2 WSJ
April 19, 2012
NEWS Maybrook courthouse to remain open for weekend bond court By SEAN JENKINS
MAYWOOD | The West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association and the Cook County Board have reached an agreement that will allow local municipalities to transport their prisoners for weekend and holiday bond court to the Maybrook courthouse or the Markham courthouse. The West Suburban Journal reported in January that originally, the chief judge and county board wanted to shut down all suburban courthouses, and on weekends and holidays, require all municipal police departments to take their prisoners to 26th Street and California Avenue in Chicago.
CARRY AND CONCEAL
The new agreement calls for Maybrook and Markham courthouses to open just for transports. Additionally, Cook County Sheriff’s deputies will not charge municipalities per prisoner as originally proposed. In the original proposal, communities feeding into the Maybrook courthouse would charge as much as $52 per prisoner. The West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association was vehemently opposed to paying a fee associated with prisoner transport.
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bled a taskforce to look into gun violence in some places in the state, especially in Chicago and Cook County, he “feels bad” that some residents can’t carry guns. “I do believe that i n d i v i d u a l s For state Rep. LaShawn K. Ford it is "great" that should have a a recent federal court right to carry if ruling said it was not a violation of Second they qualify to Amendment rights for carry and if they Illinois not to allow people to carry concealed pass all of the weapons outside their requirements to home. carry, they should be able to do it,” he said. “I think that it’s unfair to the people of Illinois that we still impose this restriction.” He added that violence in the city and the diversity of his own district makes it a “balancing act” for supporting a concealed carry law.
But organizations like the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence are emphatically opposed to citizens carrying guns and are pleased with the recent federal court decision. “The court’s ruling is a tremendous victory for Illinois families and communities that have been plagued by gun violence tragedies for far too long,” Ill Council Against Handgun Violence Executive Director Colleen Daley said in a written statement. “Allowing the carrying of loaded concealed guns…would only further undermine public safety, as we have seen time-and-time again in other states. It is time to finally shift the public debate toward more common sense solutions that will save lives such as registering guns the same way we do cars and curtailing the flow of illegal guns into the hands of violent criminals and others who shouldn’t have them.” Special Chicago Citizen
SPORTS
New coach, new attitude for Proviso West softball PROVISO | Proviso West’s firstyear softball coach, Danielle Bertoletti, is setting a new tone for the program this season. Bertoletti’s assistant, Thaddeus Smith, explains: “We are trying to change the atmosphere, change the attitudes, change the environment,” said Smith, who coached the Panthers in their conference game against Lyons Township on Monday, a 15-0 loss (Bertoletti wasn’t able to attend Monday’s contest). “Basically a whole change of environment. We don’t want to deal with
the attitudes; we don’t want to deal with the people that don’t want to be here.” The 2012 edition of the Panthers started with 13 players on the varsity roster. Three players—including two starters with returning varsity experience—have left the club in recent weeks. The Panthers actually would have had an additional player on this year’s club, but pitcher Tamarra Stinson—an all-conference pick as a freshman last spring—moved to New Orleans with her mother prior to the start of the 2011-12 school year. But Smith noticed a change in the team’s psyche on Monday despite the reduced numbers and despite LT’s five-inning slaughter rule victory. “These 10 girls that we have today, they had a smile on their face and we’re proud of each other,” he
said. The Panthers were limited to one hit in the loss to LT—that coming off the bat of senior first baseman Amber Hudson, a four-year varsity player who laced a double down the left-field line to lead off the second inning. “She’s been injured a couple of years now,” Smith said. “She has a shoulder injury; she really hasn’t healed from it, but she’s cleared to play. She has a great bat and she’s a great leader.” Junior Nicole Miller, who opened the year starting at third baseman, moved over to play shortstop for the first time this season on Monday. She replaces one of the players who left the team. Miller made a handful of putouts vs. LT, including one during what turned out to be a three-up, three-down third inning. “I’m very impressed with Nicole,” Smith said.
LaKesha Perry, a senior, starts at second base. Sophomore Elizabeth Grier moved over to Miller’s old position at third to start Monday’s game. Grier then came on in relief of starting pitcher Amber Smith in the fourth inning. Smith is the No. 2 starter, while Kim Salazar, a senior, is the Panthers’ top pitcher. “This is her (Salazar’s) first year on varsity,” Coach Smith said. “She’s been in the program for four years. We kept her at JV to work on her pitching. She doesn’t have the speed as much as Amber or Liz does. She has more accuracy.” Senior Haidee Carrasco (right field), sophomore Nijima French (center field) and junior Kree Finner (left field) were Proviso West’s outfield starters on Monday. Elizabeth Cash, a junior, is the Panthers’ catcher. continued page 16
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