(EAST ST. LOUIS) The bench trial for the challenge to Illinois’ gun and ammunition magazine ban continues in East St. Louis today after starting there on Monday. Plaintiffs argue the state cannot ban commonly owned firearms while the state says such firearms like the AR-15 rifle are too similar to military weapons and must be banned from the public. Lawsuits challenging the law in federal court went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court on preliminary grounds. Justices denied the request, saying they wanted a full case on final judgement. The proceedings are expected to last a few weeks there in the Metro East area.
(SPRINGFIELD) The Loyola University of Chicago Center for Criminal Justice is reporting that after a year of being on the books, the Pretrial Fairness Act, that led to the elimination of the cash bail system, has not come close to leading to the rise in crime that many critics feared it would. While both violent and property crime across the state are down from the past, detention court hearings are now noticeably longer, leading to better decisions. Over the last 12 months, and of the nearly 9,000 detention-eligible cases in Illinois that were studied, researchers found that over a third (36%) of the defendants were detained, and in more than two out of every five of those cases (43%) prosecutors never sought such action.
(CHICAGO) Actor Jussie Smollett’s attorneys took his case before the Illinois Supreme Court yesterday, looking for his conviction to be totally dropped. After an an apparent hate crime against him in 2019, Smollett was found guilty two years later in 2021 of five counts of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, & ordered to pay more than $130,000 in restitution, however since that time he has served only six days of his sentence. The state’s high court has not give a timetable on a possible decision.
(SPRINGFIELD) The members of the Illinois Free Caucus have all received a 100% voting record on key business issues from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, which advocates for small business owners. Officials with the NFIB say its obvious that the Illinois Freedom Caucus is dedicated to supporting legislation that promotes small businesses growth and free markets around the state. The Caucus includes seven state representatives, mostly all from downstate Illinois, including Blaine Wilhour, Adam Niemerg, Brad Halbrook, Chris Miller, David Friess, Dan Caulkins, and Jed Davis.