Gregory Bovino, commander-at-large of the U.S. #BorderPatrol, claims a @wbez.org/@chicago.suntimes.com report about his comments Sunday in downtown #Chicago was "grossly inaccurate" and taken out of context. So we've posted the interview's unedited AUDIO and TRANSCRIPT: www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Much of this story covers Cook Co. prosecutors' unwillingness to systematically examine the many similar coercion allegations against Det. Brian Forberg & partners. Of the 24 known people charged or convicted in cases involving a coercion allegation against Forberg et al, every single one is Black

NEW from @danhinkel.bsky.social, in collaboration w/ @boltsmag.org: Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has weakened the office tasked with reviewing innocence claims. In the 10 months since she took office, it has not exonerated a single person. www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

Glad to hear Steve and others arrested were released early this morning. bsky.app/profile/thet...

I’m still not over this. I know there’s a lot going on, but I think it should be a bigger deal that the country’s most popular podcaster just casually throws out antisemitic conspiracy theories as if they’re common knowledge. And the paper of record just quoted him doing it uncritically.

At least 43 outlets shared anti-trans misinfo after Charlie Kirk shooting A report from the Trans Journalists Association found that 43 outlets published misinformation about “transgender ideology” after Charlie Kirk’s killing xtramagazine.com/video/anti-t...

Love waking up on the second day of Rosh Hashanah to see that casual antisemitism is so normalized that the NYT quotes Joe Rogan dropping a well-worn antisemitic trope without any acknowledgement of it at all.

Today marks 100 days of journalist Mario Guevara’s detention by U.S. law enforcement for livestreaming. Guevara, the only journalist behind bars for his journalism, faces the very real threat of deportation for doing his job. We demand Mario’s immediate release. freedomformario.com #FreeMario

This may seem wild but it was in fact inevitable. Conspiratorial people animated by grievance and grift invariably land on one of the oldest and most lucrative conspiratorial grifts of all. You can set your clock by it.

NEW: Judge Ruth Gudino was reassigned from a domestic violence courtroom in Markham after a clerk accused her of pushing him. The Cook County Sheriff's office concluded the allegation was 'unfounded.' buff.ly/T9w2Mnu

With the news cycle focused on ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, a journalist with a valid US work permit and pending green card application is about to be deported for the crime of reporting www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Protesters were tear gassed, shot with pepper spray bullets and some detained by ICE officers outside of a facility in suburban Broadview Friday morning. blockclubchi.co/3VslkAr

So, a university president fired a professor because they taught a course that discussed there being more than two genders, and now the university president is being fired for not having fired the professor quickly enough, is where we're at. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/u...

Via @thetrace.org: From 2015 - 2021, ICE agents were responsible for at least 59 shootings-- 23 fatal. I am embarrassed to admit this, but I had no idea that ICE agents used lethal force so often. www.thetrace.org/2024/08/ice-...

Per Public Defender's Office spokesperson: "5-6 federal agents at the DV courthouse today. Initially called in to CPD because people saw a person in plainclothes inside an unmarked vehicle holding an assault-style rifle."  1/2

I see The Atlantic chose violence (publishing something @michaelhobbes.bsky.social and @notalawyer.bsky.social are gonna rip to shreds) this morning.

Gift Article: Israeli Forces Raid Home of Palestinian 'No Other Land' Co-director Basel Adra www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

wrote on charlie kirk for the newsletter this weekend

Read the full investigation, which raises questions about how often Dixon is present at the facility he has run for the past 10 years: www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...

🎧 Reporter Kelly Garcia is a guest on the latest episode of City Cast Chicago, discussing her investigation of the head of Cook County’s juvenile detention center and the results of Cook County’s chief judge election. buff.ly/Rixw9wX

As always, I appreciate @oyousef.bsky.social’s thoughtful, measured reporting and analysis on NPR this morning: We don’t know the motives of the shooter, recent violence has not always come from a clear ideology, but political violence is more prevalent on the right. one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5538...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Thursday evening that “there will be no Palestinian state,” as he signed an agreement to push ahead with the controversial E1 settlement expansion plan that will cut across [the occupied] West Bank.

🎧 Listen to my colleague @cb-312.bsky.social on this week's episode of WBEZ's Curious City talking about his reporting on deaths at the Cook County Jail in 2023, the jails' deadliest year on record. www.wbez.org/curious-city...

A good thread of some of the major controversies during Evans' nearly quarter-century tenure as Cook County chief judge.

Strange, in court this morning. In the middle of a hearing, judge took a phone call from her "boss," then came back and ruled that documents + videos would remain secret despite prosecutors + defense agreeing the secrecy order could be lifted. When asked, chief judge's office refused to comment.

This will have strong political implications for the Cook County juvenile detention center, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Chief Judge. The current superintendent was appointed by Evans in 2015 and, to the bewilderment of many, kept around despite persistent concerns about his leadership.

Beach has not made any promises about the juvenile detention center as far as I know so it remains to be seen if the JTDC will get a new superintendent and if he’ll continue forward with Evans’ effort to drastically reduce the size of the facility in the coming years…

I know there's a lot of news today, but in my neck of the woods, this is BIG news. Cook County hasn't had a new chief judge since Sept. 11, 2001 (yes, really). The chief judge might be the most consequential local public official you've probably never heard of. @mdoukmas.bsky.social with the story.

BREAKING: Charles “Charlie” Beach has been elected as chief judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, unseating Timothy Evans. Evans held the position for a record 24 years.

Evergreen.

Senior reporter @mdoukmas.bsky.social is outside the room where Cook County judges are gathering this afternoon to elect the county's chief judge. Follow along! 🧵

The next JTDC Advisory Board is on Oct. 7, same time and place. Thanks for following along. Please stay tuned to the secret election for Chief Judge happening in just a few... here's a great piece on what to expect from my colleague @mdoukmas.bsky.social www.injusticewatch.org/judges/court...

There's no way of guaranteeing this data gets to the public without judicial FOIA

To alleviate concerns about the lack of transparency, board members suggest the IL Supreme Court and the state department of juvenile justice amend their policies to require county detention standards to submit standardized, disaggregated data to an independent oversight body and publish reports.

Steward adds that AOIC (the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts) gave the JTDC until 2027 to complete a PREA audit. He does not respond to questions about why the JTDC has never conducted a PREA audit despite 23 years of the federal mandate.

Degnen asked JTDC staff why the facility has never conduced an outside PREA audit as required by federal law. PREA (the Prison Rape Elimination Act) is intended to prevent sexual abuse in correctional facilities. JTDC staff member William Steward says they plan to complete an audit by 2027.

The Board is also concerned about the county's efforts to move away from the single-site detention center at 1100 S. Hamilton. Mainly the concerns are around the possibility that children would be confined in privately owned buildings or facilities operated by private organizations.

Board members are also expressing concern about the sexual abuse allegations coming out of the class-action lawsuit filed last year by more than 200 former detainees. Yearly audit reports from state agencies like the Department of Juvenile Justice made no mention of such incidents.

This has been a problem for nearly a decade now. A public body created by county ordinance to provide oversight of one of the country’s largest juvenile jails has been stymied in their attempts to get basic data from the facility.

Reporter Kelly Garcia is attending the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Advisory Board meeting this afternoon. Follow along 🧵

Congrats to my colleague @mdoukmas.bsky.social for being honored with this month's Sidney award for her deep dive into the failure of forensic science oversight in Illinois. Check out her story here: www.injusticewatch.org/project/fore...

A lot of attention has (rightfully) been on feds coming to Chicago to arrest immigrants & potentially raid homeless encampments (like in DC) But also worthy of attention: Today city officials (without feds) are planning on clearing a homeless encampment. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...

Wasn’t the prettiest win, but I’ll take it. #Vikes

Will the man who's led the country's second largest court system for a quarter century be once again chosen for the post on Wednesday? We'll see... It's the most contested election for the post since 2001.

NEW from @injusticewatch.org: There's an election this week for Cook County Chief Judge, one of the most powerful local elected officials. The rub? The only people who can vote are other judges. @mdoukmas.bsky.social previews what's at stake in the race: www.injusticewatch.org/judges/court...

That salt truck video is a great example. It appears to have originated either on TikTok or Threads, & a lot of Bluesky versions don't even have audio on them. So very little context. The TikTok version has audio & the narrator mentions that they're around Grant Park and the Taste of Chicago.

Quick reminder for some - don't share rumors or things that can't be confirmed, don't have dates, etc - even if it's seemingly good news. That only confuses an already very bad situation. There are MANY good journos and photogs on the ground doing fantastic work. Look for and amplify that.