Tag: illinois

Woman charged in shooting at Illinois state senator’s home; attack not politically motivated, police say

A woman has been charged with firing shots that damaged two homes Tuesday morning in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, including the home of Illinois state Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel

Dana Thompson, 32, of Hammond, Indiana, has been charged with two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, and one count of aggravated possession of a firearm in a vehicle.

Police said the shootings were not politically motivated, and no one was injured.

Shortly before 5 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a report of gunfire in the area of Ca Crest Drive and Highland Drive, but were not able to locate anyone who had been shot, or any evidence of damage.

About two hours later, police received a call from the 500 block of Bethany Drive, a short distance away from the first call, where a house had been damaged by gunshots. Police found three bullet holes from a small caliber firearm. No one in the home was injured.

Police then received a call that Cappel’s home, about a half mile away, had been damaged by a single gunshot.

Based on surveillance video footage from several homes and license plate reader technology, detectives were able to identify the vehicle used in the shooting, and Thompson was taken into custody within 30 minutes in south suburban Lansing, near the Indiana state line.

During questioning, Thompson confessed to the shootings, and said her intended target was an estranged relative who lives in the area. Police said the shooting was not politically motivated, and Thompson was not at the home she intended to target.

Cappel said she’s relieved the accused shooter is in custody.

“I’m able to speak about this because I’m an elected official, and I really wanted to talk about it first and foremost because the rumor mill is going,” she said. “The first thing we think about now is that it could be a politically motivated thing. So, to know that it’s not is a total relief. And actually what’s more of a relief for our family is that they caught the person.”

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Cicero megachurch pastor charged in connection with alleged child sex trafficking operation

A west suburban megachurch pastor is facing federal charges connected to an alleged child sex trafficking operation.

Neighbors told ABC7 that Cicero’s Light of the World Church at 1400 South 58th Court is popular. It is part an international church known by its Spanish name, La Luz Del Mundo.

But the church was closed on Tuesday after federal agents arrested Pastor Joram Núñez Joaquin last Wednesday during a 5 a.m. service, his attorney told ABC7.

Núñez Joaquin’s attorney provided photos in a court motion to try and get the pastor released from federal detention. He is named in a federal case involving California church leaders.

Federal prosecutors claim Núñez Joaquin, from the church’s Cicero branch, posed as an attorney and tried to coerced victims in California to not report alleged incidents. Nuñez Joaquin has pleaded not guilty.

Also last week, Naasón Joaquín García, an alleged relative of Núñez Joaquin, was taken into federal custody.

A newly unsealed indictment out of New York alleges García and co-defendants exploited the church for decades to enable the systemic sexual abuse of children and women for the sexual gratification of García and his father, who died in 2014.

García had been serving a more than 16-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to two state counts.

In Chicago, Núñez Joaquin was in a courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building on Monday, charged with racketeering conspiracy.

His attorney told the judge that Núñez Joaquin is a 37-year-old married father of three children who is not charged with any violence or sex abuse and should be released.

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JB Pritzker Claims He Has Never Called Republicans ‘Nazis’ – Gets Proven Wrong by Videos of His Own Words

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recently claimed that he has never called Republicans ‘Nazis’ but that is a laughable suggestion.

There is video evidence of Pritzker, repeatedly comparing the Trump administration to Nazi Germany, stoking fear about the idea of losing democracy and trying to make people fear Republicans.

This is the type of rhetoric that led to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and even if the Democrats won’t admit that out loud, they know it.

Breitbart News reports:

Radical left-wing Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) was hit with an avalanche of fact-checks after he made the false claim that he never called Republicans “Nazis.”

The far-left governor was peppered with questions about his past comments during a press conference Monday, and in response he vehemently refuted claims he ever called Republicans “Nazis.”

“That is completely false. I have never called Republicans ‘Nazis,’” Pritzker exclaimed Monday after going on a tirade claiming that it is Donald Trump, not Democrats, who is “actively fanning the flames of division.”

But the truth is, Pritzker has spent months calling Republicans and Donald Trump Nazis. Indeed, in February he did just that in his official State of the State address where he compared Donald Trump and his administration to Hitler’s Nazi regime.

Pritzker said in that official address:

The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems. If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this: It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours, and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic.

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Gov. JB Pritzker Blames Trump After Charlie Kirk Assassinated: ‘President’s Rhetoric Often Foments’ Violence

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, Illinois’ left-wing Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker decried “political violence” while accusing President Donald Trump of “fomenting” it — despite Pritzker’s own recent history of incendiary comments.

The extremist governor was appearing at the FABTECH exposition at Chicago’s McCormick Place expo center when he was asked by a member of the press about the shooting and murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which had occurred only moments before Pritzker stepped to the microphones.

After being asked his thoughts on the shooting in Utah, Pritzker had a quick word of sympathy for Kirk’s family, but then went straight to blaming conservatives and Donald Trump.

“Charlie Kirk has become a target for somebody. I don’t know whether it’s political violence, because I don’t know who did it,” Pritzker disingenuously said.

“But I will say that political violence, unfortunately, has been ratcheting up in this country,” he continued. “We saw the shootings, the killings in Minnesota. Uh, we’ve seen other political violence occur in other states. And I would just say, uh, it’s gotta stop.”

“And I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it,” he said.

He went on to claim that “January 6” was “political violence” despite the fact that the only people killed were two Trump supporters.

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JB Pritzker Says He Has Moles in Trump Administration and Military Feeding him Information on Trump’s Law Enforcement Operations – Claims DHS Plans to “Invade” Chicago Neighborhoods

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker told former White House Press Secretary and MSNBC host Jen Psaki that he is being tipped off on Trump’s plans to send troops and federal agents to Chicago by people in the Trump Administration and the military “who have let us know things without, you know, having permission to do so.”

“I would call some of that rumor, but, you know, well sourced rumors,” he said.

This comes as President Trump plans federal law enforcement operations and potential National Guard deployment in the Windy City after at least 14 were killed and nearly 100 injured in shootings over the last two weekends.

It was revealed last week that 200 Homeland Security Officials will be deployed in Chicago as soon as this week and will potentially stay for the entire month of September.

The enforcement operations will be centered on arresting illegal aliens in the sanctuary state of Illinois, but the National Guard could be used to quell violent rioters, as done in Los Angeles, or to deter crime, as we are seeing in Washington, DC.

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Noem demands Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker drop sanctuary policies after alleged illegal immigrant murderer arrested: ‘He’s failing those families’

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem criticized Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for upholding sanctuary laws after requesting the extradition of an illegal immigrant who allegedly killed a woman in her Illinois apartment and has since fled to Mexico.

Gabriel P. Calixto is the individual suspected of stabbing 24-year-old Emma Shafer in her Springfield, Illinois, apartment in July 2023. Calixto was in the United States illegally when the crime was committed, and has since been captured by Mexican law enforcement.

Calixto is being charged with first-degree murder and domestic battery in connection with the attack.

“The vicious illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years after stabbing 24-year-old Emma Shafer has been ARRESTED. We will continue to work with federal authorities to coordinate extradition proceedings,” Noem stated. “THANK YOU to our law enforcement partners for bringing this perpetrator to justice.”

Noem went on to criticize Pritzker’s opposition to President Donald Trump’s imminent federal intervention in Chicago to conduct immigration raids while highlighting the issue of violent crime that has plagued Chicago for decades.

“For 13 consecutive years, Chicago had more murders than any other American city,” Noem stated on Sunday. “In fact, just last year, in 2024, they had three times the amount of murders than LA did, five times more than New York City.”

“So he can talk about what a great job he’s doing as governor, but he’s failing those families who will no longer have their child with them, their mother or their father or their cousin, aunt, and uncle that are gone forever because of the violence that’s happening in Chicago,” she continued.

Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, argued that Pritzker should be fighting for his people instead of the president, suggesting that it “seems like it’s more about Gov. Pritzker’s ego, now, rather than actually protecting his people.”

“If he has one murder in the city of Chicago, he should be calling President Trump and saying, ‘What’s your ideas? What can we do?’” Noem added.

“They don’t even honor our detainers in Chicago. They don’t go out there and work with us to make sure we’re bringing people to justice. And instead, he goes on TV and he attacks me when we’re doing exactly what those people need. They need someone to help them get the dangerous criminals off their streets.”

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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker Signs New Law Mandating Abortion Pills on Campus at All Public Universities in the State

J.B. Pritzker, the Democrat Governor of Illinois, has just signed a new law mandating that the abortion pill, sometimes referred to as the day after pill, will be available on the campuses of all public colleges and universities in the state.

Pritzker’s reasons for doing this are so transparent. Pritzker is planning to run for president in 2028 and he has to have something to say that he has done for the far left when he is on a primary debate stage in 2027.

It probably won’t even matter. The fact that Pritzker is a billionaire is going to disqualify him in a Democrat primary.

The College Fix has the story on the new law:

Illinois governor signs new law mandating abortion pills on campus

Public colleges and universities in Illinois will be required to offer abortion pills on campus under a new law that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed on Friday.

In a video on X, Pritzker said he was “very proud” to sign the legislation at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, surrounded by students and abortion activists.

“I made a promise to the women of Illinois — as governor, I will ensure your medical decisions will be your own,” Pritzker said in the video. “Now, we continue fulfilling that promise.”

However, a state pro-life organization said the legislation will hurt students.

“This bill places the health and safety of young women at risk and turns institutions of higher learning into abortion facilities,” Illinois Right to Life responded in a statement to WCIA News.

The law, House Bill 3709, requires public institutions of higher education to provide access to contraception and medication abortions to students for free, if the campus has a student health center.

If the center includes a pharmacy, it must provide contraception and abortion pills to students, according to the bill.

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Trans-Identifying HS Volleyball Player Sends Illinois Community Into Uproar

A trans-identifying biological male at James B. Conant High School in Illinois, who reportedly stands 6-foot-4, made the freshman girls volleyball team despite never having previously played the sport, OutKick has learned. 

According to a parent of one of the freshman girls, who spoke to OutKick on the condition of anonymity, around 70 girls tried out for the team and only 23 made it – along with the male to complete the 24-player roster. 

In addition, the longtime girls’ volleyball coach allegedly resigned her position after being forced to allow the male – who is also allegedly using the girls’ bathroom and locker room facilities, according to parents – on the girls’ team. 

OutKick reached out to the school’s athletics department and principal. 

On Wednesday night, August 20, the Township High School District 211 school board – which oversees Conant, a school located in the Chicago suburbs – held a special meeting and allowed members of the public to speak. Chaos ensued. 

Parents beg school board to take action

Over the course of an hour, 16 people spoke at the meeting. Some were in opposition to a male on the girls’ team and some were in favor. The first few speakers all begged the school board to intervene and remove the male from the girls’ volleyball team. 

“If you want groundbreaking, revolutionary, inclusive ideas, start a trans league so trans people can compete against each other. But keep biological men out of biological girls’ sports. Protect our girls,” John Goodman, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, said. 

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Will County Democrat Jacqueline Traynere — Who Once Struck a Child With Her Car — Now CHARGED With Three Counts of Computer Tampering After Allegedly Hacking Fellow Board Members’ Emails

The scandals surrounding Will County Democrat Jacqueline Traynere keep piling up.

Traynere, a Democrat Will County Board member serving Bolingbrook, Illinois, is now officially charged with three counts of computer tampering, according to documents filed in Will County Circuit Court this week, Patch reported.

The charges stem from an incident in March 2024 when Traynere allegedly accessed the private email account of Republican Board Chair Judy Ogalla without authorization. Prosecutors say Traynere then forwarded Ogalla’s conversations to Democrat County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant in an apparent attempt to undermine her political opponents.

Computer tampering is a Class B misdemeanor in Illinois.

More from the Chicago Tribune:

Traynere, a Bolingbrook Democrat, allegedly accessed the email account of board member Judy Ogalla, a Monee Republican, in March 2024 without Ogalla’s authorization, according to the charges.

The misdemeanor charges filed by special prosecutor William Elward state Traynere forwarded emails from Ogalla’s account to herself and others.

Ogalla, who was the Will County Board chairman at the time, said that Traynere knowingly accessed her email and knew it was unethical.

Ogalla questioned whether Traynere had opened her email more than once. She said she doesn’t know what all Traynere saw.

“Was she in my email other times and I just didn’t know?” Ogalla said. “She shouldn’t have done it.”

An email exchanged between board member Steve Balich, a Homer Glen Republican, and Ogalla regarding the controversial 143rd Street road widening project had been forwarded to the county executive, who replied to the email, Balich said during a July 2024 news conference with other County Board Republicans.

This isn’t Traynere’s first brush with controversy. Earlier this year, she was involved in a disturbing incident where she struck a child riding a bicycle with her car.

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JB Pritzker Under Fire Over His Latest Move Helping Illegal Aliens

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a measure that opens state-funded student financial aid to all residents, regardless of immigration status, making illegal immigrants in Illinois eligible for educational financial benefits.

The legislation, framed as creating “equitable eligibility for financial aid and benefits,” establishes that any student residing in the state who is not otherwise eligible for federal financial aid can now qualify for assistance.

The law specifically cites students disqualified from federal aid, such as transgender students who fail to register for selective service or noncitizen students who lack lawful permanent residence.

The bill was met with immediate criticism from conservatives, including Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., who described the move as prioritizing illegal immigrants over Illinois families.

“Allowing taxpayer-funded financial aid for illegal aliens is a slap in the face to hardworking Illinois families and students,” Miller told Fox News Digital.

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