from any liability.

Instead, the training provides beauty professionals with information about local help and resources they can share with clients. The Illinois measure appears to be the first of its kind in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Hairstylists are well situated to notice signs of abuse, said Vi Nelson, spokeswoman for the industry group Cosmetologists Chicago.

Read more: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/illinois-law-enlists-hairstylists-to-prevent-domestic-abuse/

January 2, 2017

Plenty of Illinois Dems in the mix to challenge Rauner

Two congresswomen, two state senators, a billionaire, an heir of a political dynasty, the attorney general, the state treasurer, a former governor, the senior adviser to the president and a Chicago alderman.

These men and women are among those in the mix as possible Democratic challengers to Gov. Bruce Rauner in his 2018 re-election campaign.

The Illinois Republican Party has already put targets on J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy and state Sen. Andy Manar.

Sen. Dick Durbin was considered a top-tier challenger to Rauner. He has a national fundraising base and is a constant figure in the Illinois media, as well as on national shows. After some big buzz coming out of last summer’s Democratic National Convention, Durbin opted out in November after he was re-elected to the No. 2 Democratic spot in the U.S. Senate.

Read more: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/illinois-democrats-challenge-gov-bruce-rauner/

January 2, 2017

Chicago Transit Authority announces deal with unions to extend jobs program for felons

The CTA announced a tentative agreement Friday with two unions to extend a job program for felons.

The Second Chance program, which provides temporary jobs cleaning buses and trains to felons, was set to end Saturday amid a contract dispute with the rail and bus unions. The specifics of the tentative agreement were not released, however, and the proposal still needs to be approved by the unions. Second Chance workers pay union dues.

"This agreement in principle is great news for the nearly 200 men and women currently in this nationally renowned program, who will be able to continue to support themselves and their families, while working to build a foundation for their future success," CTA President Dorval Carter said in a statement.

The program has found jobs for 736 people since 2011 — 184 of whom have been hired full-time by the CTA. The program also provides counseling and skills training, including free classes to qualify for a commercial driver's license.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-cta-reaches-agreement-with-unions-met-20161230-story.html

January 2, 2017

Former lawmaker fired from corrections job after harassing woman at party

A former state representative was fired from his position as an administrator at the Illinois Department of Corrections after a woman complained about being harassed and touched inappropriately by him during a department Christmas party earlier this month, records from the agency show.

John Anthony (R) was fired five days after the Dec. 2 party, when an investigation by the department concluded the woman's complaints were "substantiated." Several other people expressed concerns to investigators about Anthony's conduct during the party, according to investigation records.

The female employee of the Department of Juvenile Justice who initially complained about Anthony's conduct said he had approached her while she was on her way out for a cigarette, in the lobby of the Wyndham Hotel in Springfield, where the party was being held. Anthony made comments about her body then pressed himself up against her and licked her neck, according to the complaint. When the woman asked his name, the man provided his first name — John. Later, the woman learned the man's full name after speaking with co-workers.

The exchange was caught by the hotel's surveillance cameras. Investigators concluded that the woman's complaint was "supported by video footage."

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-former-lawmaker-groping-christmas-party-met-20161223-story.html

January 2, 2017

President Obama confirms farewell address in Chicago

Ten days before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office, President Barack Obama will say goodbye from the same city that launched his political career.

The presidential farewell will take place on the evening of Jan. 10 at Chicago's McCormick Place. In an email expected to be sent out Monday morning, Obama said he was taking his cue from George Washington, who “set the precedent for a peaceful, democratic transfer of power” and penned a farewell address in 1796.

“I'm just beginning to write my remarks,” he wrote. “But I'm thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here.”

In the email, Obama said the nation has faced a number of challenges in the past eight years, but emerged stronger.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-obama-confirms-farewell-address-in-chicago-20170102-story.html

January 2, 2017

2016 ends with 762 homicides in Chicago; 2017 doesn't look like it will get better

2016 ends with 762 homicides; 2017 opens with fatal Uptown gunfight

An argument between two men at an Uptown bar in the early hours of Jan. 1 ended with the two shooting at one another, leaving both dead.

Their deaths ushered in the new year, marking the first and second homicides of 2017 and keeping up 2016’s pace of violence – levels that haven’t marred the city for 20 years.

By the time police were dispatched to the double homicide at 4:30 a.m. there had already been an officer-involved shooting, according to Chicago police. A man who led police on a car chase, before physically resisting arrest, ultimately was shot by an officer before 3 a.m. That man, whose name was not released and for whom a warrant was issued, was in critical condition Sunday.

The last homicide in 2016 came before 1 p.m. Saturday when a 24-year-old, whose name has not been released, was killed in South Austin in a possible road rage act that may have been retaliation for hitting another driver’s Mercedes. According to data from the Chicago Police Department, his death became the 762nd homicide for the year – the most since 1996, when there were 796.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-two-shot-to-death-in-uptown-marks-first-homicide-of-2017-20170101-story.html

2017 opens with 3 killed, 16 wounded after violent 2016 has its last homicide on New Year's Eve

Three people were killed and 16 others were wounded during the first six hours of the year as the city ended a year that brought levels of violence that had not been seen in the city since the 1990s.

In total, four people were killed and 24 other people were wounded in separate shootings from New Year's Eve to early Sunday.
From Our Partners: Police Officer Charged in Philando Castile Shooting

Around 2:30 a.m. an unnamed man was shot by a Chicago police officer, authorities said at a news conference Sunday, about 12 hours after the shooting. They reported that a man led cops on a car chase and physically resisted once he was finally stopped. The man, who is in critical condition, was shot after a scuffle, police said.

About two hours later, two men were killed in the year's first fatal shooting, which took place at 4:25 a.m. Sunday in the 4600 block of North Broadway in the city's Uptown neighborhood on the North Side.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-shootings-violence-20161231-story.html

January 2, 2017

Despite budget inaction, about 190 new state laws take effect Jan. 1

They couldn't agree on a full state budget at the Capitol, but Democrats in the legislature and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner were able to set aside their differences to eliminate taxes on the purchase of tampons and other feminine hygiene products, create more flexible sick leave rules for workers, and add wage protections for domestic workers such as nannies and housekeepers.

Those are among about 190 new Illinois laws that take effect with the new year. The state gets an official state artifact in the form of a pirogue, a canoe made from a hollowed-out tree trunk, and hairdressers will be required to undergo training to spot signs of domestic violence among their clients. Students enrolled in driver education classes will now be taught what to do if pulled over by police, and community colleges will see tougher oversight following numerous revelations about questionable spending at the College of DuPage.

And one controversial measure that is set to take effect Jan. 1 is under review in the courts. At issue is state law that allows medical providers to decline to perform abortion procedures if they have moral objections. A change to that law would require health care providers that oppose abortion to provide patients with information about or a referral to other providers that will perform the procedure.

Supporters say the legislation is designed to give patients timely access to legal medical care. But opponents led by a group of anti-abortion pregnancy centers sued to block the law, arguing the legislation violates their free speech. Last week, a judge in Winnebago County said the state can't enforce the law against the handful of centers involved in the lawsuit while the case plays out.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-illinois-new-laws-2017-met-20161228-story.html

January 2, 2017

In the rush to close institutions, Illinois ignored serious problems in group homes

Adults with mild disabilities were the most coveted.

In April 2012, as Illinois moved to close several state institutions and relocate adults with disabilities into the community, representatives from group home businesses gathered inside the Jacksonville Developmental Center for a hastily organized auction.

A state official read aloud medical histories of residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, prompting group home officials to raise their hands for desired picks.

Group home operators knew that then-Gov. Pat Quinn wanted to empty Jacksonville quickly — before any serious union or community opposition could be mounted — but some were taken aback by what they saw as a dehumanizing approach. "We were appalled by the auction," said Art Dykstra, executive director of Trinity Services, the state's largest group home provider.

The problems with Quinn's rapid-deployment plan, however, went beyond mere awkwardness.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/grouphomes/ct-group-home-investigations-cila-met-20161229-htmlstory.html

January 2, 2017

Democrats plan to target eight Trump Cabinet nominees

Democratic senators plan to aggressively target eight of Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees in the coming weeks and are pushing to stretch their confirmation votes into March - an unprecedented break with Senate tradition.

Such delays would upend Republican hopes of quickly holding hearings and confirming most of Trump's top picks on Inauguration Day. But Democrats, hamstrung by their minority status, are determined to slow-walk Trump's picks unless they start disclosing reams of personal financial data they've withheld so far, according to senior aides.

Incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., has told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that Democrats will hone in especially on Rex Tillerson, Trump's choice for secretary of state; Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Trump's choice for attorney general; Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget; and Betsy DeVos, set to serve as education secretary.

There's also Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and oversee changes to Obamacare, who is set to be attacked by Democrats for his support for privatizing Medicare. Andrew Puzder, a restaurant executive set to serve as labor secretary, will face scrutiny for past comments on the minimum wage, among other policies. Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner set to serve as treasury secretary, and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump's pick to lead the EPA, will also be the focus of Democratic attacks, aides said.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-democrats-trump-cabinet-nominees-20170101-story.html

January 2, 2017

Sheriff: New Year's bomb threat suspect incarcerated

MUNCIE, Ind. — A suspect in Saturday night's bomb threats that temporarily closed both Muncie Wal-Marts was arrested early Sunday in Grant County, according to Delaware County Sheriff Ray Dudley.

Grant County police stopped the suspect — whom Dudley said earlier had done such things before — in a vehicle stop early Sunday morning and took him into custody, the Delaware County sheriff said on Sunday. He did not know if or when the suspect might be transferred to Delaware County.

Calls threatening a bomb at Muncie Mall and Wal-Marts were traced to the suspect Saturday night, when the 24-hour stores had been evacuated and all three sites were being searched by police and bomb-sniffing dogs. All three sites had been found clear of explosives around 9 p.m. Saturday.

Sending police, fire trucks and ambulances to all three sites in response to the threats required a considerable amount of manpower from multiple departments, Dudley noted.

Read more: http://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2016/12/31/muncie-walmarts-mall-evacuated-after-threat/96049274/