Browsing: Local Stories

The city Law Department filed a complaint on March 5, 2020, in the Circuit Court of Cook County against Badillo, who does not live at the property. Last week, after the shooting, the Police Department relieved Badillo of his police powers, meaning he was reassigned to paid desk duty without the ability to carry a badge or gun for work purposes while disciplinary investigators look into any potential misconduct involving him. The department would not say why they relieved Badillo of his powers.

Since then, the case has taken highly unusual twists and turns. For a time, George Jackson was removed from representing his brother altogether and, separately, banned from entering the courthouse. He sometimes has failed to show up in court for trial dates. But Monday, as jurors were selected, it was the closest the case has come to an actual retrial in years.

Some aldermen said the city should sue the men who harassed the women, to try to get them to pay the settlements from their Fire Department pensions. But city attorney Renai Rodney said the city wouldn’t be successful in trying to recover the money, and would only spend more money trying in vain to do so.

Experts recommend going to a shelter’s lowest floor, like a basement, a bathroom, a closet or center hallway. It is imperative to avoid sheltering in a room with windows, as they can easily be blown out by high winds, according to the CDC. It is not recommended to take shelter in a mobile home or car. Outside, avoid bridges or highway overpasses.

Also unknown was whether Vrdolyak, who did not participate in Monday’s hearing, has been vaccinated against COVID-19. His attorney, Catharine O’Daniel, told the judge his doctors had recommended he not get a vaccine due to his compromised immune system. She also said he’d suffered from yet another fall at home last week and chipped bones in his hip.

“Small pieces of debris, that could be tree limbs or paper, lofted above 10,000 feet and that’s a sign that the tornado is a pretty decent tornado, or, I should say, a stronger tornado,” Friedlein said early Monday, noting how infrequently debris would be launched so high into the atmosphere. “The radar can sample that and tell it’s not raindrops or hail storms. That is unusual. It’s more rare that that happens.”