Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart releases a surveillance video that purports to show a corrections officer didn't slip and fall as he claimed in a workers compensation claim.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart wants you to know he's keeping an eye on the "duty injury king" — a corrections officer known among his peers for submitting false injury claims while on the job — and others like him. The sheriff's office released a video tape Wednesday that purports to show the time and location where a corrections officer claimed he slipped and fell, injuring his back on Nov. 20. The officer is now suspended without pay, and the sheriff wants to press criminal charges. The sheriff's office's claim about the video states: On November 20th of last year a Correctional Officer submitted a false injury report claiming that he sustained a back injury while returning from transporting a detainee. He reported to other staff the he …
Sunday, April 14, 2013
A lawsuit supported in part by Chuck’s Gun Shop in south suburban Riverdale is not enough to get in the way of President Preckwinkle’s new $25 firearm sales tax.
A $25 tax is being added to the purchase of all firearms sold in Cook County. The news comes in spite of a lawsuit filed by several Chicago-area gun dealers, including Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale. The new tax, launched April 1, is part of a policy instated by Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle to help fund the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. At their flagship, Stroger Hospital, more than 30 percent of the trauma center patients are gunshot victims, each costing roughly $50,000 to treat, according to Preckinkle. The $600,000 expected annual revenue from the tax will ideally help offset those costs, reports Sun-Times Media. "This new policy will help us provide more resources to our vital public health system, which on a daily…
Sunday, March 31, 2013
The organization claims President Toni Preckwinkle's office refused to divulge information on dozens of her appointments to various county positions.
The Better Government Association (BGA) is suing President Toni Preckwinkle’s Cook County government for denying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in January, according to the BGA. The BGA’s denied FOIA request asked for names and addresses of dozens of Cook County board members and commissioners appointed by Preckwinkle. Her office refused to respond after filing for an extension because disclosure of the information “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” according to the BGA. Preckwinkle’s office did not respond to multiple attempts seeking explanation for the refusal. “It’s clear this information doesn’t belong to the County Board president – it belongs to the public, and she should turn it over…
Monday, March 4, 2013
The county hopes to help smokers quit the habit and raise more money with this recent tax hike.
Cook County smokers will have to shell out more than ever after last Friday’s $1 cigarette tax hike. This comes on top of an additional $1 jump on the state level last June. The county is hoping to receive an extra $25.6 million from the increase, but historic examples suggest the figure might be wishful thinking, according to the Chicago Tribune. In additional to the estimated revenue, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she hopes the initiative will deter youths from smoking and help current smokers kick the habit. Get the rest of the story by the Chicago Tribune.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
The Illinois state senate passed the bill on Valentine's Day; it now advances to the House.
The Illinois Senate’s 34-21 vote on Thursday to advance a bill making Illinois the 10th state to recognize same-sex marriages has been lauded by student leaders of advocacy groups at Lyons Township High School, The Doings La Grange reports. The paper spoke with seniors Abe Akande (La Grange) and Grace Gonia (Western Springs), both recipients of student-activist awards from the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, which promotes acceptance of non-straight (LGBTQ) youth. “It’s amazing. I’m so excited,” Akande, also a leader of LT’s Prism advocacy group, told the paper. “Civil unions are good, but they still aren’t exactly the same as marriage.” “I think the more people are aware about LGBTQ issues, the more accepting people will be,” the paper …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The ordinance targets illegal “straw purchasers” by levying fines on gun owners who do not report a lost, stolen, destroyed or otherwise transferred weapon.
Making good on Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s pledge to crack down on “straw purchasers” who legally purchase and illegally resell firearms, the Board passed an ordinance Tuesday imposing fines up to $2,000 on gun owners who do not report when a firearm is sold, lost, stolen or otherwise leaves their possession. According to the Associated Press, Chicago law enforcement believes that many of the guns used in crimes in the city are first legally purchased—many in suburban Cook—then resold to persons who could not buy a gun legally themselves. "The 'burbs are flooding Chicago with guns continuously," Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia told the AP. "This ordinance raises the bar on the responsibility of gun owners as it …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Want to see who sold their home in Cook County? Patch has compiled a searchable ongoing list of property sales in Cook County, based on data from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.
Want to know how much that house down the block sold for or how many million dollar home sales there were in your community last year? Patch has put together a searchable real estate database of Cook County property sales that is updated twice a month as new data is received from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. You can search by address (the field will fill in automatically as you start typing, but be patient — it may take a moment to catch up with you), or search a full town or a specific price range within a town. You can also search by the buyer or seller's name (and those fields will fill automatically as well). If no price is listed, or other information is missing, it is because it was not included in the information from the …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Chicago and its surrounding suburbs are seeing a steady rise in flu cases.
Area health agencies are reporting that this year's flu season is particularly intense. According to the Cook County Department of Public Health the number of people experiencing influenza-like symptoms continues to increase in the suburbs. Those suffering from the illness are showing symptoms that are much more severe than in previous years. Drug manufacturers have also been feeling the effects of the increased number of cases. The makers of Tamiflu, which slows down flu symptoms, reported a shortage of the drug, according to Reuters. The CDC is reporting that the Great Lakes region is the nation's hardest hit with about 60 percent of people checked for the flu testing positive. Google's Flu Trends page classified the flu rate in …
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
On what may be the biggest drinking "holiday" of the year, Cook County announces a new plan for roadside DUI death memorials.
- PUBLIC SAFETY
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012
The night before Thanksgiving is known as the biggest party night of the year. Almost a holiday unto itself with a name of its own, Black Wednesday is a night to rival New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day for overindulgence in alcohol. In many communities, extra officers will be on patrol and local officials warn bar owners not to overserve their patrons. So it's not a coincidence that Cook County this week announced a new DUI Memorial Program. For $150, families of anyone killed in a DUI fatality can purchase a roadside memorial marker to be placed alongside any highway under the county's jurisdiction. The marker includes a “Please Don’t Drink and Drive” sign and an optional commemorative plaque with the deceased loved one’s name and …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Over 13,500 ballots were cast at 44 sites on Monday alone, nearly twice as many as were cast on the first day of early voting in the last presidential election in 2008.
Many residents of suburban Cook County, it seems, just wanted to get the whole voting thing over with. With two weeks left until the election, over 13,500 voters of the Cook suburbs had cast votes by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, with additional votes eligible from people still in line when the polls closed, the Cook County Clerk’s Office reported. In 2008, the first day of early voting brought only about 7,700 votes. The eighth day in 2008, more comparable due to compression of early voting to 13 days, netted about 10,600 votes. In 2008, 226,000 early votes were cast overall. "Turnout is already impressive and I hope it keeps up until early voting ends Nov. 3," said Cook County Clerk David Orr in a press release. "We are sending extra help to the …
tommy d.
11:00 pm on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
wow,,,you both know of a crooked cop in oak lawn,,,,,,,,after,police'ing,they get to be your '''detectives'''------''boy,this town is going to crap,,,,'''is vorberg in jail-------------- more ›