Portrait of the Rahmfather

Who sent me The Rahmfather? I want to know. Please.

This is the question of Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass. If you know the answer, let him or us know.

The mysterious portrait was in his office when he showed up for work one recent morning – a large framed movie-style poster of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as some Jewish Al Pacino - and the words, “JOHN FRANCIS KASS’S The Rahmfather.” (sic). Then follows the phrase “All the power on Earth can’t change Chicago.”

It is a strikingly handsome Rahmfather, thoughtful, pensive, his chin propped on his left hand, a hawk at rest. The Rahmfather is in a dark suit, conservative tie, his Chicago flag lapel pin right where it belongs, and that steel-gray hair slightly spiky, just like Pacino’s in “The Godfather: Part III.”

Oh yeah, and the eyes. The eyes follow you wherever you go.

John said that over the years his readers have sent him some amazing treasures but nothing is as cool as The Rahmfather.

“Oh, my God,” said an aide of Rahm’s when he sent a photo. “He’s really going to want this.”

“Yeah, I know he’s going to want it. He’s going to want it bad. But tell him he can’t have it. He can send his buddy Jimmy DeLeo over with a box of cannoli and I’d say no. Rahm could put my head in a vise and still I wouldn’t give it to him.”

“This is really good work,” said Scott Stantis, the Tribune’s editorial cartoonist and John’s friend. Scott did a little “Antiques Roadshow” for John. “This was done by a pro,” said Stantis.

But who? All John knew was that a few weeks ago, it was dropped off by a nondescript person at the Tribune Tower.

Even stranger is the painting was addressed to: “JKFC John Kass Fan Club, 211 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 4250.”

But there is no fan club at this address. There is also no Suite 4250 in that building. There are only 41 floors in the building.

“Maybe it was a joke?” asked another. The Rahmfather may be many things, but he’s not a jester. An editor reminded John of what a wise columnist often says: In Chicago, when it comes to City Hall or the Outfit, there are no such things as coincidences.

John asked the editor, “Should I sweep it for bugs? Could this be a Trojan Rahm? The editor replied, “It’s up to you, but I would.”

That’s all Kass had to hear. Having the Rahmfather hanging on the wall behind him, peering over his shoulder as he is talking on the phone, he couldn’t take the chance.

So he drove the painting over to the U-Spy Store, 2406 W. Fullerton, to have it examined by counterintelligence experts.

Kass writes: Waiting for him were Emil Pressman, the experienced operations boss, white-haired, pale, thin, hard eyes, every inch the seasoned pro, and Theresa Cheriachangel, a young investigator brandishing a radio frequency wand.

Emil’s eyes widened when he saw the Rahmfather, but quickly he got down to work, running his fingers over the frame, looking for faults, cracks, someplace to hide a recording device. Theresa ran her electronic wand over it, searching for radio signals. She ran other tests as well.

Theresa handles the countermeasure services for MSI Detective Services, which owns the U-Spy Store.

The following conversation then took place between John Kass and Emil:

“You care for this poster, no?” asked Emil, sounding like Sir Laurence Olivier playing an Eastern European spymaster. “You like it, yes? You will keep it in your office, yes?” Yes, Emil. Where are you from? “Chicago,” said Emil. No. Before. “Odessa,” said Emil. KGB? He laughed without sound.

“There are no recording devices in this,” he said. “But it is nice work.”

John Kass ended his article with:

Yes, it’s nice work. Excellent work. But who did it? Rahm? Someone else? Who?

One of you knows the answer. And when I learn who did it, you know what’ll happen. I’ll just have to make them an offer they can’t refuse.

I hope John Kass learns one day who sent him this mysterious painting. Until then, it will be hanging over him – literally and figuratively.

Read story@ chicagotribune

New street lights called “Intellistreets” are coming to Chicago. These are not your average street lights. These lights also double as surveillance monitors. They can play music, direct traffic, monitor conversations, take pictures, and send emergency signals. The lights include “Homeland Security” applications and are being installed in a few cities, including Chicago, Pittsburgh and Detroit, with the aid of government funding. The first concept installation of the system was launched in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Some say these lights should be called, “Spying Street Lights.”

The system detects movement and can identify whether the movement is a car, person or animal. If too much movement is detected, the police are notified.

As you can imagine, some view this as an invasion of privacy, “creepy” and the feeling that Big Brother is watching. Others see the system as a way to keep their neighborhoods safer. One example is that some believe such a system could have prevented a deadly shooting that took place in the Uptown area of Charlotte, NC, last May. The shooting is believed to have been gang related.

The Deputy of Charlotte, North Carolina Homeland Security chief was quoted as saying, “If the City installed street lights with surveillance abilities…you would never know.”

The founder of the system, Ron Harwood, said he came up with the idea after 911 and Hurricane Katrina. He is the president of the company that manufactures these lights – Illuminating Concepts. In an interview with Fox News, Harwood said that if speakers are installed in the poles, authorities could speak to people to tell them what to do if there is an emergency. He also said that access to pictures/images would not be available to just anyone. He said that a police officer, city official or city employee would have to “ask” to retrieve an image from a pole and that image would be in the form of a “picture.” It was after Harwood’s development that he began discussions with Homeland Security.

It seems to me that law enforcement or investigators would need more than a picture if they were trying to analyze a crime – who did what and when, etc. It would seem you would need active surveillance to determine what took place during a crime. When people don’t feel they are being told everything, they aren’t going to trust the system. If the system is capable of surveillance and monitoring conversations, why would one believe that only a picture would be released to authorities?

Using street lights as surveillance tools has already been advanced by several European countries. In 2007, leaked documents out of the UK Home Office revealed that British authorities were working on proposals to fit lamp posts with CCTV cameras that would X-ray scan passers-by and “undress them” in order to “trap terror suspects.”

Dutch police also announced last year that they are developing a mobile scanner that will “see through people’s clothing and look for concealed weapons.”

So-called ‘talking surveillance cameras’ that use a speaker system similar to the Intellistreets model are already being used in UK cities like Middlesborough to bark orders and reprimand people for dropping litter and other minor offenses.

According to reports, one of the most common phrases used to shame people into obeying instructions is to broadcast the message, “We are watching you.”

At $3,000 a piece, Intellistreets luminaries have the potential of lowering energy costs by adjusting brightness to match the appropriate atmosphere and location. Additionally, the company says it has an endless number of entertainment options and can serve as a public address system of sorts and offer advertisements up to passersby. That’s right — it records video, counts heads and spews propaganda! When you put it that way, it’s no wonder that Harwood is in cahoots with Homeland Security.

The transformation of street lights into surveillance tools for Homeland Security purposes will only serve to heighten concerns that the United States is fast on the way to becoming a high-tech police state, with TSA agents being empowered to oversee that control grid, most recently with the announcement that TSA screeners would be manning highway checkpoints, a further indication that security measures we currently see in airports are rapidly spilling out onto the streets.

According to the Illuminating Concepts Website, the Intellistreets system comprises of a wireless digital infrastructure that allows street lights to be controlled remotely by means of a ubiquitous wi-fi link and a miniature computer housed inside each street light, allowing for “security, energy management, data harvesting, and digital media.”

After the first installments took place in Michigan, a backlash began to hit Intellistreets and the company removed a YouTube video that offered an eerie insight into the surveillance capabilities. The video was also quick to once again note the Homeland Security features which have the potential to link up to government agencies. Infowars responded by asking, “If Intellistreets is such a cutting-edge concept that presents an array of wonderful benefits, as the promo video claims, then why remove it from You Tube?”  “Now that the company has tried to hide the video, it will only generate more suspicion about the true purpose behind Intellistreets and the level of involvement on behalf of Homeland Security,” read a blog post on the site.

Sources: Fox News, nowtheendbegins.com, forbiddenknowledgetv.com, rt.com, infowars.com

T. Jimenez with Anita Alvarez - State's Attorney

Thaddeus “T.J.” Jimenez spent 16 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence. There are many people behind bars for crimes they did not commit. I just watched a program where a man could not get help through the regular channels. He hired a private investigator who eventually dug up the truth, the man was given another trial, and he was found not guilty. He had spent about 20 years in prison.

Most wrongfully convicted people are not fortunate enough to be exonerated, let alone receive the type of reward Mr. Jimenez received. Attorneys for the plaintiff say they believe the award made Tuesday is the largest ever by a U.S. jury in a wrongful conviction case. Of course, you can’t put a price tag on someone’s life. You can never give back what that person lost.

“Sometimes the criminal justice system makes a mistake,” said Jon Loevy, one of Jimenez’s attorneys. “In this case, we proved that’s exactly what happened.”

Jimenez sued the City of Chicago and his attorneys won his case. A federal jury awarded him $25 million.

After sitting through a two-week trial at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago, the jury deliberated for about a day. The evidence exonerating Mr. Jimenez must have been overwhelming for the jury to reach a decision so quickly.

Jimenez was 13 when he was arrested in the 1993 gang-related slaying of Eric Morro, 19, near the intersection of West Belmont and North Sacramento Avenues. Jimenez was convicted in two separate trials. He was then freed in 2009 after a witness recanted and investigators analyzed a recording of a man admitting to the shooting. An Indiana man, Juan Carlos Torres, has been charged in Morro’s case and is awaiting trial.

“They strong-armed witnesses into falsely implicating [Jimenez], and when the real suspect turned up, they chose to ignore him because they had already built the case against the wrong guy,” Loevy said. Loevy said that police had “framed” Jimenez.

In 2010, Cook County Criminal Court presiding Judge Paul Biebel Jr. signed  Jimenez’s “certificate of innocence,” clearing the way for Jimenez to receive state compensation for his wrongful imprisonment.

In what appears to be a show of appreciation and respect, Loevy said he is hesitant to criticize Cook County prosecutors in their handling of the case because “they recognized there had been an injustice and they corrected it.” You have to give the prosecutor’s office a lot of credit for correcting a wrong. They generally don’t want a wrongful conviction on their books. Anita Alvarez is Cook County’s State’s Attorney (shown in picture with Jimenez).

I am not so sure the fight is over yet for Jimenez based on a statement made by a spokesman for the city’s Department of Law. The spokesman, Roderick Drew, said, “We are very disappointed with the decision.” ”We will be exploring all available options.”

Politics usually play a large part in these types of cases. For example, if it can be proved that those working on the case when Jimenez was arrested and convicted are guilty of any wrongful doing, they have to answer a lot of questions – even 16 years later.

Jimenez, who now is in his early 30s, lives in the western suburbs and works at a Sonic restaurant. He has another set of legal problems facing him. In December 2011, Jimenez was convicted of illegally possessing drugs and now faces up to three years in prison at his sentencing on Feb. 1.

Read story@ msnbc

St. Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, IL

Recent court case rulings in Illinois regarding the constitutionality of Illinois’ eavesdropping law have placed this topic at the agenda forefront of some Illinois legislators and the ACLU.

Illinois’ eavesdropping law is one of the strictest in the country. The law makes it illegal to audio-record police without their consent, even when they’re working in public. Illinois is one of a handful of states in which it is illegal to record audio of public conversations without the permission of everyone involved.

Breaking this law carries a harsh penalty. It is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. This law has come under increased scrutiny in the last few years in courts throughout the state.

State Representative Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook has filed a bill that would allow people to audio-record a police officer working in public without the officer’s consent. In an interview last Thursday, Rep. Nekritz said, “I believe that the existing statute is a significant intrusion into First Amendment rights, so with the prosecutions and the court cases that have been reported about, it just seemed that this is a problem in need of a swift solution.”

Last August, a Cook County jury acquitted a woman who had recorded two Chicago police internal affairs investigators she believed were trying to dissuade her from filing a sexual harassment complaint against a patrol officer.

In another Cook County case, Chicago artist Chris Drew is facing trial for allegedly making an illegal audio recording of Chicago police during a 2009 arrest for selling art on a downtown street without a permit.

In September, a Crawford County judge ruled the law unconstitutional and dismissed eavesdropping charges against a man accused of recording police and court officials without their consent.

The latter ruling prompted Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to file notice that she will appeal directly to the state Supreme Court. Lisa Madigan said she wants to delay arguments until after a ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago regarding a suit against the law filed by the ACLU in 2010.

In support of the current law are officials from the Fraternal Order of Police in Chicago. They have said the union backs the current law because it prevents people from making baseless accusations against officers by recording them and then releasing snippets that don’t reveal the full context of the incident.

Rep. Nekritz proposed legislation, HB 3944, would allow a person to record a phone conversation with a business if the business says it may record the call, but she said police officers working in public should not consider their actions private.

Clearly, both sides make valid points in defending their arguments. However, given recent court rulings and the fact that Illinois is only one of a few states with this law on the books, it appears it may be difficult to defend its continued existence. Then again, Lisa Madigan has tremendous political clout. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

Read story@ chicagotribune