Wisconsin sheriff sues Skokie woman and Cook County politician who claimed she was detained by ICE

From The Chicago Tribune:

By Caroline Kubzansky | ckubzansky@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune, Talia Soglin | tasoglin@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune and Alice Yin | ayin@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune

Summer Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, right, said she was detained by federal immigration officials upon her arrival at O’Hare International Airport. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and local officials in Wisconsin, where Naqvi said she was held in custody, are disputing her account. Sister Sarah Afzal is at left. (Sarah Afzal)

A Wisconsin sheriff announced a defamation lawsuit Friday against a Cook County politician and a Skokie woman who recently claimed that federal immigration officials detained her at three locations for about 48 hours, including a jail in Dodge County, Wisconsin.

Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt is suing in his individual capacity, alleging damage to his reputation as a result of Summer Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi’s harrowing story that he sought to debunk during a one-hour news conference in the afternoon. In his remarks, he accused Naqvi, who was born in Evanston, and Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, a family friend, of spreading “unverified, uncorroborated and misleading” claims, but said he could not identify any Wisconsin laws they broke.

“At no point was Sundas Naqvi in the custody of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office,” Schmidt said. “This is a serious accusation, and when it is not true, it does real damage. It damages the trust between law enforcement and the community. It unfairly puts a target on the backs of officers.”

Naqvi, her lawyer and Morrison did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.

Last month, Naqvi’s story of disembarking from a flight at O’Hare International Airport, where she and supporters alleged she was held for about 30 hours before being transferred to a notorious processing center in west suburban Broadview and then to the Dodge County detention center, made international headlines. She and her family said she’d been released from the jail in the early hours of March 7, where she’d had to hitchhike to a nearby Holiday Inn and call relatives to pick her up.

But Schmidt said his office had no record of Naqvi getting booked into the facility. His lawsuit alleges Naqvi and Morrison’s claims about her alleged detention in the Dodge County jail “were and are false.”

Schmidt is an elected sheriff and his lawsuit alleges Naqvi and Morrison caused “reputational harm and damages” as he prepares for a re-election campaign this year.

“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the false allegations made quickly became the subject of widespread news coverage,” the lawsuit alleges. “News reports detailing the allegations were published and disseminated throughout  Wisconsin and Illinois media outlets, as well as nationally distributed news media.”

An attorney representing Naqvi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit also lists 10 unnamed “John Does” as defendants. The lawsuit describes those defendants as people who live outside of Wisconsin and whose identities are not known but who “participated in the publication or republication of defamatory statements, and whose true names will be substituted when discovered.”

Schmidt’s office was one of three agencies that disputed or cast doubt on Naqvi’s story. Cook County Sheriff’s deputies searched the building in Broadview the Friday Naqvi’s supporters said she was there but couldn’t find her or her luggage inside. And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a statement calling her story “blatantly false,” saying Naqvi had arrived at O’Hare around 10:20 a.m. March 5 and left about an hour and a half later.

“(U.S. Customs and Border Protection) did NOT transfer any individuals to Broadview or perform any phone detentions from her flight on Thursday, March 5th,” an agency spokesperson told the Tribune in a written statement Thursday night.

Naqvi’s supporters, including Morrison, a former congressional candidate, have largely stuck with her — pointing out that DHS officials have repeatedly peddled false information about its actions throughout President Donald Trump’s second administration — but have increasingly retreated from reporters’ questions. They have pointed repeatedly to screenshots showing Naqvi’s location data at different points throughout the two-day period she was allegedly held.

This story is developing.

From: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/10/wisconsin-sheriff-sunny-naqvi-kevin-morrison-lawsuit/

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Prosecutors again ask for higher bond for Kenosha protest shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, saying he thinks ‘rules do not apply to him’

From Chicago Tribune:

Wisconsin prosecutors pressed their call for a higher bond for Kyle Rittenhouse, arguing Thursday that the 18-year-old “apparently believes the rules do not apply to him” as he awaits trial for shooting three people, two of them fatally, at an August protest.

The filing by Kenosha County prosecutors came a day after they sought an arrest warrant for Rittenhouse and for $200,000 to be added on top of the $2 million bond his lawyers posted in November, alleging he has failed to tell the courts where he is living.

Rittenhouse lived in far north suburban Antioch at the time of the Kenosha shootings but has lived at an undisclosed location since his release ― a move his lawyers attribute to threats on his life. The crux of the prosecutors’ argument is that Rittenhouse’s lawyers listed the Antioch address on his bond paperwork and have not updated the courts on his new home.

On Wednesday, Rittenhouse’s lawyers filed what they said was his new address along with a motion to seal the information.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-kyle-rittenhouse-bond-increase-20210204-vzapmtbvtjg2pbyljgcn2zz5kq-story.html

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America faces fireworks shortage ahead of July 4 holiday

From New York Post:

Getty Images

Fireworks may soon be hard to find on shelves in the United States, thanks to sizzling sales fueled by bored Americans emerging from coronavirus lockdowns.

Owners of fireworks companies and industry leaders told CNN stocks are rapidly diminishing after demand for sparklers and firecrackers has more than doubled this year as people sought a way to sonically bust out of quarantine.

“People were coming outdoors for the first time and they wanted something to do,” Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan said. “And the entertainment is consumer fireworks.”

Zoldan, who owns one of the country’s largest fireworks companies, said he was initially debating whether to file bankruptcy since he didn’t think he’d be able to move his merchandise amid the pandemic.

But his 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center that was packed just four weeks ago is now depleted, Zoldan said.

Another owner of a fireworks company in Indiana said he’s had the busiest season of his 30-plus-year career, prompting him to hire additional staff.

“We’ve been working harder, longer hours and probably twice a week for the past two or three weeks,” Robert Tomsich of Lightning Family Fireworks in Gary told the Chicago Tribune Tuesday. “We’ve been scrambling.”

And once stocks are depleted, it’ll be difficult to restock. Imports from China, where more than 90% of the world’s fireworks are manufactured, have plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many factories there.

As a result, Chinese exports dropped to near zero in January — and the United States imported 35% fewer fireworks in the first four months of 2020 compared to the same period a year ago, CNN reports.

“I think by July 5th, there probably will not be very many fireworks available in the United States until China can start producing again and shipping here,” Zoldan said.

Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Associations, told CNN there are typically 16,000 July Fourth fireworks shows across the US each year.

However, with mass cancellations of Independence Day shows — as well as weddings and sporting events — she said “we’re probably looking at about 10% max going forward.”

This sudden drop in demand for professional fireworks sent the demand for bottle rockets, sparklers and other consumer fireworks soaring. Demand for consumer fireworks rose at least 115% compared to 2019, CNN reports.

China’s production of fireworks generally increases during the winter months, but that may not be possible this year due to the closed factories.

“It’s a really bizarre situation that we have one segment of the industry that’s going to have a record-breaking year, and the other side of the industry is potentially crippled forever,” Heckman told CNN.

From: https://nypost.com/2020/07/03/shortage-of-fireworks-in-us-expected-in-coming-days/

Infant from Illinois Becomes Youngest Person in the U.S. to Die From Coronavirus

An infant in Illinois who tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) has died, the state’s Department of Public Health said in a statement on Saturday.

“There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant,” said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. “A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death.”

Along with the infant, who was from Cook County, there were 13 new coronavirus-related deaths in the state as of Saturday.

The seven other deaths in Cook County included two males in their 60s, two males in their 70s, one female in her 70s, one female in her 80s and one male in his 80s.

McHenry County, Kane County, Lake County and Will County were home to the remaining five new deaths in the state.

Overall, there are 3,491 cases, including 47 deaths, in 43 counties in Illinois as of Saturday, the IDPH said.

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker also announced the latest deaths in a press conference on Saturday.

“I know how difficult this news can be, especially about this very young child,” Pritzker, 55, said, according to The Chicago Tribune.

“Upon hearing it, I admit that I was immediately shaken,” he continued. “It’s appropriate for any of us to grieve today. It’s especially sorrowful for the family of this very small child for the years stolen from this infant. We should grieve for a sense of normalcy we left behind just a few short weeks ago.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

 

TED SCHURTER/THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER/AP

Pritzker also said the death toll should serve as a warning to those who do not obey his stay-at-home directive, which many governors across the country have enacted to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“The vast, vast majority of people in Illinois are doing precisely what we asked them to do,” Pritzker said. “But it’s the others, the people who aren’t obeying the stay-at-home rule, who are putting everyone in danger. It doesn’t take that many people, frankly, to break the rules and cause danger to others.”

As of March 29, there are at least 125,093 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S. and at least 2,149 deaths, according to the New York Times database.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.

• By Eric Todisco@etodisco15
• 
  
• From: https://people.com/health/illinois-infant-dies-from-coronavirus/

Foxconn’s Wisconsin factory isn’t what it initially promised. Can it still turn Mount Pleasant into a high-tech hub?

From Chicago Tribune:

By LAUREN ZUMBACH

CHICAGO TRIBUNE |

FEB 28, 2020 | 3:28 PM

Kim Mahoney stands outside her home near the ongoing construction at Foxconn's manufacturing facility on Feb. 13, 2020 in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Mahoney and her family moved into their house in February 2017 and later that year they learned that Foxconn planned to build. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

By the end of the year, Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn expects to start production at a brand-new liquid crystal display manufacturing plant in southeast Wisconsin.

The million-square-foot building’s outline is visible from what used to be quiet two-lane roads, widened to accommodate the surge of activity Foxconn is expected to bring to an area that was once largely farmland. A handful of additional buildings and a power substation are taking shape nearby.

Foxconn’s plans have changed dramatically since its initial announcement, feeding skepticism over whether it can deliver on a pledge to create 13,000 jobs and turn southeast Wisconsin into a hub of high-tech electronics manufacturing. Some question whether the project will pay off for Mount Pleasant and Racine County, which are investing hundreds of millions of dollars and have seen several residents displaced from their homes.

“It’s like a bait-and-switch,” said Kim Mahoney, who lives in the only house still standing in what used to be a small subdivision on the Foxconn site.

Kim Mahoney's house is the only house still standing in area in a small subdivision near the Foxconn construction site, in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, shown July 1, 2019. (Coburn Dukehart/Wisconsin Watch)

But backers say Foxconn’s arrival has been a much-needed shot in the arm for workforce development efforts in an area lacking in skilled manufacturing workers and they remain confident even a scaled-down project will boost the local economy.

“You would love the movie if you hadn’t seen the trailer,” said Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.

It was “the trailer” that convinced the state to offer an incentive package worth up to $3 billion if the company hit benchmarks tied to jobs, wages and investment and to fast-track preparations for Foxconn’s arrival. Local government agencies agreed to front investments in infrastructure improvements and buy property promised to Foxconn, at a total cost currently estimated at $808 million.

The company’s agreement with Mount Pleasant and Racine County calls for those expenditures to be repaid over time through property taxes and special assessments. Foxconn is obligated to make up any shortfall if it doesn’t raise the value of the main site to $1.4 billion by 2023.

Foxconn continues to fulfill its financial obligations under the local contract, which “ensures strong taxpayer protections and minimum valuation guarantees,” Racine County Executive Jonathan Delgrave said in a statement. The company paid $8.4 million in property taxes and special assessment payments, in addition to a one-time $60 million payment, as of Dec. 30.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin officials have said the company’s shifting plans call into question its eligibility for up to $3 billion in incentives negotiated at the start of the project. Foxconn missed job creation and investment targets required to earn tax incentives in 2018, and won’t report on last year’s progress until April.

It’s not that nothing is happening in Mount Pleasant. Foxconn said earlier this year it has invested nearly $372 million at the site, where it has started building a 260,000-square-foot plant that will manufacture and assemble components for computer servers and a data center with offices, in addition to the million-square-foot liquid crystal display factory.

But it’s also building a different kind of factory than the one agreed to in its contract with Wisconsin. The company originally was to build a Generation 10.5 factory that would produce large LCD panels often used to make large flat-screen TVs. Instead, it will build a Generation 6 facility producing smaller panels with potential applications in education, medicine, entertainment and the military.

A smaller Generation 6 factory would be less likely to attract additional suppliers to hoping to do business with Foxconn to Mount Pleasant, said Bob O’Brien, co-founder and president of Display Supply Chain Consultants, who was recently hired by the state as an expert on the flat-panel display industry.

Those other businesses would have brought more jobs and helped build out a “Wisconn Valley” beyond just Foxconn.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-foxconn-wisconsin-changing-plans-20200228-hn6wzt4fyzenpdeznicyw642qu-story.html

It’s now only days away: Jan. 1 to usher in the era of legalized recreational weed in Illinois. ‘It changes everything.’

From Chicago Tribune:

By ROBERT MCCOPPIN

CHICAGO TRIBUNE |

DEC 27, 2019 | 3:08 PM

Jessica Ryan, director of cultivation, looks over product in the drying room at Cresco Labs in Joliet on Dec. 17, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

This New Year’s Day will be celebrated like no other in Illinois. At the stroke of midnight Jan. 1, possession and consumption of limited amounts of marijuana will become legal in Illinois for recreational use.

No doubt, some people will light up to celebrate. But, because only sales from licensed dealers will be authorized, it won’t be legal to buy or sell cannabis until those stores open, starting at 6 a.m. at the earliest. That’s when the real party will begin for some.

After a decadeslong push to legalize it, cannabis legalization in Illinois begins a new era in criminal law and daily life. As happened in the 10 other states that legalized commercial sales, long lines and short supplies are expected.

Only 35 stores have been authorized to open statewide ― fewer than the number of Starbucks in downtown Chicago. That’s about one store for every 28,000 of the estimated 1 million or so potential customers, though they won’t all show up on one day.

As with the prohibition of alcohol a century ago, the ban on pot was meant to prevent crime and social decay, but critics said it instead financed organized crime and disproportionately put blacks behind bars, while people kept consuming illegally anyway.

Workers roll joints at Cresco Labs in Joliet on Dec. 17, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

“Prohibition doesn’t work,” was the mantra of the chief sponsors of the law, state Rep. Kelly Cassidy and state Sen. Heather Steans. The Chicago Democrats said the change will generate tax revenue and increase public safety by requiring testing of products for pesticides and contaminants like mold, and to ensure they contain the potency claimed.

Opponents of the law fear it will increase use and dependence, particularly among teens. While adult use has gone up in some states where pot’s been legalized, teen use has remained fairly stable.

In any case, day one weed sales are expected to be “off the charts,” based on the experience in California reported by market researchers BDS Analytics, which described huge crowds in a festive mood lining up from the early morning. Sales stayed strong all that week.

Recreational pot’s impact on Illinois: ‘No big deal’ or an ‘unfortunate, reckless experiment’? »

In anticipation of high demand, many medical marijuana dispensaries, which get the first chance to offer recreational sales, have been expanding and remodeling.

Cresco Labs rebranded its stores under the name Sunnyside, with the stated mission on its website to “normalize responsible cannabis use.” Green Thumb Industries renamed some of its five stores Rise, and expanded some of its sites, including the most popular store in the state, in Mundelein. For opening day, both chains plan to offer tents, food and beverages to waiting customers, with Cresco renting a cafe near its site in Lakeview.

Read more" https://www.chicagotribune.com/marijuana/illinois/ct-illinois-marijuana-legalization-on-jan-1-20191227-aa52o6wmrnegvfpgb55uedlgcq-story.html

Mayor Lori Lightfoot: Shooting that injured 13 at memorial party in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood 'an act of cowardice’

From Chicago Tribune:

By ALICE YIN, KATHERINE ROSENBERG-DOUGLAS, JESSICA VILLAGOMEZ and WILLIAM LEE

CHICAGO TRIBUNE |

DEC 22, 2019 | 8:20 PM

Police tape lines the scene where 13 people were shot in the 5700 block of South May Street in the early hours of Dec. 22, 2019, in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago police are questioning a person of interest after 13 people were wounded, four of them critically, during a shooting inside a memorial gathering early Sunday in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, authorities said.

More people were wounded in the shooting than at any other in the city since at least 2013, when 13 people were shot in Back of the Yards, according to data gathered by the Tribune.

The violence began about 12:40 a.m. at a house party in the 5700 block of South May Street commemorating the birthday of a man who died in a previous shooting. Someone at the party opened fire, sending 13 people to area hospitals, according to Chicago police.

The injured ranged in age from 16 to 48, and a 16-year-old boy was one of those in critical condition, though it was later improved to “serious,” said Fred Waller, who heads the patrol division for Chicago police.

Two people remained in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon, according to Officer Michelle Tannehill, a police spokeswoman: a 40-year-old man who’d been shot in the chest and was being treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and a 21-year old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the back, who was at St. Bernard Hospital.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-englewood-11-wounded-shooting-20191222-mrad2j42ffenpawbh5yo4adzba-story.html