“The Smollett embarrassment is only the highest profile example of cavalier judgment that has cost Foxx her credibility and worse, may be costing her constituents their safety. Just a week ago, her office agreed to a plea deal that allowed the murderer of 15-year-old Elias Valdez of Glenview to escape even a single day in jail.”

“DuPage County is always a county that prides itself that safety is a top priority,” DuPage County Commissioner Peter DiCianni said. “And a lot of our violent crime has been coming in from the east…We have a [Cook County] state’s attorney that often does not prosecute the crime as she should. I can tell you that these offenders, speaking on behalf of our state’s attorney [in DuPage County], will be fully prosecuted.”

Keith Thornton, who gained widespread praise for his handling of Chicago police dispatching duties in the minutes after a gunman fatally shot Officer Ella French and gravely wounded her partner during a traffic stop in August, is fed up.

He began drinking and, around 11:30 p.m., his gun began to fall out of his waist.

He grabbed for the weapon to keep it from falling, but it fired, striking an 11-year-old boy, prosecutors said. Then, it fired again, striking a 25-year-old man. Both are recovering.

“Particularly worrisome is the fact (Ald. Rossana) Rodriguez-Sanchez has made it a habit to defend and even personally donate to crowdfunding pages of the very gang members that perpetuate violence in the 33rd Ward and surrounding areas. In a number of instances, she has publicly sided with known gang members, often by offering excuses for gang behavior, advocating for the release of gun offenders, spewing anti-police or pro-gang hyperbole, and defending soft on crime policies that enable the violence.”

CEO Pedro Martinez has repeatedly said the district will not close down unless there is a citywide order requiring it and will continue making closure decisions based on individual schools or classrooms. But there is heightened concern about a spike in new coronavirus cases following the district’s winter break and the omicron variant’s arrival.

In a Letter to the Editor, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi writes, “No one should expect the assessor’s office to do criminal background checks on taxpayers or to take action based on their professional or personal lives. It’s easy to see how this could become a dangerous slippery slope toward using a public office for political retribution.”

“I’m ecstatic about the Presidential Center’s location in Woodlawn, especially since Obama was our first African American president,” said Woodlawn homeowner John Odom. “I just hope he doesn’t unintentionally displace his own African American community and cause an influx of Gold Coast residents. 63rd Street was once a thriving, safe African American community, and I would like to see the Obama library bring back some of that.”