Free Republic

BREAKING: A verdict as been reached in the trial of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, charged with shooting teenager Laquan McDonald. The jury will announce the verdict in about one hour.

A freelance automotive journalist worries a testing site operated by the Illinois Tollway Authority could be for more than just testing automated tollway technology. Paul Brian said he’s noticed a site with various sensors on northbound I-294 for years with a sign that reads “for testing purposes only.” Illinois Tollway Authority officials said the site is used for testing various sensors, but only for tollway purposes. The site, established in 2015, had an initial price tag of $2.7 million. “The Illinois Tollway has used the test site to study a range of systems – some of which were adopted and...

In less than two years, the Illinois tollway has hired six Republican insiders for high-level jobs that collectively pay nearly $916,000 a year, including a former elected official, political operatives and the relative of a state GOP leader. That troubles some government watchdogs who say they are concerned about favoritism in an agency with a history of patronage. Tollway officials said the agency is staffed with qualified professionals. "More and more the Illinois tollway is becoming the 'Who's Who' of Republican political hires," said Illinois Campaign for Political Reform Chairwoman Susan Garrett, a former Democratic state senator. Tollway spokesman Dan...

It seemed like Frank Caputo had worked in construction with his family since he could walk, and at 61 years old, he had no plans of retiring anytime soon, his family said. “He would die with concrete on his hands, and he did,” said Lorraine Richards Caputo, his estranged wife. “His blood ran concrete. He was proud of his job. He was a good worker, and he did a damn good job.” Caputo was working Friday night on the northbound lanes of the Tri-State Tollway near Rosemont where two lanes had been closed for a construction project. Just before 10:20...

DOWNERS GROVE, IL - The Illinois Tollway, in partnership with Blick Art Materials and MB Real Estate (MBRE), is inviting high school art students to participate in the 2019 Tollway Map Cover Art Contest for a shot to land on the cover art of the official 2019 Illinois Tollway Map. Recognizing the Illinois Tollway's commitment to diversity, the theme for the 2019 contest calls on student artists to submit artwork that illustrates the importance of diversity and inclusion. Areas of focus for the 2019 Tollway Map Cover Art Contest may include, but are not limited to, the following themes: Diversity...

The Illinois Tollway is examining the possibility of embedding equipment into I-294 that would charge electric vehicles as they drive along the road. The agency is at the start of a $4 billion project to rebuild and widen a 22-mile stretch of I-294, also known as the Tri-State. As part of the project, the Tollway wants to add infrastructure to charge electric vehicles. Off the highway, that could include both conventional charging stations and “super-charger” stations that power up electric cars and trucks more quickly. The agency also is studying “smart-powered lanes,” a type of technology being tried in Sweden...

Cook County’s chief watchdog has concluded that more than $330,000 in property tax breaks and refunds that Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker received on one of his Gold Coast mansions — in part by removing toilets — constituted a “scheme to defraud.” Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard also recommends that Cook County should try to recover the money from the billionaire. […] Blanchard writes in the report that the Cook County Assessor’s office was “the victim of sworn affidavits containing false representations.” […] “The use of these affidavits was part of a scheme for obtaining money by means of...

Outside of the partisan bubbles, legal observers concede that Democrats dropping the sexual misconduct allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh at the 11thhour should make Republicans furious. At the same time, they think the GOP should have given ample time to investigate these claims, not establishing an artificial deadline. George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley has an op-ed in The Hill, where he lays out his concerns about the probe, noting that we need an end to this drama, not a prolongation of it. Also, he notes the dangerous precedent that Democrats are setting by warning in not so uncertain terms that...

A 300 million year-old fossil mystery has been solved by a research team led by the University of Leicester, which has identified that the ancient 'Tully Monster' was a vertebrate -- due to the unique characteristics of its eyes. Tullimonstrum gregarium or as it is more commonly known the 'Tully Monster', found only in coal quarries in Illinois, Northern America, is known to many Americans because its alien-like image can be seen on the sides of large U-haul™ trailers which ply the freeways. Despite being an iconic image -- a fossil with a striped body, large tail, a pair of...

Hillary Clinton will headline her first public campaign event of the midterms on Monday, a Clinton spokesman tells CNN, when she attends a roundtable in Chicago with JB Pritzker, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Illinois. The event, which will include Juliana Stratton, the Democrats' lieutenant governor candidate, will be a roundtable with high school girls and focus on stressing the importance of leadership, according to the Pritzker campaign. end snip

Sunday, Republicans in Winnebago County woke up to angry messages sprawled on their headquarters' building referring to the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. The date of the DC contentious Judicial Committee hearing "9/27/18" was spray painted on a wall, along with words "Rape" and "Shame" multiple times. State Rep. John Cabello (R-Loves Park) - a Rockford police detective when not serving his constituents - posted photos of the vandalism on his Facebook page with these words: "We can have out differences. We can have good-spirited debate. I hope whoever is responsible for this will be brought...

Paris, IL - North American Lighting is hosting an open interview day at the Paris, Illinois manufacturing facility. Stop in between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. and 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. to apply and interview with the HR department on Thursday, October 4th The company is currently hiring 2nd shift operators. The starting wage is $15.30/hour or $31,824/year plus benefits. Employees covered by NAL’s health insurance will also have access to the free NAL Health Clinic located across the street from the manufacturing plant.

Our politics aren’t broken, they’re fixed. Indeed, one of my very favorite political junkies just told me she’s decided to skip the race for governor. She can’t bring herself to cast a vote, this time, for the lesser of the evils. It probably wouldn’t bother the candidates’ campaigns to hear that. They’re not really out to serve average voters. Politicians of one or the other major party draw legislative boundaries that are rigged to the advantage of their party’s incumbents. Major-party politicians have created complex rules and hurdles for candidates to get on the ballot. Outsiders who try to run...

SOUTH PORTLAND — Sometimes it takes a confluence of events to provide clarity to the muddle. The events in this case are the 50th anniversary of the riots surrounding the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August 1968, the recent death of Sen. John McCain and the mind-numbingly idiotic statement by Fox News commentator Marie Harf on “Outnumbered” on Aug. 16 that “the highest form of patriotism is protest.” The muddle is the catastrophic state of the modern Democratic Party.....

Updated 07/10/12 – 9:06 p.m. CHICAGO (CBS) — A 5-year-old Orland Park boy at the center of an international custody battle was sent to Ireland on Tuesday to live with his father, even though he was born in the U.S. and has lived most of his life here. Jack Redmond was born in south suburban Blue Island, and has spent all but a few months of his life in the United States. His mother, Mary Redmond, says the Chicago area is all the boy has ever known. His school, his doctor, his dentist, his friends — they’re all here. Custody...

**SNIP** In the video, Totsy Bailey, Local 439 Steamfitters/Pipefitters Union president, can be heard saying, "Vote early, vote often, whatever you can get away with... I shouldn't say that, but, I don't care." When reached for comment, Bailey said he didn't have a comment about his words and hung up the phone abruptly. The video shows Bailey introducing a speaker at the Labor Rally in Caseyville.

CHICAGO — A California man has been charged with shooting a Cicero police officer in a wild shootout near I-55 on Thursday. Daniel Mageo, 27, was denied bail Saturday during a bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, 2650 S. California Ave. Mageo was previously convicted of human trafficking and had outstanding warrants for a parole violation and a sex offense. "He is the poster child for no bail and that’s exactly what he’s going to get," Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr., said. "No bail." Cicero police Officer Luis Duarte, 32, was shot three times Thursday on...

The #KassforMayor campaign is en fuego, with hordes of supporters beseeching me to put dibs on Chicago, become mayor and boss this crazy town. Perhaps they love me for the simple honesty of my Chicago Way platform: Riches for me and mine, from boodle and asphalt and trucking contracts. And taxes for the rest of you to pay for it all. I will give sanctuary to all voters, even the suburban dead. And if you don’t like it, get your mouth shut. So let it be written, so let it be done. Yes, my friends, I am truly humbled by...

Senator Dianne Feinstein Won’t Set Up Call for Kavanaugh Accuser to Testify It’s now official: This entire situation is a farce that needs to end immediately. Anything less shows the Democrats are profoundly unserious about the allegations being made against Brett Kavanaugh. Over the weekend, Senator Dianne Feinstein made waves by going public with accusations against President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. First, she revealed that someone who knew Kavanaugh in high school accused him of sexually assaulting her. Then the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, actually came out publicly. Senate Republicans tried to pull a fast one on her by challenging...

Vanecko and Davis. Their firm made millions in fees even as retirement plans for teachers, cops, other Chicago city workers suffered big losses. A dozen years ago, five financially strapped city of Chicago pension funds invested $68 million in a shaky real estate deal put together by a former boss of resident Barack Obama and a nephew of Mayor Richard M. Daley. It was a high-risk investment. Allison S. Davis — who once headed a small Chicago law firm that gave Obama his first job out of Harvard Law School — and Daley nephew Robert G. Vanecko even warned in...