Good morning, Chicago.
A conviction for a man serving a 45-year sentence for murder was “tainted by coercive police tactics” that later were not critically examined by Cook County assistant state’s attorneys who reviewed the case, according to a report from special prosecutors who reinvestigated the case at the behest of the state’s attorney’s office.
Kevin Jackson, 43, has maintained his innocence since he was convicted in the 2001 fatal shooting of 54-year-old Ernest Jenkins at a Southwest Side gas station, but his yearslong fight to overturn his conviction was dealt a blow last month when a Cook County judge denied his motion for a new trial, despite the request having no opposition from the state’s attorney’s office.
Judge Angela Petrone on Monday, though, allowed the unredacted release of a report of an investigation by special prosecutors Thomas Geraghty and Robert Owen, who were appointed by the state’s attorney’s office in September 2022. Jackson’s attorneys had for months objected to the state’s attorney’s office providing only a partial version of the report.
Released in its full form while an appeal of Petrone’s decision is pending, the report is sharply critical of the investigatory tactics of the Chicago police detectives who led the case, as well as the handling of the matter by the state’s attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Madeline Buckley.
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Biden gets strong backing from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson
President Joe Biden received vigorous endorsements from both Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday as the president works to tamp down an ongoing chorus of calls that he step aside following a dismal debate performance against Donald Trump almost two weeks ago.
Pritzker, making his first public comments since joining other Democratic governors in a meeting with Biden at the White House last week, dismissed the notion that Biden is not capable of serving another four-year term.
Kroger identifies 35 Illinois Mariano’s, Jewel locations to be sold off pending megamerger approval
Grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons announced a list of 35 Illinois stores, most of them Mariano’s, that they plan to sell off in hopes of securing federal approval for their planned megamerger. Eight of the stores slated for sale are in Chicago.
School board candidate roster narrows as more than half face objections before the Chicago Board of Elections
Among 27 candidates subject to challenges to the validity of their nomination petitions, nonprofit administrator Danielle Wallace, educator Darius Dee Nix and former Chicago Public Schools Principal James Walton have dropped out of their respective races in the 6th, 8th, 10th districts.
Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune
Village attorney Michael T. Del Galdo and Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard speak during a Village Board meeting on March 4, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Former Dolton lawyers sue competing attorney for defamation
After bowing out of representing the village of Dolton due to village trustees’ refusal to pay them, the Del Galdo law group is suing a lawyer representing those trustees for defamation.
The Berwyn-based law firm claims Burt Odelson, of the Odelson, Murphey, Frazier and McGrath law group, made knowingly false statements about the Del Galdo group that led to the trustees turning against them as village attorneys.
Former Lake County daycare worker seeks clemency in killing of toddler
Attorneys argued Tuesday that a woman convicted of murdering a child at a Lake County daycare center in 2009 should be granted clemency.
The lawyers for Melissa Calusinski called for clemency at a hearing in Springfield before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. The board will forward a recommendation to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who will decide whether to grant the petition.
NHTSA launches recall query into 94,000 Jeep Wranglers as loss of motive power complaints continue
The U.S. government’s auto safety agency is investigating a potential “loss of motive power” in more than 94,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe vehicles, after receiving complaints for cars outside the scope of an earlier recall involving an engine shutdown condition in the same SUV model.
Teuvo Teräväinen, once the young phenom for the Blackhawks, is ‘excited’ to be back and to team with Connor Bedard
The Hawks have made it an offseason mission to surround Connor Bedard with more talent, and Teuvo Teräväinen will be one of the wingers in the mix.
How Garrett Crochet has remained focused amid trade buzz surrounding the White Sox All-Star
Garrett Crochet leads the majors with 146 strikeouts and 12.47 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s ninth in the American League with a 3.02 ERA.
Crochet has allowed three runs or fewer in 13 straight starts since April 29. And in 12 starts since May 1, he is 5-2 with a 1.66 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 99 strikeouts. He was named AL Pitcher of the Month for June.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’ review: Scarlett Johansson can’t fully rescue this space rom-com
In “Fly Me to the Moon,” a shiny, tinny hunk of speculative fiction with a lunar dust sprinkling of fact, Channing Tatum plays the NASA launch director in charge of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. But it’s Scarlett Johansson, as the Madison Avenue wizard selling that mission to the American public, who emerges as this movie’s real launch director, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
She has an ear for this stuff, and this “Mad Man”-adjacent era — the brio and energy, an easy facility with dialects (her character’s a born deceiver) and an instinct for navigating the story’s whiplash transitions from screwball to pathos to patter to angst to aggressively chaste romance.
‘Teen Torture, Inc.’ review: In the troubled teen industry, major profits and major allegations of abuse
In “Teen Torture, Inc.,” the three-part documentary on Max about abuses children and adolescents have survived at various boarding schools, boot camps and religious programs intended to curb rebellious behavior, a phrase comes up again and again: The troubled teen industry. It’s an industry, writes Tribune film and TV critic Nina Metz.
That’s a chilling reality describing what author Evan Wright calls a “grab bag of all these different programs based on the idea that no matter what it takes, we’re gonna make these kids follow the rules because what they’re doing is so dangerous, it will destroy their lives.”
Pack your bags and set your intentions: An easy flight to Tulum, Mexico, will take you on a self-care journey like no other
It wasn’t until the 21st century that Tulum began to be recognized as a tourist destination. In 1960, the town’s population stood at a little over 90 people. By 2000, that number skyrocketed to 12,000 as Tulum’s picturesque, pristine beaches began attracting visitors from around the world.
In Tulum, wellness is not just an activity; it’s a way of life. At my resort, The Beach Tulum, an idyllic 28-room, adults-only boutique hotel, it was easy to focus on self-care.
