HAMMOND â Former Portage Mayor James Snyder failed in his attempt to characterize a $13,000 payment he accepted from a local trucking firm as a gratuity, but probably not a reward and in no conceivable way a bribe, federal prosecutors said in a document filed Sunday. The trial evidence would support a finding that, sometime prior to the contracts being awarded, Snyder solicited or demanded or agreed to accept payment later from the Buhas (then-owners of Great Lakes Peterbilt) intending to be influenced in connection with the garbage truck contracts, prosecutors said in challenging Snyder s attempt to reverse his March conviction on a federal bribery charge.
7 hours ago On Saturday, Judge Matthew Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois hollowed out a complaint by a group of dental care providers against Massachusetts Bay Insurance Co. (MBIC), dismissing claims of breach of contract and bad faith related to the insurer’s alleged failure to reimburse costs incurred from COVID-19 shutdowns.
Fourteen affiliated dental practices from different parts of the country, led by Dental Experts LLC, banded together to file suit against MBIC to recover reimbursements to which they believe they are entitled. The plaintiffs alleged that the insurer contravened its responsibilities in its denial of claims by the plaintiffs after they lost revenue because of the March 2020 suspension of nonessential operations, including elective health care provisions such as dental work.
AP
Another federal public corruption case is set to go to trial early in 2022 as Chicago’s U.S. District Court continues to fill its calendar following delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Prosecutors hit former state Rep. Edward “Eddie” Acevedo with tax charges in February. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly scheduled Acevedo’s trial for Jan. 10.
If it goes forward, Acevedo’s trial would be the first connected to the feds’ bribery probe of ComEd. It would also occur a little more than a month before the trial of state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, who faces separate embezzlement charges.
UpdatedMon, Apr 26, 2021 at 3:38 pm CT
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The Evanston City Council is set to consider approval of a $100,000 settlement to resolve a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Elijah Murphy, who has been held without bail in Cook County Jail since a May 2020 shooting on Howard Street. (Image via Cook County Sheriff s Office/Patch File)
EVANSTON, IL The Evanston City Council is set to approve a $100,000 payment Monday to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a jailed Evanston man against two of its police officers over an unconstitutional search.
The vote comes one year shy of the day authorities say Elijah Murphy pulled up alongside another car and opened fire, wounding a 28-year-old woman in its passenger seat.
HAMMOND â One month after being found guilty a second time on the same federal bribery charge, former Portage Mayor James Snyder has asked the judge to reverse the jury s latest finding or at least grant him a third trial. The prosecution presented one theory of culpability at trial: that Mr. Snyder rigged the public bidding process for the award of five automated garbage trucks, and did so in exchange for a bribe of $13,000. The prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that theory proven beyond a reasonable doubt, Snyder s legal defense team argues in its request for acquittal.