Recent Blog Posts
Limited Cameras Allowed In Courtroom For Murder Trial
Johnny Borizov has been charged with the first-degree murders of a Darien couple and their son. His trial, which is set to start next month at the DuPage County Courthouse, will be allowed to be filmed—with certain restrictions.
Both prosecution and defense lawyers objected the use of cameras during the trial, but a judge overruled their concerns. However, he ordered that the cameras will have to be turned off during the testimony of the three witnesses who were in the couples’ residence while the murder took place. Additionally, the media wanted to place two video cameras and two still cameras in the courtroom, but the judge is only allowing one of each.
Lawyers are also required to inform their witnesses about the cameras before they testify. If a witness objects to either being on video or to having their photo being taken, the judge will rule on an individual basis whether they must be turned off.
A hearing is set for a week prior to the start of the trial in order to figure out the exact placement for the cameras. Since last fall, when the DuPage County Courthouse first started allowing video cameras in courtrooms, this will be the first criminal trial to actually use them. The Courts Administrator, John Lapinski, said to the Chicago Tribune in this article that “logistically, it’s just more complicated.”
Truants are more likely to end up in prison
At least 135 of the 182 young men that have recently been locked up in Illinois’s three medium-security youth prisons used to miss school often enough that they were labeled chronic truants.
When they were booked, nearly 60% of them were reading below a third grade level.
At the Illinois Youth Center St. Charles, the largest of the three facilities,63 of the 72 youths had dropped out of school completely by the time they were incarcerated.
These figures remind us that absence from school during childhood is oftenone of the first warnings of criminal behaviorthat can be the cause of ruining young lives and burdening society with costs of street violence, welfare and prison.
The records highlight the consequences of a crisis in K-8 grade truancy in Chicago that officials have ignored for a long time, although they have promised to address it in the wake of a Tribune investigation, which found that tens of thousands of city elementary students miss at least of month of school in any given year.
DUI Laws in Illinois
Each state has different laws regarding driving under the influence. While some rules do vary across the nation, many of the punishments do not. In Illinois, to be considered intoxicated while driving for citizens 21 or older, their blood alcohol contact has to be at .08%. If you are under the age of 21, if there is any alcohol in your system, you can be charged with a DUI.
For your 1st offense, in Illinois, you can get either jail-time of up to one year, a fine of up to $2,500, a license suspension for a minimum of a year, a breath alcohol ignition interlock device, vehicle registration suspension, or community service. However, if there is a child under the age of 16 in the car, you can get jail-time of at least six months, or a minimum fine of $1,000.
If the DUI was your 2nd offense, it is possible to get jail-time for a year along with 240 hours of community service. There can be a fine of up to $2,500. If there was child present under the age of 16, you may have to pay a fine that can add up to $25,000, or serve jail-time for up to 1-3 years.
Chicago Gun Laws Don’t Stop Homicides
Handguns have been outlawed in Chicago for may years, until 2010, when the Supreme Court decided that the ban was in violation the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.There are still no legal gun shops in the city of Chicago. This led the city leaders to have to settle for higher restrictions that were as close to actually banning the guns. Even with these high restrictions, Chicago is still one of the top cities for gun violence. In 2012, there were over 500 homicides, and in January alone, there were 40 killings.
To many citizens who want a full gun-ban in the US, Chicago proves to be a city of reference. Even with such strict gun control laws, there is still a vast amount of shootings. But for citizens who are pro-guns, they believe that the city proves that there needs to be more nationwide gun laws, rather than state-to-state or city-to-city. According to Rev. Ira J. Acree, a pastor who marched and got signatures to end shootings, said, “Chicago is like a house with two parents that may try to have good rules, but it’s like you’ve got this single house sitting on a whole block where there’s anarchy.”
Bail Set For Policeman Who Caused Two Fatalities
Terrell Garret, a North Chicago police officer, was issued $500,000 bail by Judge James Brown. Garrett is charged with two criminal counts of aggravated driving under the influence and two counts of reckless homicide, according to this report from the Chicago Tribune. If Garrett is able to post 10 per cent of the bail, he will be released but will have to wear an electronic monitoring device in order to prevent him from driving during the case.
The 35-year-old officer from Zion, Illinois, was allegedly driving the wrong way on Lake Shore Drive in the early hours of Friday, March 15 when he struck a car containing two men. These two occupants—Fabian Torres, 27, and Joaquin Garcia, 25—were both killed in the accident.
Garrett has been a police officer since 2008, and has been placed on leave since the accident. Garcia was going to graduate from Malcolm X College in May, and Torres was at DePaul University in Chicago.
Illinois man accused of West Lafayette burglary
An Illinois man was recently accused of at least one burglary that occurred in a West Lafayette neighborhood.
At about 9:15 p.m. on Mar. 4, police were called to a home in the Arbor Chase neighborhood for a reported brick being thrown through the window. Along with the assistance from the K-9 unit if the Tippecanoe Co. Sheriff’s Office, the West Lafayette police officers set up a perimeter around the area.
The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Albert Goins, who was tracked down to the nearby Amberleigh Village subdivision, which was where he was arrested around 10:30 p.m. that same night
Goins has also been accused of burglarizing a home in Amberleigh Village on Jan. 30 along with throwing the brick through a window into a home in Arbor Chase of Mar. 4. According to Lt. Troy Harris from the West Lafayette Police Department (WLPD), Goins is not a resident of Amberleigh village. The address that Goins provided to the police is a University Park, Illinois address.
WLPD is also investigating four other burglaries that occurred in the Amberleigh Village neighborhood, one of which occurred on Jan. 30. The burglaries were reported first on Jan. 25 and the last one was reported in Feb.
Gov. Pat Quinn says street crime is priority to fight
Gov. Pat Quinn recently told congregants of a prominent Chicago church that fighting street violence is a priority and his proposed budget will help to address the problem.
“We’re never going to give up. We’re never going to let the gangbangers take over!” Quinn shouted from the pulpit to the attendants at Greater St. John Bible Church.
This speech was not schedules for the governor, however, it came only days after the Chicago Democrat delivered what he said was the most difficult budget that the state has ever faced as Republicans and even some fellow Democrats are talking of challenging him in 2014.
Quinn’s new budget contains more money in some areas of public health, including new cadet classes for Illinois State Police and $25 million for mental health care, and huge cuts in education. The governor also spoke about his efforts to retain money for early education and increases for mental health.
Chicago Man Ends Up in Prison for Selling Drugs
A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in prison for selling drugs to undercover Naperville police, according to a recent story in the Naperville Sun. Jermaine N. Moore was found guilty of a Class 1 felony charge of the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance on February 25. Drug charges should always be taken seriously. An experienced criminal defense attorney can significantly improve your chances of achieving success in the courtroom.
Moore and his sister, Kymtika D. Moore, were arrested two years ago. The arrest took place in a parking lot near McDowell Road and Route 59 on the city’s far northwest side. According to police, the arrests were made by a special police unit ending a month-long investigation concerning Moore’s criminal activities in Naperville.
Police said Moore was arrested “after he brought approximately 20 grams of heroin with an estimated street value of $4,000 to sell in Naperville.” Kymtika Moore helped her brother by driving him to and from the locations where the drugs were sold. She was sentenced “to four days in DuPage County Jail on a charge of unlawful possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine” in December 2011. In addition, she was placed on two years of probation, had to serve 15 days in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program, and had to pay $1,370 in fines and legal costs.
Transit Officials Concerned Over Concealed Weapon Law Passing
Millions of people rely on public transportation – buses, subways, L-trains, trains. Chicago is known for their transit system and its efficiency and mass usage. Diverse people utilize all forms to get to work, home, play and for tourism. As a relatively safe option for moving around town, what would happen if weapons were allowed on these transportation systems?
The Chicago Transit spoke to legislators to reassess the concealed weapon law for transit systems. They mentioned a bad mix of people who are drunk, violent and hot headed could lead to more violence. Chicago is already on the rise for murders just two months into 2013, and officials are concerned that if anyone can carry a concealed weapon on board public transportation, it would bring about more problems.
Legislators are looking at a variety of options as Illinois is the only state left to make a decision on the concealed weapon law. From full on out permission to carry the concealed weapons to only in specific areas, Illinois is faced with making a clear and concise decision. Supporters believe it will give people a chance to protect themselves; others believe it will just cause more trouble.
Cyberbullying Teachers Now Crime For Students
We all have had a teacher, or two, who we just could not stand. Yes, we might have said a mean thing or two, but did to take it to the internet? Make fake accounts to humiliate those teachers? Spread awful rumors that could potentially harm their career and even harm their families?
North Carolina legislators have said students bullying educators has reached its limit. Harassing, intimidating, or tormenting teachers online has now become against the law. For example, posting pictures of teachers stating they are pedophiles, homosexuals, violent individuals. Also, setting up fake online accounts such as Twitter and posting things as if they were stating things is illegal as well. The law states that it is not allowed to create fake profiles for teachers; however, it is a crime to post real images or make any sort of statement online, true or not. If caught, students could spend up to one month in jail and pay up to $1,000 fee.