RichardWanke.Com

  • UPDATE:

    Four years have passed since Greg Clark's February 6, 2008, murder. No one has been charged for his murder, but Richard Wanke and Diane Chavez remain under a cloud of suspicion, and the Rockford Police and State continue to prosecute Diane Chavez. We believe it is time for the media and Rockford community to question the conduct of the Clark murder investigation and to urge the authorities to drop the prosecution against Diane Chavez.

  • Four Years of Injustice!

    Read our summarization of the events of the 4 year old investigation to date and our perspective as to why the allegations made against Richard Wanke, and Diane Chavez, are wrong. Please click on the tab on "Year Four: Where the Clark Murder Investigation Stands" in the top left center area of this page to read why we believe the investigation went astray and not only needs to be redone, but the charges against Diane Chavez also immediately dropped.

  • Richard Needs Your Help on Appeal!

    Richard will be filing a post-conviction petition in June 2012, and needs help. Please click on the "Help Needed" tab to read further. You can find all of his appeal court filings by clicking on the tab "Richard's Appeal Briefs.

  • Massive Clark Murder Investigation Fails to Link Richard or Diane

    Incidentally, the State's evidence comprising it's case against Richard and Diane (consisting of over 700 pages containing over 200 individual Rockford police reports and evidence summations) has been reviewed by an authoritative source who found nothing contained in that information which links either Richard or Diane to any involvement in Clark's murder other than the original claimed "witness reports" in February 2008. No DNA, no fingerprints, no weapon, no gunpowder residue, no questionable contacts, phone records, or transactions: nothing, zilch....

  • Why does this blog exist?

    On February 6, 2008, our friends, Richard Wanke and Diane Chavez, were arrested in alleged connection to the murder of a well-respected, local attorney, Gregory Clark. The vague scenario the Rockford police have submitted is problematic and more than three years later; the Rockford police still haven't been able to build enough of a case to charge Richard or Diane (or anyone else) with anything connected to the murder. We know Richard and Diane as gentle people; local community activists, who routinely participate in volunteer projects in the community. We hope, for the sake of our friends, and the family and friends of attorney Gregory Clark, that the Rockford police will rethink their current course and renew effort toward finding the real truth in this case.

  • How the Police Investigation of the Greg Clark Murder Went Astray

    The scenario on Wednesday, February 8, 2008, about 1:50 pm in the afternoon:

    The snow fall in Rockford, Illinois began the evening before and continued throughout the day. The snow accumulation was the heaviest experienced by the city in 10 years. The snowfall was so heavy that most businesses and all offices closed early or never opened, and for the first time in memory mail delivery did not even occur. At 1:50 pm, snow on the streets reached above car bumper level and visibility was poor.

    What happened: News media report that at 1:50 pm, attorney Greg Clark was home at his house in a quiet neighborhood on the east side of Rockford. According to the RRSTAR's latest summation of events from 2008: "A gunman springs from a van and opens fire, killing Gregory Clark, a Rockford attorney, who is clearing snow from his sidewalk." Clark was brutally shot in the back three times by an unknown shooter. He was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later.

    News accounts and subsequent police action show that more than one perpetrator actively participated at Clark's shooting. Media reports show the police immediately focused upon Richard Wanke because of what they thought of him and not because of any of the evidence found at the murder site.

    The news reporter was told the next day that the police did not believe he shot Clark, but just that he was somehow involved. Subsequent questioning of Richard's acquaintances showed the police asking questions indicating they sought information about at least one other person other than Richard.

    Read the whole essay.

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  • About the Articles on this Blog:

    RichardWanke.com is written and updated by community volunteers. It's mission: publicity and assistance for the legal defense of IDOC inmate, Richard Wanke. This blog also features articles on topics affecting IL, IDOC, and IDOC inmates. Article information is gleaned from a variety of public media accounts and from other internet sources and reflects what we believe to be accurate. Readers are invited to respond and submit their own experiences.

  • Help Investigate This Story! Support Our Spot.us campaign! See Below!

    Click here to link to Richard's campaign Spot.us is a non-profit project to pioneer "community funded reporting". Through Spot.us, the public can commission investigations with tax deductible donations for important and perhaps overlooked media stories. Read this article at link to more information

  • IDOC Early Release & Good Time Credits Still Remain Suspended!

    All IDOC Early Release Programs were suspended in 12/2009. IDOC awarding of Supplemental & Meritorious Good Time Credits (SGT & MGT) were also subsequently suspended. No inmates are eligible for either, and while MGT may return in a more restrictive form, no Early Release program is anticipated. See: (here)

    Politicians have made the law more restrictive before IDOC once again awards any MGT. You can read the Erickson Report and IDOC's official plan for implementing MGT (here).

    Prison over-crowding is unlikely to be addressed by Quinn until Mid 2012 or later. It may or may not include MGT. Quinn's plan to close state facilities is changing again and prison closures may again be included. Discussions between Quinn and IDOC about prison overcrowding are happening, but any action on releasing inmates to relieve overcrowding will not happen till late 2012, if at all.

    We will keep readers posted of any news or changes when these occur. We also urge readers to check these online sites: (ILprisontalk.com), and the (John Howard Association), for other information

  • Important Email Addresses:

    Send a letter with your thoughts or questions to Richard Wanke. (If you want a reply, you must include your name and a regular mailing address.) freerichardwanke@gmail.com, or snailmail (and it is slow):

    Richard Wanke, K77902 Vienna CC, 6695 State Route #146 East, Vienna, IL 62995

    ____________________

    Express your frustration about IDOC, prison issues, or anything else to your IL State Representative or IL State Senator! Use this link to email them directly!: (Rep or Senator here)

    Send your thoughts to Congress!

    Thanks to reader prisonrightsadvocate, for letting us know of the following weblinks which you can use to directly email our US Rep, Don Manzullo and State Senator, Dick Durbin

    ____________________

    Send an opinion letter to the Rockford Register Star. (To be printed it must be less than 200 words, with name, address, and daytime phone number.) Opinions@RRStar.com

    Send an opinion letter to the Rock River Times. rrtimes@rworld.com

    Have you experienced problems with the Winnebago County legal system? Please write a short story about your incident for us to post. You can choose to add your name, or not. freerichardwanke@gmail.com

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    Wordpress has excellent spam protection, and over 7,000 spams have been eliminated from this blog. Not to discourage legitimate postings and links, but if you post or comment to this blog with commercial content which is not informational and is not related to any of the topics featured on this blog, you are wasting your time (please note this jersery or shoe poster) and all your postings are removed in 2 secs daily. This blog is offered as an avenue for those interested in wrongful convictions, prison issues, misconduct, and social & economic issues pertaining to them, and to others who offer services to assist others on those issues.

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Archive for the ‘the Responsiblility of the Media’ Category

« Previous Entries

Why Eyewitness Testimony Should Rarely Be Used To Convict Anyone

Posted by smallmouth63 on September 14, 2011

The uninformed public gives the testimony of “eyewitnesses” far too much credibility. Do any research on the reliability of eyewitness testimony and you find that not only do people not remember correctly what they think or are certain that they saw, but you learn that all too often studies show that ideas and suggestions made after an incident happens or the desire of an individual to be “helpful” ends up tainting or rewriting peoples memories of events. The final memory that people believe is accurate is fragile and can bear little resemblence to the truth.

People should be a little more self-aware of how fleeting and susceptible their own memories are about events that happen around them and their own interactions with other individuals, and that we should know that our memories often cannot be relied upon. You would think that we would be very cautious in expressing certainty based upon our observations; particularly when the lives and well-being of others are affected by what we claim we saw or know.

Yet humans continue to bear witness to false memories and the consequences upon others, as in the two articles below, is disastrous. Jacques Rivera, served 21 years of an 80-year sentence before the appeals court accepted the recanted testimony of Orlando Lopez, the man who fingered Rivera for murder and who originally testified against him. Even now, Rivera is not free, but remains held without bond in Cook County jail, (a jail no one wants to be held in) waiting for the state to decide if it will still retry him for the 1988 murder. Inmate Jamie Snow, has not been so lucky. Even though his attorneys state that a former police officer who is now an inmate can discredit a prime witness’s claim that he saw Snow leave the scene of a murder, and despite that recantation of the testimony of other witnesses, Snow was still recently denied the chance for a new trial. He is just fighting to get his argument heard without any assurance that his life sentence will be overturned.

New trial for man convicted in ’88 murder after witness recants

Inmate appeals denial of new trial in 1991 killing

IL needs a law which prevents eyewitness testimony to either be used alone or in conjunction with just circumstantial evidence to convict anyone of a crime, particularly serious crimes. The consequences to those wrongfully convicted are too great and the error rate in eyewitness testimony is too high to justify such heavy reliance upon it in those cases. There are too many wrongfully convicted, particularly in IL, and too few resources to help them after they have been screwed. Thank goodness for the efforts of Northwestern University Center on Wrongful Convictions and those individual attorneys who, in these tough times, still care enough to do the hard work and investigation required to prove the innocence of those convicted only by eyewitness testimony or circumstantial evidence.

Posted in "Eyewitness Testimony", Local Issues, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Terrible Wrongs - Other Cases, The Causes of Wrongful Convictions, the Responsiblility of the Media | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Prisoners Efforts Big Part of Midwest Flood Prevention!

Posted by lactoselazy on May 8, 2011







Inmates from an IL prison load sandbags onto a truck Sunday, May 1, 2011,






 View 200 other photos from Midwest flood prevention efforts here.


 Inmates Help With Flood Relief  Efforts


“Our staff, facilities and the inmate work crews have been out on the front lines doing clean up and protecting communities from flood waters,” said acting Illinois Department of Corrections Director S.A. Godinez in a statement issued Monday.


Inmate crews have filled more than 468,000 sandbags and worked 30,000 hours since April 24, according to the Illinois Depart-ment of Corrections. Prisoners traveled from Tamms, Menard and Vienna correctional centers; Du Quoin and Dixon Springs boot camps; and Hardin County Work Camp. They have assisted areas in Alexander, Pulaski, Union, Jackson, Massac, Pope, Hardin, Gallatin and White counties.


Crews also have been helping with storm cleanup and providing laundry service for the Illinois National Guard.”


_______________________________


Emergency workers, citizens, utility company personnel, and many others have all been working around the clock for weeks in a desperate effort to prevent the massive river flooding which now extends from counties in southern Illinois throughout the Mississippi River basin states down to the Gulf of Mexico. Flooding on this scale is unprecedented, and entire communities are in danger of loss of life and property.


Few are aware that from the very start of this emergency crisis,  many inmates in Illinois state prisons and prisons throughout the affected areas have also been caught up and affected by this crisis. With many state prisons already short-staffed and access to them restricted by flooded roads, many of the prisons in southern Illinois have been placed on extended periods of lockdown restricting inmate movement. Yard hours and outside recreation activities have been suspended for most during this time.


Rather than complaining about this situation and the hardships they are enduring, prison inmates have from the outset stepped forward and volunteered their help to the relief effort by helping directly with sandbagging duties and other relief activities such as clearing debris.  Working outside in dry and wet weather on a daily basis, inmates have been working in two-hour shifts for some times 6 to 8 hours a day, filling sandbags and loading them into truck-after-truck pulling up into prison grounds.


Prison inmates are working without reward on this effort, but many of them have friends and family throughout the region. While they cannot be there to assist their loved ones, state prison inmates have shown their concern by doing what they can to help out everyone affected by the threat of flooding. State prisoners deserve all the recognition they can get for their efforts.


Too many times, prisoners are lambasted in the media and criticize by the public for being uncaring troublemakers.  Public officials often manipulate the public’s perception of inmates in order to whip up public frenzy over “crime”. This was particularly the case during the last election in the state of Illinois, when politicians and the media significantly mischaracterized criminals to such an extent that IL Gov. Pat Quinn was pressured into ending all early release prison programs and suspending the awarding of any additional Meritorious Good Time credits (MGT) to all Illinois state prisoners.  MGT still remains suspended, and while our state politicians have forgotten about their role in creating this mess in the first place, the families of thousands of inmates who would otherwise be now released from prison, remain stuck in hardship as a result.


So, it is only fair to applaud the hard work and dedication shown throughout our state prison facilities by our prison inmates who are laboring almost continuously to help out the state in this great time of need. The public needs to understand that regardless of their individual infractions, prisoners cannot be stereotyped. There are many individuals in state prisons who show responsibility and who are also willing to help out others in need without the incentive of any compensation. The public needs to perceive this and, likewise show some support for prisoners when they in turn need our understanding.


Editor’s Note: You can show appreciation for the work of these inmates in a way that will matter by contacting IL Governor Pat Quinn (here), Lt. Governor Sheila Simon (here) or your state legislator (here) and sending them an email mentioning that IL prison inmates should receive recognition and credit for the help they have provided to the state during this flood crisis.




Last line of defence: Young and old rush to fill sandbags as four MILLION people face record-breaking floods sweeping the Mississippi delta


By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 12:36 AM on 8th May 2011



May 2011 has only just begun, but it’s already shaping up to be a wetter-than-normal one. Southern Illinois rainfall in May is generally 4.82 inches, and the area has already received it’s average for the month. In fact, the first two days of the month topped the monthly average for Southern Illinois. 19 Southern Illinois counties have been declared disaster areas after the recent flooding that, this weekend reaches to threaten the rest of the Mississippi river states. It is estimated that up to 2,000 individuals are effected by the flooding in Illinois alone.


As floodwaters recede, region begins cleanup


The Southern.com, May 7, 2011


Record Mississippi River Flooding Sparks Call for Comprehensive Management


Published on May 7, 2011 – 6:53:43 AM “…After Iowans suffered two 500 year floods in the past 18 years, it is clear that focusing flood protection on stronger levees and flood walls is not enough,” said Susan Heathcote, Water Program Director at Iowa Environmental Council. “Long term development planning along rivers must include moving people and structures out of harm’s way and allowing wetland and floodplain areas to perform their natural function—to absorb and slow the river’s flow during spring floods”…Wetlands filter pollutants, absorb excess rainwater and reduce flooding by acting as a giant sponge. Flooding in 1993 caused an estimated $16 billion in damages. Scientists estimate that returning some lands in the Upper Mississippi River basin to their original form—wetlands—would significantly reduce future flooding..”





				


			
Posted in IDOC, IL in Fiscal Ruins, the Responsiblility of the Media, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,  |    1 Comment »

		


			

			
Two Examples of New Prosecutor Tactics: Abuse of Power to Prosecute Critics, Not Criminals!


			
Posted by mikethemouth on April 3, 2011


				

					
Cook County prosecutors are on the cutting-edge, wielding their almighty powers of the state to prosecute their critics in the legal community who have repeatedly embarrassed them by helping to free those who are wrongly accused. Instead of taking lessons to heart and improving the legal performance of the prosecutors in their department; Cook County prosecutors have chosen to go after individual attorneys and organizations who have been effective in helping defendants.


Prosecutors know that they can ruin reputations and that they can often depend upon their prey being socially isolated once they become the target of any prosecution. Witness what is happening with the Medill Innocence Project and Northwestern University journalism professor David Protess. By suspending Protess, John Lavine, dean of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism appears to be single-handedly discrediting investigative journalism and adding to the destruction of the lives of those IL prison inmates who are wrongly convicted.


Journalism Under Siege at Northwestern


…”For the last three years, Protess has been locked in a prolonged battle  with Chicago prosecutors after Cook County State’s Attorney Anita  Alvarez unveiled an unprecedented subpoena demanding all the records of Protess and his students concerning the  case of Anthony McKinney, who Protess alleges has been behind bars for  nearly thirty-five years for a murder he did not commit. For the full  backstory, read The Nation’s editorial from last year, “Stalling Justice.”  After initially defending Protess, Northwestern abruptly turned against  him last fall, siding with prosecutors on the subpoena and culminating  in Lavine’s sudden suspension of him last week…”


Protess and the Medill Innocence Project are not the only targets of Cook County prosecutors:


Felony charges for lawyer in cellphone case sparks legal debate


Attorney, Sladjana Vuckovicno, can no longer work the First Defense hotline since the CTA, which gave  her special permission to do so before, has taken away the privilege since Cook County prosecutors her with a felony for bringing her cellphone into a police interview room.


“…The charges have sparked a controversy in the legal community. Several criminal-defense lawyers cannot remember a similar prosecution before in Illinois and said they routinely bring their cellphones into police interview rooms and sometimes let clients make calls, particularly to relatives if they express skepticism that the lawyer is truly there to defend them.


There are no signs in police  stations warning against bringing a cellphone into an interview room,  the lawyers said, and detectives rarely ask them to leave their  belongings outside.


“If the state is attempting to interpret the statute so broadly that it  includes the interview rooms at the police stations, then hundreds of  lawyers in Illinois are committing Class 1 felonies on a daily basis,”  said Richard Dvorak, a civil-rights lawyer who also is a member of the  First Defense advisory board.”

				


			
Posted in Local Issues, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Terrible Wrongs - Other Cases, the Responsiblility of the Media | Tagged: , , , ,  |    Leave a Comment »

		


			

			
Mess after Mess at IL Workman’s Comp Commission


			
Posted by lactoselazy on March 27, 2011


				

					
The scandal involving the IL Workman’s Compensation Commission (ILWCC) has continued to broaden out since early January 2011, when it was discovered by the Belleville News-Democrat that hundreds of prison guards at Menard’s Correctional Center (including the Warden) received substantial injury compensation awards for “carpal tunnel” and other repetitive injuries they claimed during the past several years. The Belleville News-Democrat (BND) has been criticized for presenting a supposedly “one-sided” perspective on just how serious the problems are which plague the ILWCC, but common sense tells anyone who reads the information contained in the BND series below  that the ILWCC’s problems are systemic, and that the agency is out of control. The Central Management Services (CMS) is another state agency which is supposed to keep tabs on the processing of state worker compensation claims, and it apparently also hasn’t kept a close eye on what went on at the ILWCC. CMS seems now to be trying to hinder the release of information to the public about the resolution of specific claims. But, clearly, you have had an agency (the ILWCC) where more than a few, trained, administrative judges (many of them lawyers) appear to have: a) freely dispensed millions in state monies to many claimants (including themselves) with little requirement for the substantiation of the basis for each claim, b) traded favors in order to expedite claims, and c) tried to obscure their actions from public notice by losing the paperwork or conducting actions in secrecy.


The state legislators are debating reform of the whole IL workman’s comp agency and procedures, but so far, haven’t been able to get employers, medical providers, and employees to agree on changes. Now, it has even been proposed (although it is unlikely to pass) that Workman’s Comp should be done away with altogether. Yet, this would pretty much leave employees defenseless and forced to sue their employers for any compensation.


At least two administrative judges whose actions appear to have fallen far short of approved standards have been placed on paid administrative leave pending federal and state investigation (when many feel they should be fired outright), but this is just the start of what needs to happen. The Belleville News-Democrat is to be commended for it’s tenacity and thorough efforts in using the Freedom of Information Act to uncover this scandal and keep the public on top of it. Hopefully, we will soon begin to hear of serious action taken from the investigations, including criminal prosecutions.


30 fired workers’ comp arbitrators still getting paychecks


House might ditch current workers’ comp system


Quinn proposing changes to workers’ comp in Ill.















				


			
Posted in FOIA-Freedom of Information Act, IDOC, IL in Fiscal Ruins, the Responsiblility of the Media, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , ,  |    Leave a Comment »

		


			

			
Investigation goes on 3 years after Rockford lawyer’s shooting death – Rockford Register Star


			
Posted by scaryhouse on February 5, 2011


				

					
This article is substantially just a reprint of the same information the Rockford Register-Star prints on each anniversary of the murder of Greg Clark. The authorities put out the hint that they are confident that they have the right individual targeted in their investigation and that they simply are tightening up the evidence in the case before they arrest the suspect.


In reality, we know that the authorities don’t hold off waiting to arrest someone when they feel they have sufficient evidence of complicity in a crime. Saying they have a suspect when the evidence is not sufficient to connect the suspect to the crime is always a face-saving tactic, particularly when the investigation is not being worked for other angles and possibilities.


It it too bad that the RRStar and bereaved family members are simply accepting what the authorities claim. The RRStar should either investigate this story in depth from a new and broader perspective (we are sure that Clark faced threats from a few clients and that there were other security threats in his neighborhood) or join the family in pushing for a new, unbiased reinvestigation by police or an outside source.


We are just as interested in this happening, because, apparently, it will be necessary for someone else to solve this homicide and product the suspect to the police before they will consider other options. And otherwise, the longer this case pends out, the more likely it is, in this case as in others, that the authorities will simply stoop to manufacture the evidence they think they require. That will resolve nothing, and is exactly what causes wrongful convictions.


__________________________________________________


By Corina Curry RRSTAR.COM


ROCKFORD — A blizzard dumping historic amounts of snow across the city. Government offices, including the courthouse, shutting down because of the inclement weather. The buzz of snowblowers in neighborhoods across the city.


All stood as eerie reminders this week of a shooting three years ago that took the life of a local attorney.


Gregory H. Clark, 60, was killed Feb. 6, 2008, while pushing a snowblower on the sidewalk around his home in the 1700 block of Oak Forest Drive. Police said a gunman jumped out of a van, shot Clark several times in the back and jumped back into the van, which sped off.


It was just before 2 p.m. The Winnebago County Courthouse, where Clark mainly worked as a defense attorney, was closed because of a heavy snowfall.


Later that day, police arrested two people — housemates Richard E. Wanke, one of Clark’s clients, and Diane Chavez.


While prosecutors publicly called both people of interest in the homicide investigation, neither was charged with Clark’s death at the time and that has not changed in three years.


No one else has been charged, either — leaving the mysterious midday attack on an unarmed attorney clearing snow in front of his house one of the community’s most-puzzling unsolved murder cases.


“This time of year is difficult,” said Bart Henbest, Clark’s business partner and son-in-law. “Anytime there’s a bad snowstorm. It brings back memories.”


via Investigation goes on 3 years after Rockford lawyer’s shooting death – Rockford, IL – Rockford Register Star.

				


			
Posted in Police Misconduct, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Richard's Cases, The Causes of Wrongful Convictions, the Responsiblility of the Media, Uncategorized |    Leave a Comment »

		


			

			
More Behind IL Prison Workman’s Comp Scandal!


			
Posted by freerichardwanke on February 1, 2011


				

					
Now it looks like prison guards were not the only ones who got money easily! Click article below to read:


Arbitrator who approved workers’ comp settlements for Menard guards also got one; governor orders investigation






“The arbitrator who approved many of the workers’ compensation  settlements that awarded millions of taxpayer dollars to guards at the  Menard Correctional Center for carpal tunnel syndrome received $48,790  for the same type of injury.


But four months after state hearing  judge John T. Dibble received the settlement, the award was not listed  in the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s online database,  which is the primary way the public learns about these payments.


That’s  because a key document, known as a settlement contract, never was  assigned a case number, and the actual case file is lost, commission  spokeswoman Sue Piha said. She said she does not know why the contract  wasn’t filed or what happened to the case file, which would contain  medical reports, and suggested that a backlog of unfiled cases could be  responsible…”


_________________________________________________________


Boy, the deeper the news media digs into this scandal, the worst it gets! One wishes that the media pursued every story so avidly! Workman’s Comp Arbitrators awarding each other compensation claims via paperwork filed by mail! Arbitrators then approving prison guard claims for same or similar type of injuries! Case paperwork apparently lost or misfiled!


The IL Workman’s Compensation Commission is in serious trouble and disarray. Will the agency survive the scandal?









				


			
Posted in IDOC, IL in Fiscal Ruins, the Responsiblility of the Media |    Leave a Comment »

		


			

			
Winnebago County Sheriff Dick Meyers & Department, “Caught With Their Pants Down”


			
Posted by parchangelo on October 31, 2010


				

					
It’s been a tough year for local law enforcement. The Rockford Police Department was raked over the coals in the review findings concerning police actions taken during the Mark Anthony Barmore shooting. Now comes  the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. In Rockford, IL, it appears that the behavior of the cops is at least as immature and may be as unlawful as some of our criminals.


Longtime Sheriff Richard A. Meyers is campaigning for reelection as Winnebago County Sheriff. Meyers may have had the election in the bag until he and the department publicly pursued allegations of wrongdoing against his political opponent, Aaron A. Booker, timed at a point interpreted by many as last-minute dirty tactics by Sheriff Myers.


If so, the tactic has backfired against Sheriff Myers disastrously. An email scandal is now suddenly revealed within the Winnebago County Sheriffs Department, the scope of which is staggering.  Literally hundreds of e-mails were widely and openly distributed and shared among the deputies and supervisory staff of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department between 2005 and 2008, containing inappropriate pictures and text messages which were in some instances sexually suggestive, borderline racist, and otherwise offensive in the nature and content. Copies of these emails abound now, and just about everybody agrees that the existence and quantity of these e-mails should never have been condoned within a law enforcement agency or any other public governmental body such as the Winnebago County Sheriff’s department. The public is shocked to learn that they were and to see that apparently an “anything goes” atmosphere existed unchecked within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department for years.


Sheriff Meyers, first attempted to clamp down on the scandal. He quickly went on record to claim that he saw only one of the e-mails in 2008, and gave it to a supervisor who verbally reprimanded the individual responsible for the e-mails. The supervisor distributed an email within the Department advising all staff to desist from distributing such material and supposedly taking care of the matter. Sheriff Myers concedes that the e-mails probably did constitute sexual harassment and that he probably could have handled the matter better. He promised a reinvestigation and reassessment of the disciplinary actions taken back in 2008. Too bad, his explanation only sufficed for a couple of days before more e-mails surfaced showing incidents also happened after the 2008 warning to staff.


Since then many allegations have come out in public commenting with respect the possibility of improper behavior within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, and the Sheriff has stopped providing explanations. Personal conduct allegations have been raised against Sheriff Meyers, including nepotism and allegations that behavior by other deputies within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department similar to that attributed to Booker also occurred without disciplinary actions.   As the e-mail scandal has expanded, Sheriff Myers turned dismissive of the significance of the email scandal and began claiming that the revelations in the scandal now are political reprisal attempts by the Booker campaign or others for his Booker investigation.


We’ve gathered some of the media articles regarding the scandal within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s department below. There are a few points to be made:


The fact that these e-mails occurred and were circulated in so extensive a manner within any local law enforcement agency is inconceivable to us in terms of stupidity and intolerable.


The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department has allegedly been run as a personal and political fiefdom by Sheriff Meyers for 28 years. Myers has had a reputation for being tough on crime in recent years, but what does that matter when the whole department is apparently out of control and the staff is as demoralized as the media comments suggest? Obviously, serious problems do exist at the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, and the question is, will these problems be investigated and resolved?


If the timing in the events of the Booker investigation was made to coincide with the Nov 2, 1010, election, then we are incredulous that Sheriff Meyers would have allegedly attempted this tactic. If so, it would obviously show arrogance and the unawareness that a reading of the public comments shows there are many people out there who claim to be aware of wrongdoing of some nature at the Winnebago County Sheriffs Department. Relying upon them to all stay quiet about these matters would not have been too smart.


We have watched the whole local law enforcement community and Winnebago County politicos respond to the scandal erupting within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department by silence with respect to it and Sheriff Meyers, or else they declare that they have no power, oversight, or responsibility with respect to what happens within the Sheriff’s Department. Coroner Sue Fidducia even took the unwise position (in our opinion) of standing in support by Sheriff Myers during his campaign press conference which attempted to direct the public attention from the scandal. We are not accepting the message being put out by Meyers and others that this as an election issue, not a substantive issue affecting the operations and conduct of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. We are demanding that local law-enforcement ensure that an outside review is conducted to investigate and cleanup the apparently systemic problems within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. We hope the local media also fulfill their responsibility and similarly push for investigation and review.


Sheriff Meyers has been “caught with his pants down”. If any suspect responded to official questioning by concealing knowledge of a subject to the extent that Meyers has done, they would be brought up on Obstruction of Justice and Concealment charges. How can law enforcement complain about a lack of public cooperation and honesty with them when this is the behavior they demonstrate when anyone attempts to question them about their actions?


In our opinion, Sheriff Richard A. Myers is not behaving in the manner befitting a public official. He is attempting to downplay serious problems in the department which have not been resolved by him. In our opinion, Sheriff Myers does not deserve to remain sheriff of Winnebago County. Booker has been attacked for political inexperience, but he has responded with more candor (in our opinion) regarding the allegations against him and what has transpired within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. Booker should be given the chance to reform the department because we believe that despite stated intentions, it is clear to us that Sheriff Myers will be unwilling to do so.


This matter also raises the question concerning the behavior of the individual deputies who comprise the work force of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. Do they really need to be told up front and by the public, that immature behavior during working hours will not be tolerated? This is not a message that you would hope to have to deliver to any law enforcement officer. Their behavior cannot be excused by the stressful nature of their job. When any officer charged with upholding the law and determining what constitutes lawful behavior stoops to crude humor and indulges their prurient senses on the job, then it is time for the individual to resign because his judgment is impaired and the public cannot afford it.


Just Click on each of the red links below to read the articles:


Many similarities between candidates for Winnebago County Sheriff


Dirty emails from 2007 resurface amidst heated Winn. Co. Sheriff’s race


Sheriff’s Department seems to tolerate ‘good ol’ boys’ environment


Naked women, e-mails and the good ol’ boys of the county’s 911 center


Sheriff: Use of ’07 e-mails ‘dirty campaign tactic’







Winnebago County sheriff: E-mails were sexual harassment


The department chief also says corrective action fell short




Thursday daybook: We’re on the same page; those e-mails were harassment




Winnebago County sheriff denies ordering bump to son’s score


The allegation is made by his opponent’s campaign chairman.






				


			
Posted in Barmore Shooting, IDOC, Local Issues, Police Misconduct, the Responsiblility of the Media |    Leave a Comment »

		


			

			
ACLU Seeks End to Prosecutions for Recording Public Conversations With Police — CHICAGO, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –


			
Posted by scaryhouse on August 20, 2010


				

					
This ACLU lawsuit is great news for citizen rights in IL. As we advised you previously in this article, here, Illinois law which makes it a Class I felony (punishable by up to 15 years in prison) for anyone to record an on-duty police officer or any other public official, without their knowledge or permission. According to Radley Bradley, the senior editor of Reason magazine, Illinois law is the most extreme law on the subject in the country, and that it is so bad that state prosecutors probably don’t enforce it very often because they probably recognize that it unconstitutional.


Responding to a series of incidents in which individuals in four counties in Illinois have been charged with violating Illinois’ eavesdropping law for making audio recordings of public conversations with police, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today asked a federal court to rule that the First Amendment bans such prosecutions.  The ACLU lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Chicago, argues that individuals (and organizations such as the ACLU) may make audio (and video) recordings of police who are performing their public duties in a public place and speaking in a voice loud enough to be heard by the unassisted human ear.


via ACLU Seeks End to Prosecutions for Recording Public Conversations With Police — CHICAGO, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –.

				


			
Posted in Local Issues, Police Misconduct, the Responsiblility of the Media |    Leave a Comment »

		


			

			
Crime Scene : Oakland Tribune photog wins police payout


			
Posted by scaryhouse on August 11, 2010


				

					
If it wasnt for the video I shot, this abuse of power would never have come to light. Its now illegal in a dozen states to record police activity, and this case is an excellent example of why that right needs to be protected. One of the reasons people often fear cameras is because they tell the truth.”


via Crime Scene : Oakland Tribune photog wins police payout.

				


			
Posted in Police Misconduct, the Responsiblility of the Media |    Leave a Comment »

		


			

			
Stuff You Should Know Podcast – How The Innocence Project Works


			
Posted by scaryhouse on June 24, 2010


				

					
Chuck and Josh, the co-hosts of the popular podcast “Stuff You Should Know” take a look at The Innocence Project and with astonishing statistics unveil some misconceptions about how well our police and justice system work.


Listen to it by clicking here.

				


			
Posted in "Eyewitness Testimony", Police Misconduct, Prosecutorial Misconduct, The Causes of Wrongful Convictions, the Responsiblility of the Media |    Leave a Comment »

		


	
	

		
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