News Archives

Be sure to watch Terry Sullivan tonight on WGN covering Drew Peterson.

In Florida, a law was just recently passed that anyone who is applying for welfare must take a drug test at their own expense. If the applicants pass, then they are eligible for benefits and the state reimburses them for the test. However if an applicant fails, then they are denied welfare for a year and have to take another test. Many states are signing onto this idea given the appeal that this aid should be taken seriously and given to those who need it. Mandatory drug testing does offer its benefits, but it is drawing criticism. Some groups claim that this is only enforcing a negative stereotype of the individuals who need welfare and is not necessarily reflective of the actual recipients. Some groups claim that the costs are likely to exceed any amount of money saved especially through the state having to defend this policy in court and it is unconstitutional to ask applicants to submit to testing. Given that this program has been abused for quite some time, supporters of this Act appear to be asking for a reconsideration of stricter laws for applicants. Regardless of where these individual states may decide their stance on the issue, these economic times force a society to reexamine a program that may have been allowed to lapse during an easier economy.

The 2014 All-Star Game may be held at Wrigley Field in its centennial year. There are some hurdles to overcome before the decision is finalized, but Wrigley does hold an appeal. The park opened in 1914 and is still a Chicago favorite - Go Cubs!

Reports are now confirming that the epicenter for the earthquake yesterday was in a region northwest of Richmond, Virginia. Tremors were reported along the East Coast as far south as North Carolina and up north to Maine. Offices were evacuated quickly and most remained closed for the remainder of the day. Federal and local courts were emptied shortly after the earthquake hit and remained closed for the day, but some offices returned to work shortly after they received the go ahead from their building's structural engineer. Although there were numerous injuries, none were fatal.

Rahm Emanuel says that he is working towards settling the outstanding police torture allegations against Jon Burge. Emanuel has discussed the possibility of compensating the other alleged torture victims so that the city can move on. If these cases do enter settlement negotiations, former Mayor Richard Daley will not have to disclose his involvement especially now that a Judge has ruled that he can be sued as a defendant. If the case is settled, then no deposition will be held. Only four alleged torture cases were resolved and the City Council approved a $19.8 million settlement back in 2008. OPINION of Katie Filipiak (NOT TSF’s opinion): The taxpayers are going to pay one way or another - either through more money or this issue being swept under the rug which does not improve upon building the trust between the communities and the police meant to serve them. If you want to build a future, then deal with the past accordingly. Allegations need to be proven or disproven so that the system can fix what is broken. Indifference holds just as much negative weight as being guilty. Hold the guilty to be guilty, but always prove the truth.

Terry Sullivan was interviewed this weekend by The Smithsonian Channel for his role during the John Wayne Gacy trial. Be sure to watch the in-depth exploration presented by The Smithsonian.

Lou Bianchi walked out of court of August 2nd where he was cleared of two counts of official misconduct. This is the second time this year that the Judge has thrown out misconduct charges brought by special prosecutors Thomas McQueen and Henry Tonigan against Lou Bianchi - the county's top prosecutor.

According to Sam Amirante who defended John Wayne Gacy, there was a 34th victim disposed of in the Des Plaines River that was never found so Gacy was never charged with that murder. Gacy admitted to Amirante himself that he dumped five bodies in the Des Plaines River, but only four were ever found despite an extensive search. Amirante's book, "Defending a Monster" is available today in which he discusses what it was like to defend a case that would end up becoming the trial of a century. There has been recent speculation that Gacy had more victims, but Mr. Amirante insists that Gacy's final victim count was 34 given how high profile the case was and how thorough the investigation was. Also, Gacy was a local public figure and he talked with so many people that they would have known if there were other victims by now.