I had the privilege of working alongside Corli a few years ago at City Bureau. Aside from being a joy to work with, she was also a tenacious reporter who always led with curiosity & an open mind. We need more reporters like her, especially now, and it’s disappointing @thetriibe.com doesn’t get that.
Corli Jay, The TRiiBE’s community investment reporter was terminated by TRiiBE leadership on March 9 alleging that she had broken nonexistent company ethics rules. We believe this is retaliation for organizing a union. One Triibe United demands the immediate reinstatement of our member and voluntary recognition of our union.
Corli Jay, The TRiiBE’s community investment reporter was terminated by TRiiBE leadership on March 9 alleging that she had broken nonexistent company ethics rules.
I often think about the fact that if the FBI et al had not killed Fred Hampton, he would be 78 today. Younger than Jesse Jackson was. Must have felt strange to outlive many of your contemporaries by decades.
Scary movies are a year-round pastime for me, but most Christmas horror films are lame cash-ins. Here are a few personal favorites with winter settings or holiday themes: the Finnish dark fantasy gem “Rare Exports,” Joe Dante’s rightfully classic “Gremlins,” the brooding Swedish vampire thriller “Let the Right One In,” the indie werewolf charmer “The Wolf of Snow Hollow,” and the enduringly distressing Kathy Bates masterwork “Misery.” —Dan Hinkel, senior reporter
Da Bears are finally good again! Chicago’s football team, which for many years delivered only disappointment and shame to its fans, is currently No. 1 in the NFC. To celebrate, I spent my holiday weekend cozied up in bed with a plate of leftovers, watching “The Shuffle,” the new HBO Max documentary about the making of the iconic 1985 Bears rap music video by the same name. It’s a short 40 minutes with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with former players on the Super Bowl-winning team. But what the documentary does best is generate excitement and hope for fans long awaiting the Bears’ next Super Bowl win. —Kelly Garcia, reporter
All manner of interesting and fun stuff in today's @injusticewatch.org newsletter including my recommendations for seasonal horror movies. I personally do not condone the Chicago Bears but @kellygarcia.bsky.social has a recommendation if they're your thing.
www.injusticewatch.org/subscribe/
There’s a new acting superintendent of the JTDC. William Steward, who was previously the assistant supt and a deputy executive director from 2005-2020, will take the helm while the Chief Judge’s office begins the search process for a permanent replacement.
If you live in the Chicago area, the chief judge of Cook County might be the most consequential local official you've never heard of. The position has been held by one man — Timothy Evans — for the past 24 years. Read the latest from us and @chicagomag.com: buff.ly/I8R6R5I
And read more about Dixon's anticipated departure here: www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
These meetings are public but usually scarcely attended. They meet in a conference room of the county building at 69 W. Washington from 12-2pm. You can also tune in via Zoom.
Here's where you can find the agenda with a Zoom link: cook-county.legistar.com/MeetingDetai...
Later today the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Advisory Board will meet for their regular bimonthly meetings. Missing from the agenda is any discussion on who will be replacing Superintendent Leonard Dixon, who officially stepped down yesterday.
ICYMI in the runup to this news:
@kellygarcia.bsky.social
-reported evidence Dixon may not be living in Cook co
-reported on trial and acquittal of a guard by a judge with a long history of reversals and law enforcement background
-published video that shows what the guard did to a child at JTDC
Kelly has been ON this story.
NEW: Head of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center is stepping down Dec. 1 after a decade-long tenure marked by controversy.
(nothing like a good old friday news dump)
www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
A juvie guard was found not guilty of battery and official misconduct last week. “The defendant puts his hand on [the child] and maybe pushes him at best,” the judge in the case said. “There is no picking up and throwing down.”
Watch the video. Tell me if you agree and if you also agree that 2+2=5.
Here's a closer look at the surveillance video at the center of the Kevin Walker trial. Read the full story: www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
NEW: Newly released video of a December 2023 incident inside the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center has raised questions about a judge’s decision to acquit one of the officers involved, experts and advocates told Injustice Watch. buff.ly/uM9m0zx
The video, which doesn't include audio, was released through a public records request to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
They denied release of the body-cam footage from the other employee involved, which we're still pursuing.
Read more here:
www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
NEW: Footage from 2023 shows former guard at the Cook County juvenile detention center flinging a 15-year-old boy to the floor, leaving him unconscious and bruised.
Experts say the video raises questions about a judge's decision last month to acquit the employee involved.
youtu.be/9Z0wfUAiRVY?...
As always, if you have any questions/comments/tips, please get in touch. I can be reached via email at kellygarcia@injusticewatch.org or signal: kgarci25.49
Thanks for reading.
There was no mention of Walker’s body-cam at the trial and I didn’t see any mention of it in the reports we obtained through FOIA…
Either way, I left the trial with more questions than before.
One question I’ve gotten from a few readers is about Walker’s body-cam. During Collins’ testimony, we learned Rovers have had body cams for 7-8 years now and are required to have them on.
The Chief Judge’s office still hasn’t released Walker’s personnel file including any disciplinary records.
It’s not clear if prosecutors had his personnel file either and/or if they were able to introduce it into evidence.
Our previous story about Walker has more about those prior allegations: www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
Perhaps the thing that struck me the most about the trial was how prosecutors failed to mention anything about Walker’s history at the detention center.
We know he was first hired to work there in 1996 and that he’s been accused of harming children at the facility on at least five prior occasions.
We also heard testimony from three witnesses including Collins, the doctor who attended to the boy’s injuries at Stroger and the JTDC investigator who reviewed the case internally.
The story has more about what we learned from their testimony, so make sure to read the whole thing.
We filed new FOIA requests through the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for the video footage.
I also requested those additional police reports we were barred from getting by the judge before the trial.
The surveillance footage included no audio. It had a bird’s eye view of the incident, but it was hard to see past the Rovers blocking the entrance to the cell.
Prosecutors argued that in the video you can see the boy sliding across the floor, but it’s hard to say without a closer view.
The body-cam was facing down most of the time so we could only see Collins’ legs. It had audio though so we could still hear what was happening in the background.
At the end of the video, you can see the boy lying face-down on the bed with his legs hanging off. He’s unresponsive to verbal commands.
During the trial, which ended in Walker’s acquittal, prosecutors presented video footage from one of the surveillance cameras in the holding pod and a body-worn camera from Michael Collins, the other ‘Rover’ who responded to the incident.
Neither provided a clear depiction of what happened.
“I don’t even think it’s close,” said Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Wadas during the 2.5 hour long criminal trial of a former youth jail employee accused of throwing a 15-year-old handcuffed boy to the ground, leaving him unconscious.
www.injusticewatch.org/juvenile-cou...
NEW: On Friday, a judge found a former Cook County youth jail employee not guilty on charges related to an incident that left a boy unconscious. The verdict highlights the challenges of holding detention center staff accountable for alleged abuse, advocates say. buff.ly/Isrf22P
