Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition. RockRiverTimes.com.
State
Crime & Courts
Lawmakers revisit gun legislation
Bodies of missing persons found
SPRINGFIELD — Advocates for gun control have renewed their push to require Illinois firearm stores to get state licenses, saying federal regulations don’t go far enough to ensure sales are handled properly. The state Senate last year advanced legislation to license gun dealers, but it stalled in the House due to opposition from gun rights groups, the Chicago Tribune reported. The groups argued that licensing would increase the price of purchasing a firearm by as much as $300. To calm those fears, Democrats in the Senate advanced companion legislation on Wednesday to limit the cost of licensing fees to $1,000 for a five-year period. Lawmakers are revisiting the measure in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Florida, in which 17 people were killed and others were wounded. Some lawmakers are also calling for an outright ban on semi-automatic rifles to try to prevent mass shootings, an effort that has repeatedly failed in Illinois. But supporters of the licensing bill have said the more widespread crisis is handgun violence that’s permeated communities in Chicago. “We react, as we should, when there is a horrific mass shooting, but every day in my district and across the Chicagoland area, young people are dying from gun violence,” said sponsoring state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park. “I would like to do something to try to stop that.” Opponents are arguing that those who sell guns are already licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which requires background checks. –Associated Press
Inside More questions in county settlement deal Page 2 School officials talk Rauner pension plan Page 3 Alderman knock back proposed RMTD cuts Page 4 Ex-Trump aide pleads guilty in Russia probe Page 8
Suspect dead in apparent suicide By Jim Hagerty Contributor
ROCKFORD — The bodies of missing persons Danielle Son, 22, and her boyfriend Sergio Quiroz, 25, were found this morning at Blackhawk Park on Rockford’s south side, Rockford Police said Thursday. Danielle Son was reported missing on Monday, Feb. 19, after family members alerted authorities they had not heard from her since Saturday. A welfare check at her 834 10th Ave. residence found her two children, ages 2 and 11-months, alone. Investigators determined that Quiroz and Son’s estranged husband, Hand Son, 26, were also missing. Hand Son died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an attempted traffic stop, Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said at a press conference, Thursday. Hand Son was charged after a reported domestic violence incident in mid-January. Court records show that Danielle Son had filed for divorce on Feb. 16, just before her disappearance. Hand Son was sched-
uled in court on April 19 in the domestic violence case. Wednesday, the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Son with two counts of kidnapping and a search for his 2007 Toyota Sion intensified. Rockford Police officers located the vehicle at around 4 a.m., Thursday and were able to reach Son by cellphone. Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said Son failed to stop for officers and a pursuit ensued. The chase ended when the car flipped in the area of 15th Avenue. When officers approached the crash, they heard a single gunshot and found Hand Son suffering from a bullet wound to the head. A handgun was also found inside the car. The bodies of Danielle Son and Sergio Quiroz were found a short time later. Hand Son died at a local hospital. Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato said his office is working with preliminary causes of death, but won’t release information until the investigation is complete. “Certainly, there is some idea of what the cause of death is but we can’t release
that hastily, not until the corner has the chance to do his job,” he said. Bruscato added that investigators will close their investigation after determining if anyone else was involved. Both officials reiterated that the deaths appear to be domestic-violence related and that their respective officers are continuing to work together in combatting the issue. “This a domestic-related case, and domestic violence is something we are going to continue tor work on,” O’Shea said. “Our detectives continue to work with the (City of Rockford).” Bruscato added that domestic violence is a concern that “must be addressed now, not later.” A portion of Blackhawk Park is still cordoned off as of this report. Anyone with additional information is urged to call the Rockford Police Department non-emergency number at 815-966-2900 or the Investigations Bureau at 779-500-6551. R.
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The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
Local
More questions over settlement deal for county administrator By Shane Nicholson Managing Editor
ROCKFORD — Winnebago County Board members were lining up questions for administrators and legal staff over the payoff of a former official following a report by The Times in Wednesday’s paper. Former county administrator Amanda Hamaker reached a settlement with Winnebago County in early November 2017 over her exit from the administration, according to documents and messages obtained by The Times. But a copy of the separation document provided to The Times as well as Winnebago County board members was not the final agreement reached with Hamaker, sources told the paper Wednesday afternoon. And a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted to the county government has returned a different copy of the agreement than previously provided. The agreement with Hamaker reportedly went through at least two revisions, and it’s not clear whether the initial document given to the newspaper and county officials was an earlier draft or another copy altogether. County board members The Times spoke with have questioned why they were provided with what is not a final copy of Hamaker’s settlement. The initial agreement provided to The Times and board members is referred to as a, “Settlement Agreement and General Release of Claims.” However, the fulfilled FOIA request received Thursday contains a document called, “Separation Agreement and General Release of Claims,” (emphasis added) which was executed Nov. 14, 2017, 11 days after Hamaker’s final date of employment with the county. The agreement also contains other material language that had been changed when compared to the previous version. (Read the agreement below.) Sources told The Times that board members are reviewing sections of the county code pertaining to employment settlements, as well as the final agreement, and are planning to discuss relevant parts with the state’s attorney’s office and other county officials. Section 2-402 of the Winnebago County
Code details procedures for settlements with county employees:
Sec. 2-402. – Structure.
Liability claims asserted against the county, its officials and its employees shall be handled in the following manner: (1) All recommended settlements in excess of $10,000.00 must be approved by the county board. (2) The county administrator, with the concurrence of the state’s attorney or his designee, shall have the authority to settle liability claims between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00 with the approval of the finance committee or its successor committee. (3) The county administrator shall have the authority, with the concurrence of the state’s attorney or his designee, to settle all liability claims under $5,000.00. The administrator shall report, on a monthly basis, the number and dollar amounts of any liability claims settled. (Ord. No. 97-CO-66, § 2, 11-25-97; Ord. No. 99-CO-51, 8-12-99) Hamaker’s settlement called for a gross total of $29,999.97, plus accrued benefits. As such, board members have questioned why the settlement with Hamaker was not presented to them prior to approval since the gross amount exceeded the $10,000
reporting limit. Others have questioned if the deal, structured in three monthly payments of $9,999.99, was designed to fly under the radar of board reporting standards. Officials said that the county auditor’s office had not been informed of the settlement at the time or provided a copy of the agreement for review prior to the settlement being reached. Administration officials indicated that Hamaker’s deal had been treated as an internal payroll decision, a move which some officials said would allow them to bypass the board altogether. Multiple county officials The Times spoke with said the first instance of them seeing the agreement was when the newspaper published it on Tuesday. The change in terms from “settlement” to “severance,” two officials The Times spoke with, may have been a way to avoid reporting of the payout to the board. Officials indicated that deputy state’s attorney Dave Kurlinkus had been the legal point man for the administration in the Hamaker deal. Reached via email Thursday, Kurlinkus said the section of the county code did not apply to the Hamaker settlement as the “agreement does not involve a liability
claim.” Similar agreements, such as a $165,000 settlement reached with former sheriff’s department No. 2 Kurt Ditzler in September 2017, underwent a lengthy review process by multiple county departments, including the board, prior to approval, officials said. But a $23,000 settlement agreement with former county chief operating officer David Peterson reached earlier in chairman Frank Haney’s first term was similarly not presented to the board prior to approval, sources said. Officials say details around that settlement and others are now under review. All three settlements were prescribed under similar legal language, one county official confirmed. However, it could not be confirmed if all shared the same “severance” language as in the final version of Hamaker’s agreement. The Times also received a tranche of county emails related to Hamaker’s departure as part of its FOIA request. Those emails are currently under review by staff and we will provide updates as we have them. R. Read the settlement agreement.
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The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
School officials weigh in on pension plan By Chase Cavanaugh WNIJ News
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner wants public school districts to begin “cost sharing” their employees’ state pensions over the next few years. Districts would be responsible for 25 percent of their pension cost during the first year, then an additional 25 percent each of the following three years. He said this overhaul is a fiscal necessity. “The simple truth is this: We have to change the way we manage pension costs and group health expenses. If we don’t, our finances will continue to deteriorate, our economy will remain sluggish and our tax burdens will stay high and keep rising,” he said. Rauner said he would give schools and local governments new “tools” to offset these costs, such as boosting education funding, granting greater control over merging and dissolving local government districts, and more flexibility in contracting and bidding for services. Reactions have been mixed from both school and local government officials. Dr. Ehren Jarrett, Superintendent of Rockford Public Schools, says the pension proposal needs to be taken in the context of overall school funding. “We live in a state that varies from 42 percent funding adequacy all the way to well over 200 percent funding adequacy,” he said. “In Rockford, Illinois, we earn
about 64 percent funding adequacy.” In Aug ust, R auner approved an “evidence-based” school-funding formula, which was designed to even out these levels of funding. Jarrett says the pension cost-sharing could hinder this. “That will ultimately redirect the new dollars that are being used to redistribute and better balance that funding picture,” he said. “That weakens that overall objective.” This, Jarrett says, could be offset by extra state money. He also says it isn’t prudent to add costs when all of this year’s money still hasn’t come in. “So we’re building policy for ’19 without knowing what the impact of the $350 million without the cost shift is for ’18.” The Rockford School District budgeted
about $7.8 million dollars on staff retirement benefits last year, out of about $344 million in budgetary expenses. At Sycamore Community School District 427, Superintendent Kathy Countryman says the proposed percentage of shared costs took her by surprise. “We have been budgeting for that at about half a percent a year just in case that were to occur. When we heard the 25 percent, that’s a little bit more substantial than we thought it was going to be initially implemented.” Like Jarrett, Countryman is concerned that the new funding formula could suffer if pension costs are taken out of new school appropriations. The Sycamore School District allocated $1.2 million for
retirement and Social Security benefits in last year’s budget, out of about $59 million overall. But the district’s been under a budget reduction plan for the last three years. Thus, Countryman isn’t sure of the proposal’s full implications. “What does additional money mean? What does the 25 percent look like? Is that what’s really going to be placed on the table for consideration?” she asked. “So when talking to other people, I think there’s more questions than answers at this point.” School districts are the only entities that would be affected directly by this cost-sharing proposal, but Winnebago County Board Chairman Frank Haney says municipalities eventually could face similar demands. “We’re seeing more of state problems shifted to local units of government. That is happening in a multitude of ways, and this is but one example of it.” But Haney doesn’t single out the Rauner administration for this trend. “We’ve been talking about pension shifting and the pension bomb and pension problems since I was a kid,” he said. “I’m 44 years old now. We’ve seen this coming, and we failed to prepare for it for quite some time now. Now our chickens are coming home to roost a little bit.” Haney and others hope more complete solutions to pension funding don’t come at local expense.
Transform Rockford endorses home rule By Jim Hagerty Contributor
ROCKFORD — Transform Rockford on Wednesday announced it supports the return of home rule to Rockford. Spokesmen say the organization stands behind the March 20 referendum because it will allow the city to regain control of a destiny that is currently being controlled by leaders in Springfield. “We want to seize control of our own destiny, and we want to seize control of whats already happening,” Executive Director Mike Schablaske told reporters at a new conference. “That’s why we’re supportive of this and that’s why we encourage others to be supportive of home
rule.” Transform joins the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Rockford Chamber of Commerce, Next Rockford and the Rockford Area Economic Development Council in their support. The RACVB board voted to support the referendum earlier this month. Board Chair David Anderson says home rule gives citizens an opportunity to vote for local leaders with a bigger stake in Rockford than the few who represent the city at the state level. “At RACVB, we know that what is good for residents will help attract visitors,” Anderson said in an earlier report. “Our residents are concerned about public safety and want to see their neighborhoods
thrive.” Rock ford Apartment A ssociation Director of Legislative and Public Affairs Paul Arena said his organization, along with the Rockford Area Realtors, is urging residents to vote “no” because they say home rule gives city officials too much power to increase taxes, raise fees and enact regulations, despite the self-limiting ordinances aldermen approved Feb. 6. T he Rock ford A rea Hotel Motel Association also announced its opposition to home rule, citing its fear that the city’s hotel tax would increase and that the hike would not be applied to tourism. Pilgrim Baptist Church Rev. Kenneth Board is a Transform Rockford steering
RockRiverTimes.com.
committee member and part of the Our Decisions. Our Solutions. campaign. He said he’s heard from home rule opponents and understands their argument. But he said the time is now to embrace forward progress. “I hear a lot of negative comments,” Board said. “We should not allow fear and statistics and inability to accept change to keep us from taking control of our own destiny. It’s my prayer that on Tuesday, March 20, we will take responsibility for our own present and future.” Residents can vote ahead of the March 20 primary at the Rockford Board of Elections, 301 S. 6th St. Early voting began Wednesday, Feb. 21. R.
The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
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Local
Aldermen reject RMTD funding cut By Jim Hagerty Contributor
CITY HALL — Rockford aldermen on Tuesday voted down a financial task force recommendation to slash what the city pays the Rockford Mass Transit District by 20 percent. The vote was 9-5 against cutting $300,000 from the $1.5 million Rockford pays the RMTD. The citizen-led task force recommended the reduction as part of its effort to help city leaders close a projected $10.5 million spending hole. Aldermen John Beck, R-12; Frank Beach, R-10; Joe Chiarelli R-14; Kevin Frost, R-4; and Tim Durkee, R-1; voted for cutback. Those opposed were Natavias Ervins, D-6; Venita Hervey, D-5; Karen Hoffman, D-8; Jonathan Logemann, D-2; Linda McNeely, D-13; William Rose, D-9; Ann ThompsonKelly, D-7; Chad Tuneberg, R-3; and Tuffy Quinonez, D-11. “A lot of my constituents utilize (the bus service) to get to work every day and for shopping, and to go to the doctor,” Thompson-Kelly said. “They have no other means of transportation.” Thompson-Kelly said she may consider supporting incremental cuts but said an immediate 20-percent decrease would be “devastating.” Hervey, who previously served on the RMTD board, noted that while it’s mostly funded by state and federal dollars, the district would be penalized if the city reduces its assistance. “If we start to remove the subsidy we are required to provide (for the mass transit
district) to get the subsidy from the state and federal government, that’s going to be a deduction for RMTD. Playing around with that is just dangerous. I am asking that we look at another schematic. And, I don’t want to do anything (now) because I want to see them expand their routes.” Hervey said she’d like to see more routes like ones to Belvidere, which the City of Belvidere funds. The added routes, she said, made it possible for those without reliable transportation to accept high-paying jobs at places like Chrysler. Based on figures from the RMTD, the money it receives from Springfield is a 35-percent match of local funds. That means if the city removed $300,000 for its outlay, the state would hold back $525,000, resulting in a more than 5-percent cut to the district’s budget. The RMTD generates about $16.7 million in revenue from fares, advertising and government subsidies. Frost said that although the city is compelled to subsidize RMTD so it can utilize other dollars, it is not bound to do so at the tune of $1.5 million. “It’s a very hard decision to make,” Frost said. “All of these proposals involve very hard decisions, and I don’t want anyone to think, whether they’re from RMTD or otherwise, that these considerations are being taken lightly. But, at the end of the day, I have no say in how the state government or federal government funds the mass transit district. I only have the ability, as we all do, to vote on how this funding affects the city of Rockford.” R.
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The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
Arts & Entertainment
Beloit Film Festival reaches out beyond audience to the community By Guy Stephens WNIJ News
M a n y p e o p l e k n o w t h e B e l o it International Film Festival as an event that brings films from around the world to the City of Beloit. The festival, often referred to by its acronym “BIFF,” began its ten-day run Thursday. But BIFF connects with the community in other ways, too. Beloit International Film Festival Executive Director Max Maiken said much of his team’s focus is on bringing the highest-caliber films from all over the globe to Beloit. Connections with the Hollywood Film Festival over the last several years have raised the level further, he said, and BIFF is on the map among filmmakers worldwide. As a Beloit native, Maiken appreciates what that brings to the community. But, Maiken said, BIFF has become about more than that. For one, there is the impact
of the Illinois–Wisconsin Showdown, featuring regional film artists, that has been a part of the festival for the last five years. Maiken said it was conceived as a friendly play on the Bears-Packers rivalry, as a sort of sidebar to the big films. But, he said, the level of growth has been amazing, and the films stand on their own. “It’s just really impressive to see the quality that is just developing in our own backyard here in the Midwest,” he said. “It competes with the rest of the world and in some ways with a lot of the films that are coming out of L.A. and New York.” Maiken said he’d like to believe that the encouragement of the BIFF showcase has been at least partly responsible for that. Competition aside, Maiken said the festival also includes a component called BIFF Cares, which features documentaries that deal with quality-of-life issues. “Over the years,” he said, “it’s dealt
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with issues of teen homelessness, disease prevention, cancer, child abuse. This year we have a couple of films that will be featured. One is ‘The Harlem Vets Project: Making A Soldier,’ and also the documentary ‘Desert Around Me’ a story of ADHD awareness.” But it doesn’t stop with encouraging local and regional film makers, or documentary showcases. BIFF is reaching out to the community under the umbrella of BIFF Classroom. It started with KIDS@BIFF, a program that brings hundreds of area fifth-graders together to view and critique short films. There’s also a newly revived after-school program for disadvantaged and at-risk kids in middle and high school, held in conjunction with Beloit College’s Help Yourself Program, which helps kids create their own films. “[It uses] the prompt of ‘you’ve crashed in this place as an alien from another planet.’” Maiken said. “’Find out where you’re from. Determine your coordinates. Take me to your leader.’ Those kind of fun things that get kids involved with people in the community.” Maiken said he hopes to increase participation in the programs further. He said they are important for the kids and the local community, and also to the film community the festival represents. “Education is key, I feel, to BIFF being relevant in the future,” Maiken said. “And
with the education program we have with going right now, BIFF Classroom, and under that the Kids at Biff and Help Yourself program, I think we have a good foundation.” But, he said, he would like to take the idea further still. “What I’d ultimately like to see,” Maiken said, “is the Help Yourself Program turn into something where we can have an educational outreach program in the summer — some sort of film camp.” A place, Maiken said, where kids could learn the technical aspects of filmmaking – like lenses and lighting — but also the creative side – like scriptwriting and framing. Then BIFF could start to develop the next generation of film makers — in Beloit. “Because there are so many stories right here in the region that are untold that ought to be told,” he said, “that would resonate with people here. So that’s ultimately my goal over the next several years — to help and to inspire these students to want to tell the stories of where they’re from.” And, perhaps, share them with others at BIFF.
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The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
Midwest
More flooding expected over weekend LANSING, Mich. — Flooding that prompted evacuations in parts of the Midwest persisted Friday in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and could last through the weekend in some areas that have been swamped by high water from heavy rains and melting snow. Waters receded in South Bend and Goshen, Indiana, but flooding remained there and elsewhere. The National Weather Service said a number of Michigan rivers could see record levels in the coming days. In Ohio, water swamped more roadways and basements and forecasters expected the Ohio River could reach levels not seen since the region’s deadly 1997 floods. Flooding prompted local states of emergency in several Indiana and Michigan communities and counties. Shelters took in people forced from their homes and water-related deaths were reported this week in Michigan, Illinois and Oklahoma. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb plans to tour flood-damaged parts of northern Indiana on Friday. Officials reported that the Grand River crested in Lansing, Michigan, but rose Friday to the west in Grand Rapids and other communities. The Kalamazoo River in southwestern Michigan was expected to crest Friday night. Ice jams along the Rifle River in northern Michigan exacerbated flooding. Still, Lansing Emergency Management Chief Mike Tobin cautioned people to stay off flooded roads and not expect to immediately return to evacuated homes even though floodwaters there were expected to begin receding. Hundreds of homes and businesses were impacted, the Lansing State Journal reported. “We are far from done with this,” Tobin said. “We are going to have serious water levels. In some neighborhoods, it will be short as a few days. Other ones could potentially be as long as a week plus.” Along the Red Cedar River in Lansing, 32-year-old Michael Ezzo told the newspaper that he was grateful to have flood insurance. He described life this week in the house as “hell,” noting couch cushions floating in water in his basement. “After the water started coming into the basement, there was just nothing we could do,” Ezzo said. Flooding also hit nearby Michigan State University, where some roads, parking lots and athletic fields were covered by water from the Red Cedar River that runs through its East Lansing campus. Classes in several buildings were relocated and the school put up sand-filled barriers in an attempt to curb flooding. In Indiana, record-high flooding along the St. Joseph River closed down a wastewater treatment plant for several hours in
People navigate on a flooded street in Niles, Mich., Thursday. Flooding is expected to continue through the weekend in Michigan, Indiana and other Midwest states that have been swamped by high water from heavy rains and melting snow. Photo, Mark Bugnaski /Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group South Bend, a city of about 100,000 residents. It later restarted at limited capacity. The National Weather Service reported the river was expected to stay above its major flood stage until Tuesday. In South Bend’s Keller Park neighborhood, David Loughlin planned to remove flood-damaged furniture and appliances from his basement. He was out of town earlier this week and returned Wednesday night to find his home surrounded by water. “I bought this house in 1972 and have never seen anything like this,” Loughlin,
who doesn’t have flood insurance, told the South Bend Tribune. Officials haven’t yet estimated the extent of building damage, which is concentrated in low-lying areas. In Ohio, Friday morning commutes were slowed by accidents, stranded vehicles and closed roadways that forced detours, especially east of downtown Cincinnati. The National Weather Service said the Ohio River topped 56 feet early Friday in the Cincinnati area, 4 feet above flood stage. Forecasters expect it to reach 59.4 feet
by Tuesday morning. That would be the highest since 64.7 feet during 1997 floods that claimed more than two dozen lives, most of them in Kentucky. Closer to home, the Rock, Pecatonia and Kishwaukee Rivers were all in flood stage, Friday morning. Flood Warnings were still in effect in some places around the Rockford area and high waters will continue to impact roadways through the weekend. –Associated Press; with Staff reports
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The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
Nation
Gates pleads guilty in Russia probe By Jeff Horwitz Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A former top adviser to President Donald Trump’s campaign is expected to plead guilty in the special counsel’s Russia probe, a person familiar with the decision said Friday. The decision by Rick Gates could indicate he is planning to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. The person said Gates, a longtime associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, could enter the plea as early as Friday. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private conversations, said Gates had informed family and friends in a letter about his decision. It would mark the fifth publicly known guilty plea in the special counsel probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the 2016 campaign. A spokesman for Mueller did not respond to requests for comment. The Gates plea would come a day after a federal grand jury in Virginia returned a 32-count indictment against him and Manafort accusing them of tax evasion and bank fraud. It was the second round of charges against the two men. The plea also comes quickly on the heels of a stunning indictment last week that laid out a broad operation of election meddling by Russia, which began in 2014, and employed fake social media accounts and on-the-ground politicking to promote the campaign of Donald Trump, disparage Hillary Clinton and sow division and discord widely among the U.S. electorate. Gates initially pleaded not guilty and has been facing up to 12.5 years in jail — based on a 12-count indictment handed up
Rick Gates in October accusing him and Manafort of acting as unregistered foreign agents and conspiring to launder millions of dollars they earned while working on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party. His guilty plea will almost certainly reduce the prison sentence he could have faced if convicted at trial of all counts. A sealed charge in the case this week as well as closed-door discussions in recent weeks had brought speculation that a plea deal for Gates or some other development might be near. Gates’ lawyers had filed a motion this month indicating that they had reached “irreconcilable differences” with their client. His new lawyer, veteran
Washington white-collar attorney Thomas Green, formally took over Thursday. Green did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Green, a high-powered defense attorney, won a plea deal for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert after he was charged with concealing nearly $1 million of $1.7 million in secret payments to hide allegations of sexual abuse. As he was kept on house arrest, Gates frequently pleaded with U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson for leniency to attend sporting events with his four children. If Gates agrees to become a cooperating witness as part of a plea deal, he could give
Mueller a closer look into Manafort’s years of political consulting work in Ukraine, as well as other events that have sparked the interest of federal investigators. Gates had access at the highest levels of the campaign at the same time that Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner met with a team of Russians in Trump Tower in June 2016. He was also in the top ranks of the campaign when thenSen. Jeff Sessions held a pair of undisclosed meetings with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. For a few months in 2016, Gates was indispensable to Trump, leading the ground effort to help Trump win the Republican nomination and flying from state to state to secure Republican delegates in a scramble that lasted all the way until the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. But his power and influence waned once Trump fired Manafort in August 2016 after The Associated Press disclosed how Gates and Manafort covertly directed a Washington lobbying campaign on behalf of Ukrainian interests. Gates survived his mentor’s ouster and worked through the election on Trump’s inaugural committee — but among Trump aides he earned the nickname “the walking dead.” Gates also worked briefly with the outside political groups supporting Trump’s agenda, America First Policies and America First Action, but was pushed out of that job last year. Gates was working for Tom Barrack, a close friend of Trump’s, when he was indicted last October. Read the indictment: http://apne.ws/ Nz0Rco6.
Trump: Deputy who stayed outside during shooting a ‘coward’ By John T. Bennett CQ-Roll Call
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump dubbed an armed Florida sheriff’s deputy who remained outside the Parkland, Florida, high school where 17 people were gunned down last week a “coward.” Scot Peterson, a Broward County sheriff’s deputy, was at the high school when a 19-year-old former student entered with an AR-15 assault rifle and began firing. Peterson, local law enforcement officials said Thursday, did not go inside to confront the gunman. Peterson has resigned. “When it came time to get in there and do something, he didn’t have the courage
or something happened. But he certainly did a poor job. There’s no question about that,” Trump told reporters Friday while leaving the White House. “He was there for five minutes, for five minutes. That was during the entire shooting. He heard it right from the beginning. So he certainly did a poor job. “But that’s a case where somebody was outside, they’re trained, they didn’t act properly or under pressure or they were a coward,” Trump said bluntly. “It was a real shock to the police department.” Despite Peterson being armed and opting against taking on accused shooter Nikolas Cruz, the president on Friday continued to
call for teachers and school employees to be armed and get special training to stop school shooters. “I also believe that schools have to have some form of protection. … (It’s too easy) for these crazy people to come in and shoot,” Trump said. “We’re going to get it fixed. But the only way you’re going to get it fixed is you have to have a certain amount of offensive power within the school. It can’t only be defense.” Trump was asked about the National Rifle Association, which backed him strongly during the 2016 presidential election but has voiced opposition to his idea of setting an age limit of 21 for the
purchases of some assault-style firearms. NRA officials have been sharply criticized in recent days for the organization’s attacks on law enforcement, the intelligence community, and its claims that those who want to alter existing laws to crack down on school shootings as trying to “destroy” personal freedoms. “The NRA is composed of people that I know very well. These are good people. In many cases patriots, they love our country,” he said. “The NRA wants to do the right thing. I’ve been speaking to them and they want to do the right thing.”
9
The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
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The Rock River Times. Feb. 23, 2018. Friday E-Edition.
10
State. Crime & Courts
Naperville man acquitted in 1995 murder after 22 years in prison By Jim Hagerty Contributor
NAPERVILLE — A man who served nearly half of a 45-year prison sentence walked out of a suburban Chicago courtroom a free man this week after being acquitted of murder in the 1995 death of his mother-in-law. William Amor, on Wednesday, was found not guilty by a DuPage County judge. He won a retrial last year when his lawyers presented new evidence in his case. “This is the end of a nightmare for me,” 62-year-old Amor said in a statement. “I have fought to clear my name for the last 22 years and I am so grateful that I was able to have my day in court for the truth to be heard. I am looking forward to starting the next phase of my life as a free man, no longer labeled as a murderer, for the first time in a long time.” Amor was sentenced in 1997 for first-degree murder and aggravated arson. The state alleged that on Sept. 10, 1995, he intentionally started a fire in the Naperville apartment he shared with his then 18-year-old wife and her mother, 40-year-old Marianne Miceli, who died of smoke inhalation. He started the fire with a lit cigarette and vodka-soaked newspapers, prosecutors claimed. At trial, the state based most of its case on a confession Amor gave after 15 hours of questioning. He later said he confessed because he was deprived of food and sleep and wanted the interrogation to be over. Amor told investigators he started the fire after his wife served him divorce papers. The state alleged that money was also his motivation and that he killed Miceli
William Amor to collect on an insurance policy. The Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois took Amor’s case in 2012 after lawyers evaluated his claims that he gave a false confession. “This case just stood out,” Legal Director Lauren Kaeseberg told Chicago Tonight. “We took a pretty close look at the confession in the case and it kind of had a lot of the hallmarks of a false confession and it looked like something that was really worth digging into.” Kaeseberg also hired arson investigators who in 2016 testified that it was impossible for the fire to have started the way Amor detailed to police. One expert even opined that Amor wasn’t in the apartment when the blaze started. Another told the court the fire likely started by a smoldering cigarette. Amor, his wife and mother-in-law all
smoked at the time of the fire, Miceli two packs a day. Circuit Court Judge Liam Brennan vacated the conviction in 2017. Amor was released from prison in May pending the outcome of a retrial. At his bench trial, the defense called witnesses who testified that the physical evidence did not match Amor’s confession. Brennan agreed. “The state’s timeline, along with its theory of the case, is fatally compromised,” the judge said. “Considering the evidence in its entirety, this court cannot determine that the defendant was criminally responsible for the fire and thus Marianne Miceli’s death beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, the state has failed to meet its burden, and findings of not guilty shall enter on all counts.” Prosecutors say they support the verdict yet maintain they presented enough evidence for a conviction.
“While my office stands by our prosecution and we believe the evidence supported a finding of guilty, we certainly respect the court’s decision,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin wrote in a statement. “This was a very complicated case originally based on fire science available at the time. Since that time, more than 20 years later, fire science has improved dramatically and consequently the evidence presented at this trial has changed from that presented in 1995.” According to the National Registry of Exonerations, as of November 2017, false confessions were found in 253 of 2,120 exonerations in the United States since 1989. Faulty forensic evidence was found in 509 of those cases. There have been 25 exonerations in Illinois since January 2017. False confessions were found in 17 of them. R.
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