W.J. Kennedy Stories | Chicago City Wire

State's attorney Kim Foxx ready to release long overdue documents surrounding controversial exonerations

By W.J. Kennedy | Feb 1, 2024

Under the pressure of a lawsuit for violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Foxx’s office has agreed to comply with the law.

Now free, Brian Beals, convicted of murder in 1988, is well-positioned with attorneys and the media to mount a successful civil action

By W.J. Kennedy | Feb 1, 2024

In mid-December, a Cook County judge vacated the conviction of Brian Beals, who served 37 years in prison for the murder of a six-year-old. Now free, Beals is poised to follow the paths of dozens of others exonerated for their crimes.

The Eric Stillman case is a case for police arbitration

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 26, 2024

A Chicago police officer with a sterling record is in danger of being fired by a civilian oversight board, the Chicago Police Board,

Kim Foxx assistant working both sides of legal system in post-conviction cases

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 26, 2024

On December 8, just two days after being named head of Kim Foxx’s Conviction Review Unit

Report: Chicago car thefts in Chicago up, arrests down

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 25, 2024

Statistics show that if a person steals a car in Chicago in 2023, they're more likely to get away with it than in past years.

Foxx assistant seen accepting 75K check for 'school project' she claimed never generated revenue

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 23, 2024

The newly installed head of Kim Foxx’s post-conviction unit recently told a Cook County judge that a side business she fronts

Kim Foxx praises one assistant prosecutor accused of misconduct, fires another

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 18, 2024

When in 2020 former Cook County prosecutor Nick Trutenko was accused of misconduct for not disclosing a relationship with a witness, he was fired immediately by State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.

Judge knocks Foxx's new post-conviction head off case over business that presents 'disturbing appearance of impropriety'

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 12, 2024

A Cook County judge shredded the new head of Kim Foxx’s post-conviction unit over a side business she runs that connects inmates, claiming innocence, with defense attorneys.

Post-conviction process in Cook County has Illinois leading the nation in exonerations

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 10, 2024

Over the past 25 years Illinois has racked up the highest number of exonerations in the nation with Cook County pulling the state to the top of the list

Former prosecutors refute Reginald Henderson complaint in wrongful conviction lawsuit stemming from murder of 10-year-old

By W.J. Kennedy | Jan 5, 2024

Two former assistant Cook County state’s attorneys named in a wrongful conviction lawsuit filed by Reginald Henderson

Arbitration a near certainty for cops despite City Council shooting it down

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 15, 2023

Yesterday’s 33-17 vote by Chicago City Council to deny rank-and-file members of the Fraternal Order of Police the right to arbitration in more serious disciplinary matters

Council committee rejects police arbitration - but with law on cops’ side battle far from over

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 11, 2023

City Council’s Committee on Workforce Development on Thursday approved a four-year police contract that includes a pay increase,

Cops file grievances over 'capriciousness' of who gets voluntary overtime

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 8, 2023

A group of Chicago cops have filed grievances within the Department over what they say are “arbitrary, capricious and inconsistent rulings” that determine who benefits from Voluntary Supplemental Work Opportunity (VSWO).

'Sickening' conflict of interest for new head of Kim Foxx’s post-conviction unit

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 7, 2023

The newly installed head of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s (CCSAO) post-conviction section, which reviews claims of innocence by prison inmates, runs a side business that connects attorneys with the inmates making the claims.

Consolidate wrongful conviction cases of brothers convicted of murdering ten-year-old, police lawyers say

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 6, 2023

Lawyers for former Chicago police detectives named in two wrongful conviction suits surrounding the 1994 murder of a 10-year-old on the South Side have asked a federal judge to consolidate the cases.

Former FOP official praises special prosecutors challenging commission that targets cops with abuse claims

By W.J. Kennedy | Dec 4, 2023

A former Chicago FOP official applauded two special prosecutors for taking on a 14-year-old commission that legitimatizes claims of police abuse

Policy banning Chicago cops from joining 'hate' groups open to First Amendment rights challenge: legal expert

By W.J. Kennedy | Nov 30, 2023

A policy recently approved by a community oversight group that bans Chicago cops from joining “hate” and “extremist” groups is vulnerable to a First Amendment challenge in court.

Kim Foxx’s office strikes back against one of its former own

By W.J. Kennedy | Nov 29, 2023

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) is appealing to a federal judge to expand its “scope of intervention” in a civil trial against former Assistant State’s Attorney Nick Trutenko,

Convicted cop killer Jackie Wilson’s wrongful conviction lawsuit dealt blow by ruling in criminal case against former prosecutor

By W.J. Kennedy | Nov 20, 2023

A victory for former Cook County prosecutor Nick Trutenko in his criminal case surrounding the decades long legal saga of convicted cop-killer Jackie Wilson is spilling over to his civil cas

Torture commission ruling reveals legal vulnerability in pathway to wrongful conviction suits

By W.J. Kennedy | Nov 17, 2023

For the past several years, the plaintiffs’ bar has relied on the Torture Inquiry & Relief Commission (TIRC) for a steady stream of wrongful conviction lawsuits stemming from claims that Chicago police coerced murder confessions

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