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Illinois

August 3, 2022

3 Governors Declare States of Emergency

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY…
1914: Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, beginning World War I.

Three U.S. states have now declared states of emergency over monkeypox outbreaks.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency on Monday after more than 800 cases of monkeypox were reported in the Golden State, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“California is working urgently across all levels of government to slow the spread of monkeypox, leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing, and community partnerships strengthened during the pandemic to ensure that those most at risk are our focus for vaccines, treatment, and outreach,” Newsom said.

“We’ll continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community-fighting stigmatization,” he added.

Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) declared a state of emergency after 500 cases were reported.

“I am declaring a state of emergency to expand the resources and coordination efforts of state agencies in responding to, treating, and preventing the spread of MPV,” Pritzker said.

New York was the first state to declare an emergency over monkeypox.

“More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a July 29 statement. “It’s especially important to recognize the ways in which this outbreak is currently having a disproportionate impact on certain at-risk groups.”

According to the CDC, almost 6,000 monkeypox cases have been reported in the U.S.

Source: Business Insider

By T. Thompson
July 6, 2022

Police: Gunman Wore Women’s Clothing to Blend In With Crowd

Police say that the suspect in the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, wore women’s clothing during the shooting to blend in.

The suspect, 21-year-old Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, is accused of injuring more than two dozen and killing seven. Police said the shooter accessed the roof from a fire escape ladder.

According to authorities, Crimo wore women’s clothing during the shooting to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd to flee the scene.

“Following the attack, Crimo exited the roof, he dropped his rifle, and he blended in with the crowd, and he escaped,” police said Tuesday. “He walked to his mother’s home, who lived in the area, and he blended right in with everybody else.”

ABC News reported that police said the motive is unknown. When reporters asked the authorities if the gunman had any particular target, police said the “shooting appears to be completely random.”

The suspect was at large for hours after the shooting. Crimo was spotted driving and led officers on a brief pursuit, police said.

Police said Crimo was stopped at U.S. Highway 41 and Westleigh Road in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he surrendered. Authorities say they found a second weapon in the car.

By T. Thompson
February 14, 2022

Popular Word Game Saves Woman’s Life

An Illinois woman was saved from a hostage situation after her daughter suspected something was wrong when she hadn’t sent her regular Wordle update.

Denyse Holt, 80, had been held hostage for nearly 17 hours after a naked man broke into her home in Lincolnwood.

James H. Davis III, 32, reportedly entered Holt’s home, dragged her around the house, and disconnected her phone lines before locking her in the basement bathroom.

“I didn’t think I was going to live,” Holt said.

Holt’s daughter contacted police to conduct a welfare check when she realized that her mom had not sent her score for the daily word puzzle Wordle.

“I didn’t send my older daughter a Wordle in the morning and that was disconcerting to her,” Holt said.

When local authorities arrived on the scene, they discovered a broken window and found the suspect on the second floor of Holt’s home with multiple knives. They safely removed Holt from her basement, and she did not sustain any injuries.

Davis faces felony charges, including home invasion with a dangerous weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed with a dangerous weapon, and aggravated assault against a peace officer.

Wordle, a puzzle game in which players have six chances to guess a five-letter word, has grown wildly popular in the last few months, with hundreds of thousands of players daily who often post their scores on social media platforms.

Source:

‘I Was Trying To Survive’: Lincolnwood Woman Tells Her Story After A Man Was Charged After Holding Her Against Her Will

By T. Thompson
November 24, 2021

Dem Resigns Over Controversial Comments About Christmas Parade Tragedy

In Illinois, the social media director of the Democratic Party of DuPage County resigned following controversial comments she made using the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal to mock the tragedy at the Christmas Parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

As of Tuesday, Mary Lemanski had also deleted her Twitter account entirely. Previously, Lemanski had posted an article about a driver who plowed an SUV into a Christmas parade, killing multiple people and injuring dozens more, along with the caption, “It was probably just self-defense.”

Evidently, Lemanski was using the tragedy to mock Rittenhouse’s self-defense argument.

“Living in Wisconsin, he probably felt threatened,” Lemanski reportedly wrote in a separate post. According to Fox News, Lemanski describes herself as a student with the famed Second City comedy institution.

“The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children,” she wrote.

“You reap what you sow, Wisconsin,” she tweeted.

Fox News saved screenshots of the tweets before Lemanski deleted her account.

The DuPage Democrats wrote a statement on their Twitter page regarding the matter.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in Waukesha,” they wrote. “We are aware of statements made by a former member of our organization and find them to be incredibly insensitive and not in alignment of who we are as an organization.”

“Our organization does not support hate in any form,” they added.

Source:

Illinois Dem Mary Lemanski, who used Rittenhouse case to mock Waukesha tragedy on Twitter, has resigned

By T. Thompson
August 31, 2021

Mother’s custody of son revoked until she’s vaccinated, judge rules

Cook County, Illinois Judge James Shapiro reportedly revoked a mother’s custody of her son because she hasn’t received a COVID-19 vaccine.

Shapiro asked Rebecca Firlit if she’d received a COVID-19 vaccination, and she said that she hadn’t because of adverse reactions to previous vaccines. Shapiro then ruled that Firlit couldn’t see her 11-year-old son until she’d been inoculated.

The judge awarded custody to Firlit’s fully-vaccinated ex-husband.

“I was confused because it was just supposed to be about expenses and child support,” Firlit said. “I asked him what it had to do with the hearing, and he said, ‘I am the judge, and I make the decisions for your case.'”

“In this case, you have a judge, without any matter before him regarding the parenting time with the child deciding ‘Oh, you’re not vaccinated. You don’t get to see your child until you are vaccinated.’ That kind of exceeds his jurisdiction,” Firlit’s attorney, Annette Fernholz, said.

Source:

Judge revokes mother’s custody of son until she is vaccinated

By T. Thompson
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