Category Archives: Illinois

Democratic leaders across US work to lead resistance against Trump’s agenda

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Democrats from California to Illinois prepare to ‘Trump-proof’ and ‘fight to death’ against his extreme proposals

After the November elections ushered in a new era of unified Republican governance in Washington, Democratic leaders across the country are once again preparing to lead the resistance to Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said he would convene a special legislative session next month to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights”.

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Secretaries of state ask social media companies for moderation plans on election day

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Democratic top elections officials are concerned about inflammatory and AI-generated content

A group of Democratic secretaries of state are calling on social media companies to detail their plans to moderate inflammatory content and artificial intelligence on their platforms during and after election day.

Seven secretaries of state – representing Maine, Rhode Island, Illinois, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and New Mexico – sent the letters to Google, X and Meta on Friday. Secretaries of state typically play some role in overseeing elections in their states.

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Wisconsin and Illinois health officials report three deaths from West Nile virus

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While most people don’t experience symptoms after bite of infected mosquito, about one in 150 develop serious illness

Two people in eastern Wisconsin and one person in northeastern Illinois have died of West Nile virus, according to health officials.

A third person in Wisconsin has been hospitalized because of the mosquito-borne illness, the Wisconsin department of health services said Thursday in a release.

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Democratic convention schedule: Oprah reported to be among speakers on night three

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Tim Walz and Bill Clinton headline the third night amid reports Oprah Winfrey will also appear. Here’s a look at other noteworthy speakers on the schedule

The Democratic national convention is under way, with primetime addresses scheduled for tonight from Bill Clinton; Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s running mate; and many more.

CNN reported that Oprah Winfrey, the talkshow host and longtime Democrat, is set to appear on the main stage. In previous elections, Winfrey lent her star power to Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Chris Murphy, US senator, Connecticut

Olivia Troye, former Trump administration national security official

Bennie G Thompson, member of the US House of Representatives, Mississippi

Andy Kim, member of the US House of Representatives, New Jersey

Stevie Wonder, singer-songwriter and musician (performance)

Kenan Thompson, comedian, and guests (remarks on Project 2025)

Mindy Kaling (host introduction)

Hakeem Jeffries, US House of Representatives Democratic leader

Bill Clinton, former US president

Nancy Pelosi, former US House speaker

Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania

Catherine Cortez Masto, US senator, Nevada

Amanda Gorman, national youth poet laureate, whose performance of The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration wowed the audience

Wes Moore, governor of Maryland

Pete Buttigieg, US transportation secretary

John Legend and Sheila E, musicians (performance)

Amy Klobuchar, US senator, Minnesota

Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris’s running mate (keynote address)

Democratic national convention 2024 live updates

Monday: For the People

Tuesday: A Bold Vision for America’s Future

Wednesday: A Fight for Our Freedoms

Thursday: For Our Future

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Illinois sheriff whose deputy killed Sonya Massey announces retirement

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Massey’s father and state’s governor had called for Jack Campbell to quit after his officer shot Massey in her home

An Illinois sheriff who hired the deputy charged in the death of Sonya Massey announced on Friday that he would retire, five weeks after the deputy fatally shot the 36-year-old Black woman in her home.

The Sangamon county sheriff, Jack Campbell, who won the office in 2018, said politics stood in the way of his effectiveness as sheriff and suggested he and his family had received death threats. Campbell, a 30-year veteran of the department, had previously said he did “not intend to step down”.

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Third person dies in listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats

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Overall number of people sickened rises to 43 as CDC says additional death happened in Virginia

Three people have now died in a listeria food poisoning outbreak linked to Boar’s Head deli meats, federal food safety officials announced on Thursday, and the overall number of people sickened rose to 43.

The additional death happened in Virginia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a news release on Thursday. The other two deaths were in New Jersey and Illinois. The CDC also said nine more cases were reported since a 31 July release about the outbreak, which started in late May.

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Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy killed Sonya Massey

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JB Pritzer calls on Jack Campbell to step down over ‘failures’ that led to Sean Grayson fatally shooting Massey

JB Pritzker, Illinois governor, has called for the resignation of the sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Sonya Massey in her home last month after the Black woman had called 911 for help.

Pritzker, a Democrat, said on Wednesday that the sheriff, Jack Campbell, should step down.

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Sonya Massey’s mother called 911 and asked police not to hurt daughter before shooting death

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Donna Massey told a dispatcher: ‘Please don’t send no combative policemen that are prejudiced’

Two emergency response calls were made from the home of Sonya Massey, the Black woman who was shot in the face by an Illinois sheriff’s deputy after she called 911 for help, in the days leading up to her death, according to records released Wednesday.

In a third call, Massey’s mother, Donna Massey, reports that her daughter is suffering a “mental breakdown” and tells the dispatcher: “I don’t want you guys to hurt her.” She adds that she fears the police and asks that no officer who is “prejudiced” be sent.

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Illinois officer charged with killing Sonya Massey had history of ‘bullying’

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Sean P Grayson worked for six law enforcement agencies in four years, with allegations of abuse of power and lying

As vigils for Sonya Massey take place across the US this weekend, a history of unethical and aggressive behavior by the officer who shot her, Sean P Grayson, is emerging. Grayson’s disciplinary file includes accusations of bullying behavior and abuse of power, according to CBS News.

Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman and mother of two living outside Springfield, Illinois, had called 911 when she thought a prowler was lurking outside her home on 6 July. Grayson and another officer from the Sangamon county sheriff’s office were dispatched and arrived at her home. Instead of helping Massey with a possible intruder, Grayson shot her in the face after she moved a pot of water from her kitchen stove at their request.

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Kamala Harris calls Sonya Massey family to give ‘heartfelt condolences’

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James Wilburn, father of Black woman shot dead by Illinois police, says vice-president ‘let us know she is with us 100%’

Vice-President Kamala Harris on Friday called the family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in her Illinois home, according to Massey’s family members, who spoke to NBC News.

Massey was killed on 6 July after she called the Sangamon county sheriff’s office because she was afraid there might be a prowler outside, according to an attorney for her family and Illinois state police.

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Sonya Massey killing: family accuse police of attempted cover-up

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Audio obtained by the Guardian reveals police dispatcher was told Black woman’s fatal wound was ‘self-inflicted’

The family of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman who was shot in the face and killed by a white sheriff’s deputy in Illinois, have said police initially tried to cover up her killing.

Police audio obtained by the Guardian features someone on scene the night of Massey’s killing – presumably a deputy – saying Massey’s wound was “self-inflicted”. A dispatcher asks to confirm, and the person on scene repeats “self-inflicted”. The recording is in line with what the family says was misleading information given by police when Massey was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

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Deli meat-linked listeria outbreak kills two and sends two dozen to hospital

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Largest number of people affected were in New York, and the two who died were from Illinois and New Jersey

At least two people have died and more than two dozen were hospitalized in an outbreak of listeria food poisoning linked to meat sliced at grocery store deli counters, US federal health officials said on Friday.

At least 28 people in a dozen states have gotten sick, though the largest number, seven, were in New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The people who died were from Illinois and New Jersey. Samples were collected from 29 May to 5 July and so far, all of the people known to be part of the outbreak have been hospitalized.

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Residents of Illinois town evacuate as officials warn of ‘imminent’ dam failure

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Nashville and surrounding areas have been hit by severe storms and flooding, overwhelming city’s infrastructure

Residents in Nashville, Illinois, are evacuating their homes after emergency management officials warned the failure of the city’s dam was “imminent”.

Nashville, a small city in Illinois with a population of nearly 3,000 people, and surrounding areas have been hit with severe storms which have caused flooding, overwhelming the city’s infrastructure. More than 5in of rain fell in the region within six hours on Tuesday.

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Tornado reported at Chicago airport as storms blow through midwest

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Multiple twisters reported in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana as weather service warns of damaging winds

A tornado apparently touched down outside Chicago’s O’Hare airport on Monday as storms spawned multiple reports of twisters blowing through Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.

The turbulent weather knocked down trees and power poles, cutting electricity to more than 460,000 customers and businesses. A woman in Indiana died after a tree fell on to a home, authorities said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Sinkhole appears in soccer field above an Illinois mine: ‘out of a movie’

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No one was present when the sinkhole, 100ft wide and 30ft deep, suddenly collapsed the field

A vast sinkhole has dramatically appeared in middle of an Illinois soccer pitch that was laid above a limestone mine, just days after amateur teams stopped using the grounds for practice.

The collapse happened at Gordon Moore Park in Alton, Illinois, about 18 miles north of St Louis, Missouri, on Wednesday. The sinkhole appeared to be 100ft (30m) wide and 30ft (9m) deep. No injuries have been reported but all sports have been cancelled.

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Marian Shields Robinson, mother of Michelle Obama, dies at 86

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Robinson, who moved to White House when Barack Obama won presidency, helped to care for granddaughters Malia and Sasha

Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama who moved with the first family to the White House when son-in-law Barack Obama was elected president, has died. She was 86.

Robinson’s death was announced in an online tribute by Michelle Obama, and included details of the time she spent living in the White House, as an informal first grandmother to the Obama children.

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Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ ubiquitous in Great Lakes basin, study finds

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PFAS chemicals present in air, rain, atmosphere and water in basin, which holds nearly 95% of US freshwater

Toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” are ubiquitous in the Great Lakes basin’s air, rain, atmosphere and water, new peer-reviewed research shows.

The first-of-its-kind, comprehensive picture of PFAS levels for the basin, which holds nearly 95% of the nation’s freshwater, also reveals that precipitation is probably a major contributor to the lakes’ contamination.

This story was amended on 18 May 2024 to clarify that Buffalo does not border Lake Ontario.

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Columbia University calls for inquiry into leadership as student protests sweep 40 campuses

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Professors at Emory University arrested as campuses follow Columbia’s lead in demanding ceasefire and divestment

At least 40 pro-Palestine protest camps have arisen across US campuses following Columbia University’s example earlier this month, as the New York school’s senate called for an investigation into its leadership, the New York Times reported.

While many remain provocative though peaceful, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment by their institutions from companies with ties to Israel, hundreds of students and outside protesters have been arrested, and there have been some fierce clashes with police.

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Suspect held after four killed and seven injured in Illinois stabbings

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Rockford police chief says one person remains in critical condition following attacks, as investigators seek motive

Four people were killed and seven were hurt in stabbings in northern Illinois on Wednesday, authorities said.

A suspect is in police custody and was being questioned, according to the police chief in Rockford, Carla Redd. She said one of the people who was wounded remained in critical condition.

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Man charged with murder after stabbing of Black teen worker at Illinois Walmart

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Timothy Carter, 28, in custody over killing of Jason Jenkins, 18, in attack criminal complaint says appears to be racially motivated

An Illinois man has been arrested after the fatal stabbing of a teenage employee at a Walmart last Sunday, in what appears to be a racially motivated hate crime.

Timothy Carter, 28, has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly killing Jason Jenkins, 18, an employee of the Walmart in the town of Rockford.

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