WLIP Voice of Lake County 4/5/19
Waukegan Man Arrested for Drug Sales Near School
Vander Tuuk 4-5-19
(Waukegan, IL) Lake County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of a Waukegan man. Kevaughn Bridges-Butler is accused of selling heroin to an undercover officer multiple times. On two occasions those sales took place within 500 feet of a Waukegan school. The 19-year-old now faces multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance, and intent to deliver. Two of the counts are also class X felonies, because of their proximity to the schools. Bond for Bridges-Butler has been set at 200-thousand-dollars.
Funeral Services for Trooper Ellis, CLC Grayslake
Vander Tuuk 4-5-19
(Grayslake, IL) Funeral services are being held today for a Lake County based Illinois State Trooper. The funeral for Trooper Gerald Ellis will take place at 10 0’clock this morning at the Grayslake campus of the College of Lake County. A procession will then follow, affecting several streets along a route that starts in Grayslake, and ends in Lake Villa with a private internment. Trooper Ellis, an Antioch resident, was killed last Saturday morning after being struck head on by a wrong way driver on I-94 near Green Oaks. The driver of the other vehicle was also killed. Alcohol is believed to have played a significant role in the incident.
Lobbyist may keep teacher pension under former law
Associated Press 4-5-19
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that a union lobbyist who took advantage of a since-repealed law, may keep a pension he worked just one day for. The 4-3 ruling Thursday solidifies the court’s position that the Illinois Constitution prohibits reversing promised public-pension benefits. David Piccioli was an Illinois Federation of Teachers lobbyist from 1997 to 2012. Piccioli followed a 2007 law allowing union officers to receive a teacher’s pension by earning a teacher’s certificate. He worked as a substitute teacher for just one day and paid TRS $193,000 in past-owed contributions. Piccioli said Thursday he’s unsure what the pension will be, but it was previously estimated at $36,000 annually. The law was repealed in 2012.
Cook County police chiefs take swipe at state’s attorney
Associated Press 4-5-19
CHICAGO (AP) A group of suburban Cook County police chiefs say they have no confidence in State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. The North Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police on Thursday cited the dismissal of charges against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett in their announcement. However, they also attacked Foxx for her office’s alleged failure to “hold offenders accountable.” Since taking office, Foxx has moved to deprioritize certain nonviolent crimes such as shoplifting, and halted prosecutions of people accused of driving on licenses suspended or revoked for failure to pay tolls or parking tickets. Foxx fired back at the police chiefs, saying their stance is an excuse to justify their resistance to prioritizing prosecutions for violent crime. Foxx has faced heavy criticism since her office dismissed 16 felony counts against Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist and homophobic attack on himself in Chicago.
