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Cook County deputies announce 10 arrests in connection with sex trafficking, prostitution & child pornography

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

COOK COUNTY, Ill. — Almost a dozen arrests have been made in connection with sex trafficking, prostitution and child pornography according to the Cook County Sheriff's Department. Now authorities say they are hoping that several websites will begin working with the department to help curb the problem."The past two weeks has been, in one respect, very successful for the sheriff's office in our arrest of a lot of different people," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said during a press conference on Monday. Man shot, critically injured near Chicago’s Magnificent Mile Dart announced the successful stretch for the department during the press conference adding that 10 arrests have been made in the last two weeks."Just in the last two weeks, on the 6th we arrested four individuals for operating a brothel and trafficking in persons," Dart said.Counseling services have been made available to all of the victims involved."Also on the 6th, we arrested one individual for involuntary servitude and p...

Four migrants staying at Chicago police district hospitalized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Three children and an adult, who are migrants and were staying at Chicago's 1st police district, were taken to hospitals on Monday.The Chicago Fire Department responded and said they were suffering from heavy coughing and sneezing and taken to local emergency rooms. 2 Israeli women held hostage in Gaza released by Hamas Everybody is stable, as of Monday afternoon, according to the fire department."New arrivals receive health screenings and have access to medical care via a clinic operated by Cook County Health," the Chicago Department of Public Health said in a statement. "The Chicago Department of Public Health provides complimentary support by funding onsite clinical providers in Department of Family and Support Services-run shelters and by coordinating mobile healthcare providers and Medical Reserve Corps volunteers to perform screenings in Police Districts so that new arrivals can be connected to care. Separate from clinical care, CDPH has a dedicated team that provi...

6 hospitalized after CTA bus veers off road, avoiding car on Near West Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Six people were taken to the hospital following a crash involving a Chicago Transit Authority on the city's Near West Side. According to a witness, a car cut off the CTA bus near Ashland and Ogden, causing the city vehicle to crash into a large traffic control box.  ‘People are sad, & people are angry:’ Police, community searching for answers after 12-year-old killed in Englewood The vehicle that allegedly cut off the CTA bus did not stop at the scene, said Mark Balentine, who called 911."We were sitting there smoking a cigarette and I did see a car jot out around the bus," Balentine said. "As she jotted out around the bus, [the CTA bus] hit the curb and then hit the utility [box] and trash can."CTA personnel responded to WGN News' request for comment, saying, in part, that the bus operator "made contact with a traffic control box while attempting to avoid making contact with an auto[mobile]."There is no suspect vehicle description available at this time. Read mor...

Residents near Amundsen Park continue speaking out against proposal to house migrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Residents on Chicago's West Side and near Amundsen Park are still speaking against turning the field house into a shelter for migrants.Residents said as long as they are paying tax dollars in the community, they will voice their opposition to the city's proposal. West Side residents demand return of programs to Amundsen Park On Monday, a number of long-time residents protests outside of the field house and hope Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will take their concerns seriously and sit down with them face-to-face.Community members say most of the programs that take place in the field house, like fitness classes and activities for seniors and children, are now moved to nearby park districts.The group filed a temporary restraining order in an effort to stop the city from moving migrants into the field house. Alderwoman, staffer assaulted during migrant site construction protest in Brighton Park, statement says "We pay taxes over here," Thomas Simmons said. "If you want to ...

Pritzker, Illinois bar associations condemn anti-Arab hate and antisemitic violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Governor JB Pritzker, state officials and lawyers took a stand on Monday against the rise in anti-Arab and antisemitic feelings sparked by the conflict in the Middle East. Pritzker joined the Arab American Bar Association to share concerns about the rise in hate crimes and discrimination within Illinois communities, workplaces and educational institutions."In the last two weeks since the Israel-Hamas war began, here in Illinois, we’ve seen an alarming increase in anti-Arabism, in Islamophobia, in antisemitism; but not just here but throughout the nation and across the globe." 2 Israeli women held hostage in Gaza released by Hamas Among the incidents mentioned were the killing of a 6-year-old Palestinian boy in Plainfield and the injuring of his mother. Prosecutors allege that the stabbing was a hate crime.William Haddad, the founder of the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, is among the many still lamenting the events unfolding in the Middle East and locally."Nin...

Lubbock Co. abortion ordinance passes, commissioners 'reaffirm' sanctuary county

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

LUBBOCK, Texas -- During a regular meeting on Monday, commissioners voted to "reaffirm" Lubbock County as "sanctuary county for the unborn." The ordinance outlawed abortion, abortion pills and traveling for the purpose of abortion in Lubbock County. The item was approved 3-0 with Judge Curtis Parrish and Commissioner for Precinct 3 Gilbert Flores abstaining. Early voting locations, Lubbock and Lubbock County, November 7, 2023, election The ordinance stated, in part, "It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly transport any individual for the purpose of providing or obtaining an elective abortion, regardless of where the elective abortion will occur."According to the ordinance, the policy would be enforced with private lawsuits. See below to read the full ordinance. Lubbock sanctuary county ordinanceDownloadMany citizens addressed commissioners ahead of the vote. Some called abortion bans "unconstitutional" while others were in favor of the item. The Lubbock County District ...

Ex-Minneapolis cop sentenced to workhouse, probation for beating St. Paul man during 2020 civil unrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

As part of a plea deal, former Minneapolis police officer Justin Stetson agreed to write an apology letter to the St. Paul man he beat amid the civil unrest after George Floyd’s murder.However, that man, Jaleel Stallings, said Monday that he does not accept it.Jaleel Stallings speaks with reporters inside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis moments after Justin Stetson, a former Minneapolis police officer, was sentenced for assaulting Stallings during the unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd in 2020. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed)“I feel if you are truly sorry for something, it would come at a much earlier time, not when your back is against the wall and you are forced to do so,” said Stallings, who spent five days in jail and was charged with attempted murder in connection with the May 2020 confrontation with police. A jury later acquitted Stallings, who then also won a $1.5 million settlement from the city.Stetson was given a sentence of 15 days in the H...

Maple Grove ‘Airbnb becomes machine gunBNB,’ sheriff’s office says after 11 guns found at 17-year-old’s birthday party

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

Stolen credit cards from Shoreview led Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies to a suspect who was celebrating his 17th birthday at a house party in Maple Grove, where deputies said they found 11 handguns hidden in the home.Seven of the guns had a “switch,” which is put on a handgun to make it fully automatic, said Undersheriff Mike Martin on Monday. “… When you pull the trigger, it basically dumps out all the rounds that are in the gun and many of the guns had extended magazines, so for example, one of those guns could shoot 33 rounds in two seconds.”Deputies tracked the teen on Saturday night to a party at a house that had been rented through Airbnb.The sheriff’s office on its Live on Patrol Facebook page dubbed the situation: “AIRBNB becomes dangerous MACHINEGUNBNB.”The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office said it found 11 guns in a house being rented for a teen’s birthday party in Maple Grove on Oct. 21, 2023. (Courtesy of th...

Biden says ‘we can talk’ about Israel-Hamas cease-fire after hostages are released

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

President Biden said Monday that he would be willing to engage in talks about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas if the hostages taken by the militant group were released. In response to a question by a reporter about whether the U.S. would support a potential cease-fire for a hostages deal, Biden replied: “We should have those hostages released, and then we can talk.”Among the more than 200 hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas are a contingent of Americans that the U.S. has been attempting to free. Two of those Americans were released last week by Hamas in a deal brokered by Qatar. On Monday, right around the time Biden made his remark, two more hostages were released, The Associated Press reported, citing the International Committee of the Red Cross.  National security spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that a handful of Americans are still being detained as hostages, while more than 10 Americans remain unaccounted for.The White House has been sidest...

Commission holds interviews to fill another vacancy on Missouri Supreme Court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:14:25 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – For the second time in two months, interviews are underway in Missouri's capital city to fill the vacant seat on the state's highest court.More than 20 people have applied to be Missouri's next Supreme Court judge. Under the state's nonpartisan court plan, members of the Appellate Judicial Commission will interview all applicants and then send the names of the three finalists to the governor, who will make the appointment. All but one of the applicants interviewed in August for the previous vacancy, which is why the commission is abbreviating interviews."We have allotted seven minutes for each applicant to tell us whatever they want us to hear," Chief Justice Mary Russell said as the applicants came into the interview room Monday.The vacancy comes after Judge Patricia Breckenridge retired earlier this month following a constitutional requirement that judges must step down when they turn 70. Breckenridge was appointed to the bench in 2007 by Republican Gov. Matt...