The Challenge News Magazine Edition: May and June 2018

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From Coloreds to Negros to Blacks to African American whatever name prefer to consider be mindful that all adjectives from the master’s mouth behind the closed door - remained the same!

The truth is that 'People of Color' ought to historically remember but should not repeat failures of the past, nor attempt to retreat into the degradation of its history. God with infinite wisdom has allowed blacks to advance beyond that which they could ever see, ponder or wonder. It has been the blessings of the Lord that have made us rich and has genuinely added no sorrow to it. What will the runaway Slave do with these unmerited favors becomes the question?

Will 'People of Color' refute the blessings of God after being delivered from the hand of the oppressor, then return into the hands of the overseer/Master? Return for what? To give an apology for the vomit spewed-up when leaving? This vomit represents the poison thrown-up at the clarion call by God to escape the perils of Slavery!

In the black spiritual upbringing, it was taught that the blessings of God who then as now allows blacks and our Hispanic brothers and sisters to go beyond that which is seen by faith! Do we as free-bonds return as Slaves (greedy-dogs) back into the clutches of the master’s ways of doing things only to eat the vomit that was spewed from us?

From the U.S. White House, U.S. Congress, to the Illinois State House and on into the Chicago 'out-house' the stench of yesterday’s Slavery disgustingly feels the nostrils of the black tax-payer. In the current display of politics there remain key-words of bigotry often transmitted via the airways. Most blacks know these key-words and able to translate them.

If African Americans and Hispanics are not aware as to the past, youth and adults are doomed to repeat its failures simply because the game continues to be the same - just players have changed!

Wake up! Knowing truth, black and white politicians, educators, and ministers ought to be diligent in teaching and preaching black history. Many black historians desire for youth to travel down the pages of history to note an undesirable past in noting that colors were considered less than human, and, in fact, the written law of the United States declared colors (Niggers) were three/fifth human.

Our governmental systems are often not about matters of historical truth! Why? Well some say they have noted in numerous classrooms that if there is a brilliant sleeping he or she may represent that giant that could be a doctor, lawyer, preacher, teacher, etc., but failure to awaken the student is often for racial fear that the sleeping giant will achieve if given an educational chance.

Black history is essential and vital to recognize that white and black politicians are often repeating failures to the point that it brings about a miscarriage of justice involving the black and His

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ow dare we imagine that life’s journey was enhanced by our own power! Not So! As we inspect the historical struggles of our fore-parents and their endurance to matriculate through life... it is then that we realize that they made it but by the grace of God! History dictates that under the heavy suppression of political dictators were many struggling figures praying for an avenue of escape. In this spiritual experience came forth the might hand of God. The Israelites escaping the perils of Pharaoh's Army was not the complete story, for it was because of spiritual grumbling and complaining against God that the escapees never reached the promised land.

In this the 21st Century we live in the land of several Pharaohs whose mindset dictates that some of God’s creations advance forward while others proceed to eat crumps from the table! Yesterday’s story is the same as only players have changed! But what has not changed: God being the same yesterday as today has never changed and stands faithfully near His faithful children to lend a hand of deliverance from the hand of Pharaoh.

As in the awesome days of bondage Slaves prayed that God would lighten the hand of Pharaoh and remembering that scripture has not changed we today pray for those who have the rule over us. We pray for those siting in seats of authority to get right with God however, we don’t uphold anyone in their wrong undertakings.

In present tense we cry to God for His mercy, faith and grace to withstand the whiles of Satan. We as children of the most-high God, pray not to displease our Father-God but diligently strive to wear the mind of God… and in God we then shall move and have our being.

We pray not scrutinizing the White House, State House, City House, or any physical source but ever looking to the hills from where comes our help – and to know without a shadow-of-doubt that the baptized believer’s help comes from the Lord—the maker of the heavens and earth!

From the creation of the earth people have come and they have gone while many intimidating voices are no longer with us! However those that have been offense toward God’s individuals have to give accountability in judgment for their stewardship.

It has been duly noted that various icons because of their sufferings and yet fervent prayer has exceled but be careful for it was not for our glory—but for the glory, honor and praise of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Remembering that we are flesh and blood, be conscious that all must stand before God in judgment to answer for deeds done on the earth.

Think About it… The Lord Has Brought Us A Mighty Long Way!

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et us train-up our children and our children’s children as to historically data and that it never be repeated in this nor Centuries go come! Educate African American and Hispanic youths so they will avoid the detrimental pitfalls that laid in wait for them. Aware youth that the many political games of yesterday remain the same—only the players have changed!

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because I was found innocent in His sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.’ “ Daniel 6:21-22

1.) The opening chapter of the Bible begins with “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Day by day, God is able to take what was formless and desolate and with a simple command, speak creation into existence. Beginning with the incredible creation of the world as God’s first miracle.

As punishment for praying to God, King Darius threw Daniel into the lions’ den to what was considered a certain death. By morning fall, they were shocked to see that the same Lord Daniel had prayed to delivered him from the mouth’s of the lions. At that moment, they couldn’t deny the miracle they had witnessed and began to proclaim the glory and majesty of the God that saved Daniel.

(Daniel 6:1-28)

2.) Abraham and Sarah Conceived at Old Age. “Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.” Genesis 21:2

8.) Jesus Turns Water into Wine. “Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.” John 2:7–9

What seemed utterly impossible at the old age of 100 for Abraham and 90 for Sarah, God blessed this special couple with their son Isaac, whom upon which God established His covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

As His first miracle, Jesus revealed His glory to His disciples by coming to the rescue at a wedding in Cana in Galilee when there became a wine shortage. Not just any wine, but the best wine they ever tasted. From healing lepers and blind men to raising Lazarus from the dead, this was the beginning of a string of miraculous acts that Jesus performed in His short time on earth. (John 2: 1-10)

3.) Moses Parts the Red Sea. “Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” Exodus 16:21

9.) Feeding the Multitudes. Feeding the Five Thousand: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied…” Matthew 14 19-20

4.) Manna from Heaven. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day’…”

Exodus 16:4 Just as the Israelites felt they were about to starve to death, the Lord showed them His glory by delivering them an abundance of manna from the sky to sustain them for forty years, until they reached the border of Canaan.

(Exodus 16:1-35) Manna is from heaven. God provided this gift to the Israelites during their travels in the desert and is described twice in the Bible: once in the Book of Exodus, and once again in the Book of Numbers.

“Feeding the Four Thousand: “Then He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. They all ate and were satisfied.” Matthew 15: 36-37

As large crowds began to surface wherever Jesus went, they began to lay ill and crippled people at his feet and he would heal them. To further show His love and compassion in a miraculous way, on two occasions Jesus fed thou5.) Jonah and the Whale. “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his sands of His admirers from simply a few loaves of bread and fish. (Matthew 14: God…and the Lord commanded the fish, and it committed Jonah onto dry land.”

13-21; Matthew 15: 29-39) Jonah 2 10.) Jesus Walks on Water. “Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them When Jonah stubbornly ran away from the Lord upon His command to preach in walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were Nineveh, the Lord sent a giant whale to swallow him and keep him for three terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately days and nights. After hearing Jonah’s prayer, God miraculously spared him said to them: ’Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” Matthew 14: 25-27 from the belly of the fish, where Jonah was then able to carry out God’s commandment and ignite Nineveh’s belief in the Lord and save them from destruc- Jesus knew his disciples still held doubt about Him, so in a test of faith, Jesus appeared to them doing what no man had done before—walk on water. As he tion lead his disciples through their doubt and fear, he proved to them that He is truly 6.) The Immaculate Conception. “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah who He said he was…the Son of God. (Matthew 14: 25-32) came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before hen you seek God's presence and request Him to they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” intervene in your situation, you can see miracles hapMatthew 1:18 pen! God has power over all creation and has the ability to ““I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” work a miracle for you. The Bible verses below will teach of Then the angel left her.” Luke 1:38 the miracles Jesus performed as well as how we can have the faith to believe for a miracle. Acts 3:16 NIV 7.) Daniel and the Lions’ Den. “Daniel answered, ‘May the king live forever!

My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of lions. They have not hurt me,

In Faith Believing Make Your Request Known of God!

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aying she will make a difference in Chicago, Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown Sunday officially threw her hat into the crowded mayoral ring vowing to launch a movement of fairness and a “change” she says is needed.

“I believe I can make a difference,” Brown said before her official announcement on WVON’s “Bob Shaw” show produced and hosted by this writer. People trust me. We need trust,” she said. Brown was first elected in 2000 and re-elected on Nov. 8, 2016 with 56.93 percent of the vote for a total of 567,218 votes.

When asked what can she bring to the table as mayor of Chicago, Brown said she intends to improve education that needs to be reformed. “We need quality, first class education, economic development in every neighborhood and jobs.”

When asked about crime, Brown said jobs could stem the violence. Youth, she said, are committing crimes because they have no hope and are resorting to criminal acts to feed their families.

Creating jobs and attracting businesses to Chicago would be the answer and she is relying on her credentials and experience to make this a reality. Under her leadership, Brown vowed to spread fairness to all of Chicago.

“The city of Chicago spans over 228 square miles with over 200 neighborhoods and 77 communities, and it is often said that Chicago is a world class city,” Brown told reporters. But to have a “world class city,” Brown explained, “We must have world class blocks, world class neighborhoods and world class communities.

Then and only then will Chicago be a world class city for all Chicagoans.”

Ticking off a number of neighborhoods including Hyde Park, China Town, the Ukrainian Village and the Gold Coast “to the Soul Coast,” Brown said, “I pledge to work with every community to make every square mile of our city world class.”

Saying that the city of Chicago has a budget of more tan $8 billion and over 35,000 employees, Brown pledged to “ensure that every dollar is used to provide fair and equitable services to all our citizens and that every employee is dedicated to the same.”

She also vowed to “operate a transformative, transparent and inclusive government. I pledge to not just think outside of the box to find new and sustainable revenue sources, but rather we’ll create a new box using technology and revenue-generating sources that have been proven effective by cities both here and abroad.”

Brown vowed to do all of these objectives without “always raising taxes on our citizens thus helping to fund pensions for the dedicated men and women that work for our city.”

And she promised to “work towards a Chicago where al of our children are prepared to compete globally because they will receive a world class education from teachers who make fair wages and have a funded pension.”

Brown said she has “demonstrated experience” having led one of the world’s largest court systems along with her business experience as heading one of the world’s largest court systems and her financial background. That, she said, coupled with the grassroots community activism “and involvement with bringing change to people’s lives, has prepared me for the challenges of leading the city of Chicago,” she stated. Together, she said, “We can make our city work better for everyone.”

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he Rev. Dr. Harold E. Bailey, 80, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Adolphus and Lillian Bailey, who were then considered to be prominent precinct captains. His educational process began by listening for children were to be seen and not heard! But Bailey’s journey would be different – far different! He was mentally challenged by black leaders who sat feet under his parents' table as they discussed matters concerning the community; though he could not speak, he rejected much of what he overheard for he perceived there had to be a far viable way to challenge those who sat in seats of authority—especially those individuals who were the powers-that-be downtown on the fifth floor.

Sincere leaders confessed over dinner that the then political administration would not help youth educationally and serious efforts to assist would cause internal racial strife! In disbelief, Bailey learned that young men and women were not adequately educated and that it was intentional. This revelation brought about days and nights of agonizing! He deduced that much was about political prostitution and that leaders then had to go-along to get alone. They instilled in private and others that there would be a brighter tomorrow.

For more than 40-years of servicing youth in the Chicago and County of Cook, the Rev. Dr. Harold E. Bailey CEO of the Probation Challenge organization will relinquish his reigns. After referring thousands of youth to colleges and universities, giving them grants and scholarship, and directing them into a more positive lifestyle. In addition to those clients mandated to the program Bailey never turned down anyone seeking an education.

Rev. Bailey, employed as a Cook County adult probation officer was assigned to work exclusively with the then Justice R. Eugene Pincham, criminal courts. It was from Pincham's court that Bailey had the vision to turn the lives of youth around through the vehicle of education. The judge sanctioned that vision with the rest becoming history.

The Probation Challenge program was recorded by the state of Illinois, with Rev. Bailey as the registered agent. The late Mayor Harold Washington, Sen. Howard Brookins, Carol Mosley Braun and the Illinois Black Caucus introduced the program into law...it would be known as: The Probation Challenge Act, by the Illinois State Statue! It was duly noted that it was the first mandated program of its kind in the country! The program has been the subject of positive media attention from around the world and sought after to duplicate.

Citing health issues and noting that time has now brought about a change in the psychology of youth. Bailey said, "At the helm should be those younger adults who can share with others their psychology. Young adults however should be mindful that the youth has to consult with the elders for wisdom. He said, "Often youth after being on the planet only for a minute yet believe they know it all! Young men and women have to come to the realism that elders are also continuously learning and coming into the knowledge of truth and don't know it all.”

Rev. Bailey said as he relinquish the reigns to Clarence McMillian, who will serve as chairman of the board, Brandy N. Bailey, Bailey’s daughter will serve as the board secretary. Bailey will remain as the organizations president.

McMillian walking hand-in-glove with Bailey for over 29-years has given radio and television Internet broadcast services. Bailey will retain proprietorship over the Probation Challenge procedures.

Bailey with delight says that on-air personalities will continue to offer to the International community the best in journalism. In early years as Bailey sojourned through the halls of what he calls ‘The Criminal Just Us System’, there were investigative reporters on assignment to follow his steps – they have now become staff to the Network. The Challenge News Magazine will continue to send quarterly filings across the world.

Program Hosts and Journalist are Chinta Strausberg, Juanita Bratcher, Geri Patterson, Pastor Mitty Collier, Karissa N. Hardin, Brandy N. Bailey, Pastor Lottie Woods Hall, Howard Saffold, Rev. Dr. Harold E. Bailey and Clarence McMillan.

Probation Challenge has been the subject of positive media attention for over 40-years as Bailey achievements include: The History Makers. Other awards have included: Judge Eugene Pincham Award, Nelson Mandela Award, African American Trail Blazer Award, Golden Rule International Award, Global Leadership Award, Ora Higgins Award, Mother Christine Moore Award, Northern Illinois University Community Service Award, Intercessory Health and Healing Center Award, and other numerous to mention. Bailey had a pull out session with The Chicago Sun-Times with reporter Lillian Williams called: A New Twist In Going Straight and has appeared on: 60 Minutes, 48-Hours, and other television shows.

Bailey has the honors of being called: Dr. Harold E. Bailey, after being cited for his work in criminal justice and the creation of the first program of its kind in the country for youth through the channels of education. Many remember Rev. Bailey with The Harold Bailey Singers, who recorded for RUSH and Savoy Records. He was noted for appearances on the Sid Ordower Jubilee Showcase.

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mericans are concerned that war is eminent and if so would President Donald Trump remain legally the President of the United States until such time as the end of war?

Although a lot of people seem to like to imagine nightmare scenarios in which the U.S. president declares a "national emergency" and suspends the next election, allowing him to stay in office indefinitely, and although this does happen far too often in less-developed democracies in the world today, this is simply not going to happen in the United States. Even if a new war started a week before the election, or during the period between the election and the inauguration of the new president, the changeover would still happen on January 20.

If there were ever a situation in U.S. history when a presidential election could have been suspended due to a national emergency, it would have been in 1864, in the midst of the Civil War. Lincoln might have tried to argue that continuity of government was more important than democracy. Fortunately, American democracy was already robust enough for the election to take place. The war was the dominant issue of the election, with Lincoln's opponent George McClellan campaigning on a platform of beginning peace negotiations with the Confederacy.

Several other elections since then have been held in the midst of largescale U.S. wars, albeit foreign wars: the 1944 election during World War II, 1952 during the Korean War, 1968 at the height of involvement in Vietnam, 2004 fairly early in the Iraq War. The 1952 and 1968 elections not only resulted in a change of president, but a change of governing party, despite the fact that a war was going on.

Of course, even though the U.S. has fought very few formally declared wars, the U.S. has had forces deployed somewhere most years of its history, especially since World War II. In other words, the U.S. is almost always in some sense "at war," so a president looking to stay in power indefinitely on the grounds that a war was being fought would really always have that excuse to go to. Fortunately, it doesn't work that way.

Again, people seem to like being afraid that the president will seek some extralegal means of staying in power. Since presidents of other countries have done this, even in the present day, it's not hard to imagine this in the U.S. But, the rule of law and the democratic institutions of the U.S. are strong enough to keep it from happening.

Of course, even though the U.S. has fought very few formally declared wars, the U.S. has had forces deployed somewhere most years of its history, especially since World War II. In other words, the U.S. is almost always in some sense "at war," so a president looking to stay in power indefinitely on the grounds that a war was being fought would really always have that excuse to go to. Fortunately, it doesn't work that way.

Again, people seem to like being afraid that the president will seek some extralegal means of staying in power. Since presidents of other countries have done this, even in the present day, it's not hard to imagine this in the U.S. But, the rule of law and the democratic institutions of the U.S. are strong enough to keep it from happening.

Try to imagine, then, a situation in which Trump commanded our military to do something stupid, illegal or irrational. Something so dangerous that it put the lives of Americans and the security of the country at stake. (Trump’s former rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Marco Rubio, said the United States could not trust “the nuclear codes” to an “erratic individual.”) Faced with opposition from his military brass, Trump would perhaps reconsider and back down. But what if he didn’t? Blimpish swagger might fly within the patriarchal confines of a family business...or a dictatorship. It does not work, however, in a liberal democracy.

In that case, our military men and women, who swear to uphold the Constitution and a civilian chain of command, would be forced to choose between obeying the law and serving the wishes of someone who has explicitly expressed his utter lack of respect for it.

The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

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here's a reason only two Presidents — Andrew Johnson, in 1868, and Bill Clinton, in 1998 — have been impeached. (Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before facing inevitable impeachment.)

The Constitution's impeachment clause, Article II, Section 4, is simultaneously so specific, and yet so broad, that it's hard to put into practice. The Constitution says a President can only be impeached for “Treason, Bribery and other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

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bout 200, 8th Ward residents showed up for a scheduled community meeting at St. Ailbe church in the rainy-cold only to find out in the church’s parking lot that the meeting had been canceled.

Residents cried foul, they believed that their meeting had been toppled and killed off by someone, but by whom? Nonetheless, they vowed that it would make them more determined in their efforts to keep out of the neighborhood a 134-unit, 7 story low income Section Eight proposed housing project which is scheduled to be built in Calumet Heights at 9329 to 9429 S. Stony Island Ave., in the middle- and upper-middle class neighborhood Certainly, the 200 attendees were baffled and taken aback when they got the cancellation news in the parking lot. They were angry and felt that someone had sabotaged their plan of getting together to discuss their opposition to a project the alderman has sanctioned and the majority of the community residents do not want.

“This just put more gasoline on the fire,” said one of the residents, when hearing that the meeting had been canceled without notice. “This will only make us work harder to keep it out. We don’t want it in our neighborhood, the alderman wants it there. I say put it somewhere else.” That was the overall feeling of all people who attended the meeting in their interaction with each other in the parking lot. That’s why they came to the meeting in the first place – to find ways together to stop the building from coming to the area.

Said another 8th Ward resident: “We want the alderman to know that we don’t want this huge, low-income building in our neighborhood. We will fight tooth and nail to keep it out. She better take heed or she will be voted out of office in the next election. This is the same alderman that was going to bring a marijuana business and pawn shop into the 8th Ward. 8th Ward residents fought back and kept them both out.

However, the setback didn’t stop some of the attendees from finding another meeting place. They were successful in their efforts to seek refuge at a nearby restaurant about two blocks away. They were accommodated in their efforts to hold the meeting there. Much planning went on between the people who stayed. But one thing was certain; they said they will “fight like hell” to keep the building out of the 8th Ward community Many of the prospective attendees voiced disappointment and anger that St. Ailbe had canceled the meeting at the last minute. But according to a staff person at St. Ailbe Church, the meeting was canceled sometime ago after they learned that a woman had falsely called in and used the name of another person to use the meeting room, and there was no telephone number listed to call the person back. She had used the name of a woman several in the church was familiar with.

The staff person said the woman whose name was used was part of the Calumet Heights group that meets at St Ailbe every month.

The lady that called in and scheduled the meeting used her name, but the woman whose name was used said she didn’t call and schedule a meeting.

“So we took the meeting off the book because we didn’t know who or what was going on,” said St. Ailbe’s staff person “There was no telephone number for the person who called in under false pretense and we had no way of notifying her that the meeting was being canceled. We would have gladly called back if she had left a telephone number.”

While St. Ailbe has always been a good neighbor in the community and has provided availability to many organizations to utilize their facility for meetings over the years, they had to cancel the meeting because someone had called the church and falsely used the name of someone else.

“It’s like we did something wrong,” the St. Ailbe staff person added. “We do not deal with politics and who’s running for what. Alderman Michele Harris doesn’t run our office, facility, and who we let into our meeting room. No one can tell us what to do. We had no idea what was going on (in the parking lot because there was no meeting being held), and we didn’t know about the guy out there in the parking lot passing out flyers (brochures about the low-income housing project).”

Linda Hudson, a perspective candidate for 8th Ward alderman, said when the alderman held a meeting regarding the low-income Section 8 seniors building, she said she had sent a survey to residents and they wanted it. “But everyone at the meeting said they were not aware of the survey. She (alderman) told us it was not a done deal and she would like more meetings with the community to discuss it.”

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The alderman had a meeting on March 27 at the Montclare senior residence on East 78th Street. “The meeting should have been held in Calumet Heights where the people who will be affected live.” said Hudson.” Reportedly, the alderman told people at the meeting that “We need to jump on this opportunity because some white alderman would want it.”

“We sent her (Alderman Michelle Harris) an invite for the meeting last night (the one that was canceled). We were disappointed when we got to meeting and it had been canceled. One of her staff persons was passing out flyers in the parking lot and told people that the meeting had been canceled.

“Our voices should be heard on projects like this coming into our ward,” Hudson continued. “Every time a project comes into the ward we never know about it until it happens. But it will never happen on my watch. The community will get input and transparency. We found that Montclare residents, the developers and property managers have given thousands of dollars to the alderman’s campaign over several years, and you have to question the real reason behind it. We really don’t need more senior housing in the ward. The ones that are here already have vacancies.

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‘Chinta Strausberg and Johnnie Savoy’

WASHINGTON — The conservative Christian coalition that helped usher President Trump into power in 2016 is planning its largest midterm election mobilization ever, with volunteers fanning out from the church pews to the streets to register voters, raise money and persuade conservatives that they cannot afford to be complacent this year.

But the cumulative weight of scandals in Mr. Trump’s private and public life is threatening to overshadow what the religious right sees as its most successful string of policy victories in a generation. And Republicans will be up against not only a resurgent liberal opposition to Mr. Trump but also the historical disadvantages that burden any party in full control of Washington, especially in the first off-year congressional elections of a president’s term.

“The midterms are going to be very, very tough for the Republicans,” said Robert Jeffress, who leads the First Baptist Dallas megachurch and is one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal evangelical supporters.

The vast majority of evangelical Christians are digging in for Mr. Trump, despite accusations by a pornographic film star and a Playboy playmate that he had separate affairs with them shortly after his wife, Melania Trump, gave birth to their son. Those controversies, paired with the multiple women who accused him of groping them before the election and his own boasts of sexual aggressions, have highlighted the unyielding support of a political bloc that once put moral behavior at the center of its political judgment.

“Now even the Christian culture is O.K. with it,” said Jim Daly, the president of Focus on the Family, one of the nation’s largest evangelical groups. “That’s the sadness,” he added. “The next time a Democrat in the presidency has a moral failure, who’s going to be able to say anything?” Evan Vucci/Associated Press

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ccording to think tank Economic Policy Institute (EPI), there was a big migration of blacks in the year 1916 and again in 1970 who left the South in search of opportunity. The Midwest offered well-paying factory jobs, so many migrated to Midwestern cities. Many of the cities were smaller. When the manufacturing boom lost momentum, the black population remained. Their presence in smaller cities was less tolerated, subjecting blacks to more racism than in larger cities.

According to 247wallst.com, the 10 worst cities for Black Americans are: #1 - Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI: this city is considered the worst for black Americans. Although the percentage of black is 16.7 percent, so is the black unemployment rate. Couple this with a huge income disparity -- with a median income of $61,675 for whites compared to a median income of $25,646 for blacks -- and you have tension between the two that affects adults as well as school children. #2 - Rockford, IL: poor economic conditions have hit the black population hard, creating a huge income disparity between blacks and whites; the median income for whites is about twice as much as for blacks. In addition, the poverty rate among blacks is four times greater than for whites. #3 - Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: whites in this city have one of the highest incomes in the country at $73,700, but the city also has one of the worst income disparities with blacks earning $28,000 per year. The unemployment rate among blacks is also four times higher than for whites. What's interesting is that about 20 percent of the black population has at least a Bachelor's degree, yet their poverty rate is higher. #4 - Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI: Chicago area has serious socioeconomic racial disparities. Blacks have four times greater poverty and twice as many mortality rates than white residents. It is one of the most segregated areas in the nation. #5 - Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI: black residents in this area earn less than half the income of whites. Four times as many blacks than whites also live in poverty. In addition, in this area where only 6.5 percent of residents are black, black Michigan residents are still nearly six times more likely than their white peers to go to jail or prison.

cobra got the better of Malaysia’s famous “snake whisperer,” who died from a bite from the deadly serpent, according to reports.

Abu Zarin Hussin headed the King Cobra Squad of the fire department, where he trained other smoke eaters to identify poisonous snakes and to capture them without killing them, Free Malaysia Today reported.

Firefighters in Malaysia are often called by people who discover unwelcome reptiles in their homes or in public places.

But on Tuesday, Hussin’s luck ran out when he was bitten by a poisonous king cobra during a snake-catching operation in Bentong.

Hussin, 33, who had been a firefighter for 10 years, rose to fame when he participated in the TV competition show “Asia’s Got Talent,” where his snake-handling act included kissing a serpent.

Friends described the snake-catcher’s patience and determination during dangerous missions.

“It will sometimes take hours, but Abu Zarin remained patient,” former volunteer fireman Mohd Ikhwan Hafizi Ali told the New Straits Times. “There were times when we stepped on the snakes’ nest when trying to catch the reptile at plantations and at times we were almost bitten by the highly poisonous cobras.”

Hussin was also widely known for being misidentified by British tabloids in 2016 as a Thai man who allegedly married his pet snake, believing it to be his “reincarnated girlfriend” because of its “striking resemblance” to her.

The stories used pictures from his social media accounts that showed him playing with the scaly creatures.

Hussin, who had four pet snakes, told the BBC he was “very disappointed” by the reports.

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oward Saffold, Positive Anti-Crime Trust, interviews Daryle Brown, who expounds his association with church jail and prison ministries.

ob Marovich and ‘Conversation with The Legends,’ interviews Tommy Stewart former singer with the famous Milton Brunson’s Thompson Community Singers of Chicago.

Stewart has had an rewarding singing career with several musical aggregations but apparently rejoiced in his singing with the Milton Brunson ‘Thompson Community Singers.’ View the story at: www.probationchallenge.org—The Truth Network.

Saffold was the trusted head of security for the late Mayor Harold Washington. Saffold articulates hard truth! Go to PCC Network: www.probationchallenge.org 24/7 and On-Demand.

oward Saffold (PACT) interviews Mark Davis, former Chicago Policeman, as he reveals brazen truth regarding the Chicago Police in their treating of departmental matters.

Mark Davis book on ‘Race Traitors’ comes alive in his presentation with host Howard Saffold, both are former Chicago Policemen.

Both gentlemen articulates hard-core-truth as it relates to the City of Chicago and its police department. Mark Davis has first-hand information when it comes to law enforcement. Go to: www.probationchallenge.org 13

By Rev. Harold E. Bailey

resident Donald Trump is positioning himself to govern the United States for an unprecedented period! Heard in recent dialogs was that he is in for the long haul…and, thusly, planting subliminal seeds as he rests under the assumptions that changing of the president’s term-law will help to accommodate his insanities. Unfortunately, President Trump believes everything he utters! However, take note that As tax-payers examine as to who in government is ailing, they find the disposition rest by-large at the feet of Republicans. A large portion of the Republican Congressional body has become frightened to halt the terrorist sitting in the seat of authority who is tearing into the core-fabrics of this country! Without question this delegation of Republicans have sold itself to the highest bidder… and, with defying silence for the sake of filthygreed! They have elected to choose riches and possessions rather than to represent U.S. citizens. Their utmost concern which exceeds the welfare of humans is to maintain a congressional seat at any cost!

Civilized politicians both Democrats and Republicans once lifted the U.S. Congress as the highest body of leadership in the land and were once proud to have youth emulate them! However, in the last year many have separated from their invaluable principles and have surrendered their morals to the absurdity flowing from the bowels of the 45th president!

Immeasurable taxpayers have become hypnotized with disbelief as they look into the eyes of representatives who were elected to represent them! These were the officials sworn to uphold the U.S. constitution and to preserve justice for all… now, many have made a transition into the political arms of prostitution under the Trumps spell.

Trump along with other insidious political favorites have fallen from grace and will remember that the loss of morals, principles and spiritual ethics will ever be remembered in the archives of history.

While fraudulent politicians fear for the loss of local and a congressional seat … they have put their own biased needs over the needs of their constituents! These belligerent agents-ofgovernment wink at righteousness and representative of greedydogs who return to eat their own vomit. That vomit was that which they spewed out to clean up the Nation from bullies, mobsteractions and muscle men who gangland their way into the halls of government … they now violate decency!

In an act of transformation these unwise legislators have now become disciples of President Donald Trump… who merely come to rob, steal, kill and to destroy the core-fabric of these Not-SoUnited States!

I humbly suggest that the United States government consider an aggressive house-cleaning! This cleaning process should reflect removing the harshness that has caused this country to be greatly divided! There must be priority regarding the stench that was derived from the deportation of families! During this cleaning, there should be a methodology set-forth that would give youth a chance to security a quality education and a cause to live into adulthood!

An impetus from government that would be an incentive for families to live wherever without discrimination or fear of harassment from neighbors or that of the police.

Sanity and its attributes can be accomplished… in this century, if the head of this nation would consider taking leave of nonsense and jump into the saneness that all men/woman are created equally by God, the creator of all man-kind.

An awesome difference would and could take place should the government focus on youth who have fallen victim to the orchestration of crime, drugs and street violence! This second-chance would be a ‘hands up’, especially for the heroin and other devastating physical and mentally impaired! Those sitting in congressional seats of judgement ought to remember that drugs are ‘those drugs that the U.S. government’ with or without justification allow into this country frequently by default!

Building the ‘Trump Wall’ would be another ‘Trump Tower’ and another mere distraction. The Trump wall would not make the difference anticipated.

Constructive change comes about by a shifting of attitudes coupled with honest spiritual communications in prayer. This could be the beginning of a grand difference!

The public is currently deliberating about their hard-earned-dollars – rather to eat or paid for medicine. Remedy to much of these dilemmas could be in ridding Washington, Chicago, and local political offices of puppets who dangle financial promises to them by deranged puppeteers. These puppeteers are draining tax-payers of their finances while they in-fact run quickly to the bank.

Taxpayers have cause to send meaningless officials into the sunset to never reenter government service! Again, taxpayers (employer) should rally diligently to rid these United States of political loafers who swallow-up public's tax dollars - giving trivial returns. These questionable politicians sitting on the seats of complacency should first be considered for incarceration for raping the pubic and should thereafter stand in the unemployment line!

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•FBI Director James B. Comey •General Michael Flynn United States National Security

•Walter Shaub head of the US Office of Government Ethics •Acting attorney general Sally Yates •Michael Short senior White House assistant press secretary •U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara along with 46 other U.S. attorneys •FBI Director Special Prosecutor Robert S. Mueller •Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price •White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon •Michael Dubke founder of Crossroads Media •White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus •White House press secretary Sean Spicer •Anthony Scaramucci White House communications director •Attorney General Jeff Sessions •U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley •Steve Bannon chief strategist •Tom Price Health Secretary ••• Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, and others

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very four years, we add an extra day to our calendars to make up for the fact that they don’t accurately reflect the movement

of the planet. The Kerner Commission report was released on just such a day, fifty years ago.

Unfortunately, too little has changed since February 29, 1968. We’re still out of alignment with the reality all around us.

This report, officially called the “Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders,” was commissioned by President Johnson to investigate the causes of the riots that rocked Detroit and other U.S. cities in the summer of 1967. The report identified the forces behind these riots with uncanny precision.

Racism, economic inequality, police violence, and media bias: these were the instrumentalities of oppression the commissioners found fifty years ago. They are still with us today.

The fact that the Kerner report still rings so true is its greatest accomplishment – and our greatest failure.

President Lyndon Johnson was under pressure to do something after rioting broke out in inner cities across the United States. So, he did what politicians often do when they’re under pressure: He appointed a “bipartisan commission.” That usually creates the illusion that something is being done, while ensuring that whatever the commission eventually recommends will be bland enough to provide cover for whatever the politician wanted to do in the first place.

This time, the commissioners took their work seriously. Former senator Fred Harris is the only surviving member of the original commission, which included Republicans and Democrats, a labor leader and a business executives… and only two black members.

Johnson assumed that his mainstream commission would produce a mainstream report that would endorse the broad outlines of his existing domestic agenda and insulate him from attacks both from the right and from the left. Separate and Unequal The report then said: “To pursue our present course will involve the continuing polarization of the American community and, ultimately, the destruction of basic democratic values.”

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Story continued from page 17. To create “common opportunities for all within a single society,” the report called for a commitment to national action — compassionate, massive and sustained, backed by the resources of the most powerful and the richest nation on this earth. From every American it will require new attitudes, new understanding, and, above all, new will.

(Emphasis ours.)

The report called for an end to “violence and destruction” – not only “in the streets of the ghetto,” but “in the lives of the people.” The term “structural violence” had not yet entered the American lexicon, but the report offered a litany of the harms it causes. It also emphasized the different realities experienced by white and black America, calling the ghetto “a destructive environment totally unknown to most white Americans.”

“What white Americans have never fully understood – but what the Negro can never forget – is that white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain, and white society condones it.”

White Men’s Eyes That lack of a common understanding is an indictment of the media – then, and now. The Kerner report wrote, “The press has too long basked in a white world looking out of it, if at all, with white men’s eyes and white perspective.”

The report adds: “(The media) have not communicated to the majority of their audience–which is white—a sense of the degradation, misery and hopelessness of life in the ghetto.”

As Ford Foundation president Darren Walker writes in the Columbia Journalism Review, the media problems outlined in the report are still problems today.

As the report put it back in 1968: “Segregation and poverty have created in the racial ghetto a destructive environment totally La unU.S. Army Sergeant known to most white Americans.”

David Johnson, who was

The struggles of African Americans like Eric Garner, who died at the hands of New York City police in 2014, and the kinds of daily among four special forcexperiences they encounter, still lie beyond the sight of most white Americans: this is testament to the truth of that statement fifty es soldiers killed in Niyears ago.

ger, West Africa on October 4, 2017.

The authors of the Kerner Report created a taxonomy of grievances confronting black urban Americans, laying them out by “levels of intensity.” The most “intense” grievances included “police practices, unemployment and under-employment, and inadequate housing.” Other problem areas included inadequate education and “discriminatory consumer and credit practices.”

Segregation and poverty? Senator Harris recently co-wrote a report with Alan Curtis, president of the Milton Eisenhower Foundation, on progress (or the lack of it) over the last fifty years. In it, Harris and Curtis conclude that “poverty has increased and so has the inequality gap between white America and Americans who are black, brown and Native American.” : As the nation has grown, our overall poverty rate has stubbornly remained virtually the same, while the total number of poor people has increased from 25.4 million to 40.6 million. The rate of child poverty is greater today than in 1968, and the percentage of Americans living in deep, or extreme poverty, has grown since 1975, and “welfare reform” has failed.

Inequality of income in our country has greatly worsened… Fifty-two percent of all new income in America goes to the top 1 percent.

Rich people are healthier and live longer. They get a better education, and a better education produces greater inequality of income. Then, greater economic power translates into greater political power.

What about the other “grievances”? Police brutality? The Black Lives Matter movement has awakened the nation to the unpunished killings of innocent black men, women, and children by police forces across the country. Those killings continue.

Unemployment? African-American unemployment is still twice what it is for whites.

Inadequate housing? As a “snapshot” from the Economic Policy Institute noted in 2013,

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Story continues on page 19.

Story continued from page 18.

The Kerner Commission proposed moving swiftly and decisively to address these problems. It proposed the creation of two million new jobs – one million in the public sector, and one million in the private sector. That kind of government expansion could lead to a massive expansion of public works and social services. It could also follow the model of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s WPA, and create jobs in the arts and humanities.

The commission also proposed creating six million housing units, to replace substandard homes and integrate urban and suburban parts of the country.

There were 198.7 million people living in the United States when this report was written. Today there are slightly more than 326 million. These recommendations, if adjusted for population growth, would come to just under 3.3 million new jobs and nearly ten million new housing units.

The Commission also proposed voluntary reforms in the U.S. media, changes in policing and urban governance, new housing policies, and a number of other reforms.

Gillon writes that “the cost of funding the report’s proposals was far more than President Lyndon Johnson could afford to spend while fighting a billion-dollar war in Vietnam.”

The Democrats, divided over that war, failed to rally behind a progressive agenda that included the report’s recommendations. Richard Nixon won the presidency by offering a diet of false promises and racial resentment to what he called the “silent majority” of white working-class Americans.

And so, the Kerner Commission’s recommendations were never adopted. The money was there, or could have been found; After all, the nation was experiencing its greatest period of economic growth, and within the year would fulfill John F. Kennedy’s dream of sending a manned mission to the moon.

But, as Alice George wrote recently for Smithsonian magazine: “Ultimately, going to the moon was far easier than solving the nation’s racial issues. Politically, spending billions on space travel was more saleable than striving to correct racial inequality.”

Several short months after the report was published, many of the nation’s inner cities would erupt again when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

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By Pamela Bratcher-McMillan ty didn’t know about it. When concerned hicago, IL. Once again, the alderman of the 8th ward had the opportunity to talk to residents immediately affected by the low-income senior housing she tried to sneak into the neighborhood, but she didn’t show up. Why is the alderman evading the very people she said she had the support of in the community meeting last week?

According to 8th ward staff that attended the meeting, they have been working on this development since 2015, but no one attending the meeting knew about it, except them! If you are new to this, especially Pill Hill residents, what the 8th Ward alderman is trying to do is force a private and publicly owned 7 story, 1-2 bedroom, 134 unit mammoth shadowing over your homes.

Unlike the community meeting last week, attended by what looked like most of the residents that lived in the Montclare residence on 78th street. It appeared most of the people that attended the meeting never left the building. Another interesting thing that came out about their waiting list (since last week meeting it has gone from 200 to 400-500 people according to them) was that many of the residents at that location would be coming to the proposed location on Stony Island Ave. You can’t help but wonder how those units were issued out and have a waiting list, and no one knew about it coming in the Pill Hill area.

8th Ward Alderman Staff Representatives Although this 38.6 million property being developed by MR Properties, LLC, a private owned company in Des Plaines, Illinois, made contributions to several of the current 8th ward alderman’s’ organizations. (You can request a copy of the contribution list for the 8th Ward Alderman) which is approved by the Illinois Housing Development Authority on September 29, 2017. And the communi-

citizens found out about the scheduled zoning meeting, somehow it was rescheduled and staff couldn’t give the community an idea when it would be ready. I might add that three of the alderman’s staff sent to once again attended the meeting to fill in for the 8th Ward alderman were ill-prepared and hostile when they couldn’t answer some important questions, often returning questions with personal questions unrelated to the issue.

One of the 8th Ward Representatives, when asked how much of the community property taxes were supporting the TIF money being used with the proposed development, was misinformed that TIF money only came from businesses and not citizens when it does, instead of being given an answer. They obviously showed up with no real data. An audience member also pointed out to the alderman’s staff member that she needed to curb her tone which was way out of line and disrespectful to the concerned citizens in the room.

They are also floating around mixed materials. Some say the building will only house 62 year old seniors with a maximum income of $44,250 while other handouts from the alderman’s office state “For people age 55 years and older with an annual income that does not exceed $31,680 for one person, or $36,180 for two people.”

It was also pointed out to the 8th Ward alderman’s office by an audience member that people want to protect their life investment, and they should understand it. “Something is amiss here. Something doesn’t smell right,” was also stated by an audience member. There is an obvious lack of transparency on the alder-

man’s part, and it was also discussed that there may be some issues with an alderman that runs unopposed to not look out for the good of the community.

It was pointed out by another audience member that it was important to develop a community for young families, including the types of businesses they like to frequent to help develop the community.

They have the buying power.

There was a lot of enthusiasm on the part of the alderman’s staff to keep discussing issues that had nothing to do with what the residents were there for which ate away valuable discussion time. Concerned Citizens stressed the importance of scheduling another meeting with the alderman because she did not attend the other two meetings the organization had invited her to attend, but stressed that they didn’t want the alderman to hold any more meetings at any senior housing complexes. “No career type jobs will be created so young people can continue to live in the community” said Jerry Brown.

A young man at the meeting asked why young people had been excluded from the meetings to make decisions about what takes place in the community. And the whole room was fed up with the alderman’s exclusions and lack of transparency, mentioning that the office needed to be monitored because a lot was probably going on with the community not being included.

The question was raised about eminent domain, would it be used to seize homes to alleviate traffic issues if necessary that will be caused by cars coming off the highway from under the viaduct at a high speeds on Stony Island Avenue at 94th street.

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The question was raised about eminent domain, would it be used to seize homes to alleviate traffic issues if necessary that will be caused by cars coming off the highway from under the viaduct at a high speeds on Stony Island Avenue at 94th street.

Jerry Brown, Community Activist & Concerned Citizen of the 8th Ward 99.9% of people at the meeting were totally against the development coming to the community, and said they would fight it. Someone asked why the community wouldn’t be included in decisions about what comes into the neighborhood, and the answer was they were.

The room was met with responses that it didn’t include the immediate community, and why would the whole 8th Ward make a decision about a part of the Ward they don’t live in, and won’t come directly in contact with?

Jerry Brown, a concerned citizen and community activist who lives in the 8th Ward community, stated that he will be paying for a precinct survey, out of pocket, for the proposed location. He also pointed out that public and private money will be used; that CHA is providing subsidies for this project, and the Chicago Low Income Trust is also providing money. Low Income Housing Trust can provide units that could be made available for homeless leaving shelters, homeless people, people leaving drug facilities, etc., to live in the building and was agreed to by the 8th Ward Alderman’s staff that it is true.

If you are concerned about these developments taking place around your homes without your consensus, the Concerned Citizens of the 8th Ward is asking that you attend the following meetings to voice your concerns about this project taking place in your neighborhood without your input.

Please come out and support the people that have been fighting for you to keep your community a family and business.

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n 2013, 14 people in Manchester, New Hampshire, died of drug overdose. Last year, this number increased to 69 fatal overdoses — but what’s even more alarming is the rise in overdose deaths caused by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Caution: This drug has moved into the Chicagoland.

In 2013 only one fatal overdose involved a victim with fentanyl in their system but in 2015 68 percent of victims of overdose deaths had taken fentanyl, according to Manchester’s chief of police, Nick Willard.

Fentanyl, which is abused for its euphoric effects, can be used as a direct substitute for heroin for individuals who are opioid dependent. However, fentanyl is a very deadly substitute. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the drug is 100 times more powerful than morphine, and 30-50 times more powerful than heroin. Fentanyl abuse often results in overdoses that can lead to death.

Manchester isn’t the only city seeing an increase in fentanyl related overdoses. The office of the chief medical examiner in New Hampshire told The Guardian that more than two-thirds of fatal overdose victims in the state died with fentanyl in their system last year.

The potent drug is also having a damaging impact in Canada. Last year the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse warned that fentanyl-related deaths had increased in Canada’s four largest provinces.

“Between 2009 and 2014, there were at least 655 deaths in Canada where fentanyl was determined to be a cause or a contributing cause. This represents an average of one fentanyl-implicated death every three days over this time period. This figure is likely an underestimate,” the study says.

Like the heroin crisis in America, this fatal trend can be marked by the increase in painkillers like OxyContin being prescribed. Now, addicts who are looking for a more powerful high are turning to the more dangerous drug, fentanyl.

This isn’t the first time the United States has faced fentanyl problems. The Guardian reports that more than 1,000 people died from overdoses cause by the drug between 2005 and 2008. During these years, all deaths could be traced to a single lab in Mexico and once the lab was shut down fentanyl problems ended.

The DEA hasn’t targeted a lab responsible for the new epidemic, DEA agent Tim Desmond says. Currently, federal agents are working with police to target local dealers. “Sometimes we have to start at the bottom of the food chain in order to go up the ladder,” he said.

Fentanyl is used as part of anesthesia to help prevent pain after surgery or other medical procedure.

Fentanyl may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Slideshow Fighting the Fight: Fibromyalgia Explained Important information You should not receive this medicine if you are allergic to fentanyl or other narcotic pain medicines.

It is very important that you are monitored closely by your doctor when receiving fentanyl injection. This will allow your doctor to determine whether it is working properly and if you should continue to receive treatment.

Check with your doctor right away if you or your child have bluish lips or skin; chest pain; difficulty with breathing; a fast, pounding or irregular heartbeat or pulse; shortness of breath; or muscle stiffness after receiving fentanyl.

MISUSE OF NARCOTIC MEDICATION CAN CAUSE ADDICTION, OVERDOSE, OR DEATH, especially in a child or other person using the medicine without a prescription.

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nated as a polling place. uring her run for state representative in the 5th District two years ago, Juliana Stratton kept hearing the same troubling story over and over again.

Residents told her they couldn’t vote because they had a felony record.

That’s significant considering this country’s tumultuous voting rights history, said Jen Dean of Chicago Votes, a youth voting rights organization and one of three groups that helped draft the language for the bill.

“In the 1950s and 60s people were imprisoned and jailed fighting for their right to vote, and now 60 years later we are turning a jail into a polling location,” Dean said.

“I heard it enough times that I just become really frustrated,” said StratThat designation, she added, will allow actual voting machines ton, now the running mate with the state’s Democratic nominee for gover- inside the jails as well as same day voter registration and voting, giving inmates the same options as ordinary citizens. For several nor, J.B. Pritzker. months, Dean and a band of volunteers have registered eligible Illinois is among a few states that restore voting rights to individuals once they leave prison. But many exoffenders say they are unaware that their right to vote returns after completing their sentence, and others say that parole or probation officers often misinformed them.

Voting is vital to any community. But communities of color face greater risk of disenfranchisement because of contact with the criminal justice system. These communities are more likely to be inmates to vote at Cook County Jail. Since September, her group over-policed and experience high rates of arrests and detention. registered 1,500 new voters. During March’s primary election 508 And those locked up in county jails are frequently poor blacks and ballots were cast over two days of early voting at the jail.

Latinos who cannot afford bail.

The bill, currently in the House election and finance campaign Stratton worked with local advocates to introduce a bill in Februcommittee, is scheduled for an April 11 hearing in Springfield. It ary to expand voter access and education among Illinois’ jail pop- comes nearly a year after The Chicago Reporter showed a lack of ulation, which is about 20,000 people. But the bill has received uniformity in the state’s election code that could possibly disenopposition from a statewide sheriffs’ association. franchise those held in local jails from voting. Many states, includHB 4469 creates a formal process that allows those awaiting trial ing Illinois, do not deny inmates awaiting trial the right to vote. But in jail to vote. It requires local county jails and election authorities that may depend on the willingness of jail and election authority to create a system for jail detainees to register and vote by mail-in officials to allow voter registration and absentee balloting behind or absentee ballot. The bill also establishes Cook County Jail as a bars. Neighboring states like Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri temporary branch polling place. If passed, advocates says, Illinois allow jail detainees to vote absentee, but leave the process up to local sheriffs to determine. HB 4469 aims to provide guidance would be the first state in the nation to have a county jail desigand best practices on how voting in jail Continue on page 26.

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“I think the priority behind this legislative intent is that people who are eligible to vote can vote,” Stratton said. “One of the things we did with the bill is, we made it purposefully broad enough that stakeholders can work with their local election authorities to decide what works best for whatever size jail that they have.”

The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, however, has raised concerns about the bill. The 102-member association believes the bill will create an undue burden on smaller county jails, many of which are underfunded and understaffed. The head of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association contends voter registration should not be the function of the jails.

The bill also requires the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) to provide those released from custody with a voter registration application as well as voting rights information. IDOC supports the bill, which Stratton said she hopes can be on the governor’s desk in May.

“Our primary job is for us to protect and serve the community we represent – not make sure people get a chance to vote,” said the association’s executive director, Jim Kaitschuk.

Kaitschuk understands Stratton’s intent, but said to saddle jail staff with this extra duty is not feasible.

Staffers at smaller jails, he said, often pull double duty serving as dispatchers and guards.

Additionally, he said some small or rural jails house detainees less than a year and have transient populations.

“People held in county jails … have not been convicted and are completely eligible to vote but the fact is that opportunity is not given to all of them,” Stratton said. “The right to vote is one of the most cherished rights we have as Americans. This is something that will help many people participate in our democracy.”

•Reprint: By La Risa Lynch—The Chicago Reporter News.

“You may arrest somebody on Saturday before an election and now we are going to be required to try and figure out how to get them to register to vote,” Kaitschuk said. “This just becomes a real logistical nightmare for us in terms of trying to put the pieces together to see if this is even feasible.”

Stephenson County Sheriff David Snyders agreed. Stephenson County is located between Rockford and Galena on the Wisconsin border. His jail has yet to recover from 2010 layoffs that saw 27 positions from both law enforcement and corrections eliminated. The remaining 16 officers, he said, work in four 12-hour shifts splitting duties from serving meals, processing mail to guard duties at the 216 bed facility. To add the responsibility to register individuals in custody creates an undue burden, said Snyders who says that in his 20 years as sheriff he never had a request to vote while in custody. “Never,” he said.

Individuals should take advantage of the opportunities to register once they turn 18, Snyders said. In Stephenson County, people can register at the local courthouse, county clerk office and driver’s license facility.

“I don’t have an issue with them voting [in jail], but the registration may be problematic,” Snyders said.

Stratton is aware of the association’s concerns and hopes they can reach some consensus. However, she said the burden is currently on detainees who don’t have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. While some counties like Cook and Lake have figured out how to make voting behind bars work, that opportunity is not afforded to others, she said.

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hiladelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross apologized to the two black men arrested for doing nothing other than sitting inside a Starbucks while waiting for an associate to arrive.

“I failed miserably,” he said during a press conference Friday. “I exacerbated the situation with my messaging, it’s as simple as that.”

Ross faced heavy backlash for defending police action used during the confrontation at the Philadelphia Starbucks. He previously said officers did “absolutely nothing wrong” when they approached Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson at the coffee shop over the weekend.

Nelson in an interview with Good Morning America Friday said he was confused when cops entered the Starbucks and sought out him and his pal.

Cell phone video recorded moments later sees officers escorting the men, both 23, out of the shop in handcuffs. The clip went viral and has prompted protests outside the Starbucks location as well as a swift apology from the coffee chain.

The police commissioner on Friday continued to defend his officers, instead taking the blame upon himself.

“I should have said the officers acted within the scope of the law, and not that they didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “Words are very important.”

Ross said the failure in their handling of the incident lies mostly in the fact that they were unaware of the mega chain's policy, noting they did not know patrons often sit in Starbucks for hours on end.

He said he was previously under the impression that those in the shop are required to buy a drink or product in order to stay.

“It starts with me, it starts with me grossly misunderstanding Starbucks policy and it took me a long time to wrap my head around that,” he said.

“I can appreciate in light of Starbucks policy, and how well-known it is to many, why these two men were appalled when they were asked to leave.”

The manager at the Philadelphia Starbucks location who no longer works at the store — waited just two minutes before reporting Robinson and Nelson to authorities.

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hicago, IL: I came through the ‘NEW 95th Street RED LINE STATION’ the other day and immediately I asked “WHERE IS THE MONEY? I was under the impression that this new station was to improve service and make access to the trains much easier. WELL; THERE ISN’T AN ESCALATOR, NOT ONE! All access to the trains from ground level is by STAIRS, and only TWO NARROW STAIRWAYS. The stairways are so narrow that ascending and descending passengers can’t use the same stairway without rubbing shoulders, literally!

Now there is an elevator at the Far South end of The platform, but there’s no sign indicating it’s there or how to get to it.

Last observation about platform access is about the quality of the work on those stairways. They used DRYWALL on the stairway

walls, AND VERY THIN (I believe 1/4 inch because I tapped on it to test it’s thickness) and the seams were poorly joined. They weren’t properly taped and the sanding job looked like a child did it. You can see the tape and the joints are bulging. ONE HARD BUMP ON THOSE WALLS AND DAMAGE, POSSIBLY HOLES ARE FOR SURE! I’ll share the rest of my observation later, but what I’ve shared here should have passengers and taxpayers in an uproar, especially since the CTA announced that a $200 Million dollar renovation of the BLUE LINE is scheduled for later this spring.

The Southside is once again treated like STEP CHILDREN as the tax dollars are being spent…or is the money really being spent?

• Jerry Brown

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he Challenge News Magazine published several stories regarding the opium and cocaine drugs that were thriving in the Suburbs but were going to infiltrate Chicago. These stories fell on death ears! When we published our finding, Whites were leading with deaths as little was expected to be revealed. Now that blacks have become users of the bitter-fruit the numbers of deaths have swollen! This drug crises have now spread throughout the United States. Blacks, Whites and Hispanics are to take notice!

The drug problem has taken over the U.S. under the eyes of the President and Congress! It becomes an inquiry that no individual in Washington is taking lead to warn the African American Community as to the effect of these new drugs and the danger of its use! Why has becomes the mammoth question! I wonder why? It has been suggested that deaf silence regarding death-drugs would bring about black genocide? Does the secret order of government honestly believe this is exclusively a black problem? I think we should examine the facts and become better educated.

The American opioid crisis is only part of an overall drug abuse emergency.

Cocaine-related overdose deaths among non-Hispanic blacks are on par with overdose deaths caused by heroin and prescription opioids among whites, according to a study recently published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

"Numerous US national surveillance studies and media reports have highlighted an alarming rise in drug poisoning deaths in recent years," said Meredith Shiels, a co-author of the study and an investigator at the National Cancer Institute. However, most of the studies focus on opioidrelated deaths, including prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl. They also tend to emphasize the fact that death rates are "rising most rapidly among white Americans," she said.

It’s impossible for a substance user to know how potent street drugs are. Now, as fentanyl is increasingly prevalent, opioid deaths are rising—especially in the black community. Study went into the drug epidemic with an investigation of how addiction is affecting the African-American population in Washington, DC. More than 80 percent of opioid deaths in DC are African-American people. Yet, unlike the white victims of the opioid epidemic, fewer African-Americans started as prescription drug users. Dr. Edwin Chapman, who heads the Medical Home Development Group, a clinic specializing in addiction medicine, explained that not everyone becomes addicted in the same way. The common assumption is that most people get hooked by prescription painkillers. However, that’s not true for all people. Chapman says that African-American patients have historically been less likely to be prescribed pain narcotics.

“The theory is that African-Americans tolerate pain better. That’s a myth,” Dr. Chapman said. But it probably saved blacks from falling victim to the initial opioid crisis, he says. According to NPR, the opioid epidemic started in white suburban and rural areas where people are overdosing mostly with prescription medicine like Percocet and OxyContin.

That’s not necessarily true of people with substance use disorder in urban areas.

According to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., overall opioid overdose deaths among black men between the ages of 40 and 69 increased 245 percent from 2014 to 2017. Nationally, the drug death rate is also rising most steeply among African-Americans. Among blacks in urban counties, deaths rose by 41 percent in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Seventy-eight percent of the overdoses in the district are African-Americans,” Dr. Chapman said. “It’s just that the population has been totally ignored. They are invisible.”

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According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16,849 Americans died due to an overdose in 1999, and in 2015, the number of overdose fatalities reached 52,404. Overall, rates of overdose deaths increased by 5.5% per year between 1999 and 2015. Most of that increase has been attributed to opioid-related deaths among white persons.

To understand drug trends in fatal overdoses, the researchers looked at data from 2000 through 2015. National statistics on drug overdose deaths are based on information from death certificates.

Increases in overdose deaths were seen across all age groups of whites and Hispanics, yet rising rates were most pronounced among older black men (50 or older) and older black women (45 or older).

Cocaine was the largest contributor to overdose deaths among black men and women. Cocaine-related deaths peaked between 2004 and 2007, declined between 2008 and 2011, and then increased again between 2012 and 2015 among blacks, whites and Hispanics. But, the largest recent increase in overdose deaths for black and Hispanic people was due to heroin.

It is said that there were also increases due to natural or semisynthetic opioids (such as morphine and oxycodone), benzodiazepines (such as Valium and Xanax), synthetic opioids (such as fentanyl) and psychostimulants (such as methamphetamine) among blacks and Hispanics.

It's reported that there were too few drug overdose deaths among Asian-Americans to be able to draw meaningful conclusions about mortality rates by drug type, so this group was omitted," here’s a common narrative told about America’s current opioid epidemic: It is, unlike many of the drug overdose crises of the past, predominantly a white epidemic.

White people still suffer a greater rate of overdose deaths, and, as a majority of the population, they still make up much more of the raw total of overdose deaths.

But over the past several years, black people have been increasingly killed by drug overdoses as well — particularly, it seems, as the opioid epidemic has become less about opioid painkillers and more about heroin and fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids.

This chart tells the broad story, showing that drug overdose death rates have steadily increased for black Americans since 2011, when heroin and fentanyl deaths began to rapidly rise, and spiked particularly in 2016: It has been suggested John and Mary Doe consider putting into office those persons are keenly acquainted with the drug subject and would address it from the beginning of his or her term. It would be a winner if any candidate would champion the subject crime, drugs and violence—it would be far different from what’s being discussed now.

Now he’s doubling down on America’s ineffective, inhumane death penalty system. Experts agree that the opioid epidemic is a public health crisis, and there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that the death penalty would be an effective tool in combating it. Focusing on the death penalty for traffickers will only divert resources from saving lives.

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Pastor Mitty Collier

Pastor Anthony Tyler

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panic taxpayer. However, because of the lack of educational history being disseminated some youth and elders alike are not aware of those demonic individuals who misused persons.

In Chicago and State of Illinois, most black youths are educationally deprived and do not honestly know historical facts nor are they adequately instructed in the Public-School Systems. It has been stated that more than 60% of black youth are not aware of Slavery.

It is suspected that this is not by accident that this is not taught youth for fear they would break away from the bondage of ignorance.

How do we rectify the ills of those who purposely contributed to confusing blacks by misleading youths and elders into subliminal suggestions of their not being able to lead themselves? This also is the result of mis-education! If youth were instructed properly or teachers were allowed to without fear give black youth blatant truth regarding Slavery!

In the 21st Century blacks are self-educated based on what they have seen which is and has been sorrowful to the human eye… youth emulate that which they see! But God, has in earlier days of bondage allowed his Holy Spirit to invade many of the human hearts with an abundance of truth. That truth has been disseminated on to youth and elders alike. There will be a difference because with God there is Truth and Understanding of that Truth!

It is with belief that today’s youth will not return back into days of captivity but will refuse to once again eat from the Master’s table. They will no longer digest the poison that was issued in Colored water. They will no longer believe that they are fifth-human and that their skin color is inferior. They will no longer believe that schools were established for whites only because blacks didn’t have the capabilities to learn.

The ideologies of Slavery must remain behind as a real and disgraceful chapter in American’s history! It should be educationally instructed that youth not repeated the ingrediencies of such an era. History regarding Slavery should be remembered as is the slaughter of Jews which will never be forgotten!

As to casting a vote … remember the candidates who have empathy toward the furtherance of the black educational cause. Moreover, and above all, remember those who hypocritically laugh and weep in our presence but behind our backs they betrayed us!

In traveling to the polls to bring about a constructive change, the human thing to do is to take with you a family member or friend. And while traveling to do the just things you won’t be one of those dogs returning to eat their vomit!

hicago, IL. A weary mother decided not to go into a local grocery located west on 79th Street but instead sent her son. The mother noted several patrons departing the story with her son included; when suddenly from out of nowhere came a barrage of gun-shots from youth who wore bandanas and masked.

The crowd leaving the store scattered as some fell to the ground for cover. The unidentified mother quickly allowed the son into the car and thought he had dodged the bullets.

Another gentleman was shot though he was said not to be the intended victim. The God-fearing mother shouted for joy as her

son sat next to her thinking he had escaped death but only to discover that he had been unknowingly penetrated by a bullet that went directly through the body.

The shooting appeared to be an act of retaliation, but two innocent individuals would pay the cost!

An ambulance arrived and took the young gentlemen to a local Trauma Center where they were treated and later released. Daily shootings have been as such that city hall dismiss them as ‘everyday occurrences’. many people complain and have said “as long as it is on the South and Westsides all is well!” It’s suggested that tax-payers remember these acts of violence and disrespect when going to the polls.

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moving and intelligent drama about a schism that tore an American church apart, "Come Sunday" spends 105 minutes contemplating the nature of eternity. That is its accomplishment and, inevitably, something of a limitation. But for its engrossing

duration, and perhaps for some time afterward, it compels the viewer to ponder the kinds of questions more often heard from a pulpit than from a movie or TV screen.

If Jesus Christ was an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, what level of human acceptance is required to ensure one's salvation? Would a truly loving God send nonbelievers to hell, even those who have never heard the gospel? These questions are invariably destined to inspire indifference from some and impassioned arguments from others.

As for myself, I couldn't help but flash back on my own heated high-school arguments with atheists and fellow believers alike, as we played out our own earnest, circular variation on the "Is Gandhi in hell?" debate.

The Pentecostal bishop Carlton Pearson was one of those high-profile Christian leaders who, in the eyes of his sharpest critics, ultimately arrived at the wrong answers. "Come Sunday," which revisits the story of Pearson's very public rise and fall, isn't so certain.

Adapted by Marcus Hinchey from "Heretics," a three-part story that aired on the public radio show "This American Life" in 2005, the movie places its sympathies with Carlton not because his beliefs are unassailable, but because they stem from a willingness to ask uncomfortable questions.

With appreciable sensitivity and intellectual curiosity, the director Joshua Marston turns public and private spaces — a sanctuary where a congregation sits angrily divided, an office where a pastor collapses in anguished prayer — into zones of spiritual and emotional confusion.

In 1998, Carlton (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is at the height of his ministry at Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center, one of the largest churches in Tulsa, Okla. Thousands gather each week to hear his sermons, which prove enthralling in their scholarly erudition and lively humor, and which invariably lead to ecstatic outbursts of prayer, worship, healing and deliverance. Marston shoots these services with a calm, steady camera that captures, but never surrenders to, an atmosphere charged with intense religious feeling.

Some of the best scenes in "Come Sunday" show us the banal, behind-the-scenes operations at Higher Dimensions, where everyday stresses and disagreements intrude as they would in any workplace. Some of the recurring issues involve Carlton's nervous, conscientious business partner, Henry (Jason Segel, playing very well against type), whom the preacher loves like a brother, and a harried but hard-working assistant, Nicky (Stacey Sergeant).

Nearly all those tensions are exacerbated to some degree by Carlton's marriage to Gina (a sharp Condola Rashad), who outwardly supports her husband but bitterly resents her prescribed role in a marriage as carefully orchestrated

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as an Easter Sunday service. But Gina's relative outsider status makes it easier for her to support Carlton when he experiences a dramatic theological reversal. Believing that God has spoken to him, he begins preaching what will be-

come known as "the gospel of inclusion," claiming that salvation is extended to all, whether one believes in Christ or not.

This proves impossible for much of Carlton's congregation to swallow, and before long many of them are leaving the church and/or decrying him as a heretic. Particularly displeased is his longtime mentor, the legendary Pentecostal preacher Oral Roberts (Martin Sheen, both affectionate and steely), who openly refers to Carlton as "my black son" before things start to go awry.

"Come Sunday" doesn't delve too deeply into the racial dynamics at play at Higher Dimensions, where one of the most prominent African American preachers of his generation oversees a large, diverse congregation. But the movie is careful to suggest that public opinion of Carlton, although heavily polarized, doesn't divide cleanly along ethnic lines. Certainly that's true with regard to the Joint College of African American Pentecostal Bishops, who ultimately place one of their own on trial.

Marston has made worthy, far-flung dramas about Colombian drug mules ("Maria Full of Grace") and Albanian honor feuds ("The Forgiveness of Blood"), and he approaches the salvation debate from his usual position of respectful, somewhat dispassionate empathy. The filmmaking is seamless, sometimes to the point of blandness; the respectfully muted approach is underscored by a visual palette consisting of many literal shades of gray (the cinematography is by Peter Flinckenberg).

At times Marston's reticence can feel like an implicit acknowledgment of his position as a cultural outsider. (He acknowledged this more directly onstage after the film's recent Sundance premiere, noting, "I was raised Jewish. I'm not Pentecostal ‌ yet.") Still, he might have done well to push both the filmmaking and the discourse a bit further, to rise to the challenge of his characters' soul-baring honesty.

One of the picture's most affecting performances comes from Lakeith Stanfield as Reggie, the church's organist and worship leader, whose attempts to reconcile his faith and his homosexuality bring out a compassionate but conflicted response from Carlton. There's so much beautifully understated feeling in this subplot that you wish it stood more completely on its own, rather than merely facilitating Carlton's shift in perspective.

The value of that shift, whether or not one agrees with Pearson's universalist conclusions, is that it forced a widespread reconsideration of beliefs and assumptions that have a way of hardening into complacency. Do churches exploit the natural human fear of damnation when spreading a message generally thought of as Good News? Does a strict, exclusive view of salvation wind up turning faith into something overly transactional? In Carlton's own words: "What is it about loving each other unconditionally that scares us so much?" n its pursuit of ideological even-handedness and narrative expedience, "Come Sunday" doesn't always propound or dramatize these questions perfectly. Nor, to its credit, does it pretend to have any of the answers. But its willingness to dwell in its own uncertainty makes it awfully hard to cast aside. It's odd how effectively the movie winds up accomplishing what some of the best sermons do — heightening our compassion, stirring our emotions and intermittently earning our awe.

To view the Bishop Carlton interview with the Rev. Bailey go to: www.probationchallenge.org—The Truth Network.

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s life passes and laws change, it forces us to take a broader look into the community and some of the plight just around the corner ...or maybe next door.

I think it is time that our Village gather and draw from Golden Wisdom. We must go back to paying attention to our youth. Did you know that youth (boys and girls) are sometimes pulled into the Commercial Sex Industry (CSI) by another youth?

Have you ever thought about the fact that laws have criminalized VICTIMS Within the CSI by locking up children for prostitution?

Did you know that a large percentage of the CSI are VICTIMS of sexual abuse?

Did you know that Social networking is a tool used to lure children into the CSI … even children that come from “good” homes?

Did you know that many Gangs are recruiting youth for the CSI and there are members appointed to do so?

Do you know how YOUR child got a pair of shoes that you didn’t pay for?

We Must Pay Attention and Start Asking Questions! A simple search for “human trafficking’ may be a great place to start your education process or Rightssgirls.org. A YouTube search for “Beautiful: How I got into the life” may be a good video to share with the Village...as well.

Now please, let’s start having these conversations with our youth (boys and girls) and remember 12-year-olds have been arrested for prostitution as well!

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hicago, IL — In the past two years, Chicago has experienced a surge in violence rate with 650 homicides in 2017 and 762 homicides in 2016 where the majority of it has occurred in poor and predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods. The first months of this year, however, saw a decrease in violence

(Reuters) - A federal grand jury has indicted 14 former South Carolina corrections employees on charges of smuggling contraband into prisons in exchange for bribes, the State newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The indictments were unsealed on Wednesday, the paper said, little more than a week after seven inmates died in a riot sparked by a fight among prison gangs over turf and contraband at South Carolina's Lee Correctional Institution.

Citing court records, the State said the indictments charge the former employees with taking bribes to smuggle contraband, including drugs and cellphones, into state prisons.

The prisons were not identified in court documents, the newspaper said.

One former worker, Frank Pridgeon, was charged with accepting bribes, wire fraud and possessing cocaine with intent to distribute from August to October 2015, according to a copy of his indictment.

rate in the city.

On March 30, 2017, three separate incidents of shootings happened over a 12-hour period in the South Shore neighborhood.

Seven were dead including Patrice Calvin, a 26-year-old pregnant woman, who was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Carolina had no immediate comment on the State report or on whether Pridgeon had an attorney.

Federal and state law enforcement and corrections officials have scheduled a news conference for 3:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday in Columbia, the state capital.

The day before, two people, one was a documented gang member, were also shot near the South Shore Cultural Center. Four victims were also found dead in or around the Nadia Fish and Restaurant. Investigators believed that the shootings were gangrelated.

The melee last week at the Lee prison was the deadliest U.S. prison riot since 1993, when nine inmates and a corrections officer died at an Ohio institution.

This year, Chicago recorded 286 shooting incidents and 78 slayings through the first two months, down from 399 shooting incidents and 101 slayings at the same time last year.

Prison experts said the South Carolina riot exposed the vulnerability of understaffed prisons in the state and across the country.

While there has been a decrease in shootings, Chicago is still beset with gun violence. Last February, Chicago police commander Paul Bauer was fatally shot by Shomari Legghette, a four-time felon whom officers including Bauer tried to chase after fleeing.

Forty-four officers were guarding 1,583 prisoners at the facility when the riot broke out. Bryan Stirling, the head of the state Department of Corrections, told the State newspaper in January that about a quarter of all guard jobs were unfilled.

Moreover, residents in the area are still wary for their safety. They say that they cannot seem to notice progress in what the police and politicians claim.

In a bid to stanch the flow of contraband, Governor Henry McMaster issued an executive order on Monday aimed at speeding up the hiring of prison guards by raising pay and other reforms. The order also would boost security measures, such as putting up netting to keep contraband from being thrown over fences.

“The politicians, or the police, they’re not doing their job,” said Natasha Dunn, a South Shore resident, told USA Today. “The police, most of them mean well, but for the most part there is this lax way of dealing with crime in our community because there is this perception that we are all criminals. We are being ignored.”

McMaster also has asked federal officials to allow him to block cell signals on prison property. South Carolina officials for months have said inmates used smuggled cellphones to manage crimes outside prisons.

“President Trump, Governor Bruce Rauner and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, if they cannot find a solution that actually stops violence in Chicago, then they should start providing the young men on the South and West sides of Chicago with bulletproof vests and helmets,” said Tio Hardiman, who heads “violence interrupters” in Chicago that mediates gang conflicts before it turns violent.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis)

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aleigh, NC — Brianna Ashanti Lofton, a 20-year old mother from Raleigh, North Carolina, was arrested and charged with two counts of felony child abuse and possession of marijuana. She was identified because of a video of her 1-year-old baby smoking marijuana that went viral.

The original version of the video, which now seems to be deleted, got 1.5 million views. The 10-second clip shows a hand behind the camera holding out a rolled cigarillo to the baby’s mouth which the baby inhales.

The video went viral after a Facebook user, Rasheed Martin, posted the video and urged for the mother’s arrest. He doesn’t know the mother personally and only found out about the video when a friend shared it online. He said he wanted the mother to be held responsible.

A lot of people who were upset with the mother and worried about the baby shared the video. It was eventually was brought to the Raleigh Police Department’s attention.

“Once more and more people found out about this situation, they showed me a screenshot of her actual Facebook page,” Martin told the New York Post. “Then I later added it to the post so everyone could know exactly who … did that to the poor little girl.”

According to the police, the child is now safe and placed in the county’s child protective services department. Lofton is in police custody, charged with two counts of felony child abuse and marijuana possession.

Tyler Perry has an extensive resumé of films and TV shows that draw viewers in and lead to box office gold. And, while the filmmaker and producer is proud of the work he's done, nothing beats fatherhood. Perry welcomed his son in November 2014, calling Aman a "beautiful and strong and amazing" child during a 2016 appearance on The Real.

Speaking with ESSENCE editors Cori Murray, Yolanda Sangweni, and Charli Penn for the Yes, Girl! podcast, Perry opened up about being a dad and his dream for son Aman.

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he host says she doesn't think she wrote the posts, but admits they don't seem to have been hacked.

On Saturday morning, five days after Joy Reid was accused of authoring a series of homophobic blog posts that were unearthed by a Twitter user, the MSNBC host apologized for the controversy, but said that she still doesn't think she wrote the posts in question.

"Here's what I know: I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things," she said on AM Joy. "But I can definitely understand, based on things I have said and have written in the past, that some people don't believe me."

On Monday, when Mediaite asked Reid about the blog posts, she said, "An unknown, external party accessed and manipulated material from my now-defunct blog." On Wednesday night, her lawyer confirmed that the FBI was investigating "potential criminal activi-

ties surrounding several online accounts" belonging to Reid.

But, on Saturday, Reid admitted that the posts don't appear to have been the result of hacking or tampering.

"When a friend found them in December and sent them to me, I was stunned," she said. "Frankly, I couldn't imagine where they'd come from or whose voice this was. The reality is they have not been able to prove it."

To further get across the message, Reid convened a panel of gay-rights advocates to discuss the controversy.

While she didn't take credit for the blog posts, she admitted that she's written and tweeted hurtful, anti-gay things in the past, and she pledged to do better. "I looked back on some of the ways I've talked casually about sexual gender and orientation, and I wonder who that even was," she said.

Reid continued: "I'm heartbroken that I didn't do better back then. The reality is I have to own the things I've written and tweeted and said."

Now that Reid has admitted that she doesn't appear to have been hacked, it's unclear what will happen to the FBI investigation into the matter.

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