Chicago

Police held Williams and Ponce for about 10 minutes. The officer who handcuffed them is recorded on camera warning members of the media that their First Amendment rights could be terminated. “Your First Amendment rights can be terminated if you’re creating a scene or whatever,” the officer said. When asked …

By Megan Geuss In Cook County today Judge Stanley J. Sacks declared Illinois’ eavesdropping law—which is one of the toughest in the nation—unconstitutional in his ruling in the case of Christopher Drew, who was charged with the felony crime in 2009. The eavesdropping law prohibits citizens from making audio or …

April 7th What: April 7 is the official kickoff of Chicago Spring! On this day, Occupy Chicago will join with allies across Chicago for a citywide day of action. The many injustices we fight are intricately woven together, rooted to the faults and dysfunctions of our broken political, social, and …

By Mary Ann Ahern Tuesday, Feb 28, 2012 Karen Lewis, the Chicago Teacher’s Union President, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have a testy relationship at best. But it wasn’t always that way. The two leaders met privately last year ahead of Emanuel’s inauguration. They went for dinner and to attend a …

The Noble Network of Charter Schools’ 10 Chicago campuses impose fines for student misbehavior. Are fines a good way to discourage bad behavior or is it just another money making scheme? Ana Kasaprian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.

Julian Crews WGN News 6:13 p.m. CST, February 24, 2012 CHICAGO A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the city and a group of 25th district police officers. 31-year-old Erick Fields says he was fixing his car in his own garage last year, when police snuck onto his …

Panning for gold in the local cesspool is always lucrative, but it’s been one fat nugget after another lately. We’ve got Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa marketing himself for his next job before he finishes this one; City Atty. Carmen Trutanich insisting he’s not the liar he appears to be; …

An Iraq War protest from 2008. (Image Credit: John Sisson) Attorneys for the City of Chicago told federal judges they reached a settlement in the class action lawsuit brought by more than 800 people arrested after protesters took Lake Shore Drive in a 2003 march against the Iraq War. The …

An Illinois House Committee yesterday approved amendments to the Illinois Eavesdropping Act by a 9-2 vote. At present, if an individual records a member of law enforcement, even in a public setting, without permission, that individual can be arrested and charged with a class 1 felony. The most recent incident …

First Amendment – Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause; freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly; right to petition Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of …

A student at Kelly High School, Raymond Palomino was the only suspect not wearing a mask in the video. His father spoke out as his son appeared in court. “I think it’s very disturbing what they did to him [the victim]. When I asked him [son, Raymond Palomino] why he …