Latest News from Chicago City Wire

Chicago Police being set up for even more legal exposure: former FOP official

By W.J. Kennedy | May 3, 2024

Policies that require Chicago police officers to report misconduct among their ranks will only serve to lead to even more lawsuits against cops,

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Vallas: Lawyers, radical left driving 'Criminal Industrial Complex'

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 26, 2024

Special interests have twisted the criminal justice reform movement into a lucrative enterprise.

Police union appeal of arbitration decision could “leave cops in limbo”

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 26, 2024

The Chicago police union’s appeal of a court ruling that permitted police arbitration in more serious disciplinary cases

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Northwestern University upholds provocative reputation with acceptance of convicted killer to Pritzker School of Law, press delights

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 25, 2024

mber 2023, Benard McKinley completed his nearly 23-year sentence for murder, and this fall will begin law studies at Northwestern University— accepted after completing an in-prison undergraduate program.

Kim Foxx's muddied transparency in exoneration cases

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 24, 2024

Throughout her two-term tenure in office, Cook County State's Attorney (CCSAO) Kim Foxx has repeatedly promised full transparency.

Gerald Reed retrial for murder could squash chance for Certificate of Innocence

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 23, 2024

A special prosecutor retried Gerald Reed for murder last week in a Cook County court.

Law enforcement expert: Chicago police shooting of Dexter Reed 'completely justified'

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 23, 2024

Chicago police have taken a beating in the press in the wake of the March 21 shooting of 26-year-old Dexter Reed

Wrongful conviction case stemming from notorious 1998 Bucktown double murder hinges on fabricated evidence claims, detective's lawyer asks judge to dismiss

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 19, 2024

An attorney for retired Chicago Detective Reynaldo Guevara, who is named in a wrongful conviction case involving the 1998 double murder of a husband and wife in Bucktown, is asking a federal judge to dismiss claims of fabricated evidence by the two convicted of the murders.

Settlement reached in Marquette Park Four, the first of Kim Foxx’s numerous exoneration cases

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 15, 2024

A settlement has been reached in the wrongful conviction cases of the so-called Marquette Park Four, convicted of a 1995 double murder at a car dealership on the Southwest Side.

Kim Foxx gift-wraps another wrongful conviction settlement award – this time to two convicted of murdering a child

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 11, 2024

Last week, a Cook County judge granted brothers Sean Tyler and Reginald Henderson, convicted of the 1994 murder of a ten-year-old boy on the South Side

Former police union official warns of anti-cop hysteria after video of Dexter Reed shooting released

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 11, 2024

A former Chicago police union official cautioned against spinning the story of 26-year-old Dexter Reed, who was shot and killed by police during a March 21 traffic stop, into yet another anti-policy frenzy in the press and among city leaders.

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Eileen O’Neill Burke has work cut out just prosecuting robberies

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 10, 2024

Last Thursday morning, eight West Loop businesses were robbed at gunpoint between 5.30 a.m. and 6.30 a.m.

In defiance of Mayor Johnson, City Council gives ShotSpotter hope of new life

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 4, 2024

On Monday, the Chicago City Council Committee on Police and Fire approved an ordinance that would keep ShotSpotter, a proven life-saving gunshot detection technology, in wards that choose it.

Crimes statistics undermine racism narrative in policing

By W.J. Kennedy | Apr 2, 2024

A recently published pie chart breaking down crime according to race undermines the recurring narrative in the media that Chicago police unfairly target Blacks.

Illinois Supreme Court ruling on police torture blow to plaintiffs’ lawyers

By W.J. Kennedy | Mar 22, 2024

A little noticed Illinois Supreme Court ruling is a setback for plaintiffs’ firms representing clients who claim police torture in wrongful conviction lawsuits

Cops clear another hurdle to arbitration for serious disciplinary cases, with a condition

By W.J. Kennedy | Mar 22, 2024

A Cook County judge ruled Thursday that rank-and-file city police can choose independent arbitration over the Chicago Police Board

City Council shells out $5.5 million in yet another wrongful conviction settlement

By W.J. Kennedy | Mar 20, 2024

Ricardo Rodriquez, charged with a 2019 home invasion a year after Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx vacated his murder conviction, is now a millionaire.

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National watchdog group targets State's Attorney Kim Foxx underling in document probe

By W.J. Kennedy | Mar 19, 2024

Judicial Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative watchdog group, has filed a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office seeking email records and all documents pertaining to the exoneration of convicted offenders.

Top Cook County prosecutor running for judge handicapped with poor colleague evaluations, association with State's Attorney Kim Foxx

By W.J. Kennedy | Mar 19, 2024

Kim Foxx’s second in command, Risa Lanier, is running for judge in the 19th Subcircuit, despite being saddled with negative recommendations from area bar associations.

Cook County greenlights hurry-up $17 million settlement for convicted cop killer

By W.J. Kennedy | Mar 15, 2024

On Thursday, Cook County commissioners approved a $17 million payout for convicted cop killer Jackie Wilson stemming from the wrongful conviction lawsuit Wilson filed in federal court in June 2021.

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