Tag: illinois

Haunting breakthrough in case of Illinois woman, 23, who vanished one night in 1983

A haunting breakthrough has finally come in the cold case of Karen Schepers, 23, who vanished over 40 years ago in Elgin, Illinois, a suburb outside of Chicago. 

The Elgin Police Department announced on Monday that they have located Karen’s Yellow 1980 Toyota Celica buried in Fox River. 

The vehicle was first located near a boat launch before a diver located the car and identified the license plate, which matched Karen’s. 

The Toyota is scheduled to be removed from the river on Tuesday afternoon with the assistance of professional divers, the Elgin Fire Department, and the Kane County Coroner’s Office. 

Once the vehicle is safely recovered, authorities plan to search for the remains. Police Chief Ana Lalley said in a statement that the investigation is still open and the recovery process is expected to take some time. 

‘As the recovery of the vehicle is made, it is important to stress that this is the beginning of what is still considered an open and active investigation with many questions still to be answered,’ Lalley said in a media update. 

‘As we continue to investigate this case, we will remain steadfast in our resolve to provide answers and closure to Karen’s family.’ 

Lindsay Bussick, the manager of Chaos Divers, a nonprofit organization assisting in the search, told the Chicago Tribune that authorities used sonar technology to determine the license plate and model of the vehicle. 

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Illinois bill would allow addicts to use drugs legally at ‘overdose prevention sites’

Illinois legislators are proposing a bill that would let drug addicts use illicit substances at “overdose prevention sites” under the supervision of medical personnel.

House Bill 2929, introduced by Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), would require the Department of Human Services to research the possibility of following the lead of New York and Rhode Island in creating sites where drug users could use pre-obtained substances in a safe environment, and be connected with treatment services.

The bill would grant criminal immunity to people who use drugs at the proposed sites.

Ford said no tax dollars would be used in the creation of the program.

“The opioid settlement fund will be the fund that we will use if this becomes law to fund the program, so there will be no general revenue funds,” he said.

Rep. Bill Hauter (R-Morton) told the Center Square he was torn over the proposal, but ultimately voted for it.

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Secession: Why Redrawing US State Borders Makes Politicians So Mad

Over the past five years, 33 counties in Illinois have voted to secede from the state, presumably to either form a new state or join another state. In most of these counties, the voters were given the option to vote yes or no on  a ballot question that looked generally like this:

“Shall the board of (the county) correspond with the boards of other counties of Illinois, outside of Cook County, about the possibility of separating from Cook County to form a new state and to seek admission to the Union as such, subject to the approval of the people?”

Many of the voters and policymakers supporting the separation note that they consider themselves to be economically, culturally, and historically separated from Chicago and the counties surrounding it. Most of the state’s 13 million residents—more than nine million people—live within the greater Chicago metro area, but that potentially leaves one or two million people—a “state” the size of Montana or Nebraska—who are interested in breaking free of Chicago metro politics.

The fact that the secession efforts keep coming up again and again suggest some political staying power, as does a new development in Indiana: last week, the Indiana House of Representatives passed new legislation creating a Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission. The purpose is to facilitate the secession of separatist Illinois counties and their subsequent annexation into Indiana. This greatly simplifies the matter, politically. Were Indiana to actually annex Illinois’s separatist counties upon separation,  the change would not even raise the problem of admitting a new US state.

Essentially, were Illinois and Indiana to redraw their border, the matter of Illinois’s secessionist counties would be of minor national impact. For virtually everyone in the United States, life would go on as it had before.

Yet, the Illinois ruling class, centered in Chicago, is dead set against the idea. Illinois’s Governor JB Pritzker called the secession effort a “stunt” and declared that it is “not going to happen.” The Illinois attorney general has declared the effort illegal. Critics have adopted the usual posture of those in power when faced with secession efforts like these: a mixture of authoritarianism and patronizing contempt.

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Circuit Court Judge Strikes Down Illinois FOID Card Requirement for Guns in the Home

On Monday, White County Resident Circuit Judge T. Scott Webb ruled against a requirement that Illinois residents must obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card in order to possess a gun in the home for self-defense.

The case, State of Illinois v. Vivian Claudine Brown, which was supported by the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association, centered on Brown’s possession of a .22 rifle in the home for self-defense on March 18, 2017, without an accompanying (required) FOID card.

She was charged due to her lack of a FOID card, and a suit was subsequently filed. The suit challenged not only the FOID card requirement but also the fee to obtain such a card, which is $10. Brown argued that the fee “suppresses a fundamental right that is recognized to be enjoyed in the most private areas, such as the home.”

Webb weighed the case in light of Heller (2008) and Bruen (2022), ultimately found that “the defendant’s possession of a .22 caliber rifle within the confines of her own home, even without a valid FOID card falls squarely within the protections afforded her by the Second Amendment.”

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Illinois Governor and Chicago Mayor are Preventing ICE from Deporting Hundreds of Illegals in Local Jails

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, are reportedly blocking ICE agents from entering prisons and jails to deport hundreds of illegal aliens in the sanctuary city of Chicago. 

Real America’s Voice correspondent Ben Bergquam reports that there are about 300 illegal aliens in jail with ICE detainer requests, but leftist Chicago officials will not let ICE take them to be deported.

An immigration detainer is a request from ICE that asks local law enforcement agencies, including jails and prisons, to “notify the requesting agency as early as possible before they release a removable alien” and “hold the alien for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would ordinarily release them so DHS has time to assume custody in accordance with federal immigration law,” according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “Immigration detainers are requests from federal law enforcement officers and agents, and officials only lodge them against aliens when there’s probable cause to believe that the person is removable from the United States under federal immigration law.”

“You’re going to see the federal government come after these cities and states in a way we’ve never seen before,” Berguam said. “I think we’re going to see defunding of sanctuary communities that don’t allow these ICE officers into their jails.”

As The Gateway Pundit recently reported, Illinois officials are working to sabotage the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts through legislative changes and preventing Chicago Police from working with the Federal government to remove illegals involved in drug crimes, gang-related crimes, prostitution, human trafficking, or child sex crimes.

The far-left Governor, JB Pritzker, was also recently caught making up a hoax, claiming that ICE agents raided an elementary school in Chicago last Friday.

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Gov. Pritzker Defies Trump Admin — Declares Local Police Will Defend ‘Law-Abiding Undocumented People’

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) warned the Trump administration that his local law enforcement will defy his mass deportation orders and “stand up for those law-abiding, undocumented people.”

CNN’s “State of the Union” host Dana Bash asked Sunday, “How are you preparing, particularly if they do target schools, churches and small businesses as they are now allowed to do?”

“Well, let me start by being clear that when we’re talking about violent criminals who have been convicted and who are undocumented, we don’t want them in our state,” Pritzker replied. “We want them out of the country. We hope they do get deported. And if that’s who they’re picking up, we’re all for it.”

“They show up with a warrant, and we’re going to hand over people who are in our prisons or in our jails who fit that description. Now, what they’re also doing, though, and it’s quite disturbing, is they’re going after people who are law-abiding, who are holding down jobs, who have families here who may have been here for a decade or two decades, and they’re often our neighbors and our friends.”

The Democrat governor went on to assert that Trump should grant these “law-abiding” illegal aliens with pathways to citizenship rather than deport them.

“And why are we going after them? These are not people who are causing problems in our country. What we need is a path to citizenship for them,” he said. “We need to secure our border. We need to get rid of the violent criminals, but we also need to protect people, at least the residents of Illinois and all across the nation, who are just doing what we hope that immigrants will do.”

“We also have a law on the books in Illinois that says that our local law enforcement will stand up for those law-abiding, undocumented people in our state who are doing the right thing,” he continued. “And we’re not going to help federal officials just drag them away because somebody pointed at them and said, oh, that person’s brown or that person’s not from here. Check it out. Maybe they’re undocumented.”

Pritzker’s defiant remarks are setting up a government showdown with the Trump administration that could result in him facing legal action.

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America’s ‘Worst Mayor,’ Boyfriend Get into Physical Brawl with Angry Activist: ‘You Gone B*tch!’

Tiffany Henyard, the mayor of Dolton, Illinois, was seen on video joining in a physical brawl between her boyfriend and an angry activist who called her a “half-assed mayor” and a “b*tch” who “f*ck[ed] her way to the top” at a recent town board meeting.

The video footage, which apparently also features Henyard’s wig flying off, was posted to social media where it went viral.

n the video, the Dolton mayor can be seen throwing herself into a chaotic fight between her boyfriend and an outraged activist who had moments earlier called Henyard a “half-assed mayor,” as well as a “b*tch” who he said “f*ck[ed] her way to the top.”

The activist has been identified as Jedidiah Brown, according to multiple reports.

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America’s worst mayor frantically tried to cover up how much money she blew on glam sessions and parties, report finds

An independent investigation detailed how Tiffany Henyard allegedly mismanaged millions of dollars worth of taxpayer funds during her controversial tenure as the mayor of Dolton, Illinois. 

On Monday, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot finally revealed the findings of her independent investigation into the alleged wrongdoings of Henyard, who also serves as the supervisor of nearby Thornton Township.

Lightfoot narrated her findings during a town meeting that was packed with aggrieved residents, though there was no sign of the so-called ‘Super Mayor’, FOX32 reported.

‘At least as early as late 2021, there was a concerted, systematic effort on behalf of Mayor Henyard and others in her administration to hide the true financial condition of the Village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the public,’ Lightfoot said at the meeting.

Lightfoot’s 73-page report explained that there was a whopping $779,638 charged to town credit cards in 2023, with little to no tracking of the actual expenses.

More than $50,000 spent on artificial ice tiles, which could have been used to build the town ice skating rink Henyard promoted on Instagram in February 2023.

At least six government credit cards were also used to pay for glamorous getaways Henyard took to Las Vegas in May 2022 and May 2023, according to the report.

‘Financial records from the village and Thornton Township reflect that a number of people traveled to Las Vegas on both of these trips,’ Lightfoot said. ‘And the expense of their travel, their lodging, their meals and entertainment were paid for on village and township credit cards.’

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Illinois and Chicago Defy Federal Deportation and Reject Effort by Alderman Raymond Lopez to Assist

Recent reporting has suggested that mass deportations at the hands of the new Trump Administration have had to be reconfigured.

In a Washington Post article from January 19, it was intimated that the Trump administration was reconsidering their plans because of a leak.

In the article incoming border czar Tom Homan was quoted, “We’re looking at this leak and will make a decision based on this leak.” Homan went on to say, “It’s unfortunate because anyone leaking law enforcement operations puts officers at great risk.”

Tom Homan addresses the latest plan for deportations on Fox News.

Chicago and its sanctuary city status has been a focus of the incoming Trump Organization’s targeted deportation plan. While an operational plan leak may be hindering the administration’s efforts, it certainly will not be the only obstacle the Federal government will encounter in those efforts to round up illegal immigrants.

Illinois has been passing state laws in the last few years that not only protect illegal immigrants but help them avoid detection altogether. This month HB 5164 passed both houses of Illinois Congress and is now awaiting signature from Governor J.B. Pritzker.

The bill addresses “resident” name change. It lowers the residency requirement from six months to three and allows petitioners to keep these name change documents from becoming public in the case that it can cause hardship or harm.

The petitioners would also be able to keep address information from becoming public. The bill would be applicable to criminal offenders as well.

This bill follows a pattern for the Illinois legislature as it pertains to illegal immigrants. Illinois has also passed HB3882 in 2023 allowing illegals to obtain a “standard identification card” replacing the former classification of “non-compliant identification card.” Illinois further muddied the waters of identifying illegals in this bill by changing definitions. Now, a “limited term REAL ID compliant identification card,” can be obtained by asylum seekers and refugees.

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Springfield Illinois City Council Bans Trump Shirt

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) was founded in 1990 with the mandate to protect religious and constitutional freedoms.

Under the leadership of Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the organization engages legal, legislative, and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education, and litigation that includes representing clients before the Supreme Court of the United States and international tribunals around the globe.

ACLJ has taken on the case of Ms. Rosanna Pulido, a resident of Springfield, Illinois, who “faced outrageous restrictions on her freedom of expression at a city council meeting.”

According to ACLJ, Ms. Pulido attended a Springfield City Council meeting on October 29, 2024, sporting a “Chicanos for Trump” T-shirt.

Despite her peaceful and orderly participation, exercising her free speech was too much for the council, and she was singled out by a Springfield alderwoman, who claimed the shirt violated a policy against “campaign materials” in the council chambers.

She was then forced to either turn her shirt inside out or cover the message.

As ACLJ notes, this rule is nowhere to be found in writing and, although Ms. Pulido wrote to the city council and to the city’s attorney asking what law was being enforced, she received no reply.

Further, the rule is completely unconstitutional: Citizens can wear campaign T-shirts in public places.

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