Unlike the criminal court proceedings that unfold at 26^th and California, where criminal defendants can be convicted or jailed for their alleged crimes, restorative justice takes a different approach – allowing people to address their harms by accepting responsibility for what they did and engaging with the people and community who are directly impacted.

In a 2022 newsletter addressing the practice, Restorative Justice Judge Beatriz Santiago wrote: “The beauty of this court is that rather than label the participant a criminal, a felon, the court gives the participant an opportunity to make amends to the victim and community for the harm caused and gives the participant a second chance. This is important because once a person is labeled as a convicted felon, their prospects to secure a good job and better himself or herself becomes increasingly difficult.”

According to the Office of the Chief Judge, nearly 500 people have participated in restorative justice community courts since the community courts began hearing cases less than 10 years ago.

For a case to be eligible for the restorative justice, the person charged must:   

• Be 18 to 26  
• Have been charged with a nonviolent felony or misdemeanor  
• Live, work or worship in one of the neighborhoods which has a community court  
• Have a nonviolent criminal history  
• Accept responsibility for the harm caused  

Victims are not required to participate in the process, but the state’s attorney must get a victim’s permission before a case is accepted for restorative justice. If the victim declines, the case can’t be admitted, according to a court spokeswoman.

The Chicago Appleseed report released this week examined the practice at three separate RJCC in Englewood, Avondale and North Lawndale over the course of three months last year.

The report found a huge shift in the types of cases these courts were hearing – from almost exclusively drug cases in 2017 and 2018 to more recent years – where 83 percent of the cases involved gun possession.

Naomi Johnson with Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts said the research team felt like many of these crimes did not have actual victims.

“That was surprising to us because it didn’t feel – it wasn’t in line with restorative justice practices that really focused on addressing harm in the community. In these cases, it was hard to find where the harm was taking place,” Johnson told NBC 5 Investigates.

Nearly all of those participating in Cook County’s restorative justice courts have come from Black or Latino communities and researchers raised concerns that the courts hearing mostly drug and weapons cases could be the result of “lack of safety, over policing and disinvestment in those communities.”

Johnson added the courts are “certainly an improvement from your traditional criminal court. They are a much better place to be than 26^th and California. However, there were certainly concerns about the amount of time that they show up in participants’ lives and the lack of community engagement in these courts.”

The researchers called for a series of improvements – including creating a task force to evaluate the courts, gain participant feedback and oversee changes to the court.

NBC 5 Investigates reached out to the Office of the Chief Judge. Through a spokeswoman, the court released the following statement:

“We appreciate that the Appleseed analysis highlights the many positive elements of our programs, particularly the low recidivism rate of young people in the Restorative Justice Community Courts (RJCCs) – a rate of 13% within one year of enrollment compared to 65% for similarly situated young people whose cases are adjudicated in traditional court proceedings. We are encouraged by the ongoing success of our community courts, which have provided hundreds of young people a second chance to improve their lives and avoid having felony convictions on their records. The court is open to collaboration with our criminal justice and community partners on additional alternatives to the traditional court process to the extent the law allows.  We appreciate Appleseed’s interest in the court’s restorative justice programs, and we are open to working with them in the future on a more rigorous evaluation of the RJCCs.”

The 68-year-old Mapes, who served for almost two decades as the Democrat’s chief of staff, was convicted of one count of perjury and one of attempted obstruction of justice last year.

U.S. District Judge John Kness sentenced Mapes to 30 months in prison, short of what prosecutors sought but more than the probation his defense attorneys had pushed for.

“I don’t understand why. You were immunized by the grand jury, and all you had to do was go in and tell the truth,” Judge John Kness said. “You knew the testimony was false…I can’t ignore that finding.”

Mapes will report to prison in mid-June to begin his sentence, according to the judge.

Kness said in court he felt a sense of loyalty had potentially motivated Mapes’ deception, but said that such a feeling was a mistake.

“Your loyalty was misguided, and now you will pay the price for that,” he said.

Kness said that Mapes’ age was taken into consideration when handing out the sentence.

“I do not believe a five-year sentence was necessary or appropriate. The people of this state cry out for accountability, but I’m not going to make you accountable for the conduct of others,” he said.

The conviction of Mapes struck uncomfortably close to home for the now 81-year-old Madigan who, for decades, was one of the most powerful state legislative leaders in the nation. Many once thought he was untouchable because he was too smart, careful and well-connected.

Then, in 2022, he was indicted on charges that included racketeering and bribery.

Prosecutors told jurors Mapes lied repeatedly when he testified in 2021 to a grand jury investigating Madigan and others. They said he specifically lied when he said he couldn’t recall any relevant details about Madigan’s ties to Michael McClain, who was a Madigan confidant.

One witness, a legislator, told jurors that Madigan, Mapes and McClain formed a mighty triumvirate — with Madigan at its head — in the Illinois House for years, controlling which bills got through the legislative body.

Government evidence included wiretapped phone recordings and audio of Mapes testifying before the grand jury.

“He did everything he could to obstruct the process … to minimize his participation, to act as if he was clueless,” prosecutor Julia Schwartz said of Mapes during closing arguments Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Defense lawyer Katie Hill told jurors in her opening statement that Mapes never intentionally misled the grand jury, saying he simply couldn’t remember many details. She likened the questions Mapes was asked to a pop quiz at a high school reunion and asked jurors if they would be able to remember the color of their prom corsages or who was class president their junior year.

During closings, defense attorney Andrew Porter said Mapes would have had no motivation to lie to protect his old boss after Madigan had forced him to resign in 2018 amid allegations of harassment, which Mapes has denied.

“Why would he fall on his sword for a guy who kicked him to the curb three years before?” Porter asked.

Federal jurors in May 2023 convicted four defendants of bribery conspiracy involving the state’s largest electric utility. Prosecutors said McClain, two former ComEd executives and a former utility consultant arranged contracts, jobs and money for Madigan’s associates to ensure proposed bills boosting ComEd profits became law.

A year before Madigan was indicted and amid speculation that he was a federal target, Madigan resigned from the Legislature as the longest-serving state House speaker in modern U.S. history.

The indictment accused Madigan of reaping the benefits of private legal work that was illegally steered to his law firm, among other things. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Mapes has been ordered not to contact Madigan or McClain pending their trial date, according to court officials.

The city crafted a change to its bus ordinance in December in an effort to stop so-called “rogue buses” from dropping off scores of migrants unannounced throughout the Chicago area. City council approved the changes.

The city’s ordinance requires that bus companies apply for and get permission from the City of Chicago before dropping off migrants at the city’s designated landing zone. 

Wynne filed the lawsuit in federal court in January – only after the city had filed a series of lawsuits of its own in state court against bus companies it alleged had violated its new regulations. To date, the city’s law department says that it has filed 95 violations against 30 bus companies.

In a response filed late Thursday to Wynne’s lawsuit, attorneys representing the city allege that “there is nothing to (Wynne’s) claims, and (the lawsuit) should be dismissed.”

Wynne Transportation, which has been paid by the Texas government to transport migrants to Chicago and other U.S. cities – filed the lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance and arguing it infringed on interstate commerce laws and the rights of migrants.

“It’s just like anybody trying to get on a bus and trying to go to their chosen destination. And the city of Chicago’s ordinance is interfering with that,” attorney Mike Kozlowski said during an interview with NBC 5 Investigates last month. “And when we’re talking about immigration, that’s a federal issue. The City of Chicago is not allowed to legislate on an immigration issue.”

The city argues in its response that the new regulation “does not discriminate …  (and applies) equally to buses from Illinois or elsewhere.”

Attorneys for the City of Chicago also wrote that Wynne “wants to be able to drop off scores of migrants on the streets of Chicago without heed to the basic safety and traffic management concerns that underlie the City’s regulations.”

NBC 5 Investigates reached out to an attorney for Wynne Friday for a response to the city’s latest filing. We have not heard back as of news time.

It’s not immediately clear when another hearing date will be set.

NBC 5 Investigates spoke to two law professors Friday, both of whom agreed the Johnson administration could potentially prevail in getting the case tossed out.

“My own assessment is that the complaint is largely a political complaint and not a serious legal complaint,” said Steve Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois – Chicago who teaches constitutional law. “What I mean by that is that the Texas governor has set up this immigration program with an eye toward politics and that the complaint is simply furthering the Texas governor’s political agenda, and shipping migrants to cities like Chicago. Now it’s not a serious legal complaint because the claims that the bus company alleges in the complaint, simply don’t hold water. And the city’s response that was filed this week is really a good indication of why those claims don’t hold water.”

Nadav Shoked, a professor of law at Northwestern University characterized the lawsuit as “weak” and said “We all understand the logic and the background for this, the only thing the city is doing is regulating how people can arrive in the city. It is not stopping anyone from arriving in the city – it’s not even deterring anyone from arriving in the city. That’s why – even without knowing anything about the law – it is easy to see why the city is correct in arguing the lawsuit is somewhat silly.”

In a statement, the city’s law department said its response explains why the lawsuit should be dismissed.

City records show this contract spending increase was signed by Mayor Brandon Johnson on Dec.29 and is connected to the original $40 million contract renewal the city signed with Favorite in October.

The source of the funding for the new spending increase appears to be a state grant from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.

NBC 5 Investigates reached out to the Johnson administration for comment, we are waiting for a response.

The new contract amendment does not specifically state why the spending increase was necessary other than:

“That the circumstances said to necessitate the change in performance were not reasonably foreseeable at the time the Contract was signed, or that the change is germane to the original Contract as signed, or that the change is in the best interest of the City and is authorized by law.”

The city’s new online spending portal shows since Dec. 2022 Favorite Healthcare Staffing has been paid more $93.7 million.

The spending increase comes after the Johnson administration renewed its agreement with Favorite Healthcare Staffing in late October.

The controversial Kansas-based company has come under criticism by the Chicago City Council and members of the public for its exorbitant hourly pay rates, which the Johnson administration has repeatedly said it negotiated to lower.

An NBC 5 Investigates investigation previously uncovered how Favorite Staffing routinely billed the city at 84 hours per week for most its staff – including overtime.

If Favorite were to continue billing at that pace, NBC 5 Investigates found it could cost taxpayers between $220K to $859,000 per year per employee – even at newly reduced rates.

NBC 5 Investigates has filed Freedom of Information Act requests for additional invoices and are awaiting those records.

The Johnson administration has previously defending renewing the contract with Favorite – saying it inherited the contracts from the previous administration – and that if it needs a company to staff the city’s shelters.

But even with the new lower rates, staffers hourly rates still range between $40 to $156 per hour.

Favorite has also come under criticism recently from migrants and volunteers, who raised concerns about the conditions inside the migrant shelter located on S. Halsted in Pilsen where a five-year old boy – Jean Carlo Martinez Rivero died in December following a medical emergency.

The cause of the boy’s death remains under investigation, but there were reports that child was sick and had a fever prior to being transported. Medical volunteers have also raised concerns that the medical assessments being provided to the migrants are inadequate.

In a statement released after the boy’s death, Favorite Staffing’s Keenan Driver said:

“We are heartbroken to learn of the death of a child at a Pilsen shelter on Sunday, and we send our deepest condolences to his loved ones and community. We take the safety and wellbeing of all shelter residents seriously. Our team is working closely with the City of Chicago and other authorities to support an investigation into what occurred.”

NBC 5 Investigates reached out to Favorite again Thursday for comment on the contract increase and the criticism of the food and healthcare. A spokeswoman for Favorite referred questions back to the city.

In an email, Ald. Andre Vasquez told NBC 5 Investigates that alders approved the grant money tied to the increase in early November, but the city’s records show the contract with Favorite was not amended until Dec. 29.

Burke – 14th Ward alderman for 54 years and longtime chair of the powerful City Council Finance Committee – was indicted on 14 counts of racketeering, extortion and bribery. He’s accused of using his government positions to lure in business for his private law firm specializing in property tax work. Also charged alongside Burke are his longtime aide Peter Andrews and real estate developer Charles Cui.

Prosecutors laid out four separate episodes for which Burke is charged. He’s accused of taking official action as he pursued tax work from the developer of Chicago’s Old Main Post Office, halting the remodeling of a Burger King in his ward as he sought their business, getting involved in an issue related to a pole sign for a Northwest Side Binny’s, as well as threatening to withhold support for the Field Museum’s fee increase proposal after his goddaughter’s internship application fell through the cracks.

“For the past weeks, you have heard about a pattern of unlawful activity,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane MacArthur began the prosecution’s closing argument Wednesday.

“Standing at the center of that steady drumbeat of unlawful activity is this man, Edward Burke,” she said, gesturing to Burke.

“Mr. Burke used his authority… to satisfy his own greed and to line his own pockets,” MacArthur continued.

“These actions,” she said, “flipped our system from right to wrong, from legal to illegal, from above board to thoroughly corrupt.”

Central to the case are wiretapped phone calls and secretly recorded meetings, some of which prosecutors played for jurors again in closing. That included a 2017 call in which Burke asks fellow alderman-turned-FBI-mole Danny Solis about getting business from the developer of the Old Post Office.

“So did we land the, uh, the tuna?” Burke can be heard asking.

“That’s a financial tuna that he’s referring to,” MacArthur told the jury as her closing argument continued into Thursday. “Mr. Burke, in his mind, was seeking to land a financial tuna for himself and his law firm.”

Earlier in the week, Burke’s defense called Solis to testify and he conceded – he agreed to wear a wire after he was confronted with evidence of his own alleged crimes, and he lied to Burke at the direction of the FBI.

Thursday, MacArthur told jurors that while Solis may have lied, “It is the words and actions of Mr. Burke that are really the focus in this case.”

After MacArthur’s methodical closing argument stretched for roughly seven hours split over the course of two days, it was Burke’s team that had their chance to make a final pitch to the jury.

“The government has provided to you a lot of noise and confusion,” Burke’s attorney Joseph Duffy said.

“They still haven’t figured out what crime he’s committed,” Duffy continued. “It is not your job to clean up a mess.”

“They promised you a corruption case. Ed Burke lined his pockets,” Duffy said, before drilling down on a point his team has made repeatedly over the course of the trial. “In three years, you know how much money went into his pocket? Nada. Zero.”

Duffy pointed to Solis as pushing both Burke and the developer of the Old Post Office at the direction of the FBI.

“Solis needed somebody to hire Ed Burke. Why? Because Danny Solis did not want to go to jail,” Duffy said. “He’s a corrupt public official. He’s cooperating with the government. He told you: whatever the FBI told me to do, I did.”

Duffy also highlighted both Burke’s method for recusing himself from City Council votes on matters related to clients, as well as the efforts by other public officials like then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Dick Durbin to push the Old Post Office renovation forward

“Solis told you what we’ve been telling you for weeks: Nobody needed Ed Burke’s help,” Duffy said, “except Danny Solis.”

All three defendants on Wednesday declined to testify in their own defense. Defense attorneys were expected to finish closing arguments Friday and the jury is poised to begin deliberating early next week.

A packed courtroom watched as Burke’s defense attorney Chris Gair questioned Solis for nearly three hours in one of the trial’s most-anticipated sequences.

“On June 6, 2016, the FBI showed up at your house at about 8 o’clock in the morning?” Gair asked Solis.

“Yes,” Solis replied.

“And you were darn scared, right?” Gair pressed. “Yes,” Solis answered.

Confronted with evidence of his own alleged crimes, accused of taking bribes like cash and trips, Solis then spent more than two years wearing a wire on some of the city’s biggest political players, secretly recording roughly 20,000 phone calls and meetings.

Those recordings are now key evidence in the case against Burke, who was indicted in 2019 on 14 counts of racketeering, extortion and bribery – accused of using his immense government power to steer business to his private law firm specializing in property tax appeals.

Prosecutors allege Burke – 14th ward alderman for 54 years and chair of the powerful City Council Finance Committee – attempted to strongarm developers of the city’s Old Main Post Office, a Northwest Side Binny’s and a Burger King in his ward into hiring his firm.

Burke’s defense maintains he never profited from any of the alleged schemes, calling it “a bribery case without bribes.” His attorneys on Tuesday pointed to Solis’ motivation in recording Burke and lying to Burke at the direction of the FBI.

“Your reason to cooperate with the government was to save yourself, wasn’t it?” Gair asked Solis, who responded, “Yes.”

Gair drilled down on Solis’ outreach to Burke throughout his cooperation, asking, “When you had meetings with Mr. Burke or phone calls with Mr. Burke, it was almost always you reaching out to Mr. Burke, yes?”

“Probably, yes,” Solis replied.

“And that was because you were trying to help yourself with your own criminal problems, correct?” Gair pressed. Again, Solis responded simply, “Yes.”

Prosecutors have called Solis – who signed a deferred prosecution agreement as part of his deal – one of the city’s “most significant cooperators in the last several decades.” He also wore a wire on former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, indicted on federal corruption charges last year and scheduled to stand trial in the spring.

Burke’s attorney ended his questioning of Solis Tuesday by drilling down on that deal, asking Solis what his understanding was of the penalties he may have faced for his alleged wrongdoing at the time he agreed to cooperate.

“You understood it was years in prison?” Gair asked. “It could be,” Solis responded.

“You’re not going to be serving years in prison?” Gair replied, to which Solis said, “Not according to my agreement.”

“You’re not going to serve any days in prison?” Gair asked. “That’s correct,” Solis said.

“You’re not going to serve any hours in prison?” Gair continued. “That’s correct,” Solis repeated.

“You’re not going to be indicted for anything?” Gair asked, eliciting from Solis a third and final, “That’s correct.”

Prosecutors – who rested their case earlier in the day Tuesday – chose not to question Solis, and Burke’s defense attorneys rested their case.

Also charged alongside Burke are his aide Peter Andrews and developer Charles Cui. Closing arguments are slated to begin Wednesday afternoon.

Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration temporarily halted construction at a controversial base camp for migrants in Brighton Park just days after an environmental assessment report revealed levels of mercury and other contaminants in the soil that exceeded environmental limits.

Pritzker’s spokeswoman told NBC 5 Investigates the pause in construction is due to the Illinois EPA, which has additional questions about the number of samples collected at the site and how the contaminated soil was removed and disposed of.

Discussions between officials with the state and the city were expected to take place Monday.

The base camp location – near the intersection of 38^th Street and California – is designed to temporarily house up to 2,000 migrants. The city wants them removed from sleeping in airports or outside Chicago police stations as winter arrives.

The 800-page report, compiled by the city’s contractor, Terracon Consultants, revealed that levels of mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic substance were found in the soil. Additional remediation efforts were planned through Dec. 8, the report says. A map included in the report reveals that the mercury was discovered near an area labeled as “Sleep 1” – where one of two large tent-like structures were erected last week.

The contaminated soil was removed and disposed of at the Laraway Landfill and contractors placed six inches of gravel on top to mitigate any exposure the soil.

It was not clear Monday afternoon how long the temporary pause would last.

During an unrelated court hearing Monday involving aa lawsuit filed by Brighton Park residents who oppose to the site’s use, an attorney for the City of Chicago said the site is now “cleaner” than it was when the city signed a land use agreement and identified its potential use.

There are questions about how soon the city knew contaminates existed, however.

NBC 5 investigates captured video Tuesday of trucks hauling in gravel and pavers smoothing it out.

And the report itself notes the city’s contractor showed up on Nov. 14 to further explore and collect more samples where mercury had been detected.

They returned again on Nov. 21 to sample the air, with additional samples being collected through Dec. 1.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson declined to answer questions about the contaminates when NBC 5 Investigates asked him last Tuesday.

“The assessment is ongoing, the full report will be provided by the end of the week,” he said.

Johnson did not respond our questions on Friday, hours before the report was released, or again Monday morning at a city event.

A spokesman for Johnson has not responded to our follow-up question.

A spokeswoman for Pritzker said they hope to better understand the methods used before determining whether to resume construction.

A University of Chicago – Illinois professor told NBC 5 Investigates that the mercury found at the Brighton Park migrant site could have been harmful to humans but she was pleased to read that it had been remediated.

Environmental Health professor Dr. Susan Buchanan with the University of Illinois Chicago – reviewed the environmental assessment report at the request of NBC 5 Investigates.

She says the city’s remediation efforts appear to be sufficient but says it’s a reasonable concern for the state to want to review the report.

“That the mercury they found would put humans at risk but they removed it,” she said. “The levels they found in the soil not in air coming from the soil, those put people at risk only if they ingest the soil. So putting the six inches of crushed rock on top should be fine on a temporary basis.”

Her comments to NBC 5 Investigates came Monday before Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that the state will not move forward with the Brighton Park location.

In an emailed statement, Pritzker’s office wrote:

“… the State of Illinois will not proceed with an asylum seeker shelter at the 38^th and California site. IEPA cited concerns related to insufficient soil sampling and remediation. Given the significant time required to conduct additional sampling, to process and analyze results, and to implement corresponding further remediation, the State will work with the City to identify alternate shelter options. 

The State is expediting efforts to launch the previously announced brick-and-mortar shelter site in Little Village with plans to have 200 beds available to families and people with disabilities. Since the City of Chicago selected the Brighton Park site, the State has requested alternate sites from the City as any additional shelter will operate as part of the City’s current shelter system. The State is also working with the Archdiocese of Chicago to explore additional options for brick-and-mortar shelter sites.”

The statement went on to state:

“IEPA conducted a thorough review of the Environmental Investigation and Corrective Action Summary prepared for the City of Chicago and identified several concerns with the sampling and remediation work performed at the Brighton Park site. IEPA found:

1. The limited nature and insufficient number of soil borings conducted at the site does not provide a comprehensive assessment of environmental conditions across the site.
2. Additional soil sampling is needed to further determine if there is additional contamination at the site and to fully investigate potential sources of contamination that were identified from historical site use.”

A construction pause was expected to continue through Tuesday as the Illinois EPA reviewed the 800-page environmental assessment report the revealed that mercury and other toxic substances were discovered in the soil of a Brighton Park base camp site that’s expected to house up to 2,000 migrants.

In a statement released alongside the report late Friday night, the city said the contaminated soil had been removed and disposed of at an off-site landfill and that further remediation efforts were expected in the coming days to address other toxic contamination found on site. The 800-page report details how other toxic metals – including arsenic and lead – were discovered along with semi-volatile compounds.

An attorney representing the City of Chicago in a lawsuit filed by Brighton Park residents opposed to the site told a Cook County judge that the city left the site “cleaner” than it was when it started.

The City of Chicago inked a land use deal with the Barnacres Corporation in October to use the land for the proposed migrant base camp – designed to remove migrants from sleeping at airport or outside Chicago police stations.

The six-month land use agreement – with cost more than $91,000 a month – included a clause that allows the City of Chicago to get out of the deal if the land was not deemed to be suitable.

NBC 5 Investigates watched as truckloads of gravel were hauled in Tuesday afternoon as pavers rolled back and forth over the site’s surface.

Records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates show the vacant lot near 38^th Street and California has a history of industrial use that dates back nearly a century.

During a morning news conference Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson said an environmental assessment was still ongoing and a full report is expected to be available by the end of the week.

The location near 38^th Street and California has drawn public criticism and a lawsuit from area residents who have criticized the Johnson administration’s information sharing and transparency surrounding the site selection.

Records by NBC 5 Investigates show the site was once used as a zinc smelter and was part of a railyard.

Over the weekend, Ald. Julia Ramirez, whose ward includes the site, posted a letter to social media noting that there’s been “bad communication” and a “lack of transparency from the city” regarding the site – adding that her office was made aware of “toxic metals in the soil.”

When NBC 5 Investigates asked Johnson Tuesday to confirm what specific contaminants had been located at the site, Johnson said “the assessment is ongoing” and “the full report will be provided by the end of the week.”

“I hear your question, you’ve asked why are we still moving forward – because that’s the process we’ve been administrating from the very beginning,” Johnson said when pressed further about the city’s approach to move forward without the environmental assessment.

Johnson went on to say that information is not being withheld and that the aldermen and community partners have been made aware of the process. He added that, historically, his office has identified and then assessed potential sites for migrants.

“This notion that there’s been a lack of information or transparency, I call false on that,” he said when pressed by a reporter about the criticism of his administration’s transparency. “I have told the truth… and I will always tell the truth.”

Johnson pointed to community meetings, press conferences and contracts that have been reported on dating back to September when it was announced that the city had inked a $29 million contract with GardaWorld to create a proposed “tent city” base camp that could house up ton 2,000 migrants.

A spokesman for Johnson said that GardaWorld delivered “multiple pieces of equipment and materials for the base camp” on Monday. On Tuesday, GardaWorld was set to lay out materials, measure and begin placing base structures on the site.

“If there are no complications, erection of the base camp may begin as early as Wednesday, Nov. 29,” the spokesman said. “… common mitigation strategies are ongoing and anticipated for completion by the end of this week, weather permitting. The City is confident that the property will be suited for the purpose for which it will be used.”

Earlier this month, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that the state would help with operations of the base camp among other efforts as part kicking in an additional $160 million in funding to help with the migrant crisis.

Since last August, more than 22,000 migrants have re-settled in the Chicago area.

Johnson’s comments Tuesday came as he announced additional efforts by the faith community to help ease the city’s burden on finding housing for migrants and removing them from sleeping outside of Chicago police stations as winter approaches.

Senior Pastor John Zayas announced that 17 Chicago-area churches will begin playing host to migrants in the coming days. Zayas later told reporters the churches will act as temporary shelters for up to 20 migrants at a time for a period of up to 60 days. During that time, the churches will work with city providers to help provide “wrap around” services for migrants who are seeking housing or work.  

Most of those challenges – or more than 300 – have come within the last three years.

As part of our research in this months-long investigation, NBC 5 Investigates sent out public records requests to 600 school districts and libraries. We asked each school and library for records of all challenges they’d received concerning books or other material in their libraries and classrooms, including items people wanted removed or banned.

NBC 5 Investigates received responses from 174 public libraries and 289 school districts in the Chicago area. The majority of the books being challenged – 38 percent — involved books that cover sexual orientation or gender identity topics followed by materials that touch on race, which made up 17 percent of books challenged in the Chicago area.

One of those books includes “The House on Mango Street” written by Sandra Cisneros.

NBC 5 Investigates recently spoke to Cisneros about her book and the challenges it has faced – including facing a ban in states like Arizona.

This is a portion of our conversation:

“Well, I think we’re living in such polarized times, that a lot of times we see people banning books they haven’t even read, they’ve read a portion – maybe an incendiary description. They haven’t looked at the totality of it,” Cisneros told NBC 5 Investigates.

Cisneros wrote the book more than 40 years ago and said she was inspired by her teaching in the Pilsen community. She told us she braided together the stories and life experiences of her students into the “The House on Mango Street.” The book, which has won several awards and is required reading for some students, touches on adult themes and sensitive topics including sexual assault.

“I didn’t know what to do about their lives. I didn’t know how to protect my girls, or my young men, from the violence, or the – the horrible things that were happening that shouldn’t be happening to – to any human being, let alone someone still a child,” Cisneros said.

As part of our research, NBC 5 Investigates requested documents regarding some of these book challenges.

An email obtained through a public records request shows that a Peru, Illinois parent emailed LaSalle Peru High School school principal asking that his son be removed from an English class in which “The House on Mango Street” was part of the curriculum.

“My son is currently enrolled in a ‘racist’ critical race theory class,” the parent wrote.  “We do not teach our children to be racists by lessons taught in this multicultural class.  We need him dropped from this class immediately.”

The school’s principal wrote back, telling the parent that “We absolutely do not teach our students to be racist or intolerant of others.”

In a follow-up email, the parent criticized the book’s content and the school ultimately allowed his son to transfer into another class.

NBC 5 Investigates sent separate emails to the parent seeking comment. When reached by phone, he said the book was one of several he and his wife considered to be “inappropriate for the classroom.”

When asked about the criticism and the content her book has faced, Cisneros said:

“I wrote the book in such a delicate way that there’s nothing that would offend anyone if you’re not initiated into this issue. So, you know a little child, and children do, read a book that was written for someone a little bit older, but I write about things in a very poetic, lyrical way so that it’s not explicit.”

Cisneros said she likes to hear and respond to her critics and likens her books to medicine – adding that not every book is going to be correct prescription for every person.

“So I hope that people who are a little frightened by it may understand this is the reality of my community, and the power of a book is to be able to see yourself in a skin that isn’t yours and to see people most unlike you, and understand – oh! – that’s me.”

According to our research, by far the most challenged book is “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” whose author said the book was a way to explain to family members and friends what it’s like to be non-binary or asexual. The book does contain graphic illustrations of sex acts, which has led to protests and challenges by parents’ rights groups that have argued it is obscene and pornographic.

The American Library Association said last year it tracked more than 1,200 demands to censor certain library books, an increase from 2021 when more than 700 materials were challenged. Last year’s figure marked the most challenges the ALA has seen since it began tracking that data more than 20 years ago.

NBC 5 Investigates found that figure is clearly an undercount here in the Chicago area.

The ALA said as a result of our original investigation in October, it planned to update its database to include our findings.

That power was again under a microscope as Texas-based fast food mogul Shoukat Dhanani returned to the witness stand for a second day of questioning.

Burke was indicted in 2019 on charges of racketeering, extortion and bribery – accused of dangling his immense government power to reel in business for his law firm specializing in property tax reductions.

Prosecutors say Dhanani was a potential client Burke tried to lure. Dhanani owns roughly 800 fast food restaurants across the U.S., including 150 Burger Kings in the Chicago area – one of which is located in Burke’s 14th Ward.

Burke was connected to Dhanani through a mutual friend, Texas politician Rodney Ellis. Burke can be heard on a wiretapped phone call – played for the jury this week – discussing Dhanani with Ellis, saying, “I’d also like to get some of his law business.”

Dhanani testified Tuesday that he met with Burke in person in June 2017 when he came to visit the Burger King at 41st St. and Pulaski Rd., walking around the property with the alderman as his company awaited a building permit to begin remodeling the location.

Following the site visit, Dhanani said he then went to lunch with Burke at the Beverly Country Club, where Burke gifted Dhanani a set of salt and pepper shakers that bore his name, and discussed his law firm. Days after the visit, the Chicago Department of Buildings issued the permit and construction at the Burger King was allowed to begin.

In October, months after that visit, Dhanani said the city abruptly halted the remodel.

Dhanani testified Tuesday that he returned to Chicago in December 2017 to meet with Burke in an attempt to resolve whatever issue was causing the blockage. When prosecutors asked why he believed the work had been shut down, Dhanani said, “My gut feeling was maybe because I had not responded about the property tax business, maybe that’s why… I did not see any other reason why it would be shut down.”

Burke’s defense attorneys on Wednesday continued their cross-examination of Dhanani, drilling down on a lunch he had with Burke at the Union League Club during that second visit.

“In this meeting at the Union League Club, Mr. Burke did not threaten you?” Burke’s attorney asked.

“Correct,” the businessman answered.

“He did not demand that you give him legal business otherwise he would hold up your remodeling, did he?” Burke’s defense continued.

“Correct,” Dhanani said.

Dhanani said Burke advised him “to get involved more in the Chicago politics” and invited him to a fundraiser at Burke’s home for the upcoming Chicago mayoral race.

Dhanani donated $10,000 to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, changing the course of the race and propelling Mayor Lori Lightfoot to victory in all 50 wards after the allegations against Burke were unveiled ahead of the 2019 election. His company also sent Burke’s office a list of all its Burger King locations in Illinois, though he ultimately did not transfer property tax work to Burke’s law firm.

On Wednesday, Burke’s attorneys attempted to paint Dhanani as eager to connect with the alderman for his own gain, highlighting another wiretapped call in which he told Burke he could not attend the fundraiser, then inquired about getting his Burger King business into Chicago’s airports.

“… last time, we discussed a little bit about those closed McDonald’s at Midway Airport,” Dhanani can be heard saying in the January 2018 call.

“Yes,” Burke responds.

“What, what do we need to do, or should we do to get started to see if we can get in with the Burger Kings?” Dhanani asked.

Ultimately, the remodel of that Burger King resumed and was completed by April, Dhanani said.

Burke’s defense team has argued prosecutors have mischaracterized what occurred and that the case represents: “… a bribery case without bribes and an extortion case without extortion.” 

Burke was indicted in 2019 on 14 counts of racketeering, extortion and bribery, accused of using his official positions as longtime 14th Ward alderman and chair of City Council’s Finance Committee to steer private business to his law firm specializing in property taxes.

Also indicted alongside Burke were aide Peter Andrews and real estate developer Charles Cui.

All three men have pleaded not guilty.

During Tuesday’s testimony, jurors heard from Shoukat Dhanani, the co-CEO of the Dhanani Group, which owns roughly 150 Burger King locations in Illinois. 

The Burger King near 41st and Pulaski is one of a handful of landmarks prosecutors are using to illustrate their case — alleging that former alderman Ed Burke used his political clout to yield certain outcomes – including attempting to steer business to his own law firm.

Before a planned meeting with Dhanani, who is from Texas and wanted to meet with Burke about a remodeling permit for a Burger King in the 14th ward, Ed Burke can heard on a recorded phone call telling a mutual acquaintance “I’d also like to get some of his law business…”

During testimony Tuesday, Dhanani told jurors after the two met it was clear to him Burke’s desire to gain his business. 

When Burke’s ward office later became aware that remodeling was underway, prosecutors allege Burke’s office put a stop to it. 

Dhanani said he thought the work stoppage could be a result of him not using Burke’s law firm. He later testified he did send Burke a list of all 150 franchise locations in Illinois to see if they could get him a reduction in property taxes. 

And he later testified he felt compelled to do it because otherwise “our life would be pretty difficult” at that particular Burger King location.

A former field museum executive also testified Tuesday about Burke’s power —  saying an executive meeting was called after Burke’s goddaughter was overlooked for an internship. The HR manager said that was not standard practice.

The new spending comes on top of the more than $400 million the state says it has already contributed to the crisis thus far, the governor’s administration said.

Pritzker told reporters the financial assistance – which will come from the state’s Department of Human Services budget – is needed to help remove people from sleeping at airports and outside Chicago police stations as winter approaches.

“We’re stepping in here to try to help and to accelerate this process. It isn’t moving fast enough and we just can’t have people on the street. This is a humanitarian endeavor – we cannot have people freezing on the streets of Chicago,” the governor told reporters Thursday morning.

The governor’s plan includes $30 million to help launch a migrant intake center to welcome new arrivals and help identify which people may not want to stay in Chicago. Another $65 million will go to rental assistance and other services; and another $65 million will be earmarked to help create a winterized tent community that could house up to 2,000 people for up to six months.

NBC 5 Investigates has reported on two proposed locations – including one at 115^th and Halsted and another at 38^th and California in Brighton Park. The latter of those two locations has drawn several public protests with neighbors opposed to both the influx of migrants and the environmental concerns about the site itself.

Records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates show the city of Chicago agreed to pay Terracon Consultants up to $50,000 to conduct an environmental assessment on the land. A mayor’s spokesman told us this week the testing was “ongoing” and they expect results “soon.”

The mayor’s office has not responded to follow-up emails asking for a response to the governor’s remarks Thursday.

On Wednesday, Mayor Johnson provided scarce details about the city’s new approach to the crisis – including a new “tiered 60-day limit” on shelter stays.

Additional details are expected to be released Friday by the city.

Over the past year, more than 22,000 migrants have made their way to Chicago – many seeking asylum from countries including Venezuela.

As of Wednesday, more than 1,800 people were still living outside police stations.

What isn’t immediately clear – will the state money be enough with the city already spending close to $40 million per month on migrants?

And there are other questions – where will the new facilities and services be located? And why wasn’t this partnership announced sooner?

In response, Pritzker said: “the city has operated its own methodology process and it hasn’t moved fast enough…”

The governor said the improved intake process could begin immediately but it will be up to the city of Chicago to identify a piece of property suitable for a base camp that could hold up to 2,000 people.

Governor Pritzker said he was hoping the new investments would help eliminate “bottlenecks” that occur with getting migrants into shelters.

Outside the Chicago police district 18, NBC 5 Investigates found evidence of the bottlenecks the governor was referring to.

We found people still living at the Chicago police district who we’d met and previously interviewed six weeks ago. One man told us he came to Chicago from Venezuela a week ago. He said he’s concerned about living on the streets and knows winter will be “very cold.”

Since August of last year, city finance records show a Kansas-based company, Favorite Healthcare Staffing, has billed the city of Chicago for more than $57 million.

What’s not clear is exactly how those dollars were spent.

Favorite Healthcare Staffing has not responded to repeated requests for comment from NBC 5 Investigates. The company has a contract with the city to provide staffing in shelters that help house more than 14,000 migrants who now call Chicago home.

The city of Chicago’s finance department has denied NBC 5 Investigates’ Freedom of Information Act request for copies of a year’s worth of invoices.

In its denial letter, the city said the request was “unduly burdensome” and that with 498 payment vouchers that would require redactions, it would pose an “immense burden on the department’s time.”

The burden, the city’s letter says, “outweighs the public interest in the information.”

What’s curious about that denial letter is that the city already provided NBC 5 Investigates with two invoices – showing last December that a nurse at the High Ridge YMCA shelter earned than $20,000 in a week.

During that same week, a shelter manager made $14,000. Both figures did include overtime.

NBC 5 Investigates also received a spreadsheet showing a total of $57 million covering 498 payment vouchers. What’s not clear from the spreadsheet is how many employees that covers, how many hours were billed and if certain shelters billed the city more than others. Some invoices were for more than $500,000, the spreadsheet shows.

“This requires a great deal of attention — a lot more transparency. The fact that news organizations are only given one or two invoices when they’ve requested thousands of them, to me is unconscionable,” said Alderman Brendan Reilly, who serves the city’s 42^nd ward.

Reilly is among a growing chorus of city leaders raising concerns about transparency with city spending.

Last week, two other aldermen raised concerns in interviews with NBC 5 Investigates about the city’s spending on migrants following Thursday’s council meeting.

Reilly’s ward includes the Inn of Chicago, one of the longest serving migrant shelters that city records show now hosts more than 1,500 people.

“The city council has a role in appropriating monies like this – for programs like this – and the fact that we’ve all been left in the dark about the costs per hour for the staff for these facilities I think is insane,” said Alderman Brendan Reilly.

When we asked Mayor Brandon Johnson last week about the perceived lack of transparency, he said this:

“So let me just make sure you are clear and everybody else is clear here: every single Monday there is a conversation with the alders, who are part of a working group. Every Friday there is an email that is sent. So all the alders can see it. We have released information providing the details of the fact that when we appropriated the first $51 million, I was the person that said that vast majority of that went to staffing…” Mayor Johnson said.

Johnson went on to state that is administration “is transparent.”

Questions about the city’s spending on migrant care comes as the Johnson administration revealed a projected $538 million budget deficit last week – with more than $200 million attributed to the growing migrant crisis.

Just last week, the city inked a $29 million deal with GardaWorld, which is contracted to build temporary housing in yurt-like structures with cots for migrants – a move aimed at getting people out of the city’s police stations, which continue to serve as temporary shelters for new arrivals.

In an email to NBC 5 Investigates, a spokesman for Mayor Johnson said the locations of the so-called tent cities has not been determined. His email did not explain separate questions we posed about the city’s denial of spending records.

NBC 5 Investigates has agreed to narrow our request with the city’s finance department in the hopes of receiving additional copies of invoices.

Since asylum seekers began arriving one year ago, the city is now hosting at least 13,000 migrants who are living at airports, police stations and shelters spread across the city.

According to latest budget projections released by the Johnson administration, records show at least $200 million of the deficit stems from special project costs – which includes caring for new arrivals to the city of Chicago.

Recent city estimates indicate the migrant care crisis is already projected to cost Chicago taxpayers more than $255 million by the end of the year – if not more given the expected increase of new arrivals and talks of adding additional shelter space.

But accounting for exactly how and where those dollars are being spent has been a bit harder to pin down.

For months, NBC 5 Investigates has been asking city agencies for copies of specific financial records that would provide better insight into where those dollars are flowing and how they are spent.

While the city continues to withhold many of the records we’ve requested, NBC 5 Investigates did obtain contracts and a spreadsheet accounting for some of the spending. The records show since October of last year, the city has spent at least $83 million on the crisis.

The bulk of that money – more than $56 million – went to Favorite Healthcare Staffing – a Kansas-based company whose employees work in the city’s shelters.

In response to our Freedom of Information Act requests, the city has so far provided just two invoices – showing how much Favorite staffers are being paid.

One invoice from the now-closed shelter at Truman College shows a facility manager made $14,000 in one week last December.

Another invoice shows a nurse earned $20,000 during a week in December.

That same week – that shelter manager’s invoice billed for more than $14,000. All those employees’ figures included the employees being paid for overtime. The hourly rate for the registered nurse was $195 an hour. The facility manager earned $135 an hour.

When we visited the shelter the High Ridge YMCA this week, we were greeted by that same facility manager, who declined to answer our questions about expenses and referred us to the city.

City agencies have said they need more time to respond to NBC 5 Investigates’ records requests for financial records on the costs of caring for migrants. That response has come after city has missed previous deadlines for turning over records.

Earlier this summer, when a reporter asked Mayor Brandon Johnson about the growing costs during a June 21 press conference, Johnson said this:

“I’m certainly aware of the challenges I inherited and you know, this is why I made it a part of my everyday focus that we are decompressing police stations and we are providing a pathway sustainable existence and living in the city of Chicago,” he said.

The growing costs of the humanitarian crisis are not lost on other city leaders.

“We don’t have the money to support this…” said Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. during a Tuesday’s budget committee meeting.

While being asked to approve more money, alderpersons mentioned other issues plaguing the city, including homelessness, prior to signing off on a $33 million federal grant that was earmarked for helping care for migrants.

“This is a drop in the bucket,” Burnett said. “We need more money. For every dollar that they don’t give us, it’s money that we have to take out of our other funding.”

NBC 5 Investigates made multiple attempts on Wednesday to reach someone from Favorite Healthcare Staffing. A woman who answered at a number listed online steered us to leave a voicemail. A woman at a Chicago office asked us to send emails to two different addresses. We’ll keep you posted when we hear back.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said her office was hoping to conduct an examination of CPD’s emergency response times to understand if disparities exist in certain parts of the city – because residents have complained to her office about being underserved or ignored by police.

“This is really fundamental to CPD’s role as a public safety agency. How quickly the police respond when people need help. That’s what drives how safe people feel,” she said.

Witzburg told NBC 5 Investigates Wednesday that her office’s examination could not be completed because CPD’s data is incomplete.

Specifically, the OIG report alleges that officers have been failing to mark themselves “on-scene” when responding to calls. Of the calls reviewed in the OIG’s report, Chicago Police marked themselves “on-scene” just 49 percent of the time.

“In more than half of the instances, the police are not recording the time that they arrive on the scene of the emergency. And that means that we cannot adequately assess response times,” Witzburg told NBC 5 Investigates. 

According to her report:

“CPD’s response time data is substantially missing and CPD lacks monitoring systems that could enforce data entry responsibilities. CPD must bolster its data collection of all response status timestamps to enable more accurate and thorough analysis of the efficiency and equity of 911 response times…”

Chicago police did not respond directly to NBC 5 Investigates’ questions.

In an emailed response, a spokesperson pointed us back to CPD’s responses contained in the OIG report

While CPD agreed to certain recommendations including calls to review its policies, consider future audits and improve technology – CPD said it may not be able to “fully adopt” all recommendations to comprehensively examine their response time data due to limitations in technology and available personnel.

While Chicago police are planning to implement a new computer assisted dispatch system that will incorporate GPS and can automatically mark an officer “on-scene,” Witzburg says that doesn’t address the need for providing additional training and better equipment for all officers.

The 68-year-old Tim Mapes, who served for almost two decades as the Democrat’s chief of staff, was convicted of one count of perjury and one of attempted obstruction of justice. Obstruction alone carries up to 20 years in prison, while the perjury count carries up to five years behind bars.

U.S. District Judge John Kness set a Jan. 10 sentencing date.

The conviction strikes uncomfortably close to home for the now 81-year-old Madigan who, for decades, was one of the most powerful state legislative leaders in the nation. Many once thought he was untouchable because he was too smart, careful and well-connected.

Then, in 2022, he was indicted on charges that included racketeering and bribery.

After three weeks of testimony, jurors deliberated for around five hours before returning with a verdict Thursday afternoon. As it was read aloud, Mapes displayed no emotion, according to the Chicago-Sun Times. He later left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

Prosecutors told jurors Mapes lied repeatedly when he testified in 2021 to a grand jury investigating Madigan and others. They said he specifically lied when he said he couldn’t recall any relevant details about Madigan’s ties to Michael McClain, who was a Madigan confidant.

One witness, a legislator, told jurors that Madigan, Mapes and McClain formed a mighty triumvirate — with Madigan at its head — in the Illinois House for years, controlling which bills got through the legislative body.

Government evidence included wiretapped phone recordings and audio of Mapes testifying before the grand jury.

“He did everything he could to obstruct the process … to minimize his participation, to act as if he was clueless,” prosecutor Julia Schwartz said of Mapes during closing arguments Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Defense lawyer Katie Hill told jurors in her opening statement that Mapes never intentionally misled the grand jury, saying he simply couldn’t remember many details. She likened the questions Mapes was asked to a pop quiz at a high school reunion and asked jurors if they would be able to remember the color of their prom corsages or who was class president their junior year.

During closings, defense attorney Andrew Porter said Mapes would have had no motivation to lie to protect his old boss after Madigan had forced him to resign in 2018 amid allegations of harassment, which Mapes has denied.

“Why would he fall on his sword for a guy who kicked him to the curb three years before?” Porter asked.

Federal jurors in May convicted four defendants of bribery conspiracy involving the state’s largest electric utility. Prosecutors said McClain, two former ComEd executives and a former utility consultant arranged contracts, jobs and money for Madigan’s associates to ensure proposed bills boosting ComEd profits became law.

A year before Madigan was indicted and amid speculation that he was a federal target, Madigan resigned from the Legislature as the longest-serving state House speaker in modern U.S. history.

The indictment accused Madigan of reaping the benefits of private legal work that was illegally steered to his law firm, among other things. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The Illinois Department of Labor has withheld previous inspection reports involving the Moby Dick thrill ride from being released, noting the prior inspections are “directly related” to an ongoing investigation into an incident last month that left a 10-year old boy seriously injured.

Huntley Daniels, 10, was thrown from the ride last month while attending the Taste of Summer Festival in Antioch.

He was later airlifted to two separate hospitals before being treated and released. According to his family, he is still recovering from serious injuries to his leg, jaw and face.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

In an effort to learn more about the ride and its operator, All Around Amusement of Lockport, NBC 5 Investigates filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Illinois Department of Labor.

In its response this month, the department provided 171 pages of records.

While the past inspection reports for other rides operated by All Around Amusement were included, the inspection reports involving the Moby Dick ride were completely redacted.

The ride’s past inspection records could provide key insight into the ride’s operating history.

The heavily redacted inspection records appear to cover inspections spanning the past three years, according to NBC 5 Investigates’ review of the records.

When asked why these redactions were made, a spokesman for the department told NBC 5 Investigates that the “prior inspections are directly related to the current open and active investigation.”

While the Illinois Department of Labor, which inspects amusements rides in the state, has an ongoing investigation into the incident, they’re not the only agency investigating

The Antioch Police Department seized the ride last month as part of an investigation looking to “to determine if any criminally reckless or negligent acts may have contributed to the accident.”

A person who answered the phone at a number listed for All Around Amusement hung up after being reached by NBC 5 Investigates. The company has not responded to additional emails or calls seeking comment.

Since the incident in mid-July, NBC 5 Investigates has also made multiple attempts to reach Wisdom Rides, the manufacturer of the Moby Dick. We are waiting to hear back but have not yet received a response.

Manufacturer issued safety, service bulletins

In 2010 and 2019, Wisdom Rides issued safety and service bulletins to its operators urging them to conduct lap bar inspections and to make repairs if necessary immediately.

According to the company’s website, the most recent service bulletin was issued in July 2019 for the Moby Dick and its sister rides – named the Avalanche and Seven Seas.

The bulletin contained the subject line “lapbar inspection and repair procedure,” which asked operators to “perform the following inspection and repair if needed immediately.” The bulletin went on to encourage operators to inspect both sided of the lapbar at the end of the “reinforcing gussets.”

It also noted to use “appropriate indicating powder to check for indications of cracks in the tubing.”

The safety alert, issued in 2010, notes that if the lap bar doesn’t stay locked, it urges operators to check that the “gear teeth on the lock dog and gear segment are not filled with dust, or hard grease,” adding to clean if necessary.

Fundraiser held to aid Huntley’s family

During a public concert last week, local business owners and attendees in Antioch helped raise money for Huntley’s family through the sales of raffle tickets, food and drink concessions and bracelets that bore Huntley’s name.

“This hit everybody, this impacted everybody, and it was being talked about by everybody. So this community, everybody wanted to help,” local restauranteur Kris Schoenberger told NBC 5 Investigates.

Schoenberger and others told NBC 5 Investigates that the incident involving Huntley galvanized the people in the town into helping anyway they could.

It also raised made some parents nervous about putting their children on amusement rides in general.

“What happened here scared a lot of people. I have two young kids the same age as Huntley,” said Heather Fenzel, the owner of a local antique store in Antioch, who was on the business owners involved in the fundraising effort.

Sue Nolan doesn’t know Huntley Daniels, but said she spoke to his mother about creating bracelets to sell to benefit Huntley’s family. When asked if the incident changed her view of amusement rides as well, she said: “You bet. I have my two grandkids here. They will not go on carnival rides.”

In an emailed response to NBC 5 Investigates, a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says his agency is investigating the incident as well.

The federal agency does keep data on amusement rides, but it does not regulate rides at “fixed sites” – like major theme parks where roller coasters remain a fixed attraction year-round.

Between 2020 and 2022, the latest data available, there was an annual average of more than 32,000 injuries associated with amusement attractions (including water slides), according to the CPSC.

Huntley Daniels, 10, was airlifted to two different hospitals with serious injuries to his face and one leg after being thrown from the Moby Dick thrill ride on Sunday during Antioch’s Taste of Summer Festival.

NBC 5 Investigates has learned the ride’s manufacturer, Wisdom Rides, had previously issued safety alerts and service bulletins related to this style of ride, which operates under the name “Moby Dick” and others.

According to the company’s website, the most recent service bulletin was issued in July 2019 for the Moby Dick and its sister rides – named the Avalanche and Seven Seas.

The bulletin contained the subject line “lapbar inspection and repair procedure,” which asked operators to “perform the following inspection and repair if needed immediately.” The bulletin went on to encourage operators to inspect both sided of the lapbar at the end of the “reinforcing gussets.”

It also noted to use “appropriate indicating powder to check for indications of cracks in the tubing.”

The safety alert, issued in 2010, notes that if the lap bar doesn’t stay locked, it urges operators to check that the “gear teeth on the lock dog and gear segment are not filled with dust, or hard grease,” adding to clean if necessary.

The safety bulletin also notes to check for broken springs and replace parts as need, among other things.

Operators are to put any seat out of service until the locking mechanism is repaired, the alert notes.

It is not clear what caused the incident that left the 10-year-old boy seriously injured, and the incident remains under investigation.

NBC 5 Investigates made several calls Thursday to the ride’s operator, All Around Amusement, which were not returned.

A woman who answered the phone Thursday at Wisdom Rides told NBC 5 Investigates to submit our questions via email.

We did so but have not yet received a response as of Thursday afternoon.

Another boy, also on the same ride as 10-year old Huntley Daniels, described feeling uncertain of its safety at the time.

“My bar was coming up over my head,” Elliott Johnson told NBC Chicago. “Every time I went up, because it was going up, I was almost about to fall out, I would slam down to close it,” he said referring to the safety bar.

On Wednesday, Antioch Police served a search warrant on the Moby Dick thrill ride, which was being stored in south suburban Shorewood.

The thrill ride was seized and brought back to Antioch Wednesday as the department conducts a criminal investigation to determine if any “criminal reckless or negligent acts may have contributed to the accident,” the department said in a new release.

The release also noted that:

“Antioch Police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow directed detectives to work with the Lake County States Attorney’s office to immediately apply for a search warrant to secure possession of the ride as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the incident. The ILDOL inspections began Sunday afternoon in Antioch, hours after the incident. On Monday, All Around Amusement moved the ride from Antioch to a storage facility in south suburban Shorewood, where the inspection process by ILDOL continued. Following the most recent inspection, the Antioch Police Department obtained a search warrant from a Lake County judge which allowed the Antioch Police detectives to seize the ride as evidence in the criminal investigation…”

When asked by NBC 5 Investigates if the investigators had determined if human error, mechanical or some combination was involved in Sunday’s incident, Illinois Department of Labor spokesman Paul Cicchini said: “It’s too early in this investigation to comment, and when the investigation is complete we will certainly have something to say.”

The Illinois DOL’s six ride inspectors in the state remain busy and that typically they can spend an average of nine hours on sites of carnivals and festivals inspecting rides, the spokesman said.

According to data reviewed by NBC 5 Investigates from ILDOL’s Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety Division, there were 30 injuries reported last year and more than 2,600 rides inspected.

NBC 5 Investigates also reached out to Brian Avery, a safety expert focusing on amusement ride safety. He told us it is typical for manufacturers to issue service bulletins and safety alerts, but he added he thinks the industry needs to make a renewed focus on training.

“So we need to close that gap moving forward, to make sure that the information is being received and that it is being used so that we can curtail these types of injuries or deaths moving forward,” Avery said.  

In addition to the state’s Department of Labor and Antioch Police, the Consumer Product Safety Commission also told NBC 5 Investigates it too is now conducting an investigation into the Antioch incident, according to a CPSC spokesman.

Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability has found an off-duty Chicago Police officer was justified for the March 2021 shooting a man he thought was trying to force his way into his apartment.

But there’s a dispute over what happened.

The attorney for the man who was shot said he was “appalled” and “mystified” by COPA’s ruling because the officer’s sworn statements sit in contrast with what surveillance video shows happened.

“You don’t see what the officer described, and it certainly didn’t justify being shot in the head,” attorney Thomas Glasgow told NBC 5 Investigates.

In its ruling, COPA found the incident demonstrated that the man who was shot, Jose Mendoza, sought to enter Officer Iwan Smith’s apartment “in a violent manner and that Officer Smith reasonably feared an assault or further violence.”

In its final ruling report, published Friday, COPA found that use of deadly force by Officer Smith “was within Department policy” adding that “based on the totality of the circumstances, COPA finds it more likely than not that Officer Smith was authorized under CPD policy to use deadly force.”

But Glasgow says surveillance video from the apartment complex does not show the events as described by officer.

“What this looks like to be honest with you is COPA giving an officer a pass,” Glasgow said in an interview with NBC 5 Investigates.

The shooting happened in the early morning hours of March 31, 2021 at a northwest side apartment where Officer Iwan Smith was living. Glasgow admits his client was drunk and was attempting to stay with a friend when he tried to enter Officer Smith’s home by mistake.

In his statement to the COPA investigators six days after the March 31, 2021 shooting, Officer Smith said: “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if he was going to get – what he – if he had any weapons on him. I didn’t know if he was on anything. I didn’t know what he wanted to do in my apartment. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to overpower me, take my weapon, harm family. I had no idea what he was trying to do.”

Surveillance video shows Mendoza enter the vestibule of the apartment building around 1:13 a.m.

Surveillance video from the apartment building shows Mendoza standing in the hallway, unsteady at times, alternating between sitting on the stairs and standing.

Nine minutes pass before he attempts to enter the door belonging to Officer Smith’s apartment. The camera’s view is slightly obstructed, according to the report.

Mendoza at one point crouches down, where he remains until the door appears to open. He then stands up and seconds later falls to the ground with a gunshot wound to the head.

The COPA report also notes that after Officer Smith shot Mendoza, he “performed a protective pat-down … and determined that he did not have any weapons.”

If that did occur, the video posted to the COPA website does not appear to show that.

And Mendoza’s attorney says it didn’t happen.

“The video clearly shows that that never ever occurred,” Glasgow said.

According to body camera footage, Smith told officers his version of events:

“He knocked on my door, as I approached to open it, he pushed it in and I tried to close it. He just pushed; he forced his way in. I didn’t know…”

When asked if Mendoza had a weapon, Smith can be heard saying: “He didn’t have a weapon on him, for what I felt he didn’t have a weapon on him.”

Glasgow declined NBC 5 Investigates’ request for us to interview Mendoza, who still faces a criminal trespass charge and a hearing next month. His federal civil lawsuit is also pending.

His mother, Rachel Mendoza, said the incident has changed her son.

“He can’t even see, part of the side is paralyzed. He is not the same, he will never be the same,” Rachel Mendoza said. 

The city’s law department, which represents Smith and the Chicago Police Department, declined to comment.

NBC 5 Investigates also reached out three times on Tuesday to COPA to ask to questions about their ruling, but we have not heard back just yet.

Questions surrounding a seeming uptick in water-related deaths, many of them young men, in the Chicago area have fueled another round of speculation about whether the deaths are not only connected but if they are the work of a serial killer.

Theories surrounding the involvement of the so-called “Smiley Face Killer” continue to consume social media channels following each report of a person found dead in a body of water, with TikTok channels and Reddit sleuths calling for more answers as Chicago police insist the deaths are not connected.

Fueling that speculation originally were reports of unsolicited taxi offers or “free rides” for patrons leaving bars and restaurants in Chicago, where drivers have offered rides outside of ride-share apps or formal taxi businesses for a cheaper cost – something consumer advocates and those in public safety strongly recommend against doing.

Authorities, however, have said unsolicited rides and the drownings are unrelated.

One of the most recent incidents involved the death of 26-year-old Noah Enos, who disappeared in early June following a concert at the popular Salt Shed music venue. His body was found less than a week later in the Chicago River.

NBC Chicago has closely investigated cases stoking the serial-killer theory — from deaths in December, through this year and as recently as Enos’ disappearance — and uncovered some not-yet-reported updates.

Scroll down to read more about these cases, what police told NBC Chicago, data comparing drowning deaths this year to previous years and what we found about unsolicited taxi offers in Chicago.

How many drownings have there been?

Since December, there have been more than half a dozen reported drownings where young men were reported missing days before their bodies were tragically discovered. A number of earlier cases have also been flagged in social media reports, some dating back to early 2022.

Who are the deceased?

Krzysztof Szubert

Krzysztof Szubert, a 21-year-old Polish businessman, was reported missing on Dec. 3 after leaving a River North party. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Szubert’s body was recovered from Lake Michigan in the area of Oak Street Beach, on Dec. 7.

The medical examiner determined Szubert’s cause of death was “drowning with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor,” and the manner of death was ruled “accidental.”

Peter Salvino

Peter Salvino, a 25-year-old Northwestern doctoral student, disappeared on Dec. 17 after leaving a party in Lincoln Park. Officials say Salvino’s body was recovered from Diversey Harbor, off of the 2400 block of North Cannon Drive on Dec. 20, three days after he was reported missing.

Salvino’s cause of death mirrors Szubert’s: The medical examiner determined Salvino had “drown[ed] with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor,” and the manner was also ruled “accidental.” 

Anthony Rucker

Anthony Rucker, 23, was reported missing on Feb. 13, and Chicago police recovered his body three days later on Feb. 16 in the Chicago River, near the 3700 block of South Pulaski Road.

The medical examiner’s office determined Rucker had taken his own life, and the primary cause of death was ruled as a “drowning.”

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is available by calling 9-8-8 or by visiting NAMI Chicago here.

Joel Orduno

Joel Orduno, 24, was last seen at his Logan Square residence on Feb. 17 before his disappearance was reported to Chicago police.

Nearly a full month later, officers said Orduno’s body was discovered in the Chicago River, in the area of the 2700 block of North Leavitt.

Chicago police say a death investigation in the case has been closed and the death has been classified as “non-criminal.”  

On June 21, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office closed Orduno’s case, officially ruling the cause of death as a “drowning” and the manner of death as “undetermined.”

Séamus Gray

Twenty-one-year-old U.S. Navy servicemember Séamus Gray first disappeared after he was seen leaving a Waukegan bar on March 18.

According to authorities, Gray was last seen around 1:35 a.m. on March 18 leaving Ibiza Nightclub, located at 17 N. Genesee St. in Waukegan, about 40 miles north of Chicago. Gray’s disappearance was first noted when he didn’t report back to the Naval Station Great Lakes base at his scheduled 2 a.m. time, officials said.

Security footage from outside Ibiza Nightclub shows Gray just before 2 a.m. standing and talking to a group of people. At one point in the video, Gray is seen on the ground. At another point, someone in the group appears to grab the wallet from Gray’s pocket, but then throws it back at him.

Later in the video, Gray is seen taking off down a nearby alley.

In a press conference, Ibiza manager Adrian Hernandez said Gray entered the nightclub twice early Saturday morning, but was ultimately escorted out for being too intoxicated.

His mysterious disappearance led to large search efforts from multiple departments as authorities struggled to find answers in the case.

Gray’s body was found on April 19 when a group of ComEd workers doing routine work near the harbor said they saw a body in the Lake Michigan water.

According to a spokesperson for the Lake County Coroner’s office, no significant injuries were found on Gray’s body and toxicology testing discovered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.14, well over the legal driving limit but below what medical professionals consider to be a “life-threatening” amount.

A preliminary autopsy determined Gray’s cause of death to be drowning.

“Based on the overall police, NCIS and Coroner’s investigation the manner of death is ‘Undetermined,'” Steve Newton, chief deputy with the Lake County Coroner’s office.

Noah Enos

On June 12, Noah Enos went to a King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard concert at Chicago’s Salt Shed with a coworker.

His girlfriend, Nicole Wijs, told NBC Chicago that Enos texted her and sent her messages on Snapchat throughout the night, including a picture inside the venue. She said her last message from Noah was around 9 p.m. that evening. His phone died about an hour later.

“They did review some of the footage, and they saw him and his coworker walking around the venue at about 9:30 p.m. They said the show ended at 10 p.m. so there’s a 30-minute gap that they’re looking into to see maybe where he would have gone into the venue,” Wijs said.

Wijs said Enos’ co-worker told her the two got separated as the show was ending.

On June 17, his body was found in the Chicago River.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said his body was pulled from the river near the 1300 block of North Elston Avenue.

Officials said “detectives are conducting a death investigation, pending autopsy results.”

Other cases

In addition to the above deaths, a body was found in the Chicago River at a city forest preserve on April 11 as authorities were investigating a missing person case, police said.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County Police said it was assisting the Chicago Police Department in a missing person investigation, adding officers and dogs to search along the North Branch Trail at Caldwell Woods, at 6767 N. Milwaukee Ave., that afternoon.

The search continued into the evening before authorities said a body was found in the water of the North Branch of the Chicago River. The case was handed over to Illinois State Police for a death investigation.

Two days later, a man’s body was pulled from the Chicago River, sparking another death investigation from authorities.

The body was discovered around 10:30 a.m. on April 13 in the 300 block of North Columbus Drive.

Details surrounding the circumstances remain unclear and the identity of the body has not been released.

Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene and detectives are conducting a death investigation, pending an autopsy.

In March, the body of a Genoa man who had been missing for a week was pulled from a river.

Genoa Police Chief Robert Smith said the body of Daniel Elkinton was found in a river on March 4.

Elkinton was last seen Friday, Feb. 24, buying spirits after work. His family previously told NBC Chicago Elkinton apparently made a drink at his home, then later that night told a co-worker that he left his wallet inside his work truck. He then disappeared.

The DeKalb County Coroner’s office told NBC 5 that Elkinton, 41, died after an accidental drowning, with psilocin and alcohol intoxication as contributing factors.

Psilocin is a hallucinogen found in psilocybin mushrooms, but the coroner’s office said it “did not determine the presence of drugs,” only that the chemical was present in a toxicology report, which was passed onto the pathologist who referred to the report in determining the manner and cause of death.

What did NBC Chicago uncover?

New information was found after reviewing the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office records on the cases involving Szubert and Salvino.

In both cases, police reviewed surveillance footage of the men walking alone into Lake Michigan after a night of drinking. NBC Chicago has not independently viewed this footage.

In Szubert’s investigation, video footage from Lake Shore Drive and Oak Street Beach was reviewed and officers said they witnessed Szubert on video falling into Lake Michigan. His body was discovered on an adjacent beach, partially submerged in water.

In Salvino’s case, detectives tracked his movements through several Chicago POD cameras. The footage revealed he left a party at the Geneva Terrace Apartments. He lived northwest but was seen walking southbound, then eastbound.

“Surveillance showed Salvino walk through the harbor parking lot and into the lake,” the report stated.

Salvino tried to swim out, but per detectives, it is believed that Salvino may have been too intoxicated to save himself.

After watching the surveillance footage, a Chicago police detective went out to the same area where Salvino was seen in the footage entering the lake, and that’s when they discovered his body in the water.

Is this number of drownings unusual?

According to data provided by Cook County Medical Examiner’s office, the number of drownings has not risen from previous years.

In fact, the numbers showed drowning deaths in the city have recently declined.

In 2018, 54 drowning deaths were reported, not including those in swimming pools or bathtubs.

In 2019, that number was 56, though two were considered homicides.

In 2020, the number dropped to 44, followed by 46 in 2021 and 41 in 2022.

So far in 2023, there have been nine, including three with “undetermined” causes.

UPDATE JUNE 29: This article has been updated to reflect the total number of drownings investigated by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office for the years of 2019, 2020, and 2023. The total number of drownings in 2019 has been updated from 57 to 56 drownings, and in 2020, 43 drownings has been updated to 44. These changes are due to a classification discrepancy with the public-facing Cook County Medical Examiner’s Case Archive dataset. The total number of drownings for 2023 has been updated from 7 drownings to 9 drownings, as two additional cases had not been added to the public facing data at the time of this article’s initial publication, but were under investigation by the Medical Examiner’s office.

What are authorities saying?

While there are some loose similarities to the cases, both the medical examiner’s office and Chicago Police Department previously told NBC 5 there are no known connections.

“At this time, there is no evidence suggesting there is a connection between these drowning deaths,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told NBC 5 in March. “The Chicago Police Department conducts thorough death investigations as we work to bring a measure of closure to the families of these, and all, victims.”

Data from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office shows a majority of drowning investigations are ruled “accidental,” with 61% labeled as such since 2018.

Nearly one in three drownings since 2018 were ruled as “undetermined,” or examiners did not have enough evidence to conclude the manner of death.

What about unsolicited taxi offers?

Some social media posts have drawn a connection between the drownings and reports of drivers across Chicago approaching patrons of bars or restaurants leaving for the night, offering rides home for cash or free, outside of formal ride-share apps or taxi operations.

“I’m in Chicago,” one social media user said earlier this month. “[This] happened to me four times in the last two months.” 

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) told NBC 5 it has received 12 complaints of “fake taxis” from Jan. 1, 2022, to March 27, 2023. These complaints were related to overcharging and taxi numbers not matching the top-light and vehicle.

The problem of unsolicited rides is not new, and public safety advocates say people should never accept these offers or rides.

When using ride-share apps, like Uber or Lyft, advocates recommend customers confirm that the vehicle that pulls up is the ride that was assigned to them via the app, including confirming the vehicle’s make, model and license plate number.

If a person is approached by a suspicious vehicle, police recommend calling 911 and making note of the vehicle’s details, if it is safe to do so.

The Department of BACP also recommends reporting these types of complaints to the CHI 311 system, via calling 311 or online at 311.chicago.gov.

For more information on finding a safe ride home, visit Chicago’s Ride Smart website here.

What is the ‘smiley face killer’ theory?

The “smiley face killer” theory was started more than a decade ago by two New York detectives, Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, as well as Dr. Lee Gilbertson, a criminal justice professor at Saint Cloud State University.

The trio have long alleged that a number of drownings of young men across the U.S. are related to a serial killer or a group of serial killers, who typically leave marks of a smiley face or another gang symbol near the sites of their murders. The killings, they say, trace back to at least the late 1990s.

In each case, the drownings have been ruled accidental or undetermined.

In the recent Chicago drowning cases, investigators have not noted any marks or smiley face drawings on or near the victims.

The theory surged back into headlines when it became the center of an Oxygen docuseries called “The Smiley Face Killer: The Hunt for Justice.”

Missing Persons Jun 17, 2023

Body pulled from Chicago River identified as missing man last seen leaving The Salt Shed music venue

NBC 5 Investigates Mar 28, 2023

Chicago Drownings, Unsolicited Taxi Rides Spark Speculation, But Officials Say Cases Aren't Related

The report, released Thursday by Chicago Office of Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, found that CPD — along with the Bureau of Internal Affairs, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Chicago Police Board — have not consistently fired officers or civilians on the force who have been caught making false statements or reports.

Witzburg said these agencies have fallen short.

“The agencies comprising Chicago’s police accountability system do not ensure that CPD members with Sustained Rule 14 violations are separated from the Department, despite statements of intention to the contrary,” the report states. 

CPD’s Rule 14 specifically prohibits officers from “making a false report, written or oral.”

The OIG’s report found that as recently as November, CPD “employs or has recently employed” at least 110 members of the Chicago Police Department who had been found to have made false statements or reports.

Witzburg’s office cited examples where in 2019 the Bureau of Internal Affairs’ then-deputy director made a public statement that “since approximately 2008, if an individual has a sustained Rule 14 violation, we recommend separation.”

But the OIG report cited three examples in 2012, 2017 and 2019 where BIA recommended disciplinary action that fell short of firing.

The inconsistencies, the OIG report noted, “raise serious concerns about the rigor, fairness, and consistency with which Rule 14 is enforced.”

“The appropriate punishment for violating that rule is firing. It’s being fired from the police department,” Witzburg told NBC 5 Investigates Thursday. “We cannot ask people to trust a police department which lets its members get away with lying,” Witzburg added.

Officers making false statements can also have a direct impact on court cases if they’re placed on so-called Brady Lists when prosecutors recommend not using them as witnesses because their credibility has been questioned.

NBC 5 Investigates has obtained thousands of pages of memos from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office telling prosecutors not to call hundreds of officers as witnesses after judges questioned their credibility.

One example from a 2016 memo involved a Cook County Circuit Court judge saying that a Chicago police officer: “… had a reckless diregard for the truth… [had] zero credibility with the court, and referred to the officer as an absolute liar.”

In another memo, a judge called a Chicago police officer’s court testimony “demonstrably untrue,” adding, “I don’t think I can find the rest of his testimony to  be reliable or credible either.”

Yet another memo says that another judge said an officer’s testimony was “complete pretext.” According to the court transcript in that case, the judge expressed frustration at “…the testimony of these officers who go on the record and lie.”

All three of the officers from those memos are still on the force, according to the city’s online employee database.

Witzburg said CPD and the other agencies have “talked the talk” about terminating officers caught making false statements but haven’t “walked the walk” when it comes to actual discipline. 

The OIG’s report also makes a series of recommendations, including calling on CPD to more consistently fire officers or civilians caught making false statements.

In its reply to the agency, CPD said that it “disagrees with this recommendation as it fails to take into consideration actions beyond the control of the department.”

Members of Chicago Police Department can file a grievance when they’re facing disciplinary matters and challenge their potential punishment, the department noted.

Settlement agreements can also impact the outcomes of the disciplinary matters.

In an e-mailed statement to NBC 5 Investigates, CPD wrote: “Chicago Police Department members are held to the highest standards. Our sworn and civilian members are expected to act with integrity as we work to build and maintain credibility and trust among the communities we serve. We have taken the Office of Inspector General’s recommendations under consideration and have already made progress to complete and implement several of the recommendations.” COPA sent a statement that read in part: “COPA is firm in its stance that officers found to have willfully lied in an official report or statement must be held accountable. These actions not only negatively impact the Department’s reform efforts but can also undermine the integrity of our criminal justice system.”  

“Let me tell you something. We can stop school shootings. We can,” Wistocki said to a room full of suburban police officers.

Wistocki teaches fellow officers during a two-day course called Identifying and Intercepting School Violence through Cyber-Investigations. One key lesson is how to track down people who anonymously make threats to schools.

Wistocki spent over 28 years in law enforcement with the Naperville Police Department, working as a SWAT sniper and a youth investigator in the Cyber Crime Unit putting online child predators away.

“Within hours, we were able to identify who the bad guy is. So I started to develop a lesson plan,” explained Wistocki, who said he’s taught 4,000 officers around the country and in Illinois.

“I have them report back to me, and I keep a tally, and we’re up to 40, just this school year,” Wistocki said. “As of Friday, we had our 40th save. A 40th threat that somebody’s going to shoot up a school.”

Officer Jeremy Flood of the Normal Police Department has taken the course several times. He works as a school resource officer in downstate Illinois and said he’s stopped three separate anonymous threats made at Normal Community High School this year.

“My suspect, who ended up being a juvenile, I would say was pretty shell-shocked with the fact that quickly we were able to determine who did it,” Flood said. “They were making death threats. So, I was able to use Detective Wistocki’s tools to identify those suspects in about two hours each time.”

Wistocki’s course teaches officers how to request information immediately from social media companies and internet providers to track down people making threats against schools.

“Almost every school shooter had posted on a message board, communicated to a kid they go to school with, put it on a YouTube channel,” Wistocki added.

NBC 5 Investigates looked into the data. A 2021 Secret Service report found “individuals contemplating violence often exhibit observable behaviors.” The agency’s National Threat Assessment Center examined 67 disrupted plots against schools from 2006 to 2018.

In 94 percent of cases, the plotters shared their intentions about an attack, either verbally, electronically, or online. In 75 percent of cases, the plots were detected solely because of what was communicated.

“We’ve had cases where we had to investigate because somebody had mentioned a firearm or something like that,” Lockport Police Chief Rich Harang said.

Police Chief Harang has his school resource officers train with Wistocki to prevent school shootings.

But police also say it’s up to students, parents, teachers and staff to say something as soon as they learn of a potential threat.

“I can’t say enough how important it is that anytime they suspect that something is not right, or something is said, that they notify law enforcement,” Chief Harang added.

“It’s very scary and it makes you kind of question yourself, especially being asked over and over the same question,” Maddie said. “You know, they never came out and said we don’t believe you, but just kind of the tone used.”

Loyola University never encouraged her to go to police, she said, but the University did investigate and decided not to punish the student.

“I chose not to appeal which in hindsight, I honestly wish I did. But in terms of just the exhaustion of this process and the place I was in mentally, I was very defeated,” Maddie recalled.

NBC5 Investigates analyzed three years of statewide data filed by 167 Illinois Colleges on allegations of sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. We found colleges held only 472 people responsible for the sexual violence they were accused of. That’s only 6.3% of all the reported incidents.

Under Title IX regulations, colleges and universities receiving federal funding must investigate and provide a live hearing of any complaint of sexual harassment which includes sexual assault and violence.

In Illinois, all schools are also required by state law to submit annual reports of sex crime allegations to the Illinois Attorney General’s office.

“I had reported what happened and I kept getting constantly beaten down by Loyola’s Title IX process, “ Marissa Sepulveda, a 2022 Loyola graduate said.

Marissa said Loyola discouraged her from going to police when she told the university a student had sexually assaulted her on campus.

“Nothing good would come out of it for me, essentially, they just said it would be more of a headache for me, “ Marissa added.

The university did investigate her case, Marissa said, and punished her attacker, but only after the same person “violently raped” another Loyola student, according to court records.

A police report was filed in the second incident and Loyola expelled the student.

“Had I known immediately, I would have gone to a hospital and absolutely would’ve reported it to police, but I didn’t know what to do with the information, Marissa said.

NBC5 Investigates’ review of statewide college data found one-in-ten people chose to complete their college’s resolution process. We did find more than 1,000 other students instead chose to go to their local police to officially reports their allegations.

Schools are not required to report cases to police.

“It was definitely very scary sharing something so intimate and something so vulnerable, “ Fernanda Aragon, a Loyola senior said.

Fernanda said she told the university a student sexually assaulted her in his dorm room when she was a freshman in 2019.

She said that Loyola investigated for eight months but dismissed her case for “insufficient evidence” against the accused student, who had hired an attorney.

“I didn’t hire a lawyer because they said first of all it wasn’t necessary, “ Fernanda said. “Now, looking back, I wish I would have hired a lawyer.”

Christina Zuba is an attorney with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) organization. She represents students from K-12 grades as well as college students in Title IX cases. Her legal services through CAASE are free and estimated she has a 50% success rate in her client’s cases.

“The vast majority of survivors do not have an attorney through the school process, “ Zuba said. “I would never want a complainant or survivor to go through this process without an attorney.”

Zuba said that most students accused of a crime, show up with a defense attorney trained to raise doubts about a survivor’s story.

“Their purpose is to shed doubt on their credibility and to make it less likely or seem less likely that the survivor’s story is true, “ Zuba said.

Zuba wants the Title IX law changed to end the requirement of cross examination.

“That is a big thing that causes students to not want to go forward with this process. They don’t want to be cross examined by the perpetrator’s attorney and especially since we’re not in court where there’s a trained judge,” she said.

She said she has seen Title IX cases decided at colleges by anyone from consultants and lawyers to students, staff and faculty.

“They can be trained better or especially trained in more trauma informed approaches, “ Zuba added.

Maddie and Marissa, along with eight other former Loyola University students, are part of a class-action lawsuit filed against the university last year.  A civil suit was filed on Fernanda’s behalf in federal court this year.

Attorneys Ashley Pileika and Elizabeth Fegan are representing the women and have alleged in their complaints that “Loyola has systemically mishandled and underreported student complaints of sexual misconduct” since 2011.  

Loyola University’s attorneys have asked a judge to dismiss the class-action lawsuit in a recent court filing.

The university told NBC5 Investigates that it doesn’t comment on pending litigation, writing in an email:

“Loyola University Chicago is committed to ensuring that reports of sexual misconduct are addressed consistent with federal and state laws and the University’s institutional values and educational mission. The University’s Comprehensive Policy and Procedures for Addressing Discrimination, Sexual Misconduct, and Retaliation is available on the Office for Equity and Compliance webpage. The OEC webpage also provides information about community resources, including supportive measures for complainants, respondents and witnesses. “ 

“ I was really excited to meet people, “ Fernanda said. “My first night as a Freshman once we were all settled into the dorms, I went out with my roommate.”

Fernanda’s first night on campus would turn her life upside down.

“The next thing I remember is waking up naked, “ Fernanda recalled.

Fernanda does remember being at a party, playing a few drinking games and meeting another student who invited her back to his room. Everything after that was a blur.

Fernanda is not alone. Roughly one-in-five females are sexually assaulted while in college, according to the Department of Justice. Students are most at-risk during the first few months in school.

Illinois colleges and universities are required by state law to send their annual crime data to the state’s Attorney General Office.

NBC 5 Investigates downloaded and analyzed three years of these crime reports filed by 167 Illinois Colleges—thousands of pages reporting thousands of allegations of sexual violence, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. In all, more than 7,000 reports of incidents for 2018-2020.

We found that nearly half, 47.4% or 3,520 incidents, were filed anonymously or confidentially.

Of the others, reported to the school’s Title IX office, nearly half, 1, 805, involved incidents of sexual violence, while another quarter, 969, involved stalking. The rest involved allegations against someone in a dating or domestic relationship.

Even though some of these incidents involve sexual violence, universities are not required to report any cases to local police.

“I started going to therapy and I have been in therapy ever since, “ Fernanda said

After more than a year of therapy, Fernanda said she reported to the University in 2021 that a fellow student sexually assaulted her.

“It was definitely very scary sharing something so intimate and something so vulnerable to these people, “ Fernanda recalled.

After eight months of investigating, Fernanda said Loyola University found “insufficient evidence” against the accused student. However, Fernanda said the University did issue a no contact order for both students.

“Had everything been done right initially, we would be able to prosecute this person beyond a reasonable doubt in the criminal setting, “ said attorney Mark Curran, a former state and federal prosecutor who also served as the Lake County Sheriff.

Curran offered to represent Fernanda when Loyola’s student conduct office investigated a complaint against her for talking publicly about her case.

“The way that hearing went down, it was just absolutely frightening. I was so appalled and offended by the way they treated Fernanda, “ Curran added.

Loyola found Fernanda guilty of harassment and bullying and put it on her permanent record for posting a TikTok video.

“I was raped on campus and nothing was done about it. What mattered was that I uploaded the video,” Fernanda said.

Now, Fernanda is joining a federal civil lawsuit against Loyola University along with ten other women alleging Loyola mishandled and underreported sexual assault complaints.

Loyola has filed a motion to dismiss their lawsuit and told NBC 5 Investigates they do not “comment on pending litigation.”

“Once I realized that it wasn’t just like a me problem, it was a like a school wide, problem that kind of encouraged me, “ Fernanda added.

But if you type in “COVID” or “ZAMBONE” or “DORK,” the site will reject you, because those are three of the thousands of terms on the office’s “Special Plates Inhibit List,” which currently runs 22 pages long and contains 7,445 custom license plates that the state bans from Illinois vehicles.

NBC5 Investigates obtained the state’s updated list, which contains all kinds of words and letter-combinations that violate our station’s standards.  We’re allowed to post the original list here, but be warned that you may find 99 percent of these terms objectionable or even obscene.

It’s a standard practice in most states to vet people’s choices for license plates, and Illinois has been keeping this list for years.  “We love the creativity and pride Illinoisans take in choosing their personalized license plates,” Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in a recent statement, “….but a small percentage fail to meet the standards of good taste and decency and are rejected because they violate the state’s vehicle code.” 

The office even offers this link, where anyone can report a license plate they consider offensive.  Those plates are referred to a small panel in the office’s Vehicle Services Department.  Among the plates the panel most recently rejected:  DUCKYOU, BITEU, HAIILNO and KISSASH.

Despite the thousands of rejected terms, the Secretary of State’s office says that – over the years — it has issued more than 922,000 vanity or personalized plates to Illinois drivers.

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But that’s not true: The most you can win is one one-eightieth of that — $5,000 – which certainly would be nice, but would you knowingly shell out $5 for a ticket to a game where you have absolutely no chance of winning the top featured prize?

In February, NBC 5 Investigates first revealed a troubling pattern: We tracked a total of 13 of the Illinois Lottery’s “Instant Games” which we found for sale every day for a month, even though the advertised top prizes were all long gone. This, despite the fact that the Lottery’s written policy says it is supposed to discontinue a game as soon as the last top prize is claimed. 

But more than a month after our original story, we re-checked the Lottery’s website and still found 11 instant games, all promising you can “win up to” a certain amount. But you can’t. For every one of these games, your chances of winning the big prize is zero.

So is this a “bug” of the Illinois Lottery’s scratch-off games? Or a feature?

After our first story, NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Investiga filed a public records request with the state to get data for all the instant games that the Lottery has sold, from 2020 to the present.

We examined a total of 169 different instant games and found that the Lottery continued to sell millions of tickets for 83 of those games – nearly half – even after all their top prizes were gone: not for a few days after the big prizes were gone; not even for a few weeks, but for months. On average, the Lottery allowed each of these games to stay on the market for 73 days — more than two months — while still advertising that you could win a top prize, when you absolutely could not.

Take the game “$1 Million Mega Money,” which costs $10 for a single ticket. 

For months, the Lottery advertised that you can “win up to $1,000,000” in this game. But NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Investiga discovered the last million-dollar prize was claimed back on Feb. 17. The most you can win, now, is $50,000 – one one-twentieth of the advertised big prize. Yet, according to the Lottery’s schedule, retailers may continue to sell this ticket until April 25. That’s 67 days of sales, where the promise of possibly winning a seven-figure jackpot simply is not true.

Or take the “Triple Dynamite 777” game that costs only $2 a ticket to “win up to $25,000,” according to the front of the ticket. But that’s not true either, because the last $25,000 prize was claimed on Jan. 31. Yet the Lottery’s “end date” for this game is not until April 18 – 77 days after that last top prize was claimed. The ticket’s biggest prize now is $1,000 – one twenty-fifth of the prize advertised on the front.

“It strikes me as certainly dishonest on the part of the Illinois State Lottery,” said historian Jonathan Cohen, who recently published a book on state lotteries. He points out that – because the Lottery is a state agency – it is immune from federal truth-in-advertising laws that could prohibit the sales of tickets that advertise a non-existent jackpot.

“Scratch tickets are the bread and butter of state lottery commissions,” Cohen said. “So I’m not surprised that this drive for revenue, no matter where they can find it and how they can find it, has led the Illinois Lottery to cut corners or sort’ve treat its players unfairly.”

Indeed, once a game’s top prizes are all claimed, future ticket sales would appear to earn more for the Illinois Lottery and its private contractor, Camelot Illinois LLC, because they no longer have to pay out any large jackpots on that game. That can mean significant money, because the sale of instant games account for nearly as much income as all of the Lottery’s other big jackpot games, combined.

We found that retailers don’t like the practice of selling these types of tickets, either:

“[Lottery officials] don’t tell us that the prizes are gone,” one Little Village retailer said. “So that’s why … we keep selling, thinking that they’re still there, because we have no way of – we don’t know – we have no way of knowing.”

“Everybody is struggling to have a peso in the bag,” the retailer continues, “and it makes me sad to see people buying a ticket and not earning anything. It’s like throwing it away.”

“You’re deliberately – kind of like tricking people into buying these, and … the highest one has been claimed,” said Michelle Dibiase, who occasionally plays instant games. “I think they should take them out of circulation once it is.” 

So why can’t the Lottery do exactly that?

We posed that question to the Lottery’s spokesperson. She said lottery representatives let their retailers know when a ticket no longer has a top prize, but added: “As the process involves physically removing hundreds of thousands to millions of tickets from our stores for a particular game, that process can take up to 1 to 3 months to complete. … We will continue to look for ways to make this process even better for our players and retailers.”

She also points out that it is possible to find out which Instant Games no longer offer their top prizes, at this page on the Illinois Lottery’s website. It’s updated constantly and clearly shows those tickets where all top prizes have been claimed.

But Cohen points out that you have to know to check there – and have the resources to do so — before you spend money on a game. “It’s only by going on their website and scrolling down and opening up [a specific page] and seeing under this table that the prizes have been won – that, to me, seems just an extra level of unfairness,” he says.

Here are some examples of Instant Games that we found the Illinois Lottery promoting this week, even though the top-tier prizes were all claimed, usually weeks or months ago:

WINTER WINNINGS — $2/ticket – “Win up to $20,000!” The largest remaining prize is 1/20^th of that: $1,000. The last top prize was claimed back on January 9, but the game’s “end date” is not until April 4 – so it may be sold for 85 days with no top prize available.

PEPPERMINT PAYDAY — $3/ticket – “Win up to $50,000” The largest remaining is 1/50^th of that: $1,000. The last top prize was claimed back on January 23, but the game’s “end date” is not until April 11 – so it may be sold for 78 days with no top prize available.

$1 MILLION MEGA MONEY — $10/ticket – “Win up to $1,000,000”  The largest remaining is 1/20^th of that:  $50,000.  The last top prize was claimed on February 17, but the game’s “end date” is not until April 25 – so it may be sold for 67 days with no top prize available.

TRIPLE DYNAMITE 777 — $2/ticket – “Win up to $25,000”  The largest remaining prize is 1/25^th of that:  $1,000.  The last top prize was claimed on January 31, but the game’s “end date” is not until April 18 – so it may be sold for 77 days with no top prize available.

PYRAMID OF GOLD — $10/ticket – “Win up to $500,000”  The largest remaining prize is 1/50^th of that:  $10,000.  The last top prize was claimed on January 17, but the game’s “end date” is not until April 4 – so it may be sold for 77 days with no top prize available.

$2 ILLINOIS JACKPOT — $2/ticket – “Win up to $25,000”  The last top prize was claimed on November 30, 2022, but the game’s “end date” was not until 76 days later, on February 14.

$10 ILLINOIS JACKPOT — $10/ticket – “Win up to $1,000,000”  The largest remaining prize is 1/10^th of that:  $100,000.  The last top prize was claimed on January 30, but the game’s “end date” is not until April 18 – so it may be sold for 78 days with no top prize available.

$5 MILLION RICHES – “Win up to $5,000,000” – the largest remaining prize is 1/250^th of that — $20,000.  The last top prize was claimed back on January 20, but the game’s “end date” is not until April 11 – so it may be sold for 81 days with no top prize available.

Those emotions illustrate the feelings for some after several recent examples of young men who were reported missing, then discovered days later drowned off the coast of Lake Michigan or in the Chicago River.

Some have theorized in viral social media posts that the men’s deaths are not isolated or accidental, rather they are the victims of a single suspect: A theory that, at this time, officials say there is no evidence to support.

Fueling that speculation are reports of unsolicited taxi offers or “free rides” for patrons leaving bars and restaurants in Chicago, where drivers have offered rides outside of ride-share apps or formal taxi businesses for a cheaper cost – something consumer advocates and those in public safety strongly recommend against doing.

While the recent deaths, and the problem of unsolicited taxi offers, have been connected in social media posts, city and county officials say there is no evidence to support that they are related.

Tragic Drownings

Since December, there have been at least four reported drownings where young men were reported missing, days before their tragic discovery.

Krzysztof Szubert, a 21-year-old Polish businessman, was reported missing on Dec. 3 after leaving a River North party. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Szubert’s body was recovered from Lake Michigan, in the area of Oak Street Beach on Dec. 7.

The medical examiner determined Szubert’s cause of death was “drowning with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor,” and the manner of death was ruled “accidental.”

Peter Salvino, a 25-year-old Northwestern doctoral student, disappeared on Dec. 17 after leaving a party in Lincoln Park. Officials say Salvino’s body was recovered from Diversey Harbor, off of the 2400 block of N. Cannon Drive on Dec. 20, three days after he was reported missing.

Salvino’s cause of death mirrors Szubert’s: The medical examiner determined Salvino had “drown[ed] with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor,” and the manner was also ruled “accidental.” 

Anthony Rucker, 23, was reported missing on Feb. 13, and Chicago police recovered his body three days later on Feb. 16 in the Chicago River, near the 3700 block of S. Pulaski Road.

The medical examiner’s office determined Rucker had taken his own life, and the primary cause of death was ruled as a “drowning.”

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is available by calling 9-8-8 or by visiting NAMI Chicago here.

And Joel Orduno, 24, was last seen at his Logan Square residence on Feb. 17 before his disappearance was reported to Chicago police.

Nearly a full month later, officers said Orduno’s body was discovered in the Chicago River, in the area of the 2700 block of North Leavitt.

The medical examiner’s office tells NBC 5 the cause and manner of death in Orduno’s case is still under investigation. 

In addition to the four deaths, officials have been searching Lake Michigan in a northern Chicago suburb after a 21-year-old U.S. Navy servicemember disappeared in Waukegan after leaving an area bar. Séamus Gray has not yet been found and Waukegan authorities recently ended a days-long search effort. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was seen searching the water Monday, though they said Gray remained missing.

“Waukegan Fire Department and Gurnee Fire Department divers searched a large area around the Government Pier in the harbor but did not locate Séamus,” a statement from the agency read. “Additionally, a surface swimmer searched an area around the Waukegan Yacht Club but was unable to locate Séamus.”

While there are some loose similarities to the cases, both the medical examiner’s office and Chicago Police Department told NBC 5 there are no known connections.

“At this time, there is no evidence suggesting there is a connection between these drowning deaths,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told NBC 5. “The Chicago Police Department conducts thorough death investigations as we work to bring a measure of closure to the families of these, and all, victims.”

Reported drownings in Cook County during the winter months of December through February have slightly decreased since 2018-2019.

From December 2018 to February 2019, there were a dozen deaths. During that same time period the following year, there were 11 deaths.

Jumping to December 2022 through February 2023, there have been eight reported drownings countywide, including four drownings ruled as “accidental,” two ruled as “suicides,” and two ruled as “undetermined.” 

Data from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office shows a majority of drowning investigations are ruled “accidental,” with 61% labeled as such since 2018.

Nearly one in three drownings since 2018 were ruled as “undetermined,” or examiners did not have enough evidence to conclude the manner of death.

Unsolicited Taxi Offers

Some social media posts have drawn a connection between the drownings and reports of drivers across Chicago approaching patrons of bars or restaurants leaving for the night, offering rides home for cash or free, outside of formal ride-share apps or taxi operations.

“I’m in Chicago,” one social media user said earlier this month. “[This] happened to me four times in the last two months.” 

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) told NBC 5 it has received 12 complaints of “fake taxis” from Jan. 1, 2022, to March 27, 2023. These complaints were related to overcharging and taxi numbers not matching the top-light and vehicle.

The problem of unsolicited rides is not new, and public safety advocates say people should never accept these offers or rides.

When using ride-share apps, like Uber or Lyft, advocates recommend customers confirm that the vehicle that pulls up is the ride that was assigned to them via the app, including confirming the vehicle’s make, model and license plate number.

If a person is approached by a suspicious vehicle, police recommend calling 911 and making note of the vehicle’s details, if it is safe to do so.

The Department of BACP also recommends reporting these types of complaints to the CHI 311 system, via calling 311 or online at 311.chicago.gov.

For more information on finding a safe ride home, visit Chicago’s Ride Smart website here.

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“He’s been pulled from his family and why?” Robinson asked. “I have a younger sister who he never met in person at all.”

Robinson is serving time in downstate Vandalia Correctional Center even though his family says he’s innocent.

“We’re dealing with an unjust system,” Robinson said.

During her father’s 27 years in prison, Robinson started her own family, saying that he’s missed many life events: “Everything, everything, everything.”

Lyla Wasz-Piper is an attorney with The Exoneration Project representing Louis Robinson.

“The person who committed this crime wasn’t held accountable,” said Wasz-Piper.

She said Louis Robinson was framed by former Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara, according to court records.

“Guevara, when he chooses to frame someone, sometimes it’s random, but more times than not it’s because that person refuses to frame another person,” said Wasz-Piper.

Prior to his arrest, Louis Robinson witnessed his cousin getting shot to death.

Louis Robinson’s attorney said that post-conviction documents show detective Guevara interviewed him and told him who to blame for the murder.

“Louis Robinson refused to be a pawn in Guevara’s game, and so he retaliated,” said Wasz-Piper.

Soon after, Chicago police arrested Louis Robinson for another murder based on a witness who has since changed his story.

“[The witness] doesn’t deny that he was forced to pick Louis out of that lineup. And the judge in this case, at the trial level, made it very clear that the witness is the reason Louis was convicted,” Wasz-Piper added.

Court records submitted by Louis Robinson’s attorney show Guevara pressured the witness to lie and blame Robinson, who had previously served time for drug possession.

“If you don’t say he was the shooter, I’ll put the murder on you. And what’s tragic is that we know from experience that threat was real,” said Wasz-Pier adding, “Guevara put dozens and dozens of innocent people in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.”

So far, 39 people who Guevara helped put in prison for murder have been freed.

NBC 5 Investigates has added up the settlements of all wrongful convictions the City of Chicago has paid since 2010. It totals more than $288 million.

In August 2022, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced an investigation into Detective Guevara’s convictions from the 1980s and ’90s, including Louis Robinson’s case, saying, “We can no longer stand by these convictions.”

“We cannot retry these cases based on the evidence that we have today,” Foxx added.

Prosecutors asked the courts to vacate the Guevara convictions.

Guevara has repeatedly pleaded the 5th under oath during a deposition last year.

But Louis Robinson is still locked up for the murder, even after multiple court hearings asking a judge to free him.

Cook County Judge Stephenson said there wasn’t enough evidence, so Robinson’s attorney filed an appeal.

“The appellate court ruled that the pattern evidence was sufficient,” said Wasz-Piper.

The Illinois Appellate court sent the case back down ordering the same judge to make a ruling.

“It’s just a messed-up situation,” Louisha Robinson said.

For now, she can only dream of her father’s freedom as they await the judge’s decision.

“I think I’m going to cry like I probably have never cried before, “ said Robinson wiping away tears.

Louis Robinson’s next court hearing is March 22, but a ruling is not expected right way. If the judge rules against him, he would need to repeat the appeal process.

These instant-ticket games have varying top-dollar prizes, and you can purchase them in vending machines and convenience stores throughout the state. The state’s current instant games are at this link, including:

“Peppermint Payday,” currently highlighted as a “featured ticket”, costs $3 and says, “Win up to $50,000!”

“Pyramid of Gold,” also a “featured ticket,” costs $10 and says, “Win up to $500,000.”

$5 Million Riches,” advertised on the lottery’s website, costs $30 per ticket and says, “Win up to $5,000,000!”

But NBC 5 Investigates has found that the top-tier prizes for all these three tickets were claimed weeks ago. Yet, as of Tuesday, the lottery still is actively marketing them online, and they’re still for sale at retailers in Chicago and the suburbs.

• “Peppermint Payday, which says, “Win up to $50,000!” No. Now the most you can win is $1,000.
• “Pyramid of Gold” – $10 a ticket: “Win up to $500,000” No. Now the most you can win is $10,000.
• “5 Million Riches” – $30 a ticket: “Win up to $5,000,000!” No. You can’t even win the second-biggest prize of $100,000.  The most you can win now is $20,000.

Over the past month, NBC 5 Investigates has been tracking 12 instant ticket games that the Illinois Lottery has continued to sell for weeks – after all the top prizes were claimed.

It’s something the Illinois Lottery readily acknowledges. For one thing, it discloses at this site all the top prizes that have been claimed and cashed in for every game. And every lottery ticket has fine print on the back warning that “instant tickets may continue to be sold even when all top prizes have been claimed.”

But many people don’t know about the website or don’t have the means to check it whenever they want to buy a ticket.  And many ticket-buyers don’t see the written disclaimer until after they’ve bought the ticket.

“When you’re buying a Mega Millions ticket or a Powerball ticket, the odds are infinitesimal, but you have actual odds of winning,” said historian Jonathan Cohen, author of the new book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.” “But when you’re buying a scratch ticket that promises a $1 million jackpot, and it turns out that $1 million jackpot has already been won by someone in Evanston, then you have, actually, no chances of winning … and it’s only by going on their website and scrolling down and opening up tab seven and seeing that two of the prizes have been won – that, to me, seems just an extra level of unfairness.”

NBC 5 Investigates showed these games to people outside a lottery retail store. 

“That’s a rip-off,” said Annyce Leonard. “If someone already claimed the ticket, then why do you keep selling them just to keep people’s money?” 

“You’re deliberately kind of tricking people into buying these,” said Christine Nieves. “I think they should take them out of circulation.”

A spokesperfor the Illinois Lottery said the lottery follows its Instant Game Closure Policy.”

Meghan Powers told NBC 5 that the lottery wants to “ensure consistency in how games are identified for clean-up and how and when that message is communicated and carried out by our staff.”

“Clean-up occurs when the top prize tickets are claimed by the players,” Powers said. “Once a Clean-Up Memo is issued, our Lottery Sales Representatives, who regularly visit our retailers every three to four weeks to service them, collect tickets that are to be returned.”

Powers did not detail how long that process takes, but the Instant Game Closure Policy says the goal is to have “all unsold game tickets returned from retailers within 10-12 weeks after the start of the [Clean-Up] process.” 

That implies that a ticket could be on sale for nearly three months with no top prizes available.

NBC 5 Investigates requested an on-camera interview with a lottery official, but, to date, no one has been available because the office is in the middle of a legislative session, Powers said.

The Illinois Lottery contracts with a company called Camelot Illinois to run its games. And instant tickets are by far their biggest money-maker.

NBC 5 Investigates examined the lottery’s financial statements and found that scratch tickets netted $572,360,575 in 2022 – nearly as much as all other lottery games combined.

“Scratch tickets are the bread and butter of state lottery commissions,” said Cohen. 

And it could be argued that it’s in the financial interest of the state – and Camelot – to keep selling instant tickets when they know they won’t have to pay out any more large sums in prizes. 

But what about the claims printed on each ticket that someone can “win up to” a certain amount, even though they no longer can?

“[It’s] just like classic false advertising,” said ticket-buyer Michelle Dibiase. 

“Just trying to reel you in to get you to play,” said her friend Shawn Eden.

“Just tell the truth:  Hello!” said Cindy Parker.

“One would think that Federal Trade Commission truth-in-advertising laws would restrict the kind of deceptive advertising we see with lotteries,” Cohen said. “But state lotteries, because they are state-run agencies, are exempt from [those] laws.”

NBC 5 Investigates found that exemption has confounded several plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits in other states – including Texas, California, and New Mexico – who have sued their own state lottery systems for selling scratch tickets with no top prizes left. None of these lawsuits, which were filed between 2000 and 2015, were successful.

And although the Illinois Lottery is overseen by the Illinois Lottery Control Board, Cohen said that’s not enough, since the Control Board itself is a state agency.

“It really speaks to the problem in the design of the lottery system in general,” Cohen said. “There is no oversight over the Illinois Lottery from an organization or entity that does not have a financial interest in the Illinois Lottery making more money. That’s what lotteries do not have and what … would have frankly solved a problem like this.”

That is how Mauricio Chavez introduces himself to a room full of people, including a group from Chicago, at a meeting in Houston which was posted on YouTube last August.

Chavez is the CEO of a company called CryptoFX, which in recent years has solicited money from people in Latino communities to invest in crypto currency in return for potential riches.  “We already have more than 20 people becoming millionaires,” Chavez tells his audience in the video.  “Over five thousand people …. literally mak[ing] over $500,000 …. And there are many, many, many, many – literally paying off all their debts.”

That video is now an exhibit in a lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last September, accusing CryptoFX of operating as “a Ponzi scheme” which – according to a court-appointed receiver — has defrauded as many as 40,000 people out of $150 million or more. 

The court case alleges that Chavez and his partner Giorgio Benvenuto have been “targeting the Latino community” to raise millions of dollars from people who thought their money would be invested in digital currency.  Instead, the suit says, “the vast majority of investor funds …. went to purposes unrelated to crypto asset investments, including real estate … personal spending, and to make Ponzi payments.”  The SEC suit says Chavez and his company took in money from “unsophisticated investors” and led them to believe they could earn a “90%  [profit] in [just] six months.”  But – instead of investing that money – the SEC says Chavez and Benvenuto turned around and paid most of it out to previous investors, who were often family and friends.  That’s the “Ponzi” payment.  The government also alleges that Chavez and Benvenuto also spent investors’ money on themselves, for homes, cars, credit cards, luxury retailers, a hotel residence, travel, restaurants, jewelry, adult entertainment, and a hair salon.

And although CryptoFX is based in Houston, Texas, it turns out many of CryptoFX’s clients are right here in Chicago.

“I lost $20,000,” says Jose Herrera, who joined 25^th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez today for a press conference at City Hall. 

“I lost $200,000,” says Cesareo Molina, who also attended today’s press conference.  “All my life.”

In his press conference, Ald. Sigcho-Lopez called on the Illinois Attorney General’s office to launch a statewide investigation into CryptoFX and its Illinois victims.  “We don’t see the authorities taking this issue seriously,” he said today.  “We need to stop the scams.”  He says hundreds of people have contacted his office to complain about CryptoFX, which – according to several court filings – has continued to operate and solicit money from “investors” – despite being ordered to stop all business back in September.

A spokesperson for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul says the office is referring potential victims to the SEC, since that agency is spearheading the case against CryptoFX.  And there is a special website that has been set up, where victims can email or call the office of the court-appointed receiver in the case to tell their individual stories. 

That website is here, which includes information about the ongoing case; a dedicated phone line (713-546-5653) and an email, receivership@shb.com.  Both Attorney General Raoul and the SEC encourage anyone who dealt with CryptoFX to use those contacts.

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Now, new information shows the turbulent history of police responses to the family’s home in the months and years leading up to their tragic deaths.

Buffalo Grove Police discovered the crime scene when responding to a well-being check at the Kisliak family home on the 2800 block of Acacia Terrace on Nov. 30.

There, authorities identified five bodies, including 67-year-old Lilia Kisliak, 36-year-old Vera Kisliak, Vera’s two daughters, 6-year-old Vivian and 4-year-old Amilia. 

Vera’s husband and Lilia’s son, 39-year-old Andrei Kisliak, was also found deceased, and investigators say all evidence points to Andrei being the chief suspect who killed all four family members before taking his own life.

The Lake County Coroner’s office said all five were found dead from “sharp force injuries” in what they called a “domestic incident.” No further details have been released. 

Following the deaths, NBC 5 Investigates filed a Freedom of Information request for all records detailing instances where Buffalo Grove police were called to the family’s home, and all reports involving Andrei and Vera Kisliak spanning over the last two decades. 

The reports, released just this week, paint a rocky relationship between Vera and Andrei, marked with reports of threats, arrests, and allegations of domestic violence, including numerous occasions where Vera called 911 for help, fearful of her husband. 

Court records show in the months leading up to the murders, Vera and Andrei were in the process of getting a divorce. And the newly released police reports show the divorce was one of many options suggested by officers during their many visits to the family’s home.

The reports show Vera had called Buffalo Grove Police as early as 2018 to ask officers for advice with her marital problems.

On numerous occasions, officers advised Vera to pursue an order of protection or protective order, a child custody agreement, as well as work with a social worker who was regularly providing Vera and her daughters resources and referrals, a spokesperson for the Village of Buffalo Grove said.

In all, Buffalo Grove police records show officers responded to 14 domestic calls for service since 2011: Ten calls placed by Vera, three calls placed by Andrei and one call placed by a third party.

The records show Vera called Buffalo Grove police nine times in the four months preceding her murder. 

At times, Vera called to report her husband Andrei’s threatening behavior, officer’s notes indicate. 

Three months before the murders, on Aug. 23, Vera called police and said Andrei had “threatened to kill her,” according to the report. 

Vera told officers that night she had tried to record Andrei’s behavior on her phone, “but he grabbed her phone and threw it to the ground,” damaging the phone’s screen, officers observed in their report. 

That police response ended with officers separating the couple, and advising Vera to obtain a protective order. 

The next day, the police reports show officers were called out to the Mistiko Cafe after someone had called 911 to report Andrei had brought his 4-year-old and 6-year-old daughters to a bar where he “seemed intoxicated,” and they feared for the girls’ safety. 

The 911 caller said when “the father left the girls alone at the bar… she spoke with the 6-year-old juvenile who told her she was afraid to go home,” and that “the father Kisliak hits them and their mother at home.” 

When officers responded, the report notes they asked the 6-year-old in front of Kisliak whether that was true, she denied it and said she wasn’t afraid to go home. The officers notes indicate a report was filed with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services about the incident. 

Four days later, on Aug. 28, officers were called out to the Kisliak home again after Vera told officers  “she was having a verbal argument with her husband” while putting her daughters to bed and that “[Andrei] had threatened physical harm,” including punching “one of their children if they didn’t leave the room with him.” 

Vera told officers she wanted to leave the house with her children, and when officers told Andrei that Vera had every right to, “Andrei was not pleased with this,” and said he would be speaking with his attorney.

The report indicates that officers waited as Vera gathered some belongings for her and the children, and they left the home with Vera. The report does not say whether officers notified DCFS about the incident. 

On Sept. 14, a Lake County Judge granted Vera’s request for an emergency protective order against Andrei through Oct. 3, requiring him to stay away from his wife, their two children and the home on Acacia Terrace, according to court documents. 

The order also required Andrei to surrender any firearms in his possession to the Buffalo Grove Police Department.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 30, Buffalo Grove officers were called out to the home again, after Vera called 911 to report Andrei was violating that protective order.

According to a police report, Andrei had entered the home on Acacia Terrace, and when officers responded, they noted Andrei was “uncooperative” and refused numerous opportunities to get dressed and leave. 

Andrei was booked into Lake County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond. He pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge on Oct. 12. 

Court records show a full, two-year order of protection was entered on Vera Kisliak’s behalf Oct. 25. Meanwhile, a status hearing on the couple’s divorce was scheduled after Vera, her children and mother-in-law were killed. 

The day before the order of protection was extended, and a little more than a month before the Kisliak family’s bodies were discovered in November, Andrei complied with a court order and surrendered a firearm he owned. Village officials redacted the type of firearm Andrei turned over. 

The newly released documents also show Andrei had other run-ins with the law dating back to 2009, including business owners asking police to remove Andrei from their establishments, as well as taxi cab drivers calling to report Andrei not paying his owed fare. 

Prior to marrying Vera, Buffalo Grove records show Andrei was the suspect in another incident of domestic violence in 2011 involving his fiancée at that time.

The woman — whose name was redacted in the records — called 911 after Andrei reportedly “grabbed her by the neck and slapped her in the face while pushing her out of the house.”

Officers noted the woman had a large welt on her neck, and a bloody nose.

Andrei denied hitting the woman, but the report indicates officers placed Andrei under arrest and charged him with misdemeanor domestic battery. The report said Andrei was processed and placed in a cell awaiting prosecution.

Cook County court records show Andrei pleaded not guilty, and at a hearing before a judge more than a month after he was charged, the “complaining witness did not show,” and the case was dismissed. 

In releasing the records, Buffalo Grove police said the investigation into the deaths is ongoing, and a final report will be released to the public at this link, along with the police records shared this week.

If you or a loved one are experiencing domestic violence, resources are available at the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.

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A new analysis by NBC 5 Investigates has found no comprehensive system to keep track of coaches in Illinois who have been sanctioned, suspended, disciplined or convicted of sexual abuse or misconduct.

That lack of oversight obscures identifying a diverse web of abusive coaches, which has numbered at least 135 in the Chicago area since 2010.

Our extensive search — which is still ongoing — combed through criminal cases, teacher dismissals and disciplinary records of sports organizations. But with no exhaustive means of checking which coaches are safe, athletes and parents are left with a system that is piecemeal at best.

Further problems can arise if a coaching position does not require a background check, or if a required background check isn’t properly handled by schools or other organizations.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of a former Chicago charter high school basketball player accuses her former coach of repeated sexual abuse when she was 17-years-old; and alleges her school, Legal Prep Charter Academy, failed to protect her from that danger by delaying—and then disregarding — a background check that should have disqualified the coach from the job.

“I had no choice but to listen to him and respect him,” said the former player, who agreed to be identified as Jane.

The coach, Jamel Helaire-Jones, was hired by Legal Prep in the fall of 2017 and was later promoted to be a dean, according to Jane’s lawsuit. In the suit, Jane alleged a range of inappropriate conduct over the course of her senior year.

“When he exposed himself to me, I was angry and uncomfortable,, said Jane. “Because I was like, ‘Why are you doing this? What in your right mind gave you [the idea] to even do that?'”

Helaire-Jones, according to the lawsuit, also tried to grab Jane’s breasts on two occasions; kissed her; asked her to perform oral sex; sent her several explicit text messages; and sexually assaulted her in the gymnasium.

According to a separate lawsuit filed by another former Legal Prep student, Helaire-Jones was terminated from Legal Prep in late 2018, after texts sent to Jane and the other student were discovered by a parent, then administrators, then Chicago police.

In 2019, Cook County prosecutors charged Helaire-Jones with seven counts of criminal sexual assault in the two Legal Prep cases. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney declined to talk to NBC 5 Investigates about the criminal charges and civil lawsuits. Legal Prep also declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

All of this problematic conduct was proceeded, Jane’s lawsuit said, by seemingly normal interest in her skills as a basketball player and her personal life. The lawsuit described several compliments or flattering comments directed toward Jane. They were all attempts, the suit said, for Helaire-Jones to gain Jane’s trust.

“Some of those things are things that a good professor or good teacher or good coach might do, but it’s also something that a person looking to do ill or harm to our children will also do,” said Yao Dinizulu, Jane’s attorney.

Coaches can spend many hours with athletes outside of a school setting, and can more easily blur the lines of normal interest and attention into a student’s life to cross into something that turns dangerous.

The boundaries can be pushed to result in grooming, defined by RAINN as “manipulative behaviors that the abuser uses to gain access to a potential victim, coerce them to agree to the abuse, and reduce the risk of being caught.” Experts NBC 5 spoke with said coaching presents a special opportunity for grooming.

The lawsuit Dinizulu filed on Jane’s behalf said Legal Prep could have prevented what happened to Jane, partly because “there was no background check performed for Jamel Helaire-Jones until after he was already working at Legal Prep.”

Dinizulu said the background check wasn’t performed on Helaire-Jones until more than two months after he was hired in October 2017.

“That background check showed the alarming issue of an attempted kidnapping [and] an attempted sexual assault,” Dinizulu said.

While Helaire-Jones was ultimately not convicted on these charges, the Chicago Board of Education found them troubling enough to “[warn] Legal Prep not to hire Helaire-Jones,” according to a Board filing in Jane’s case.

“I don’t think anybody would even suggest that a person with this type of background, should be hired for working around our kids,” said Dinizulu.

For weeks, NBC 5 Investigates has been tracking cases of local coaches like Helaire-Jones, who have been credibly accused or convicted of sexual misconduct.

The process is not straightforward, and that is part of the problem. We have been searching through a variety of sources: local news stories; criminal cases; civil lawsuits; teacher-dismissal proceedings, teaching-license revocations by state boards of education, settlement agreements, and “banned” and “ineligible” lists published by the U.S. Center for SafeSport – an organization set up in 2018 to address the issue of problematic coaches – as well as lists published by the Olympic-sanctioned organizations for individual sports in the U.S.

In all, NBC5 Investigates has gathered records on nearly 250 coaches, and we continue to review the histories of scores of additional coaches – ranging from Little League and youth sports to public and private school coaches, all the way to coaches at the college and professional level. Most are in the immediate Chicago area; others are in downstate Illinois or Indiana. Most were credibly accused or convicted of sexual abuse in the years since 2010; others were accused or convicted earlier.

Whether these coaches are terminated, placed on the state’s sex offender registry or are legally punished depends on the specifics of each case.

According to the Chicago Board of Education, Helaire-Jones’ past conduct showed up clearly on a background check. The trouble athletes and parents experience in this tangled system of oversight and monitoring is: What happens when previous trouble falls below a level that would appear on a background check?

Another issue is this:  Of the dozens of local coaches NBC5 Investigates has found so far, who were arrested for sex abuse or assault – and then convicted – more than 40 do not appear on the state’s Sex Offender Registry.  Sometimes that is because the coach ultimately struck a deal to plead to a lesser charge – such as disorderly conduct or battery – which would not force the coach to register as a sex offender:  Another way in which these clearly-problematic coaches fall through the cracks of the already-flawed system of accountability.

“There’s not a clear way that I am aware of to be sure that we can track those same behavior[s] across the board,” said Carrie Ward, CEO of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA).

ICASA was part of a 2018 State of Illinois task force, established to look at ways to better protect young athletes. The group was convened, in part, due to the repeated sexual abuse of Team USA gymnasts by Dr. Larry Nassar.

Ward said she believes improvements need to be made in the areas of prevention and reporting, especially considering some coaches — good and bad — move between public schools, private schools, volunteer roles and private facilities in their careers.

“I think that we don’t want to make assumptions that because someone harms someone in the past that they would never do that again,” said Ward. “In fact what we know is that recidivism regarding sexual violence is high, so in all likelihood the fact that someone has committed a sex offense before, raises the possibility that they’re going to commit it again – it doesn’t lower it.”

A new analysis by NBC 5 Investigates has found that dozens of Chicago-area coaches have been disciplined in sexual abuse or misconduct cases within the last decade.

According to that analysis, 135 Chicago-area coaches have been sanctioned, suspended, disciplined or convicted of sexual abuse or misconduct since 2010.

The search — which is still ongoing — of criminal cases, teacher dismissals and disciplinary records of sports organizations found a range of misbehavior that may or may not lead to termination, loss of a license, or entry on the state’s sex offender registry.

More than two-thirds of coaches we’ve identified were accused of abusing student-athletes in their charge, who are almost always teenagers or children. Problematic coaches span a wide range of sports and schools, from elementary to high school to college.

Some have been repeat offenders, exposing holes in a system that lacks comprehensive tracking or oversight.

These cases often involve grooming, defined by RAINN as “manipulative behaviors that the abuser uses to gain access to a potential victim, coerce them to agree to the abuse, and reduce the risk of being caught.” Experts NBC 5 spoke with said coaching presents a special opportunity for grooming.

Coaches can spend many hours with athletes outside of a school setting, and can more easily blur the lines of normal interest and attention into a student’s life to cross into something that turns dangerous. Teachers also can have opportunities to enhance the lives of their students; but coaches, through the nature of their roles, have more unsupervised contact, especially on nights and weekends.

Former Legal Prep Charter Academy basketball coach Jamel Helaire-Jones is one local coach accused of abusing his players, one of whom came forward with her story of being sexually abused at 17-years-old.

“I didn’t really interact with him until my senior year,” said the former player, who agreed to be identified as Jane.

She’s filed a civil lawsuit against Helaire-Jones and Legal Prep, detailing her alleged abuse over several months in 2018.

Jane said in her suit that Helaire-Jones would show many of his players individual attention. He would work with specific players on their skills at practice, as many good coaches do, and would also check on his players via text.

“He would just ask me how’s my day going, how I’m doing, did I eat,” said Jane. “Just normal, normal stuff like that…At first it was good, because I’m like ‘Ok, he just wants to know how I’m doing because I’m one of his players, so maybe this is how he coaches. [He wants to] check up on his players.'”

In her lawsuit, Jane said Helaire-Jones would regularly give her and other players a ride home after practice. The suit, details one night when she said they were alone in the car when he took a detour.

“He pulled in an alley and then he parked and then he pulled out his privates,” Jane said. “I looked at it and he looked at it and he was like, ‘Do you want to suck it?’ And I’m like, ‘No.'”

In her lawsuit, Jane alleged other inappropriate conduct by her coach over the course of her senior year. Helaire-Jones, according to the lawsuit, tried to grab her breasts on two occasions; kissed her; asked her to perform oral sex; sent her several explicit text messages; and sexually assaulted her in the gymnasium.

Helaire-Jones’ attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit. Legal Prep also declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

“He was a methodical groomer,” said Yao Dinizulu, Jane’s attorney.

Helaire-Jones also faces a lawsuit filed by another Legal Prep student, who said she was abused by the coach in 2018 as well. Dinizulu said text messages Helaire-Jones sent to Jane and the other student were eventually discovered by a parent, then administrators, then ultimately Chicago police.

According to the lawsuit, Helaire-Jones was terminated by Legal Prep on Nov. 30, 2018.

Cook County prosecutors charged Helaire-Jones with seven counts of criminal sexual assault in the two Legal Prep cases. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney declined to talk to NBC 5 Investigates about the criminal charges and the second lawsuit, as well.

Jane’s lawsuit said the rides home, and repeated flattering comments, established a pattern of seemingly caring behavior that would ultimately turn predatory.

“It builds a certain additional layer of trust, because you [have] to remember: Mr. Jones was actually, not only was he a coach, but he was a dean,” said Dinizulu. “There was a sense of authority, a sense of respect that was owed to him, by the nature of the title that was put on to him by Legal Prep.”

For weeks, NBC 5 Investigates has been tracking cases of local coaches who have been credibly accused or convicted of sexual misconduct.

The process is not straightforward, and that is part of the problem. We have been searching through a variety of sources: local news stories; criminal cases; civil lawsuits; teacher-dismissal proceedings, teaching-license revocations by state boards of education, settlement agreements, and “banned” and “ineligible” lists published by the U.S. Center for SafeSport – an organization set up in 2018 to address the issue of problematic coaches – as well as lists published by the Olympic-sanctioned organizations for individual sports in the U.S.

In all, NBC5 Investigates has gathered records on nearly 250 coaches, and we continue to review the histories of scores of additional coaches – ranging from Little League and youth sports to public and private school coaches, all the way to coaches at the college and professional level.

Most are in the immediate Chicago area; others are in downstate Illinois or Indiana. Most were credibly accused or convicted of sexual abuse in the years since 2010; others were accused or convicted earlier.

Whether these coaches are terminated, placed on the state’s sex offender registry or are legally punished depends on the specifics of each case. The offender registry, and schools implementing background checks, can help filter out coaches with questionable pasts.

But NBC 5 has discovered the process is piecemeal at best, with no single comprehensive system that monitors and disciplines questionable coaches. And, we’ve discovered there’s no consistent way for athletes or their families to track down a potential coach’s past.

Jane’s lawsuit said there were major problems with how Helaire-Jones was hired by Legal Prep, accusing the school hiring Helaire-Jones before he went through the required background check.

“There was plenty, ample information for anyone who was curious enough about the safety of their students to at least do an investigation to find out more about that and, in this case, not hire him,” said Dinizulu.

More about Helaire-Jones’ past and what transpired at Legal Prep will be examined in part two of Out of Bounds, airing on Tuesday night.

Michael Johnston and his wife Kelly Halverson are now being sued by a U.S. Air Force veteran who says he and his former girlfriend were secretly videotaped having sex at the Johnston’s home in Chicago in 2019. He claims the couple invited them to stay there when they were out of town and encouraged them to use a room where cameras were hidden.

His case was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday along with cases from three other alleged victims, women who say they too were secretly videotaped at the home.

Johnston was the president of Schuba’s Tavern and Lincoln Hall and the CEO of AudioTree music streaming service. He was fired from those jobs after NBC 5 Investigates reported on these allegations last year.

We reached out to Johnston’s attorneys for comment but have not heard back.

Johnston pleaded guilty last month to felony charges of secretly videotaping three women in the nude. He was charged with secretly recording his nanny, her friend and a house sitter with hidden cameras in bathroom and bedroom at various times in his upscale home in Roscoe Village. One woman discovered the cameras and gave the video to police.

“These women are extremely brave,” said Attorney Gail Eisenberg.

Eisenberg is suing Johnston on behalf of two women and spoke with NBC5 Investigates in December 2021 about the evidence in her separate civil case.

Johnston pleaded guilty to three felony charges of unauthorized videotaping of three different female victims. He was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 50 hours of community service.

According to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, one in every six adults 65 or older has lost all of his or her teeth. It’s twice as likely to happen to senior citizens who suffer from emphysema, heart disease or who have a history of strokes.

But there are other factors as well: Only 11% of seniors who have high incomes lose all their teeth, and 34% of seniors with low incomes lose them all, three times as often.

Only 9% of senior citizens who went to college lose all their teeth, while 34% of older adults without a high school diploma lose them, nearly four times as often.

And it’s even worse if you smoke: Forty-three percent of seniors who smoke lose all their teeth, according to the CDC. For those older adults who never smoked, that drops to 12%. And no matter what your age, if you smoke right now, you’re three times more likely to eventually lose all your teeth than your friends and family who aren’t smokers.

It’s more than just your smile at stake. The CDC says poor oral health can contribute to heart problems, because bacteria and germs can get more easily into your blood stream through your weak gums. Gum disease can also cause bacteria to be pulled into your lungs, causing pneumonia. And severe gum disease, called periodontitis, is even linked to premature births and low birth weight, according to the CDC.

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So how are we all doing “toothwise” here in the Chicago area?

NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga looked at the most recent federal health data on people 65 and over who’ve lost all their teeth. We parsed the numbers down to every one of more than 500 ZIP codes in the greater Chicago area, including northwest Indiana and southeast Wisconsin, and found that the basic fact of losing your teeth appears to be related to a host of other, sometimes surprising, factors.

First, here are the Top 10 Chicago-area towns where the fewest seniors lose all of their teeth:

1. Kenilworth, Illinois (only 3.8% of residents aged 65 or older have lost all their teeth)
2. Glencoe, Illinois (4.0%)
3. Winnetka and Wilmette, Illinois (tie) (4.2%)
4. Western Springs and River Forest, Illinois (tie) (4.5%)
5. Evanston, Illinois (western area) (4.9%)
6. Glenview, Illinois (south area) (5.1%)
7. Oak Park and Golf, Illinois (tie) (5.2%)

And here the Chicago neighborhoods where the fewest senior citizens have lost all their teeth:

1. Loop (west area) (only 3.4% of residents aged 65 or older have lost all their teeth)
2. Loop (north central area) and Near East Side (tie) (3.6%)
3. River North and West Loop Gate (tie) (3.8%)
4. Gold Coast (4.1%)
5. Lake View East (4.4%)
6. Lincoln Park (4.6%)
7. Loop (east central area) (5.0%)
8. South Loop (north area) (5.7%)

For the most part, these are wealthy, white towns and neighborhoods.

The suburb of Kenilworth, which is especially wealthy and white and is top-of-the-tops in the entire Chicago area in terms of dental health, also ranks No. 1 in the entire area for residents who see a dentist on a regular basis. It also tops the list for residents who don’t smoke. And remember, the CDC directly connects tooth-loss and smoking.

We found that all of the other top-ten towns and Chicago neighborhoods have low rates of smokers and high rates of dental visits, as well. They all have another trait that’s important: Most of the residents in these neighborhoods and towns have ready access to health insurance.

Now, a countdown of the Chicago communities where the most senior citizens have lost all their teeth.

First, Chicago’s neighborhoods:

10. Near West Side (western portion) – 20.9% of people over the age of 65 have lost all their teeth

9.   Grand Boulevard (21.0%)

8.-6.   A “tie” with three Chicago ZIP codes: a) Humboldt Park, b) Hegewisch and c) the ZIP code that contains the combined neighborhoods of Back of the Yards/New City/Fuller Park (all at 21.1%)

5.   The ZIP code that contains the combined neighborhoods of Little Village/North Lawndale/South Lawndale (24.3%)

4.   South Austin (26.7%)

3.   Englewood (western portion) (27.2%)

2.   Englewood (eastern portion) (31.6%)

1.   Homan Square, where 31.7% of all residents 65 and older have lost all their teeth, more than any area of Chicago

All of these are neighborhoods with significant minority populations. But as hard-hit as these Chicago neighborhoods are, there are entire communities outside of Chicago that fare even worse in terms of dental health. 

Here is a countdown of the 10 towns and cities (with populations of at least 1,000 or more) where the most senior citizens have lost all of their teeth:

10. Lake Station, Indiana (23.3% of all residents there, 65 and over, have lost their teeth)

9.   Goodland, Indiana (24.0%)

8.   North Chicago, Illinois (24.2%)

7.   Joliet, Illinois (eastern portion) (24.6%)

6.   Robbins, Illinois (24.9%)

5.   Harvey, Illinois (25.5%)

4.   Monon, Indiana (26.0%)

3.   East Chicago, Indiana (27.5%)

2.   Hammond, Indiana (25.5% in the city’s northwest area; 31.6% in the city’s west area)

1.   Gary, Indiana (where 37.7% of senior residents in Gary’s central area have lost all their teeth.  The percentage for Gary’s other zip codes ranges from 22.5% to 35.1%.)

Again, with a few exceptions, these are all towns that have significant minority populations.

And among those, the city of Gary stands out even more.

We found that residents in various parts of the city of Gary rank the worst -- worse than the even hardest-hit neighborhoods of Chicago -- for coronary heart disease, angina and high blood pressure. Remember, the CDC connects poor dental health to several heart problems.

Gary residents also fare the worst for asthma, COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. And again, the CDC connects poor dental health to some lung problems.

And what about the CDC’s connection between poor dental and smoking? NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga found that, overall, Gary residents smoke at a higher rate than any other town or neighborhood we examined in the entire greater Chicago region.

We found Gary is also the hardest-hit community – harder-hit than even Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods – in terms of residents with arthritis, diabetes, kidney disease, obesity, lack of exercise and lack of sleep.  And more people in Gary report that their physical health and mental health have not been good for at least half of the last month. In Gary’s central region, a full 40% of residents say their general health is "fair" or "poor."

But there’s another pattern NBC 5 and Telemundo found when looking at the local towns and Chicago neighborhoods with high rates of dental problems: Five of the communities with the most tooth loss – Lake Station, North Chicago, Joliet, East Chicago and Hammond – and most of the Chicago neighborhoods with the highest rates of tooth loss -- have significant Hispanic populations. 

And it appears that tooth loss in these towns may be one symptom of a much bigger issue. NBC 5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga found the most significant contrast of all, between local Hispanic communities and other towns, is that people in Hispanic communities have the least access of anyone in the greater Chicago area, to health insurance.

In fact, we found that the 33 towns and neighborhoods with the least access to health insurance are ALL communities with significant Hispanic populations. 

Here is a countdown:

31. Chicago’s South Chicago, East Side, and South Deering neighborhoods (28.0%) (tied)

30. Northlake, Illinois (28.5%)

28. Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood and East Chicago, Indiana (28.8%) (tied)

27. Posen, Illinois (29.3%)

26. North Chicago, Illinois (29.4%)

22. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Pilsen, McKinley Park, Lower West Side and Bridgeport (30.5%) (tied)

21. Waukegan, Illinois (south area) (31.4%)

18. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Back of the Yards, New City and Fuller Park (33.0%) (tied)

17. Summit-Argo, Illinois (33.3%)

15. Joliet (east area) and Melrose Park, Illinois (34.3%) (tied)

12. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Marquette Park, West Lawn, and Chicago Lawn (34.8%) (tied)

11. Aurora, Illinois (central area) (35.4%)

9.   Chicago’s neighborhoods of Belmont-Cragin and Hermosa (35.8%) (tied)

6.   Chicago’s neighborhoods of Brighton Park, Gage Park and Archer Heights (38.4%) (tied)

5.   Cicero, Illinois (38.9%)

2. Chicago’s neighborhoods of Little Village, North Lawndale, and South Lawndale (39.1%) (tied)

1. Stone Park, Illinois (41.2% of adults there do not have access to insurance coverage – the most of any community in the greater Chicago area.)

In all, NBC5 Investigates and Telemundo Chicago Investiga found that 78 out of the 100 towns and neighborhoods with the least access to health insurance have significant Hispanic populations. 

It’s possible that this lack of health insurance may be connected to the number of people in these communities who are undocumented, or who are in the process of gaining American citizenship. But whatever the reason, we've found this lack of insurance correlates directly with a community’s rate of all kinds of other diseases, as well as the ability for community members to keep up with health-screenings and visits to both doctors and dentists.

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says everyone 18 and older should get a minimum of seven hours of sleep. Did you?

If not, you’re by no means alone. According to the CDC, a surprising number of adults don’t get those seven hours of sleep a night. Nationwide, this ranges from a low of 29 percent of adults in Colorado saying they don’t get enough sleep, all the way up to nearly 43 percent of adult residents in what is apparently the most sleep-deprived state in the union, West Virginia.

So NBC 5 Investigates analyzed local sleep data, drilling down to every ZIP code in the greater Chicago area, including northwest Indiana and southeast Wisconsin. We found some regions here that are even more sleep-deprived than those folks in West Virginia, with nearly half of adults in some Chicago-area neighborhoods and towns simply not getting that minimum of seven hours a night. 

Statewide, Illinois and Wisconsin are on the low side, with 33.5% and 33% of adults, respectively, saying they’re sleep-deprived, according to CDC numbers, while Indiana is doing a bit worse, with 37.9% of adults not getting enough sleep.

The consequences are broad: The CDC links insufficient sleep directly to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and depression. And indeed, when we looked at those other health factors across Chicagoland, we found similar patterns for those diseases as well.

So, first, the good news: Who gets the best sleep in the Chicago area? Here are the top 10 suburbs where people sleep the easiest, all at a better rate than even the “most-rested” state in the union, Colorado:

1. Lincolnshire, Illinois (just 26.1% of adult residents report being sleep-deprived, meaning they consistently get fewer than seven hours of sleep per night)

2. Oak Brook, Illinois (27.1%)

3. Lake Forest, Illinois (27.3%)

4. Highland Park, Hinsdale, and Kenilworth, Illinois (all tied at 27.4%)

7. Glencoe and Winnetka, Illinois (tied at 27.9%)

9. Deerfield, Illinois (28.2%)

10. Wilmette, Elmhurst and Western Springs, Illinois (all tied at 28.3%)

See a pattern? These are some of the wealthiest, whitest suburbs in the Chicago area. NBC 5 Investigates found that these towns also all have some of the area’s highest rates of people with health insurance, people who get regular doctor checkups, and people who have regular health-screenings such as colonoscopies and cholesterol tests.

In all, we found 33 Chicago-area zip codes in the suburbs, where residents get more sleep, on average, than the very best sleepers in the city itself. 

Within Chicago, here are the Top 10 zip codes and neighborhoods where residents sleep the easiest:

1. Gold Coast (just 29.5% of residents reported that they got fewer than seven hours of sleep per night)
2. Lincoln Park (29.9%)
3. Lake View East (30.1%)
4. Loop (north central area) (30.2%)
5. Near East Side and Norwood Park West (30.7%) (tied)
6. Wildwood (30.9%)
7. Loop (east central area) (31.0%)
8. Loop (west area) and River North (both 31.1%) (tied)

Once again – wealthier – and whiter – neighborhoods. 

On the flip side, here’s the bad news:  Here is a countdown of the 10 Chicago neighborhoods where we found the most people who aren’t getting adequate sleep:

10. Chatham (44.5% of adults say they get fewer than seven hours of sleep a night)

9.   Grand Boulevard (44.6%)

8.   Roseland (44.8%)

7.   Gresham (45.2%)

6.   South Shore (45.6%)

5.   Hegewisch (west area) (46.8%)

4.   Englewood (west area) (47.2%)

3.   South Austin (47.4%)

1. Homan Square and Englewood (east area) (nearly half -- 48.4% -- of adults in both of these neighborhoods report fewer than seven hours of sleep per night – the least sleep of all Chicago neighborhoods).

Unfortunately, it’s easy to notice a pattern here as well. These neighborhoods are home to some of Chicago's highest populations of Black and low-income residents.

You’ll see the same patterns in the Chicago-area zip codes outside the city itself. Virtually half of each of these towns' residents say they get fewer than seven hours of sleep each night:

10. Hopkins Park, Illinois (45.7% of adults there say they get fewer than seven hours of sleep each night)

7.   Hammond, Indiana (west area), Robbins, Illinois, and University Park, Illinois (46.1%) (tied)

6.   Gary, Indiana (northwest area) (46.4%)

5.   Gary, Indiana (northeast area) (46.7%)

4.   Gary, Indiana (east central area) (49.1%)

3.   Gary, Indiana (north central area) (49.6%)

2.   Gary, Indiana (southeast area) (49.7%)

1.   Gary, Indiana (central area) (50.4%)

That's right: Residents in nearly every area of Gary, Indiana, are more sleep-deprived than any town in the greater Chicago area and more sleep-deprived than even the hardest-hit neighborhoods on Chicago's South and West sides. And that has tough consequences: 

NBC 5 Investigates found that Gary residents also suffer – more than residents from even the poorest Chicago neighborhoods or suburbs -- from diabetes, obesity, and coronary heart disease, three of the conditions that the CDC directly connects to a lack of sleep, as well as other serious conditions like arthritis, high blood pressure, asthma, COPD and kidney disease.

Perhaps worse, Gary residents more than anyone else report that their mental and physical health were not good for at least half of the past month. In fact, more than a third of Gary's adult residents say their general health is "fair" or "poor."

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In general, we found that Lake County, Indiana, has some of the lowest life-expectancies in the entire area, especially the county's Black population, which lives only to an average age of 71 years old. A white person in Indiana's Lake County can expect to live for about five years more, to an average of 76 years old. That extends to 10 years more, 81 years old, for a Hispanic resident, and 16 years more, 87 years old, for someone of Asian descent.

Compare those numbers to the same statistics in McHenry County in Illinois, where Black residents have an average life expectancy of 83 years old, longer than the life-expectancy of white people in every one of the 21 counties we examined, where length of life ranged from 75 to 82 years old.

There are scores of health factors that could explain these extreme differences in life-expectancy, but it’s worth noting that in McHenry County, a relatively-low third of adult residents – barely more than a third -- report insufficient sleep, compared to nearly half of people in the hardest-hit areas of Lake County, Indiana.  

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And while Illinois and Chicago are not experiencing the kinds of voting issues seen elsewhere across the country, there are concerns after the city’s primary election had major issues earlier this summer.

NBC 5 Investigates found the issues barred some community members from casting their ballots earlier this year, when they arrived at their assigned polling location only to find that it was closed due to a lack of workers to staff it.

More than a hundred poll workers resigned less than 24 hours before the primary, and nearly 1,800 simply did not show up to work at their assigned polling location, NBC 5 found.

Since then, NBC 5 has been examining what went wrong with the city’s primary day election and whether the Chicago Board of Elections could have been better prepared.

City officials acknowledge the severity of the issues and blame some of the problems on moving the primary election date to June, as well as overall low turnout for the primary.

Civil rights advocates point out that these kinds of problems are solvable when there’s stronger community engagement efforts on the city’s part ahead of an election in order to bridge the gaps that voters face.

Now, on the first day of early voting for Chicagoans, many are focused on the general election on Nov. 8 and whether the city’s plan for responding to these problems – a precinct consolidation that will decrease the number of election judges or poll workers needed citywide – is the right answer.

‘Organized Chaos‘

From the outside, all may have appeared normal this past primary election day in the city of Chicago, but behind the scenes, poll workers and members of the public had a different experience. 

“It was pretty horrific, to say the least,” said Allison Gonsoulin, an election judge for the city who was assigned to the ninth precinct in the 23rd Ward on Chicago’s Near Southwest Side.

Election judges are a key component to how Chicago’s elections operate. Gonsoulin was a returning election judge for the city, originally on stand-by as a substitute judge if needed that day.

Around noon on primary day, she said she was assigned to the Irene Hernandez Middle School polling location in the Gage Park neighborhood. 

Gonsoulin said she’d heard that the school had been closed up to that point due to no election judges showing up for work.

And what she experienced shocked her. 

“Polls are to open at 6 a.m. By the time we got everything set up, now, it’s almost 3 p.m.,” Gonsoulin said, adding that there were still problems. “We couldn’t find the most important forms. There was no signage out here to indicate that this is a polling place. It was organized chaos.”

Adding to that confusion, Gonsoulin said she and others who were assigned to that ward precinct location only spoke English, and many Spanish-speaking voters had questions they couldn’t assist with. 

Gonsoulin said, “That was a disservice to those people because English is my first language.”

What Gonsoulin experienced in that ward was not an anomaly, NBC 5 found.

On primary day, NBC 5 reporter Christian Farr observed some polling locations in the 32nd Ward on the Near North Side were closed and reportedly turned away residents trying to cast their ballots.

In front of one polling place, a voter held a sign that read, “No Election Judges = Voter Suppression.”

Indeed, NBC 5 Investigates found a majority of the issues reported on that primary day were likely the result of a mass resignation of election judges in the days and weeks leading up to the election. 

Data obtained by NBC 5 show one in three judges resigned, including 604 judges resigning in the week leading up to primary day. Of those, at least 114 judges resigned fewer than 24 hours before the primary, according to dated resignation letters reviewed by NBC 5.

The Board of Elections’ records also show more than 1,780 election judges simply did not show up to work at their polling location on the day of the primary. 

In all, the records show a total of more than 3,200 judges resigning or not showing up to work on primary pay, yet the city only had 257 substitute or stand-by judges, like Gonsoulin, to fill those vacancies.

The mass resignations led to at least 73 polling locations opening late, or worse, not at all, a spokesperson for the Board of Elections said.

Formal letters reviewed by NBC 5 suggest the 32nd Ward was hit the hardest by the resignations, followed by the 47th Ward in Ravenswood and the 42nd Ward downtown.

More than 350 judges who resigned or were “no shows” were marked as bilingual judges, speaking languages that are primarily used in the wards and precincts they would have been assigned to.

These are some of the many facts worrying voting advocates like Ami Gandhi with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.

“Voters in Chicago had a lot of confusion during the June primary,” Gandhi told NBC 5. 

On election days, Gandhi’s organization operates a nonpartisan voter hotline for Chicagoans to phone in any issues observed.

This past primary, those phones were ringing off the hook, with more calls than in previous years.

“We received a high volume of calls all throughout the day from Chicago voters, particularly in vulnerable communities, who were having a hard time,” Gandhi said. “This, despite [voters] doing their research, despite showing up to vote, they were having a hard time getting to a functional polling place.”

Emails obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request show advocacy groups like Gandhi’s, – and even some political campaigns – were voicing their concerns to the Chicago Board of Elections all throughout primary day.

“A whole mess of polling places in my clients’ district are not open yet,” one email from a campaign read.

Another indicating, “the [Board of Elections phone] lines to report this have also been swamped.”

In one instance, election officials responded saying, “We are working on putting out several fires right now.”

NBC 5 shared our findings with the Board of Elections and they confirmed the issues and their severity, while acknowledging what they believe is the best plan to fix it moving forward.

‘These problems are solvable’

Chief Spokesperson for the Chicago Board of Elections Max Bever confirmed to NBC 5 that the city is doing everything it can to not have a repeat of what happened on primary day.

“What we did face on June 28 was a shortage of election judges, which did lead to some delays in polling places opening,” Bever said. “That is not something that we’d like to see happen again. … It’s been on our mind heading into the Nov. 8 general election.”

Why were there so many election judges who resigned? To try to answer that, NBC 5 combed through 1,138 resignation letters from election judges who formally resigned that day.

Surprisingly, a COVID illness was not the main reason.

A majority of the judges who resigned formally indicated they were out of town or had a second job they couldn’t take the day off from. Hundreds did not list a specific reason for why they were resigning.

The Board of Elections believes the reason may have come from having the primary day election in June, on a date that judges were not prepared for, as well as overall lower turnout for a primary election.

“When it comes to getting election judges, it’s often the same as turnout for an election,” Bever said. “The summer date on June 28 was new for a lot of voters but also for a lot of election judges.”

Heading into the general election, Bever believes two words may provide a solution to the issues: precinct consolidation.

“We do have some benefits heading into this election. We hopefully will see some benefits from precinct consolidation because we are staffing a lower target number of election judges,” Bever said.

In the past, the city said it needed about 10,000 judges to staff its precincts. With precinct consolidation, the Board of Elections says it only needs about 6,500 judges, drastically lowering the demand citywide.

As of Oct. 20, Bever said the city has 7,000 judges signed up to work the general election, with more than 900 applications pending. That includes nearly 1,300 election judges who are high school students, Bever said.

The city hopes to bolster those numbers in the next few weeks leading up to Nov. 8.

Interested in signing up to be an Election Judge for the city of Chicago? Learn more by clicking here.

“We’ve got less precincts heading into the next election, not necessarily less polling places, just less precincts,” Bever said.

However, some organizations believe precinct consolidation could reduce access to voting at a time when it’s so vital.

One future mayoral challenger even went as far as to denounce the move as “voter suppression,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The city argues it was legally required to consolidate after 2020 census findings led to the drawing of new ward and district lines.

Still, organizations like the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights fear these steps do not address chronic issues, and that more community engagement is the right answer. 

“Lowering the bar for how many election judges will be ready to serve on election day will not solve the chronic issues of barriers to voter access for Black and Brown community members,” Gandhi said. 

“These problems are solvable … but there definitely needs to be more preparation and more meaningful community engagement to bridge that gap that people faced, for example, in the June primary election,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi also encourages voters experiencing problems on Election Day to call their non-partisan hotline: 1-866-OUR-VOTE. For more information, click here.

Gonsoulin was at first wary about signing up as an election judge again, given what she saw in June. Now, believing in the critical role that judges play, she’s planning to sign up for November and hopes others will follow her lead.

“Our election, our democracy, is in a state of crisis, if you ask me right now,” Gonsoulin said. “The [Chicago Board of Elections] needs to have their system work right as they’re telling people to get out there and vote.”

More on the Illinois Midterm Election 2022:

Oct 21, 2022

Here's How to Find Your Polling Place in Illinois as 2022 General Election Nears

Oct 20, 2022

How Can You Cast Your Vote in Illinois? Everything to Know for Election Day

In the first three months of 2022, Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF) said 80% of its callers were from out of state.

“In 2018, we supported less than 200 people. Now, we hear from that many people in a week,” said Megan Jeyifo, the executive director of CAF.

The non-profit organization provides financial and logistical support to people seeking abortion care in Illinois. Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, CAF’s weekly budget was around $16,000. Since June, it’s jumped to as high as $55,000. It’s also gone from two full-time staff members to 11 in just the past year.

“We have hired up, we’ve been scaling for the last couple of years, we’re building our infrastructure because we know this is a long haul thing. This is not going to change overnight,” said Jeyifo.

According to the latest available data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), out-of-state abortions have been increasing for years, well before the Dobbs decision in June that allowed states to determine whether or not to allow access to abortion.

Patients coming from Illinois have tripled from 2015 to 2020. Most are coming from Missouri, followed by Indiana.

Despite recent changes to abortion laws, Walker Gelbert, with Midwest Access Coalition (MAC), says barriers to care have always existed. MAC was founded in 2015 to fill a void in supportive services.

“The need for support for these associated practical costs have always been necessary,” said Gelbert. “We help pay for their travel, lodging, food, childcare for existing children. Really any associated cost they would need having to travel out of state for an abortion.”

MAC, which does not pay for abortion procedures, also serves mostly out-of-state patients and has tracked an enormous increase in costs.

In 2015, it served 30 clients, 800 in 2021, and so far in 2022, 1,233 clients. Only 120 of those people are from Illinois.

“$277,000 we spent in 2021 on practical support costs, non-staff related,” said Gelbert. “In 2022, so far, we’ve spent $510,000.”

Both Gelbert and Jeyifo say the overall need for financial and logistical support hasn’t changed, but the sheer number of people traveling to Illinois has.

“People need to travel further because there are [fewer] states they can travel to,” said Gelbert. “There’s not as many appointments, so people are having to wait longer. That alone just increases their cost of what they need.”

“What you read in the news, we see it play out the next day on our hotline,” said Jeyifo.

“People are going to have abortions. They’ve been having abortions since the dawn of humanity,” she added. “It’s our role to help people get what they need, to the healthcare they want need and deserve.”

Johnston, 39, was also the CEO of the AudioTree Music streaming service. He was fired from those jobs after NBC 5 Investigates reported on these allegations last year.

Johnston was charged with secretly recording his nanny, her friend and a house sitter with hidden cameras in bathroom and bedroom at various times in his upscale home in Roscoe Village. One woman discovered the cameras and gave the video to police.

“These women are extremely brave, “ said Attorney Gail Eisenberg.

Eisenberg is suing Johnston on behalf of two women and spoke with NBC5 Investigates in December 2021 about the evidence in her separate civil case.

She said that was even a video clip of Johnston setting up the hidden cameras.

“These were motion sensor cameras, “ Eisenberg noted.

Johnston pleaded guilty to three felony charges of unauthorized videotaping of three different female victims. He was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 50 hours of community service.

Eisenberg says her clients will never forget what happened to them in what they thought were private areas in the Johnston home.

The civil suit against Johnston and his wife continues. His wife was not charged in the criminal case but is accused in the civil suit of having knowledge of the hidden cameras and video.

As the race for the Illinois Supreme Court heats up with weeks to go, there are questions raised about contributions incumbent Justice Michael Burke previously received and the subsequent nominations he made.

Campaign contribution records reviewed by NBC 5 Investigates show Burke’s campaign, the “Citizens to Elect Justice Michael J Burke” committee, received $5,996 from the husband of a DuPage Circuit Court judge that Burke had nominated and later appointed for the position.

Burke also received an additional $5,550 from a company the Judge’s husband works for.

The contributions were made months prior to Judge Kavita Athanikar’s appointment to the DuPage Circuit Court bench.

Burke’s campaign spokesperson Jon Nelson told NBC 5 in part that, “Any insinuation that the political activity of [Athanikar’s] husband played a role in her appointment is absurd.”

Through a firm that specializes in crisis public relations, Kavita Athanikar told NBC 5, “These are baseless allegations in the throes of a heated campaign.”

Allegations that the donations may have had an influence on Burke’s choice to nominate Athanikar for the Circuit Court bench were raised by “Protect Our Court,” a social welfare organization.

Protect Our Court states on its website that it “does not raise or spend money in support of political candidates,” but advocates for “protecting the Illinois Supreme Court” from being “controlled by far-right conservatives.”

The donations to Burke’s campaign were made by Judge Athanikar’s husband, Manas Athanikar, and the company he currently works for as executive vice president, Batavia Container Inc out of Batavia, Ill.

Nearly one year ago, on Oct. 23, 2021, campaign contribution records show Manas Athanikar paid $5,996 to Burke’s campaign for “promotional gifts (vest, t-shirts), food, beverages,” and a “golf donation.”

That same day, as well as three days later, Batavia Container Inc. and some of its employees also contributed a total of $5,500 to Burke’s campaign. The contribution records show those donations were for “event signage and beverages” at the White Eagle Golf Club and Glenn Oak Country Club. 

A spokesperson for Manas Athanikar told NBC 5 that donations made by Batavia Container Inc. or its employees are not attributed to him.

More than two months after the donations, on Jan. 5, the DuPage Circuit Court announced Manas’ wife, Kavita Athanikar, was appointed to fill a DuPage Circuit Court judicial position that would be vacated in March after the retirement of the Honorable Robert Kleeman, according to a DuPage Circuit Court news release.

Prior to the appointment, Athanikar had been an associate judge for the DuPage Circuit Court since 2018.

It was Justice Burke who had nominated Athanikar for the job, and she was appointed after a unanimous vote by the state’s Supreme Court which Burke sits on.

Athanikar was also later appointed to a Supreme Court Advisory Committee for Justice and Mental Health that Burke serves on as Supreme Court Liaison, according to a DuPage Circuit Court news release from this past May. 

Records reviewed by NBC 5 show some of the contributions made by Manas Athanikar to Burke’s campaign specifically listed a home address that Manas and Judge Kavita Athanikar share in Naperville.

Campaign contribution data shows Manas Athanikar made donations to two other state campaigns in the last two years.

Manas Athanikar contributed $1,000 in 2021 to the campaign for DuPage Circuit Court Judge Mike Reidy, and another $250 donation this year to the campaign for Stefanie Hood, who’s running for the Illinois District 42’s House Representative seat.

The records show Batavia Container Inc., the company Manas works for, only contributed to Justice Burke’s campaign.

While Athanikar initially planned to run for an additional term on the DuPage Circuit Court bench, in recent months, she abruptly announced her retirement.   

Athanikar announced in August she was stepping down from her judicial position and withdrawing from her race to pursue medical treatment, citing a health issue.

After nearly a week of requesting comment from Kavita Athanikar, a public relations firm representing her and her husband told NBC 5 the allegations raised are nonsensical.

“Emphatically, I never asked to be appointed to the Circuit Court,” Kavita Athanikar’s statement reads. “I was honored when I was asked by Justice Bob Thomas and Justice Mike Burke to serve in that role. Hosting meet and greet events for candidates is a bedrock of our democratic process.”

The Athanikars’ PR firm also pointed out that the meet-and-greet event for Justice Burke’s campaign took place before DuPage Circuit Court Judge Robert Kleeman’s retirement was announced publicly on Dec. 21, according to an official notice from the courts, and that there was no way for anyone to know at the time of the Burke campaign event about the upcoming judgeship vacancy she was later appointed for.

This is all playing out as the race for the Illinois Supreme Court heats up, in particular for Supreme Court Justice incumbent Michael Burke.

Burke was first appointed to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Robert Thomas in March of 2020, and is running in the general election for an additional term.

Burke’s campaign told NBC 5 that Kavita Athanikar was selected and appointed based on her merits, nothing more. 

“When she served as a Circuit Judge, Athanikar was the only person of color and one of six women on the bench as a circuit judge,” the campaign said. “It’s important for branches of government, including our courts, to reflect the makeup of the communities they serve. That is partly why she was considered for an appointment by former Justice Bob Thomas, Justice Burke, and the Illinois Supreme Court as a whole.”

Campaign spokesperson Nelson said, “Prior to her unanimous, bipartisan appointment by the Illinois Supreme Court, Judge Athanikar was considered for an appointment by former Supreme Court Justice Bob Thomas. Before that, she was appointed associate judge by the circuit judges of the 18th Judicial Circuit in 2018.”

The campaign also shared that on Sept. 2, the DuPage County Bar Association’s Judiciary Committee rated Athanikar as “highly recommended” ahead of the 2022 General Election.

Athanikar’s rating is no longer listed on the DCBA’s website, and the DCBA did not respond to NBC 5’s requests to verify whether it issued this rating for Athanikar.

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to clarify additional points shared by a spokesperson for the Athanikars after it was initially published.

“Just a cold-blooded murder,” Svilar said, describing the case. “There’s no evidence to suggest that [Clewer] fought back. All the wounds are in his back.”

On March 23, 2004, Clewer, 31, was out with his friends, bar hopping on North Halsted Street in the Lake View community. Police reports say he met a stranger, and they went back to Clewer’s place nearby. The next day when Clewer did not show up at work, his father drove to his apartment and found his son’s body on the floor.

“He’s got multiple stab wounds. I want to say 40, all in the back,” Svilar said of the crime scene. “That’s rage. That’s what we call overkill.”

According to police, Clewer did not have any enemies and was described as a nice kid.

Clewer grew up in Calumet City with his older brother Ron and parents who loved spending time together. With the support of his family, Clewer came out in high school and then moved to Chicago’s Lake View neighborhood in his late 20s.

“He had relationships, and those men would come over to our house. We’d be together at Christmas, we’d be together at Thanksgiving, and they were a part of our family,” said Clewer’s brother, Ron.

Police say a possible motive was robbery. A suspect was the stranger from the bar.

Chicago police created a composite of the suspect and passed it throughout the neighborhood.

“He identified himself in the bar as Fernando, but that’s not his name,” said Svilar, adding the suspect was known in the community and had a history of robbery but not of violence. “As a matter of fact, most of [the robberies] weren’t reported. … We learned about them through interviews because most people don’t want to report that. That’s an embarrassing situation.”

Police are not releasing the suspect’s name but say they know who he is.

“He’s of Puerto Rican descent and has traveled back and forth from Chicago to Puerto Rico,” added Svilar.

Clewer’s family has searched for the killer, even posting flyers of the suspect in Puerto Rico.

“We know he’s no longer in Chicago,” said Ron Clewer. “We know people know him.”

Ron Clewer’s quest for his brother’s killer is now a lonely one. A year after the murder, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and died. Just two weeks later, his father died from a heart attack. It seemed both their hearts had been broken at the age of 56.

“It’s a lot of stress for a family to endure,” said Ron Clewer. “I saw over time how much this was literally taking out of them physically, emotionally and mentally.”

Eighteen years after Kevin’s death, Ron Clewer is now 56 years old and continues fighting for justice for his brother and his parents.

“I hope Kevin’s story motivates you to call the police and give them information,” he pleaded.

Anyone with information can anonymously call the Chicago Police Homicide tip line at 833-408-0069 or send an email to CPDTip.com. Tips leading to charges or a conviction can receive up to $15,000 in reward money.

The upper floor of the building, located at 5601 W. West End Ave., partially collapsed just after 9 a.m. Tuesday. The cause of the explosion that apparently led to the collapse has not been confirmed.

At least eight people were hospitalized, three of whom were believed to be in critical condition and five of whom were in stable condition, according to fire officials.

More than 130 emergency personnel responded to the scene and final searches were conducted as fire officials said they did not believe there were any additional victims trapped.

The building is owned by West End LLC, and managed by Urban Alternatives.

“This is a devastating event and we are heartbroken for all of our residents,” building owner Roman Viere said in a statement. “Our first concern is the health, well-being and safety of our residents. We are doing everything we can to cooperate with emergency services, and we are ready to do whatever we can to support our residents.”

Online city of Chicago inspection records showed the most recent posted inspection report is from February 2020 — two-and-a-half years ago — when the building was cited for six violations, including: washed-out mortar on the building’s south and west sides; failure to properly vent a gas dryer; cracked walkways; bubbling paint in the third-floor interior stairway; debris in the rear courtyard and a note that the department was not allowed entry to most apartments, meaning they could not inspect much of the building.

The Department of Buildings filed an Administrative Hearings case as a result of those violations, but that case was later dismissed. City officials confirmed that a follow-up inspection revealed that all six violations had been corrected.

Austin Sep 20, 2022

8 Injured in Explosion, Building Collapse in Chicago's Austin Neighborhood

Austin Sep 20, 2022

Building Collapses After Nearby Explosion on Chicago's West Side, Several People Injured

This was not the first time the building had been cited for some of these violations, according to the city’s website. NBC 5 Investigates found that in 2017 the Department of Buildings had cited the building for washed out mortar on the west wall, as well as overflowing garbage. 

NBC 5 Investigates found that the city was not able to get access to inspect much of the building six different times in the past twelve years, on Feb. 4, 2020; April 5, 2018; May 1, 2017; Sept. 28, 2016; Aug. 18, 2014; and April 30, 2013.

In all, city records show the building “failed” its last 12 DOB inspections in a row, dating back to 2010. But records show – and Viere confirms – that the administrative cases that resulted from these citations were all later dismissed.

Despite these repeated violations, city records show the last permit taken out by the building owners is from 2008 – 14 years ago – when the owners said they needed to repair masonry and plaster from another near-identical violation back then.

The Department of Buildings noted that it has not received any recent inspection requests or calls for service from the location, however, and “none of the violations would have contributed to an explosion or structural failure at the building.”

“The Department of Buildings (DOB) takes public safety and quality of life issues very seriously,” the department said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families that were affected by today’s explosion and partial building collapse at 160-164 N. Central Avenue/5601-5613 W. West End Avenue. DOB will cooperate with our City agencies ​as they work to complete their investigation of this incident.”  

Fire officials said the cause of Tuesday’s explosion was not immediately known but an investigation remained ongoing. Peoples Gas and ComEd confirmed both companies were responding to the scene, but it was unclear if gas was involved.

Viere said his office had inspected the building at the center of the explosion just one week prior.

“We do, on a regular basis, inspect all of our apartments and last week Tuesday we inspected this particular building,” he told NBC 5. “All smoke detectors confirmed working, except one to two units we are not allowed to go into because of residents. But the apartments we did go into were all either we changed batteries or replaced defective units.”

An unknown number of residents were displaced by the explosion and adjacent buildings were evacuated.

“A big boom, doors opening, windows shattering – it was crazy, man,” Ronald Martin, a resident who has lived in the building for several years, told NBC 5. “I was cooking breakfast, just a usual morning, was getting myself ready for work and it just stopped automatically.”

Viere told NBC 5 he was working to find alternate housing for displaced residents, including a hotel, a church and some vacant apartments.

“We’ve provided housing in the community for over 30 years. We take this stuff very seriously,” Viere told NBC 5. “That’s why we inspect units twice a year, we do maintain our apartments – these are these people’s homes. They deserve to have good, safe, clean housing. It’s devastating for everybody involved. I can’t imagine anybody would want something like this to happen. We are trying to help those affected. I feel we run good safe, properties and we try and take that responsibly very seriously.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted her thoughts were with the injured and the firefighters working the scene.

“My thoughts are with those who were injured and displaced in the building collapse in the Austin neighborhood. We must also thank the brave men and women of the Chicago Fire Department who are working to abate the dangerous conditions,” she wrote.

In the fog of Covid, it’s easy to forget all the other contagious diseases we try to protect ourselves from, through routine vaccinations for measles, mumps, whooping cough, polio and more.

Pediatrician Kristin Kan at Lurie Children’s Hospital says it’s all the more important, now that we are learning to live with Covid-19, that kids get back on track to stay up-to-date on all of these other shots.

Search For Vaccination Rates at Your Children’s Schools Below

“Schools are a setting where children are together for the greater good of learning,” Dr. Kan says. “But we also know that it’s also an environment that can allow for transmission of these particular viruses and bacteria.”

So – Covid or not — every fall, every parent must submit proof to a school, that their child has all required vaccinations.

Illinois state law says these vaccinations are so important, a child can be kept out of school until they turn in this documentation.  Illinois law also mandates that every school must send all of its vaccination numbers to the Illinois State Board of Education, every fall – and must make the information publicly available. 

The law even says the state can withhold funding to any school that doesn’t have enough immunized kids – or doesn’t submit any numbers at all.

So NBC5 Investigates set out to comb through piles of state records to find the vaccination statuses for 3,058 schools attended by more than a million and a half children in Chicago and the suburbs – to see which schools have safe immunization levels. 

It’s not the first time we’ve done this, but this time, we immediately uncovered a new problem: ISBE has not posted recent vaccination rates since the 2020-2021 school year – nearly two years ago. 

An ISBE spokesperson points out that the board is not legally required to post these rates, though it did – for more than two decades – until just the past few years. The law says it’s the responsibility of the school to post these rates, but – depending on the school district – they are difficult – or impossible — to find, which means that many Chicago-area parents have no clear way of ensuring that their children have been attending schools with safe levels of immunizations.

Dr. Kan says this data is important.

“It’s about setting enough people up that are in a group setting that have them protected, so you don’t have [those contagious diseases] passing on to other folks,” she says.

So NBC5 Investigates went ahead and analyzed the state’s posted 2020-2021 reports – the most recent available from ISBE — for six common vaccinations, and found 152 schools, with a total of 28,488 students across the Chicago area, with vaccination levels that were not sufficient – this back when Covid rates were at high levels.

Perhaps more concerning: We found an additional 736 Chicago-area schools – responsible for hundreds of thousands of students — with no reports posted by the state at all:  Preschools, elementary and middle schools, and high schools; private schools, public schools and parochial schools across greater Chicago where parents have no ready state resource to figure out whether their kids’ schools have been sufficiently protected from rubella, diptheria, chicken pox, tetanus, whooping cough, measles, mumps or polio.

In all, we found that parents at nearly 30% of all Chicago-area schools had kids in classrooms with low immunization rates, or had no access to state information at all, when kids first went back to school during Covid.

That includes the more-than-340,000 children who attend Chicago’s 638 public schools. In fact, NBC5 Investigates cannot find any vaccination rates posted for any Chicago public school since way back in 2018 – more than four years ago.

Remember that state law says CPS must make these immunization levels publicly available. But when we asked CPS for last year’s rates – submitted last fall – a CPS spokesperson told us we would have to file a public-records request – not with them, but with the state.

So – has the state withheld funding from any school, because of missing reports? The state tells us no; that they’d rather work with each school to get them up to compliance levels. But the state did not answer our questions about how they appear to be missing so many vaccination reports from so many schools, for so many years.

Could it be that reports like these were left by the wayside when Covid took hold? NBC5 Investigates checked to see if this was a problem for other states as well, but no:  We found that both Indiana and Wisconsin have up-to-date immunization posted, publicly and readily available online, on each state’s websites, for their parents.

So NBC5 Investigates has created a searchable table, where parents can check the most recent reports – those from the 2020-2021 school year – to see how safe their kids’ schools were, at least back then.  If – or when – we can get the most recent vaccination reports sent to the state, we’ll update this table with those current numbers.