Hate crimes, sometimes referred to as a bias-motivated crimes, occur when a perpetrator selects his or her victim based on a perceived membership to a certain social group. For example, if a perpetrator shoots a victim because of the victim’s sex, ethnicity, religion, or sexual identity, then a hate crime…
While the First Amendment protects the right of adults to watch and produce pornography, this right is not without limitations. For example, child pornography is not protected under the First Amendment and is always illegal. Child pornography is any visual depiction of a minor, aka a person under 18 years…
According to the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, approximately 77% of women who are currently incarcerated are victims of abuse. This figure is staggering and is part of the reason why this nonprofit helped to pass Illinois’ new domestic violence law, SB0209. SB0209 is important because it allows being a…
Earlier this month the Chicago Police, SWAT team, and EMS personnel were called to a motel in Edgewater after a man threatened to kill himself, reports DNAinfo.com. However, another emergency responder was also present, Chicago’s crime fighting robot! The robot is a Remotec Andros F6A robot and the idea is…
You have likely heard of the Sex Offender Registry, but have you ever heard of the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry? Likely not, as this type of registry is not as widely publicized and only exists in Illinois and four other states – Oklahoma, Montana, Kansas, and Indiana.…
A 6-year-old boy from East Moline who was kidnapped in Illinois and taken to Thailand was recently returned home safe and sound. Interestingly, the man who kidnapped the boy is actually his own father. According to WTHITV 10, the boy was not returned to his mother on June 19th after…
According to the Chicago Tribune, a Pittsburgh Pirates infielder who was in town to play the Chicago Cubs on June 17 has been accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman in Chicago. The sexual assault allegation is currently being investigated by police, but the baseball player has not yet been…
The Chicago Tribune reports that a 22-year-old schizophrenic man was recently charged with murdering his cousin in Cook County. Supposedly the defendant was standing on the street with his cousin and a few other people when the group started making fun of the defendant for being mentally slow. Allegedly, the…
Driving under the influence (DUI) is a very serious offense and is one of the most commonly committed criminal offenses across America. In 2014 over 1.1 million people were arrested for DUI in the United States. The penalties for DUI can vary greatly from state to state and it is…
Illinois has some of the strictest domestic violence laws in the country – enacted to recognize the serious negative impact of domestic violence on thousands of Illinois families and children. Unfortunately, with increased awareness and enforcement surrounding these important domestic violence issues comes a greater chance of wrongful convictions. Our…