Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 20h

The most important book that has not been written is Axl Rose’s memoir

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 1d

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 1d

People make fun of the Bucks for signing Giannis siblings but I think it's the most touching, humane way to keep your superstar happy.

Shams Charania Tweets @shamsbot.bsky.social · 1d

The Milwaukee Bucks are signing Alex Antetokounmpo to a two-way NBA deal, joining older brothers Giannis and Thanasis, Octagon's Alex Saratsis tells ESPN. This marks the first time in NBA history that three brothers are on active roster contracts with the same team.

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks to @wgnradio.bsky.social for having me on to discuss my story on Eileen O’Neill Burke weakening the the review of innocence claims.

www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 4d

There's lots of newsy stuff in today's @injusticewatch.org newsletter and also you can hear about a few of my personal favorite horror movies on Tubi.

www.injusticewatch.org/subscribe/

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 4d

Thanks to The Chicago Reporter for republishing my story, originally in @injusticewatch.org and @boltsmag.org, on Eileen O'Neill Burke weakening Cook County's broken system for freeing the innocent.

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent - The Chicago Reporter

This story was produced by Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago that investigates issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system. Sign up here to get their weekly newsletter....

www.chicagoreporter.com

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Schrödinger's Sneetch Belly @rtodkelly.bsky.social · 5d

"the girlfriend of one of the founders of antifa"

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 6d

Valuable news and context from @megomatz.bsky.social and @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

ProPublica @propublica.org · 6d

NEW: Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools.

It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of public schools as we know them.

These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.

Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of public schools as we know them.

www.propublica.org

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 6d

Those 34 years would have been 26 years if the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit had cleared Francisco Benitez instead of denying him in 2015. He's one of at least 21 people the group rejected who were later exonerated. You can read about it in my @injusticewatch.org series Denying Innocence.

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 7d

If you want to take the Chicago FOP's temperature after the weekend, the union president wrote an angry letter alleging cops were told to stand down instead of helping federal authorities after they shot someone, which CPD denies.

The union did not weigh in on federal agents gassing their members.

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 8d

If you’re a reader of @injusticewatch.org — whether you’ve long used our judicial election guides or you recently found us for the first time — please help us out by taking our audience survey. We want to know how we can better serve you. And you have a chance to win $100 and a custom portrait!

Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 8d

Every question in our survey will help our editorial, engagement, and operations teams make decisions about what they do. It takes about seven minutes to complete. Help shape our future work. buff.ly/MG6mbcv

A graphic reads "You read, follow, or share our work. Now help guide what we do. Fill out our survey. Enter to win $100 + a custom portrait. Two winners every week for a month."

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 8d

Read the full story here: www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations again...

www.injusticewatch.org

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 8d

📻 Tune in to WVON 1690AM Chicago at 9:30 a.m. today to hear senior reporter Dan Hinkel discuss his latest story about the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit — and how State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has weakened an already broken system for freeing innocent people.

WVON 1690AM | iHeart

The Talk of Chicago

buff.ly

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 9d

One thing to bear in mind here is that the union that represents the wide majority of Chicago police earlier this year dedicated the cover and a good chunk of the inside of its magazine for members to praising Tom Homan and ICE.

FOP February cover with Tom Homan and the headline The Ice Man Cometh

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 11d

Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has allowed her office’s Conviction Integrity Unit to shrink. It’s now half its former size — with just three attorneys to investigate innocence claims. Copublished with
@boltsmag.org: www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations again...

www.injusticewatch.org

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 10d

I appreciate it, friend. Feeling every year of my experience right now.

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 11d

CPD rehired Forberg as a criminal intelligence research specialist after he retired as a detective. His sometimes-partner, John Foster, remains a commander of detectives. Supt. Larry Snelling declined to discuss those facts.

Forberg also quit a small suburban department after I asked about the job.

Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 12d

State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has failed to systematically review cases involving former Chicago police Detective Brian Forberg, despite more than a dozen allegations of coercion against him and his partners. Copublished with @boltsmag.org:

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations…

buff.ly

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 12d

Dozens of people have made similar allegations of coercion against former Det. Brian Forberg & his partners. The mom of one imprisoned man told me prosecutors and judges should take that seriously.

www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

“All these people ain’t making this stuff up!” said Gwendolyn Wells, Renwick’s mother. “There has to be some truth to it. You’re taking all these different people from different areas — all of them are not making this up.”

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 12d

“ABC7 spoke to Pertissue Fisher, a woman who lives in the building. She said ICE agents took everyone in the building, including her, and asked questions later….’They was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.’”

It can’t happen here, you say. But it is happening.

ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground

ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.

abc7chicago.com

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Bolts @boltsmag.org · 13d

A report commissioned by prosecutors cites more than a dozen cases where witnesses or defendants allege that a Chicago detective, Brian Forberg, or his partners, bullied witnesses into falsely blaming them for murder. Read our new collaboration with @injusticewatch.org:
boltsmag.org/chicago-cook...

Exonerations Grind to a Halt Under Chicago’s New Prosecutor - Bolts

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has weakened her office’s already broken system for freeing the innocent, even as allegations of coercion mount against a former Chicago detective.

boltsmag.org

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 13d

Eileen O'Neill Burke made it harder for people to have their innocence claims investigated by the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit — one of several ways her office is weakening review of wrongful convictions. Read the latest from us and @boltsmag.org:

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations…

buff.ly

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 13d

Thanks to @blockclubchi.bsky.social for republishing our story on State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke further weakening Cook County's conviction review system & showing no interest in determining whether the many people who allege coercion by former Det. Brian Forberg might be telling the truth.

Cook County’s New Prosecutor Has Weakened An Already Broken System For Freeing The Innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations again...

blockclubchicago.org

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Chip Mitchell @chipmitchell1.bsky.social · 13d

Gregory Bovino, commander-at-large of the U.S. #BorderPatrol, claims a @wbez.org/@chicago.suntimes.com report about his comments Sunday in downtown #Chicago was "grossly inaccurate" and taken out of context. So we've posted the interview's unedited AUDIO and TRANSCRIPT:
www.wbez.org/immigration/...

Transcript: Gregory Bovino says arrestees in downtown Chicago chosen partly based on ‘how they look’

WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell spoke with U.S. Border Patrol commander about a deportation blitz downtown and in the upscale River North neighborhood. Here is the transcript and unedited audio interview.

www.wbez.org

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 13d

Much of this story covers Cook Co. prosecutors' unwillingness to systematically examine the many similar coercion allegations against Det. Brian Forberg & partners.

Of the 24 known people charged or convicted in cases involving a coercion allegation against Forberg et al, every single one is Black

Jonah Newman @jonahshai.bsky.social · 13d

NEW from @danhinkel.bsky.social, in collaboration w/ @boltsmag.org: Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has weakened the office tasked with reviewing innocence claims. In the 10 months since she took office, it has not exonerated a single person. www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations again...

www.injusticewatch.org

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Reposted by Dan Hinkel

Aura Bogado @aurabogado.bsky.social · 14d

The Conviction Integrity Unit helped overturn 248 wrongful convictions between 2016 and 2024. It's overturned exactly 0 in the last year.

Important work here by @danhinkel.bsky.social!

www.injusticewatch.org/project/deny...

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations again...

www.injusticewatch.org

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Dan Hinkel @danhinkel.bsky.social · 14d

Here's part two of my Denying Innocence series on the failures by Cook County prosecutors to investigate innocence claims. Thanks to our friends @boltsmag.org for copublishing.

Injustice Watch @injusticewatch.org · 14d

NEW from @injusticewatch.org and @boltsmag.org: Cook County has more documented wrongful convictions than any county in the nation. In the last 10 months, State’s Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke has weakened her office’s main system for freeing innocent people. buff.ly/ysPtaYG

Cook County’s new prosecutor has weakened an already broken system for freeing the innocent

State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s Conviction Integrity Unit hasn’t exonerated anyone in her 10 months on the job, and she has done little to confront more than a dozen coercion allegations…

www.injusticewatch.org

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