An anti-Trump super PAC plans to file a complaint with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency against Melania Trump amid questions over her immigration status.
Environmental groups are reacting to a U.S. House measure that could open the door to new invasive species in the Great Lakes as well as a recent settlement over a 2011 leak at a nuclear power plant located on Lake Michigan’s shoreline.
The U.S. Department of Education announced a loan forgiveness program for students who were defrauded by Corinthian Colleges Inc., the now-defunct, for-profit college chain that operated Everest and WyoTech campuses.
As the March 15 primary election nears, the controversy surrounding the 2014 police shooting death of Laquan McDonald refuses to let up. On Tuesday, just a week before the primary election, lawsuits were filed against the Chicago Police Department, the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), and the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who is facing a tough re-election bid, for more information on the case.
Specifically, the suit is calling on the police department, IPRA and Alvarez to release their respective records on the McDonald investigation. The lawsuit was filed by independent journalist Brandon Smith, who — with the help of the Invisible Institute’s Jamie Kalven — pressed for what was the eventual public release of the police dash-cam video of the McDonald shooting.
Smith says the timing of the lawsuit serves a dual purpose in light of the upcoming election.
Jhatayn “Jay” Travis, a community organizer who is challenging incumbent state Rep. Christian Mitchell in the 26th District Democratic primary, took jabs Monday at her opponent during a press conference with members of the Chicago Teachers Union and a few elected officials.
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (7th) joined Chicago Alds. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th) and Brendan Reilly (42nd) at the press conference, held at the Billy Goat Tavern on Michigan Avenue, to tout their support of Travis, who made an unsuccessful bid to unseat Mitchell in 2014.
Travis’ campaign is calling Mitchell a “Rauner Democrat,” because the incumbent allegedly shares “elite donors and a political agenda” with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
“He receives over $200,000 from the very same interests he claims to be fighting against, and these are also the very same interests that back a governor who has held the needs of families and the services that they need hostage in this indefensible budget impasse,” said Travis, former executive director of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO). “So I would say to you, it’s time that we have representation in the 26th District that stands with the people and not with corporate interests.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was reportedly investigating a deal signed under Barbara Byrd-Bennett during her tenure at the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) district long before she came to Chicago to run the city’s public school system.