Another former County Club Hills official indicted over grant tied to Regal Theater

Another former suburban top law enforcement official has been indicted in an ongoing investigation of alleged fraud over a $1.25 million state job-training grant.

A federal grand jury indicted Ronald Evans Jr. today, accusing the former inspector general of Country Club Hills of working with his wife – then the south suburb’s police chief – to use grant money to pay the mortgage on a historic Chicago theater.

The money was supposed to be used to help dozens of minorities or women train for jobs in the building trades.

Former Police Chief Regina Evans was indicted in April. The state has been trying to get most of the grant money back since late 2009, not long after the check was cut to Regina Evans’ non-profit, We Are Our Brothers Keeper.

An attorney for both Regina Evans and Ronald Evans said the couple is innocent of the charges, which include mail fraud and money laundering.

“We are going to contest the charges,” said attorney Beau Brindley.

Regina Evans, 49, previously pleaded not guilty. The ex-Chicago cop resigned her Country Club Hills post last summer. The suburb’s mayor has commended her work and said her grant problems have nothing to do with the village.

Ronald Evans Jr., 45, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. His inspector general post was axed by opposition alderman last summer.

Both are charged with one count of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering.

Regina Evans won the state grant with the backing of two state lawmakers.

The money for job training dovetailed with efforts to rehab the New Regal Theater, an iconic 1920s movie palace on Chicago’s South Side that Regina Evans planned to turn around.

Yet, when the state money came through, the theater was in foreclosure.

The Tribune detailed last year that Evans stayed on as Country Club Hills police chief for at least a year as state officials demanded the grant money back.

Metra loses 800 thou can you imagine how much more they would have lost if they didn't let armed security officer's on the train

The NATO summit at McCormick Place cost Metra $800,000 in lost revenue from customers who stayed away and extra security expenses like bomb-sniffing dogs, the commuter railroad agency said Wednesday.

Some Metra board members said they were surprised the costs weren't higher, based on the number of cautionary measures imposed by theU.S. Secret Service, which coordinated security for last month's meeting of world leaders.

"To be honest, I thought it might be three or four times as much as that figure," board member Jack Schaffer said, adding he was glad only one of Metra's 11 lines had to be shut down for any period of time.

The South Shore Line, serving northwest Indiana, also expects a loss of about $100,000, General Manager Gerald Hanas has told officials of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

Metra's chief financial officer, Thomas Farmer, is expected to present the NATO costs to Metra's board members at a meeting Friday.

"We serve a great city, and occasionally we have to pay the bill," Schaffer said.

Board member Mike McCoy said he also thought the loss in fares from riders who stayed away would be higher — perhaps in the half-million-dollar range. Also adding to the costs were the Secret Service's "ever-changing" security requests, he said.

"I don't think we had the option to say no," McCoy said.

According to Metra, it lost $400,000 in passenger revenue related to the May 20 and 21 summit.

Metra also racked up about $600,000 in additional operating expenses. That amount includes $100,000 for operations, $200,000 in additional costs for Metra police and $300,000 for hiring outside security firms.

Metra expects the federal government to reimburse it about $200,000.

Most Metra Electric District and South Shore trains were allowed to run under McCormick Place, but many stations on the lines were closed, and Monday afternoon trains were canceled.

Numbers weren't yet available, but Metra said ridership was half the normal levels on Friday and Monday, May 18 and 21, as workers took the days off or worked from home.

Ridership was also reportedly low Saturday and Sunday, with visitors to downtown staying home.

Metra beefed up personnel at stations and platforms for days in advance of the summit and hired private security firms to help. The agency also asked suburban police departments to assist at outlying stations.

Dogs patrolled trains, and police screened passengers and searched bags at Union, Millennium and LaSalle Street stations and the Ogilvie Transportation Center.

Pregnant black lady needs to get a job instead of getting tax dollars

Tiffany Rent stood hunched over in pain outside a Far South Side courthouse Wednesday, tears streaming down her face as she worried about whether her unborn son had been harmed when a Chicago police officer shocked her with a stun gun the previous night.

Rent, who is eight months pregnant, said the officer knew she was expecting and accused him of overreacting during a dispute that began over a parking violation.

"I didn't hit anybody," Rent said. "I didn't do anything."

But police say Rent, 30, swore at the officer and tried to take off in her SUV when he said he was going to arrest her.

The incident occurred late Tuesday when Rent parked in a handicapped spot at a Walgreens in the 10300 block of South Michigan Avenue while her fiance, Joseph Hobbs, went inside to buy a battery for his car's key chain remote, police and Hobbs said.

A police officer wrote a parking ticket, but Rent tore it up and threw it at him, according to a police report. The officer got out of his car to write her a ticket for littering and asked her for identification, the report said.

"I ain't giving you (Shit Bitch)," the report quoted Rent as saying.

As Rent got back into her SUV, the officer warned that he would use his stun gun if she drove away. When Rent "put her right hand on the gear shifter in an attempt to put the car in gear and leave the scene," the officer fired the weapon, the police report said.

Hobbs, the father of Rent's unborn son, was arrested when he tried to intervene, police said. He said he suffered a dislocated elbow during the arrest.

Rent was released after treatment at two separate hospitals. She and Hobbs were charged with misdemeanor offenses.

Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy declined to discuss details of the incident but said police are generally authorized to use a Taser to prevent an escape or overcome an assault. The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating.

But whats not stated is that the doctor's at the hospital stated her baby is ok. This bitch just wants to sit pretty the rest of her Lazy life off of the tax payers bet she is on link and gets medical at Cook County Hospital.

protester tosses frying pan at officer

Twelve protesters were arrested after a scuffle with police on Michigan Avenue at Ohio Street that left five officers injured, including one hit in the head with a frying pan, police said.

Gary C. Wagaman, a 30-year-old Michigan resident, tossed the pan at a police line and hit an officer assigned to a bike unit Wednesday evening, officials said. The officer was wearing a helmet, police said.

The incident touched off a skirmish that led to the other 11 arrests as others in the group tried to stop police from getting to Wagaman. The 11, ranging in age from 18 to 38, face a variety of misdemeanors related to the protest.

The protesters had been using pots and pans to make noise during a march up the Mag Mile, police said. Those arrested were part of a larger group marching in support of students in Canada who have been demonstrating against issues including higher tuition fees, according to Leon Andersen, a member of Occupy Chicago who said he was part of the march but not among those arrested.

Protesters began marching on the 500 block of South State Street around 5 p.m. and then headed to Michigan Avenue toward Canada’s consulate office, Andersen said.

Many of the protesters were associated with the Occupy Chicago movement, but some were members of other activists groups as well, said Rachael Perrotta, a member of Occupy Chicago’s press committee.

Wagaman was charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer and is expected to appear in court today.
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Embaressment to the badge gets 15 years for embezzeling money from officer's retirement fund bastard should have gotten life

A former head of the Chicago police sergeants' union was sentenced to 12 years in prison today for looting more than $1 million in union dues to pay for steak dinners, gambling trips to Las Vegas and a second residence in the city's Sauganash neighborhood.

Attorneys for John Pallohusky had asked for probation so he could continue to make restitution to the union.
But Judge Diane Cannon blasted Pallohusky's conduct, saying, "It doesn't get much lower than stealing from your fellow officers."
"This is not the land of wishes, sir," Cannon said to Pallohusky. "This is a criminal courthouse. You were charged with a crime, you plead guilty to a crime, and you're going to be sentenced for that crime."

Pallohusky, 56, a 21-year police veteran at the time of his arrest in 2009, pleaded guilty in April to one count of theft, a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton was arrested and charged with assault after he allegedly threatened a bouncer in a Wicker Park or was it his idiot son

The son of Illinois Senate President John Cullerton was arrested and charged with assault after he allegedly threatened a bouncer in a Wicker Park bar, police said.

Garritt M. Cullerton, 28, was at the Innjoy bar in the 2000 block of West Division Street Sunday night when he told a bouncer, "I am going to punch you in the face. I'm going to (expletive) knock you out," according to a police report.

He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Darryl Baety. Cullerton was released on a personal recognizance bond.

Cullerton, the son of state Sen. John Cullerton, has had other run-ins with the law.

He pleaded guilty in January 2011 to a misdemeanor DUI charge and was given 2 years of conditional discharge and ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, which he has not paid, according to court records.

In April of 2010, Cullerton was arrested and found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.188 when he was pulled over in a state issued SUV provided to his father. Cullerton was arrested in the 800 block of North Dearborn Street shortly after midnight, police said.

Cullerton was cited with driving under the influence, negligent driving and improper lane usage, police said. He was driving a 2009 Ford Escape registered to the state Senate, according to records and police.

Cullerton has not paid his fine and has a July 17 court date on that matter, according to court records.

A Senate spokeswoman for Sen. Cullerton said his office would have no comment on the arrest because it is not related to the office or state business.

Recalling Scott Walker proved to be a big mistake

MILWAUKEE—

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker scored more than a personal victory in Tuesday's state recall vote. He delivered a psychological boost for the Republicans and a blow to Democrats that could linger until the Nov. 6 presidential election.

Walker, a Republican, sailed to a surprisingly easy win over Democrat Tom Barrett, ending a bitter 15-month political battle over Walker's efforts to eliminate most collective-bargaining rights for most of Wisconsin's public employees and teachers.

Many of Walker's national supporters -- who flooded the state with anti-Barrett ads and gave Walker a more than 7-to-1 financial advantage -- saw the results as a vindication of his take-no-prisoners brand of fiscal conservatism.Click here to read more