Results tagged “tomdart”

A lawsuit against Craigslist filed by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has been dismissed by federal Judge John Grady. Dart sued the website for enabling prostitution via their "Erotic Services" section. The website has sent removed that section, combining several categories into one labeled "Adult." Judge Grady's reasoning for the dismissal was that the blame for the prostitution didn't sit with Craigslist but rather the site's users who committed the actual crimes. A spokesman indicated Dart is mulling an appeal of the dismissal.

While Daley decried the press for writing his political obituary too soon and declared that there would be no political fallout for his failed 2016 Olympic bid, the fact of the matter is that he's said publicly that he hasn't decided if he's going to run for mayor in 2011 or not. That's not a shocker - lots of politicians play coy when asked about an election that's still too far on the horizon to predict. Nevertheless, Chicagoans have been whispering about the impending municipal elections for days now (if not months). And while the mayor hasn't made anything official just yet, his brother (and former U.S. commerce secretary) Bill expects Richie to run again. "Win or lose, the Olympics were never going to determine what Rich Daley was going to do," William Daley told the Tribune. "I believe he runs again. I just assume he does. He still has the enthusiasm for the job."

In spite of temptation to run for a bigger office, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is staying put and running for reelection. He even posted a new status update on his Facebook page that reads, "Tom Dart loves having a job that I truly enjoy and which allows me to see my family each night. Hoping voters will elect me to another term as Cook County Sheriff in 2010. More to come later today, but thanks for all of your words of encouragement as I've made this decision!" Does he have a Twitter account, too?

There was a lot going on this weekend so we can understand if you didn't have a chance to peruse the site. And we're sure you're already cracking at work, so here are some helpful links from our weekend coverage that might help you catch up on what you missed.

On Thursday, a federal jury ruled against the Cook County Jail in regards to inmates' complaints of illegal strip searches and behavior by the sheriff's department staff was "sexually degrading." While a Cook County Sheriff's spokesman said, "correctional officers and staff acted appropriately and did not violate constitutional rights,' the jury thought otherwise. But Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is already planning an appeal. Said Dart, "We have to do everything physically possible to make sure people aren't bringing weapons into the jail or bringing narcotics into the jail, so we do that. With that in mind, are there times when strip searching is a necessity? Absolutely. Anyone who would tell you otherwise is out of their mind."

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has a thought on the ordinance the Cook County Board passed last week, decriminalizing marijuana: not so fast. Dart expressed some concerns with the new ordinance, saying, "I think any time you're talking about legalization or downgrading there needs to be a very thorough discussion. It needs to be based on facts and analysis. I don't know if that was done." Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has not officially approved the bill but has indicated he doesn't plan to veto it. [WBBM]

In a surprise move, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has reversed course and now says he won't veto the new measure the Cook County Board passed yesterday, decriminalizing marijuana in unincorporated parts of Cook County. According to Chicago Breaking News:

In a move that's caught almost everyone by surprise, the Cook County Board yesterday voted to decriminalize marijuana in very small amounts in unincorporated parts of Cook County. Under the legislation passed, sheriffs can arrest someone possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana on misdemeanor charges or simply issue a $200 ticket. The measure was introduced by Commissioner Earlean Collins who admitted personal motivations: her grandson was arrested for having a small amount of marijuana. Collins, though, made a salient point: arresting marijuana offenders is crowding jails. According to the Sun-Times, she said:

Authorities have closed Burr Oak Cemetery in suburban Alsip, even to those seeking information as to the condition of their loved ones' graves, as their investigation into a scheme that involved over 300 bodies being disinterred continues. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart advised concerned family members to head to the front gates of the cemetery where they could pass information along to sheriff's officials. Dart made the decision after second site of remains and disturbed graves was made on the grounds yesterday. Dart said, “It has become abundantly clear to us that this crime scene is going to continue to grow. We do not have an end in sight.” A temporary restraining order by the sheriff's office to put a moratorium on burials at Burr Oak was dropped. Said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for the Cook County States Attorney's office, "Initially there was discussion of obtaining a temporary restraining order to make sure no more digging, no more funerals, so as to preserve the scene. At this point the lawyers for the cemetery have agreed to discontinue any funeral or any kind of excavating at the cemetery." The cemetery could be closed for up to a week as the investigation continues. [Tribune, Sun-Times]

       

Shock and disgust remain two days after the horrific discovery at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip that employees at the historic African-American cemetery had dug up several hundred bodies for the purposes of reselling the plots. The disinterred remains were then dumped in a field at the rear of the cemetery. According to the Sun-Times' Mary Mitchell, officials also discovered the casket of Emmett Till, whose murder became a rallying point of the Civil Rights movement, had been moved.

A strange, horrible story from Alsip regarding the historic African-American Burr Oak Cemetery. It seems the manager and several grave-diggers dug up over 100 almost 300 bodies for the purposes of re-selling the graves. Authorities found piles of bones where the bodies had been dumped after being dug up. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said, "What we found was beyond startling and revolting...All of us who were working on this for the last week were pretty distraught. You start with the premise of your own loved ones and how they are cared for after they are buried, but there is also a true significance to this particular cemetery." Among the historic figures buried at the cemetery are Emmett Till, jazz/blues legend Dinah Washington and heavyweight boxing champion Ezzard Charles. Dart said authorities are working to identify the remains that were removed, but said, "We cannot give people definitive answers at this point." [Tribune, Sun-Times]

The Sun-Times reports that U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis is forming an exploratory committee to consider a run for Cook County Board president early next year. The field is already crowded with at least six other officials showing interest. The Chicago Reader has a roundup of the potentials, which includes, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin, Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and of course Todd Stroger. Currently there is no clear candidate for the Republican primary.

In an effort to continue his battle against prostitution, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has added a few former prostitutes to the payroll. The sheriff's office, partnering with the county Department of Women’s Justice Services, performed a pair of prostitution stings earlier this year that led to the arrest of 11 women and two of them accepted Dart's offer. The primary job of the women is to amass information on pimps and other sex traffickers that the sheriff's office can use in their battle against prostitution. [WBBM]

Did anyone really think that getting Craigslist to get rid of its "erotic services" link would cut down prostitution on the internet? The classified-ads-site that became ground zero for Tom Dart's anti-e-whore crusade recently switched from their controversial "erotic services" to the other side of the same coin, "adult services." And guess what - it's accomplished nearly nothing.

• One person is dead and two others were wounded in a shooting in Bolingbrook this morning.
• Sheriff Dart gave the new Craigslist "adult" section a thumbs up.
• Said Ayesh, the father who kidnapped his own daughter last fall, has been sentenced to three years in prison after which he'll be deported to his native Jordan.

Craigslist will drop its 'erotic services' classified ads section in favor of another, more heavily-moderated adult category, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Wednesday. At a morning press conference, Madigan said, "I think this is a fundamental change, a recognition by Craigslist that the erotic services section truly had become an Internet brothel, truly had become an illegal and dangerous place." The decision followed several months of negotiation with the attorney generals of three states, including Illinois, and a federal lawsuit filed March 5 by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Dart, holding his own presser, said, "Under a fair and objective analysis, it's clear that but for our lawsuit, and the pressure we brought as a result of that and the exposure that came as well, that that is what brought this to conclusion."

There are a variety of reasons one goes to Chicago’s Sexpo: pretty mostly naked people, the women’s lingerie show, adult entertainment networking or, oddly enough, legal counseling.

For this year's edition of their annual 100 list, Time Magazine listed their 100 most influential people which featured a trio of Chicagoans: Michelle Obama, Oprah, and...Sheriff Tom Dart??? Yep, Cook County's sheriff who refused to enforce evictions and went after Craigslist for their sex ads has been recognized by the famed magazine, profiling him as a sheriff with "heart." [via Sun-Times]

Governor Pat Quinn was in Chicago's West Lawn neighborhood this weekend to sign into law a bill that extends a 90 day grace period to homeowners facing foreclosure. The bill, which passed the state legislature in late January, prohibits lenders from beginning foreclosure proceedings during the first 30 days of delinquency. After that, lenders are required to tell homeowners that they have 30 days after that period to seek credit counseling. Homeowners who get counseling from a HUD-approved credit counselor then have an additional 30 days to work out a plan to begin making payments on their home loan again.

It's a sad day to be a voyeur in Chicago. Cook County sheriff Tom Dart will be holding a press conference later today to announce that the department is suing Craigslist for its sex ads, calling it "the largest source of prostitution in the United States." There have been several arrests of people on prostitution charges after posting salacious ads, even in such hotbeds of lust and sin as ... Omaha. Last November, Craigslist agreed to crack down on the practice. They better not touch Missed Connections.

In the final chapter of the ongoing Tom Dart Eviction Saga, Sheriff Dart has said that with the new court procedures in place, he will resume evictions on Monday. Dart hopes the new orders will ensure that the banks will properly notify rent-paying tenants of foreclosures on the buildings they live in.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced that he would stop enforcing evictions of rent-paying tenants when the order is actually aimed at a landlord who are being foreclosed on for not paying their mortgage. In a column published in the Sun-Times, Dart wrote:

What isn't part of our job, however, is to carry out work on behalf of the multi-billion-dollar banks and mortgage industries.

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