Free Republic

The former CEO of Chicago Public Schools was indicted on corruption charges Thursday in an alleged bribery and kickback scheme to steer $20 million worth of no-bid contracts to education companies. Barbara Byrd-Bennett was indicted about four months after she resigned amid the investigation into the contract was between the district and SUPES Academy, a training academy where she once worked as a consultant. She was appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the nation' third-largest school district in 2012

A concealed-carry license holder is cooperating with police after she opened fire on a shoplifter who was fleeing a Home Depot on Tuesday afternoon, police in Auburn Hills, Mich., said. The shooting happened in the store’s parking lot about 2 p.m., when Home Depot security was chasing a shoplifter in his 40s who jumped into a waiting dark SUV, said Lt. Jill McDonnell, an Auburn Hills police spokeswoman. But when the SUV began to pull away, a 48-year-old woman suddenly began firing shots at the fleeing vehicle. The vehicle escaped – but possibly has a flat tire, McDonnell said. The...

The patient most commonly seeking a doctor's blessing to use medical marijuana in Illinois is an older woman in Cook County with either severe fibromyalgia or cancer, according to data published Thursday in a report to the Legislature. The eight-page report is straightforward and makes no predictions about the future of the state's medical marijuana pilot program, which Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner inherited from his Democratic predecessor, Pat Quinn. The Illinois Department of Public Health compiled the data to fulfill a requirement in the medical marijuana law to report on the program annually to lawmakers. The report shows more than...

Redflex red light cameras and speed camera deployments have dropped by half as municipalities reject automated enforcement. Only a few years ago, Redflex Traffic Systems was at the top of its game. Stock analysts saw unlimited growth potential in the Australian firm that once operated more red light cameras and speed cameras in the United States than anyone else. Redflex was so confident about its bright future that it rebuffed Macquarie Bank's 2011 buyout offer at $2.75 a share. Today, Redflex trades at 24 cents per share, a top executive has been found guilty on federal corruption charges and the...

In 2012 the Daily Caller Ran this article http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/11/america%E2%80%99s-most-dangerous-cities-are-run-by-democrats/ which showed that 8 out of 10 of the most dangerous cities in America were run by democrats. (other 2 independents) So I looked into and found the current ten cities with the highest murder rates. http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/top-lists/highest-murder-rate-cities/ And found the results are quite similar with at least 8 out of 10 of the most dangerous cities (ones with highest murder rates) still being run by democrats. 1 East St. Louis, IL (Emeka-Jackson Hicks,Democrat) 2 Camden, NJ (Donna Red, Democrat) 3 Gary, IN (Karen Freeman Wilson, Democrat) 4 Chester, PA (John A...

Four people were killed and 52 wounded during shootings across Chicago over the weekend. After multiple weekends in a row of increased violence in the city, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is urging a fresh and more proactive approach to gun control. The latest incidents, including the murder of a pregnant mother, come on the heels of two weekends in a row with more than 50 shootings in Chicago: At least 2,300 people have been shot in Chicago this year alone, according to the Chicago Tribune. According to their analysis, that's roughly 400 more incidents than during the same period in...

In its latest effort to protect Muslim rights in the United States the Obama Justice Department is suing an Illinois town for denying a rezoning application to convert an office building into an Islamic temple. Failing to approve plans for the Islamic worship center violates a 2000 law known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit filed this week in federal court. The accused are lawmakers in Des Plaines, a Chicago suburb with a population of about 60,000. In 2013 the Des Plaines City Council voted 5-3 to reject...

CHICAGO (CBS) — While overall crime is down since last year, Chicago saw a big increase in fatal shootings last month, which was the deadliest September in more than a decade. Compared to the first nine months of last year, murders were up 21 percent through the end of September. Shooting incidents were up 19 percent, and the number of shooting victims was up 14 percent. Overall crime – including robberies, burglaries, and thefts – was down 7 percent.

Exhibit A: Amnesty Congressman Luis Gutierrez’ record speaks for itself, but here’s a taste: In July, Gutierrez dismissed the death of Kate Steinle at the hands of an illegal immigrant in a sanctuary city as “a little thing”… Most recently, Gutierrez proposed legislation granting illegal immigrants access to Obamacare. Trey Gowdy and Luis Gutierrez are close friends… (SNIP) After Boehner’s shocking announcement Friday, he secretly urged Gowdy to run for leader…

It will come as no surprise that the west, with San Diego, is where the gains are still frothiest: after all the Chinese "hot money" exporters are rushing to park their funds before the exit door slams shut, and are doing so as close to home as possible. What was surprising is the other end of the spectrum, because as Case-Shiller clearly shows, Detroit - after staging a brief dead cat bounce in the aftermath of its bankruptcy and since sliding once again - may no longer be the worst city for home prices in the US. It has now...

could be as many as 10,000 bodies buried under what is now Oak Pak Avenue in Chicago. The area was once the grounds of a Cook County poorhouse and later an asylum for the mentally ill. (video report)

Bill McIntosh interviews Federal judicial reform activist Chuck Panici The story of Chuck Panici, four times GOP mayor of Chicago Heights, Illinois, from 1975 to 1991; skilled political strategist is, both a great saga and a sad one. He turned around a seemingly hopeless municipality, brought fresh water from Lake Michigan to his town: built municipal buildings and built a coalition around his effort that united people across racial and ethnic lines. His bright future changed dramatically however in the aftermath of Chicago Heights city council member Nick LoBue´s name coming up repeatedly during Chicago mob boss Albert Tocco´s Federal...

(Washington, DC) Republicans in the House of Representatives have banded together to ensure a cooperative debate on strategy and party disagreements before House GOP conference chairwoman Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) can try to help House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) take Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)’s ’s soon-to-be-vacated job as House Speaker, and instead force a special extended conference meeting that can now happen without McMorris Rodgers’ approval. The debate is enabled by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), who was circulating a letter to his colleagues calling for debate on the Speakership process. At least 50 fellow GOP members have...

Mayors from eighteen U.S. cities signed a letter to President Obama saying they are willing to take even more refugees than what has been proposed by the administration. “We will welcome the Syrian families to make homes and new lives in our cities,” wrote the mayors, all of whom are part of the Cities United for Immigration Action coalition. “Indeed, we are writing to say that we stand ready to work with your Administration to do much more and to urge you to increase still further the number of Syrian refugees the United States will accept for resettlement.” “This is...

The Chicago Cubs have clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2008. The Cubs were assured of at least an NL wild-card slot Friday night when San Francisco lost to Oakland 5-4, eliminating the Giants from playoff contention. The sign outside Wrigley Field lit up with "Cubs Clinch Postseason Berth'' after it became official late Friday night. Fans gathered around to take pictures and mark Chicago's return for the first time since 2008.

In an interview with the Yale college newspaper published on Friday, Weather Underground terrorist group co-founder Bill Ayers said he believes his association with Barack Obama got the politician elected president in 2008. “That whole narrative blew up because no one could figure out how to run against Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton started it all by saying we don’t know who this guy is and he has sketchy friends (myself),” Ayers told the weekend supplement of the Yale Daily News, referring to controversy over his relationship with Obama. “I like to think that his association with me got him...

But Ms. Raimondo was able to revamp her state’s pension system, keeping some of the traditional structure while lowering the cost, and surviving lawsuits by workers and retirees who called her moves unconstitutional. Mr. Emanuel’s attempts to rein in pension costs, in contrast, have been thrown out by a judge, leading to his appeal this week for a big tax increase

To quote the Church Lady: isn't that conv-e-e-e-e-nient? On Chris Hayes' MSNBC show tonight, Dem congressman Luis Gutierrez claimed that while he was "challenged" by the Catholic church's teachings on abortion and gay rights and found them "difficult" [but not difficult enough to change his standard liberal positions], no one can really argue the Pope's positions on illegal immigration and income inequality. View the video here.

The Chicago Tribune is suing Mayor Rahm Emanuel over claims he violated open records laws for failing to disclose personal emails and texts used to conduct city business. Thursday’s lawsuit asks a judge to force the former White House chief of staff to produce documents. The lawsuit argues that the newspaper’s Freedom of Information Act requests to Emanuel’s administration have been “met with a pattern of non-compliance, partial compliance, delay and obfuscation.” …

A Chicago television news station made a truly unfortunate art choice to accompany a segment on the Jewish High Holidays on Wednesday: the yellow Star of David that Jews were legally required to wear during the Holocaust. The stock photo was first flagged by a Chicago editor, who posted a screenshot of the WGN news broadcast online. The station responded to apologize for the art choice about 30 minutes later, and said in a tweet the image was "inadvertently" used. In a statement posted online, the station said the picture came from its image bank, and they "failed to recognize...