Free Republic

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police have charged a 19-year-old man they say fatally shot two teens in the South Shore neighborhood after they asked how tall he was. Police say Laroy Battle, 19, opened fire on two teens in an alley in the 7900-block of South Luella Avenue around 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 20. According to Deputy Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan, the shooting took place after the two teens and a friend had a brief encounter with Battle, whom they did not know, in a corner store. "The victims commented, because, since Battle is quite tall, and they...

An Englewood man is accused of killing two teenagers last weekend after they noted how tall he was while they bought candy at a gas station in South Shore. Laroy Battle, 19, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance, Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan said at a news conference Thursday. Jasean Francis, 17, and Charles Riley, 16, were “very good kids from really excellent families,” Deenihan said. They had gone to a gas station Saturday afternoon in the 7900 block of South Luella with a third friend to buy candy when they ran into...

It’s looking like a tough year for toll roads in Texas, and no one could be happier about that than Terri Hall, the San Antonio woman whose group is leading the grassroots fight against the controversial pay-to-drive roads that Gov. Rick Perry and others want to see crisscrossing the state. In September, Hall and her group, Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF), filed suit in the state district court in Austin against the Texas Department of Transportation, alleging that TxDOT has broken the law by using public funds to lobby legislators for laws favoring toll roads. TURF and Hall...

AUSTIN — Toll road critics were turned down in their request for wide-ranging transportation department documents, but a judge gave them more time to narrow their request as part of a lawsuit against the state. Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, led by San Antonio resident Terri Hall, sued the Texas Department of Transportation in September to fight the department's toll road efforts. The group claims the "Keep Texas Moving" promotional campaign violates a ban on state officials using their authority for political purposes. It also wants to stop agency officials from lobbying Congress to allow more tolling. On Thursday,...

AUSTIN — A judge has refused a toll road opponent's request to block the Texas Department of Transportation from spending money on a campaign that promotes toll roads and the Trans-Texas Corridor. Terri Hall of the San Antonio Toll Party and Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom argued the "Keep Texas Moving" campaign violates a prohibition on state officials using their authority for political purposes. On Monday, State District Judge Orlinda Naranjo denied Hall's request for a temporary restraining order. The judge noted another law cited by state lawyers that allows the department to promote the development and use of...