Get the latest news from around Illinois.
Daily Herald: Court: Police have no right to COVID-19 patients' names, addresses
Ruling that police have no right to the information, a state appeals court has tossed an order requiring the McHenry County Health Department to provide the names and addresses of COVID-19 patients to emergency dispatchers.
The ruling overturns an April 10 temporary restraining order McHenry County Judge Michael Chmiel entered after several county law enforcement agencies, including the Algonquin and Lake in the Hills police departments and the sheriff’s office, sued the health department for the information.
Chicago Tribune: Some Illinois parents opt for home schooling instead of sending kids back to school in the fall
For some parents, teaching their children at home after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools this spring was challenging, to say the least.
For others, it revealed another option.
WBEZ: Community groups, not police, will likely get $20M from criminal justice grants
After a push by anti-violence groups, and in the midst of calls to defund police, an Illinois committee has voted to send $20 million in COVID-19 grant money from the U.S. Department of Justice to community-based organizations, rather than law enforcement agencies.
The funding was designated to cover criminal-justice expenses across the state that arose as a result of the pandemic. It was part of the federal Coronavirus stimulus package passed in March. Shortly after, a coalition of Illinois groups started raising concerns that the money would only go to government agencies like police departments, sheriffs’ offices and prisons.
WTTW: Forest Preserves to Loosen Restrictions in a Big Way, But Not Until After July 4th
Summer is cautiously back on at the Cook County Forest Preserves.
On Thursday, Arnold Randall, general superintendent of the Forest Preserves, announced plans to lift remaining restrictions on the district’s most popular sites and amenities, but not until after the Fourth of July holiday weekend has passed, and with it the threat that overcrowding could cause a spike in transmission of the coronavirus.
Rockford Register Star: Rockford traffic stop turns violent, protesters want answers
How does a traffic stop turn to violence and felony charges?
That’s what Rockford Youth Activism and friends of William “Sage” Patrick Gettings want to know.