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Authorities in Illinois on Thursday announced “the untimely and tragic death” of a state trooper who was fatally struck during a traffic stop. (Illinois State Police)
Authorities in Illinois on Thursday announced “the untimely and tragic death” of a state trooper who was fatally struck during a traffic stop.
Trooper Brooke Jones-Story, 34, was killed after initiating the stop on U.S. Route 20 westbound around 11:24 a.m. on a commercial motor vehicle “to conduct a truck inspection,” Illinois State Police (ISP) Acting Director Brendan F. Kelly said during a news conference.
She had parked her squad car behind the commercial vehicle and had turned on her emergency lights, he said.
TEXAS POLICE OFFICER, TRUCK DRIVIER SAVE TEENAGER THREATENING TO JUMP FROM OVERPASS
“During the inspection, at approximately 12:20 p.m., a truck tractor semi-trailer combination veered off the roadway, struck Trooper Jones-Story’s squad car, whose emergency lights were activated, struck the commercial motor vehicle she was conducting the inspection on and fatally struck Trooper Jones-Story, who was outside of her vehicle at the time of the crash,” Kelly said.
The crash set both commercial vehicles ablaze and there were no other reported injuries, he said.
Jones-Story, a 12-year veteran who “paid the ultimate sacrifice,” leaves behind her husband, two step-children and a step-grandchild, as well as other family members, according to the official.
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The driver of the vehicle that struck the trooper was “cited with a violation of Scott’s Law and improper lane usage,” Kelly said.
Scott’s Law or the “Move Over” Law, requires drivers to slow down and change lanes upon approaching “stationary authorized emergency” vehicles with their warning lights on, the ISP explained on their website.
Source: Fox News National
CHICAGO – Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Thursday emphatically urged President Trump to butt out of the ongoing drama over embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.
“My recommendation is the president go to Opening Day baseball, sit on the sidelines and stay out of this,” Emanuel told a group of reporters.
The mayor then called Chicago a “Trump-free zone” and blamed the president for creating a “toxic” and “hate-filled” environment that allowed Smollett to think he could get away with faking a hate crime.
TRUMP SAYS DOJ, FBI TO REVIEW OUTRAGEOUS DECISION TO DROP CHARGES IN JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE
Emanuel is a frequent critic of the president, who said this week he’d have federal authorities look into the tangled Smollett case. The mayor said Trump and Smollett are part of the same “vicious, toxic cycle,” a cycle he wants to break.
The exiting mayor also suggested that Smollett write a $130,000 check to Chicago with “I’m accountable for the hoax” written on the memo line.
Smollett was accused of faking an anti-black, anti-gay hate crime against himself in order to drum up publicity for his role on a Fox television show. Denying the claims of fraud, he maintained that on Jan. 29, two men beat him, poured bleach on him and placed a rope around his neck before yelling, “This is MAGA country” (a blunt reference to Trump’s campaign slogan “Make American Great Again”).
A week before the alleged attack, Smollett told authorities he received a threatening letter at work. Chicago police believe he made that up, too.
CAN JUSSIE SMOLLETT MAKE A COMEBACK, CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERTS WEIGH IN
The Smollett saga gained new energy this week when prosecutors unexpectedly announced they would drop the 16-count indictment against the actor.
CHICAGO PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX CHIDED BY NATIONAL ATTORNEYS GROUP AFTER JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHARGES DROPPED
The surprise dismissal triggered a swift backlash from the mayor and police chief, with many observers asking the same question: Why isn’t Smollett being forced to admit what prosecutors had said they could prove in court — that the entire assault story was a concocted publicity stunt?
Trump, wading into the Smollett saga, said he’d asked federal law enforcement officials to look into Smollett’s case.
“I think the case in Chicago is an absolute embarrassment to our country, and I have asked that they look at it,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn. Earlier Thursday, he tweeted that he wanted federal authorities to investigate.
There has been no word from the FBI or the Justice Department on whether they’re investigating the matter.
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After the city delivered a letter to Smollett’s legal team seeking $130,000 from the actor, Smollett’s lawyers demanded an apology from Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson for “dragging an innocent man’s character through the mud.”
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s has defended her office’s actions but said dropping the charges “in no way exonerates” Smollett.
Source: Fox News National
The Chicago Police Department is being sued after officers allegedly raided a 4-year-old’s birthday party and smashed the cake. (Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Chicago police officers mistakenly raided a 4-year-olds birthday party with their guns drawn and smashed the birthday cake, a lawsuit filed by the toddler’s family claims.
The child’s family filed a federal lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department, alleging cops mistakenly raided their apartment on February 10 while looking for a man who hadn’t lived there for several years, NBC Chicago reported.
The 4-year-old’s mother, Stephanie Burris, who lives in the apartment, said officers knocked down the door during her son TJ’s birthday party, pointed their guns at her family members and destroyed the birthday cake.
"It’s horrible," Burris told NBC Chicago.
"It’s terrifying," she continued. "Can you imagine a 4- or a 7-year-old sitting and playing games with other children, then come in and be confiscated by men with guns pointed at them? I can’t imagine that."
The federal lawsuit claims police conducted the February 10 raid in pursuit of a man who had not lived at the residence for more than five years. The family alleges the Chicago Police Department exhibits a pattern of excessive force against or in the presence of children of color on the south and west sides.
The family’s attorney, Al Hofeld, said he was horrified for the young boy after his clients described the officer’s alleged actions during the raid.
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"Instead of having his family sing happy birthday to him, 4-year-old TJ had Chicago police officers curse and insult him and his family with f-words and cruel jokes," Hofeld said.
Hofeld said that no one was arrested as a result of the raid and that police were not wearing body cameras.
A Fox News request for comment from the Chicago Police Department was not immediately returned.
In a statement to NBC Chicago Wednesday, the department said it "makes every effort to ensure the validity and accuracy of all information that is used to apply for and execute search warrants" but "errors occur and it does take them seriously."
Source: Fox News National
Concepcion Malinek, 49, was arrested on forced labor charges following an federal investigation. (Kendall County Sheriff’s Office)
An Illinois woman was arrested after she held 33 Guatemalan immigrants, including children, in her basement, forcing them to work and threatening them with deportation, federal authorities said.
Concepcion Malinek faces forced labor charges following a Tuesday morning raid at her Cicero home, where they discovered 19 adults and 14 children, all believed to be from Guatemala, in the basement, a 12-page complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois stated.
It’s unclear if the Guatemalans were in the country legally, however a victim told authorities he believed a majority of them had claimed political asylum. He claimed at least two of them were in the country illegally, the complaint stated.
Federal authorities began investigating Malinek in March after a person who worked with one of the victims contacted the FBI about potential human trafficking occurring at the residence.
LARGE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GROUPS CROSSING US-MEXICO BORDER PUSHING AGENTS TO ‘BREAKING POINT’
Malinek helped the immigrants travel to the U.S. in 2018 and 2019, but then accused them of owing her thousands of dollars once they were on American soil, the complaint stated. To pay her back, Malinek allegedly forced them to work in a factory in Romeoville and took them to and from their workplace in a white passenger van.
The 49-year-old kept track of the Guatemalans’ debts in a ledger, which appeared to contain signatures and “contract-type language regarding the debts owed to Malinek,” authorities said. One of the “contracts” stated the victim was “free to leave or stay” after the debt was settled.
The immigrants received a minuscule amount of the money they earned, according to the complaint, because the majority of it went to Malinek to pay the debt they owed, authorities said.
DOUBLE-AMPUTEE RESCUED FROM ISLAND IN MIDDLE OF RIO GRANDE RIVER WHILE TRYING TO CROSS INTO US
One of the victims told authorities Malinek claimed he owed her $18,000 for letting him use her name and home address on his immigration paperwork. He said Malinek allowed his 15-year-old daughter to live on the first floor of the house, but left him and other people in the basement. He would only be able to see his daughter “for limited periods of time” and had to ask for permission to leave the basement, according to the complaint.
Another victim, who allegedly agreed to pay Malinek about $37,000 to get him and his family into the U.S., said he lived in the basement with his wife, 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.
Malinek allegedly kept her captives quiet about the scheme by threatening deportation and dared them to call immigration officials.
“They already know you are here, so go ahead and call them,” she told them, according to the complaint.
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She allegedly told one person, “immigration knows how many people live in this house, you guys are poor and I have all the money.”
Malinek is expected to appear in court on Thursday.
Source: Fox News National
The decision by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office to drop charges that “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist, anti-gay attack has drawn scorn from not only the mayor of Chicago and members of law enforcement, but a national group that claims to represent thousands of prosecutor offices.
The National District Attorneys Association chided the prosecutor’s handling of the case, including Foxx’s decision to recuse herself before Smollett was charged last month because she had discussed the case with a Smollett family member. The case was then handed to First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats.
"First, when a chief prosecutor recuses him or herself, the recusal must apply to the entire office, not just the elected or appointed prosecutor," the group said in a news release. "This is consistent with best practices for prosecutors’ offices around the country."
The group, which claims to represent roughly 2,700 prosecutors’ offices around the country, also said that prosecutors "should not take advice from politically connected friends of the accused."
"Each case should be approached with the goal of justice for victims while protecting the rights of the defendant," the group said.
Email and text messages provided to the Chicago Sun-Times by Foxx’s office show former first lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff Tina Tchen contacted Foxx a few days after the report of the attack to set up a telephone conversation with a Smollett relative.
Foxx told the Sun-Times the relative expressed concerns over leaked information that media outlets attributed to “police sources.” Foxx then called Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson to ask him to let the FBI investigate the alleged attack. The contacts were cited by Foxx in recusing herself from the case on Feb. 13, well before Smollett was charged.
DOJ, FBI TO REVIEW ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE, TRUMP SAYS
In an interview with WBBM-TV on Wednesday, Foxx said no one tried to intervene on Smollett’s behalf, despite emails showing that she was contacted by people linked to Smollett about the case.
"There was no attempt, whatsoever, to influence the outcome of this case," she told the television station. "None whatsoever."
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx told FOX32 5,700 people have participated in "alternative prosecution cases" such as Jussie Smollett. (FOX32)
Smollett forfeiting his $10,000 bond and doing community service in return for dropping the charges was also a point of criticism by the district attorney’s group.
"Third, when a prosecutor seeks to resolve a case through diversion or some other alternative to prosecution, it should be done so with an acknowledgment of culpability on the part of the defendant," the group said. "A case with the consequential effects of Mr. Smollett’s should not be resolved without a finding of guilt or innocence."
JUSSIE SMOLLETT BOMBSHELL PITS OBAMA CHIEFS OF STAFF AGAINST ONE ANOTHER
Foxx defended her office’s actions in a separate interview with FOX32 on Wednesday, saying that the dropping of charges "in no way exonerates" Smollett.
"He was charged with a Class 4 felony. I mean he doesn’t have a background. When I look at similarly situated people who are charged with the same level of felony without a background I believe in this case, justice was appropriate," she said. "Again I didn’t make that decision, he was availed to alternative prosecution model that anybody else without his riches, without his fame were also availed to."
She also said that 5,700 people have participated in "alternative prosecution cases" with similar outcomes.
"So while it’s frustrating, the nature of his offense, we treated Mr. Smollett in the same way we would treat similarly situated folks," Foxx told FOX32.
CHICAGO COPS SHARED DATA ON SMOLLETT’S ICLOUD WITH FBI: REPORT
An internal email from the Foxx’s office obtained by Fox News on Wednesday asked assistant state’s attorneys to dig for any examples to bolster her claim that the dropped charges in the Smollett case weren’t as uncommon or shocking as they seemed.
The email read in part: “We are looking for examples of cases, felony preferable, where we, in (exercising) our discretion, have entered into verbal agreements with defense attorneys to dismiss charges against an offender if certain conditions were met…”
An internal email from Kim Foxx’s office obtained by Fox News asked workers to dig for examples bolstering Foxx’s claim that the dropped charges in the Jussie Smollett case weren’t as uncommon or shocking as they seemed. (Getty/File)
The email added, “Nobody is in trouble, we are just looking for further examples of how we, as prosecutors, use our discretion in a way that restores the victim…”
It was not clear who sent it, and exactly when it was sent. But the email was obtained as Foxx was participating in a series of interviews defending her office’s decision. The statement from the group came before President Trump announced Thursday that the FBI and Justice Department will review the “outrageous” decision to drop charges in the Smollett case.
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An attorney for Smollett late Wednesday blasted Chicago officials, saying they have “continued their campaign against Jussie Smollett after the charges against him have been dropped.”
Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Patricia Brown Holmes said the case is closed.
“We should all allow Mr. Smollett to move on with his life as a free citizen,” she said in a statement.
Fox News’ Matt Finn in Chicago and Frank Miles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
CHICAGO – An internal email from the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, obtained by Fox News on Wednesday, asked assistant state’s attorneys to dig for any examples to bolster Foxx’s claim that the dropped charges in the Jussie Smollett case weren’t as uncommon or shocking as they seemed.
The email read in part, “We are looking for examples of cases, felony preferable, where we, in (exercising) our discretion, have entered into verbal agreements with defense attorneys to dismiss charges against an offender if certain conditions were met…”
The email added, “Nobody is in trouble, we are just looking for further examples of how we, as prosecutors, use our discretion in a way that restores the victim…”
It was not clear who sent it, and exactly when it was sent. Foxx recused herself from the case last February but defended her office offering Smollett “an alternative prosecution model” in a series of interviews Wednesday.
An internal email from Kim Foxx’s office obtained by Fox News asked workers to dig for examples bolstering Foxx’s claim that the dropped charges in the Jussie Smollett case weren’t as uncommon or shocking as they seemed. (Getty, File)
Illinois Attorney Rod Drobinski told Fox News that because a special prosecutor was not appointed in the Smollett case, there were appearances of impropriety on behalf of Foxx’s office. “Even the prosecutor said it was a strong case. That makes it even more unusual that they didn’t demand that he admit to what he did as part of this dismissal.”
Foxx has been defending the decision by her staff to drop charges against the “Empire” actor after investigators revealed he allegedly staged a racist, anti-gay attack.
Foxx told Fox 32 on Wednesday she believed the matter was handled properly for a case of its kind. She pointed to Smollett forfeiting his $10,000 bond and doing community service.
“When we look at similarly situated people charged with this offense, without a background, I think in this case, justice was, um, appropriate,” Foxx told Fox 32 Chicago. “He was availed to an alternative prosecution model that anyone without these riches, without this fame, would also be availed to.”
Cook County prosecutors dismissed all charges but still maintained Smollett lied about being attacked in downtown Chicago on Jan. 29. And Mayor Rahm Emanuel has called the dropping of charges “a whitewash.”
Smollett’s attorney, Patricia Brown Holmes, said in a statement: “We are disappointed the local authorities have continued their campaign against Jussie Smollett after the charges against him have been dropped. The facts are clear. The Assistant State’s Attorney appeared in court and dismissed the charges. Mr. Smollett forfeited his bond. The case is closed. No public official has the right to violate Mr. Smollett’s due process rights. Mr. Smollett, like every citizen, is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Mr. Smollett is entitled to the same Constitutional protections as any citizen charged by the government with a crime— including the right to speak freely about his innocence, the right to be viewed as innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and the right to hold the State to its burden of proving him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. None of that has occurred in this case.”
The National District Attorneys Association, which claims to represent roughly 2,700 prosecutors’ offices around the country, heavily criticized Foxx in a statement to Fox News.
“First, when a chief prosecutor recuses him or herself, the recusal must apply to the entire office, not just the elected or appointed prosecutor. This is consistent with best practices for prosecutors’ offices around the country,” the statement began.
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It added, “Second, prosecutors should not take advice from politically connected friends of the accused. Each case should be approached with the goal of justice for victims while protecting the rights of the defendant. Third, when a prosecutor seeks to resolve a case through diversion or some other alternative to prosecution, it should be done so with an acknowledgement of culpability on the part of the defendant. A case with the consequential effects of Mr. Smollett’s should not be resolved without a finding of guilt or innocence.”
The statement concluded: “Fourth, expunging Mr. Smollett’s record at this immediate stage is counter to transparency. Law enforcement will now not be able to acknowledge that Mr. Smollett was indicted and charged with these horrible crimes and the full record of what occurred will be forever hidden from public view. Finally, we believe strongly that hate crimes should be prosecuted vigorously but the burden of proof should not be artificially increased due to the misguided decisions of others.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
The gunman who allegedly shot and killed an off-duty Chicago police officer over the weekend apparently gunned down the "first Hispanic person" he saw after an unrelated fight at a nearby fast-food restaurant, the city’s top cop said Monday.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a news conference that Menelik Jackson, 24, and Jovan Battle, 32, were searching the area after Jackson and another friend had a fight with a group of men outside the flagship McDonald‘s restaurant in Chicago’s River North area.
“In an act of cowardice Mr. Jackson went to get a gun to settle this petty dispute," Johnson told reporters.
2 CHARGED IN FATAL SHOOTING OF OFF-DUTY CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER
The 24-year-old allegedly planned to shoot a member of the group he’d been fighting with, but the men’s party bus had already left the area. So, Johnson said, Jackson decided on a different target.
"I guess he settled for the first Hispanic he saw," he said.
An hour after Jackson’s initial fight with the since-departed men, 23-year-old off-duty officer John Rivera was repeatedly shot while sitting in a car with three friends after visiting a pizza bar in the neighborhood. Rivera, a two-year veteran and patrol officer who had finished his shift hours earlier, was shot in the chest, arm and mouth. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Rivera’s friend, who is also 23, was taken to the hospital in critical condition but is expected to survive. Another off-duty Chicago cop and a female civilian were in the car, too, but were not injured, police said.
OFF-DUTY CHICAGO COP SHOT DEAD WHILE SITTING IN PARKED VEHICLE, ANOTHER MAN CRITICALLY INJURED
Officials announced Monday that the alleged gunman, Jackson, was being charged with murder and attempted murder, along with Battle. Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke ordered the two men held without bond.
"Both gentlemen pose a real and present threat to the victims, the live victims, in this case, this community and every other human being on the planet that they come into contact with," the judge said.
Jovan Battle, left, and Menelik Jackson were charged with first-degree murder in off-duty Officer John P. Rivera’s death. (Chicago Police Department)
Battle had met up with Jackson and a third individual to track down the group from the party bus fight, according to Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy. He added that surveillance camera footage showed Jackson pulling out a handgun and aiming it directly at the driver’s window of the car Rivera was sitting in. Before approaching the vehicle, the prosecutor said Jackson pointed at the car Rivera was in several times before approaching, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
“Jackson is clearly seen on video pulling out a handgun and pointing [at] the driver’s window from a few feet away,” Murphy told the court. “Surviving victims [heard] from outside the car, ‘Let’s blow this b____h up.’”
Prosecutors also portrayed the shooting as a case of mistaken identity, according to the Sun-Times.
Battle had been arrested nearly 50 times since 2005, while Jackson was still on probation from a domestic violence case, according to court records obtained by the Sun-Times. Chicago Police police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that when cops arrested Jackson, officers used Rivera’s handcuffs to place him into custody.
Assistant Public Defender Christopher Anderson, who is representing Battle, said his client was denied the opportunity to make phone calls at the police station, adding the 32-year-old is unemployed and receives Social Security assistance for bipolar disorder and depression. Jackon’s legal representative, Attorney Robert Willis, said his client has an associate’s degree and works at a specialty auto parts shop.
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Investigators are still searching for the third man who was with Battle and Jackson during the shooting, Johnson said.
Rivera had been a Chicago officer for nearly two years.
"John’s a sweetheart. He’s an angel," friend Jennifer Navarro told the Associated Press. "Why would someone just want to take his life away like that? He had a whole life ahead of him."
Fox News’ Lucia Suarez and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
Two men – including one who reportedly once applied to be a Chicago police officer – were arrested overnight Monday for allegedly shooting and killing an off-duty cop and critically injuring another man.
Alleged gunman Menelik Jackson, 24, had once applied to be a Chicago cop before he was arrested at the police academy a few years ago in connection with a home invasion. On Monday, he was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Officer John P. Rivera, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The other man charged, Jovan Battle, is accused of being a “co-conspirator” who was with Jackson at the time of the shooting. Police are still seeking a third person of interest, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Monday morning.
Jovan Battle, left, and Menelik Jackson, right, were charged with first-degree murder in off-duty Officer John P. Rivera’s death. (Chicago Police Department)
OFF-DUTY CHICAGO COP SHOT DEAD WHILE SITTING IN PARKED VEHICLE, ANOTHER MAN CRITICALLY INJURED
Police previously said at least two individuals approached a parked vehicle where Rivera and the other man were sitting, produced a gun and opened fire before running off.
At the time of the attack, four people were sitting in the parked car after having gone to Stout Barrel House & Pizza, the Tribune reported.
Rivera, a two-year veteran and patrol officer who had finished his shift hours earlier, was shot in the chest, arm and mouth. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
His friend, also 23, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and is expected to survive. Another off-duty Chicago cop and a female civilian were in the car, too, but they were not injured, police said.
Guglielmi said video obtained during the investigation did not indicate carjacking as a motive.
CHICAGO REDUCES MURDER RATE IN 2018 BUT LEVEL STILL OUTSTRIPS LA AND NY COMBINED
Jackson was previously arrested July 2, 2017, after allegedly breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and pointing a gun at her head, the Tribune reported.
In that case, the victim told police Jackson told her he was going to the Chicago police academy on the Near West Side before fleeing.
Officers called the academy and Jackson was arrested on home invasion and weapon charges. Court records show he later pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted burglary and was sentenced to probation, the Tribune reported.
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Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, has been reeling from widespread homicides and gun crime, becoming the crime capital of the country.
Although the city managed to reduce the number of homicides in 2018 — compared to the two prior years — more people were killed in the city than in Los Angeles and New York City combined.
Chicago police reported 561 homicides were committed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018, compared to 660 homicides in 2017 and more than 770 in 2016, which marked a 19-year high and put a national spotlight on Chicago’s persistently high rates of gun violence.
Fox News’ Lukas Mikelionis contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
An off-duty Chicago cop was fatally shot early Saturday morning while sitting in a parked vehicle together with another man. (iStock)
An off-duty Chicago cop was fatally shot early Saturday morning while sitting in a parked vehicle together with another man, who was critically injured.
The Chicago Police Department said that the men, both 23, were shot in Chicago’s River North neighborhood around 3:30 a.m.
COMMUNITIES STRUGGLE TO COPE AFTER KILLINGS THAT AUTHORITIES HAVE LINKED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Two other individuals approached the parked vehicle where the off-duty officer and the other man were sitting, produced a gun and opened fire before quickly running off, police said, according to FOX 32 Chicago.
The officer died after getting shot in the chest, arm and mouth, according to police. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The other man was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He was reportedly shot in the chest and arm, WLS reported.
Police are investigating the shooting and have questioned people of interest.
CHICAGO REDUCES MURDER RATE IN 2018 BUT LEVEL STILL OUTSTRIPS LA AND NY COMBINED
Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, has been reeling from widespread homicides and gun crime, becoming the crime capital of the country.
While the city managed to slightly reduce the number of homicides in 2018 compared to 2017, there were still more killings in the city than Los Angeles and New York City combined.
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Police in Chicago reported 561 homicides were committed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018. That compared to 660 homicides in 2017 and more than 770 in 2016, which marked a 19-year high that put a national spotlight on Chicago’s persistently high rates of gun violence.
Source: Fox News National
Preschool children were allegedly forced to strip naked and stand in a closet for five or 10 minutes as punishment last week in East St. Louis, Ill. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) runs the Head Start program held at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis, where there is a class of about 20 preschoolers, SIUE Police Chief Kevin Schmoll said. (SIUE Police Department)
Preschool children were allegedly forced to strip naked and stand in a closet for five or 10 minutes as punishment last week in East St. Louis, Ill., prompting the suspensions, without pay, of a teacher and her assistant, reports said Tuesday.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) runs the Head Start program held at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis, where there is a class of about 20 preschoolers, SIUE Police Chief Kevin Schmoll told reporters.
“The one teacher said she didn’t learn this anywhere, this is what she tried and felt it would calm the children down by doing this,” Schmoll told FOX 2 of St. Louis. “But it’s obviously in no teaching manual anywhere. It’s inappropriate and against the law to do this.”
GEORGIA SCHOOL BRINGS BACK PADDLING TO PUNISH STUDENTS — WHEN PARENTS GIVE CONSENT
Police believe the students were ages 4 and 5, and at least four young boys in the classroom were punished in the alleged incident, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The teacher is a 26-year-old woman, while her assistant is 41 years old, FOX 2 reported. Schmoll told the station that the teacher admitted to the punishment, while the assistant is in trouble for not intervening or reporting it.
Program leaders sent parents a letter to explain a "child safety violation" in the classroom, the Post-Dispatch reported.
“Under no circumstances does the program condone or tolerate inappropriate treatment towards children, family or staff,” the letter said.
A spokesperson for the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation issued a statement late Tuesday saying that program is run "completely independently" from the center programming and foundation.
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"Our staff was in no way involved in this alleged incident and had no knowledge of what happened in this case," the statement said. "As a Foundation that dedicates itself to improving the lives of children, we were deeply saddened to hear this alleged incident occurred and know that appropriate legal actions are being taken."
The St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s office is expected to review the case for potential charges, Schmoll told the Post-Dispatch.
Source: Fox News National
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