Daywatch: Suburb drops street designation after namesake's daughter alleges abuse
For the past half-century, a tree-lined stretch of 48th Street in La Grange was named Linklater Court in memory of the west suburb's longtime village attorney William John Linklater, who died in 1971.
Yet the La Grange Village Board recently stripped the street of this honorary moniker after the late lawyer's daughter accused him of abusing her as a child during a stunning public comment session at a Village Board meeting.
Anne Brandt, 79, at a late June meeting, implored village officials to remove the street's honorary name, alleging her father had sexually abused her as a child during the 1950s.
Read the full story from the Tribune's Angie Leventis Lourgos.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including construction underway on a new terminal at O'Hare, when Game 2 of the Cubs doubleheader vs. the Brewers will be played after last night's postponement and when the Christkindlmarket will reopen for the season in Chicago and Aurora.
Today's eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
A recent veto from Gov. JB Pritzker puts him at odds with nonprofits, labor unions and some state Democrats who say he blocked what would have been an advantageous investment option at a time when the organizations are feeling tightening pressure from Washington.
After years of negotiations and delays, construction is underway on the first of several major projects that represent a massive overhaul at O'Hare International Airport.
Building the terminal marks the first major step in the airport expansion, first negotiated by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2018.
A federal judge has thrown out a second case against Abbott Laboratories over the safety of its formula for babies born prematurely — a decision with potential implications for hundreds of other similar cases.
Across the city yesterday, children stepped into crisp uniforms and laced up brand-new shoes for the first day of school. Yellow buses wove through neighborhoods on soon-to-be familiar routes. Parents hugged their little ones and wished them well with their new teachers and friends.
Despite the first day buzz, Chicago Public Schools opened its school doors amid a time of serious financial uncertainty, felt most by the parents and community interacting with the district every day.
Eric McMillen's phone rang the morning of April 30 — his daughter was in a fight with the man she was seeing and needed a ride. What began as a discussion between the two men, prosecutors said, ended with McMillen shot three times and a weekslong search for the man whom had been longtime friend of the family,
The second game of yesterday's split doubleheader between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field was postponed because of the threat of storms.
Sean Burke started opening day for the Chicago White Sox. Yesterday, the Sox optioned the right-hander to Triple-A Charlotte.
'We obviously have high expectations for Sean, and he's got high expectations for himself,' Sox general manager Chris Getz said before yesterday's game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. 'We had reached a point, and our assessment thus far is he needs to take another step.'
The plan was to film in Chicago for a few days, but Christopher Nolan took such a liking to the city — a place he had spent time in his youth — that he asked the studio for additional filming time. He filmed for three weeks in Chicago for 'Batman Begins.' One memorable scene shows a four-minute Batmobile chase along Lower Wacker Drive, a location Nolan returned to for his next in the series. With 'The Dark Knight,' he forever linked Chicago to Batman lore.
Death arrives with regularity, but sometimes it can produce something in addition to tears. And so it was last week when Mike Dooley let Rick Kogan know that his brother, Jim Dooley, had died this month after a lengthy battle with colon cancer.
Jim, Mike, Joe and Bill were The Dooley Brothers band, as entertaining and durable as any band in the city's musical history. They have been at it since the 1960s, a duration that earned them the title, bestowed by an NPR voice, of 'the longest continuously running band in the Chicago area after the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.'
The annual holiday market announced it will return to three locations this year: RiverEdge Park in Aurora and Daley Plaza and Gallagher Way in Chicago. This year marks the 29th season in Daley Plaza and fourth in Aurora's RiverEdge Park.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
26 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Trump
NEW YORK — An appeals court has thrown out the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling Thursday in New York state's lawsuit accusing him of exaggerating his wealth. The decision came seven months after the Republican returned to the White House. A panel of five judges in New York's mid-level Appellate Division said the verdict, which stood to cost Trump more than $515 million and rock his real estate empire, was 'excessive.' After finding that Trump engaged in fraud by flagrantly padding financial statements that went to lenders and insurers, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him last year to pay $355 million in penalties. With interest, the sum has topped $515 million. The total — combined with penalties levied on some other Trump Organization executives, including Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. — now exceeds $527 million, with interest. 'While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants' business culture, the court's disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,' Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of several opinions shaping the appeals court's ruling. Engoron also imposed other punishments, such as banning Trump and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years. Those provisions have been on pause during Trump's appeal, and he was able to hold off collection of the money by posting a $175 million bond. The court, which was split on the merits of the lawsuit and the lower court's fraud finding, dismissed the penalty Engoron imposed in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for further appeals to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. The appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state's trial court, took an unusually long time to rule, weighing Trump's appeal for nearly 11 months after oral arguments last fall. Normally, appeals are decided in a matter of weeks or a few months. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the suit on the state's behalf, has said the businessman-turned-politician engaged in 'lying, cheating, and staggering fraud.' Her office had no immediate comment after Thursday's decision. Trump and his co-defendants denied wrongdoing. In a six-minute summation of sorts after a monthslong trial, Trump proclaimed in January 2024 that he was 'an innocent man' and the case was a 'fraud on me.' He has repeatedly maintained that the case and verdict were political moves by James and Engoron, who are both Democrats. Trump's Justice Department has subpoenaed James for records related to the lawsuit, among other documents, as part of an investigation into whether she violated the president's civil rights. James' personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, has said that investigating the fraud case is 'the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president's political retribution campaign.' Trump and his lawyers said his financial statements weren't deceptive, since they came with disclaimers noting they weren't audited. The defense also noted that bankers and insurers independently evaluated the numbers, and the loans were repaid. Despite such discrepancies as tripling the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, he said the financial statements were, if anything, lowball estimates of his fortune. During an appellate court hearing in September, Trump's lawyers argued that many of the case's allegations were too old, an assertion they made unsuccessfully before trial. The defense also contends that James misused a consumer-protection law to sue Trump and improperly policed private business transactions that were satisfactory to those involved. State attorneys said the law in question applies to fraudulent or illegal business conduct, whether it targets everyday consumers or big corporations. Though Trump insists no one was harmed by the financial statements, the state contends that the numbers led lenders to make riskier loans than they knew, and that honest borrowers lose out when others game their net-worth numbers. The state has argued that the verdict rests on ample evidence and that the scale of the penalty comports with Trump's gains, including his profits on properties financed with the loans and the interest he saved by getting favorable terms offered to wealthy borrowers. The civil fraud case was just one of several legal obstacles for Trump as he campaigned, won and segued to a second term as president. On Jan. 10, he was sentenced in his criminal hush money case to what's known as an unconditional discharge, leaving his conviction on the books but sparing him jail, probation, a fine or other punishment. He is appealing the conviction. And in December, a federal appeals court upheld a jury's finding that Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her, affirming a $5 million judgment against him. The appeals court declined in June to reconsider; he still can try to get the Supreme Court to hear his appeal. He's also appealing a subsequent verdict that requires him to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamation claims. Peltz and Sisak write for the Associated Press.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Trump
The total — combined with penalties levied on some other Trump Organization executives, including Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. — now exceeds $527 million, with interest. Advertisement 'While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants' business culture, the court's disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,' Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of several opinions shaping the appeals court's ruling. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Engoron also imposed other punishments, such as banning Trump and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years. Those provisions have been on pause during Trump's appeal, and he was able to hold off collection of the money by posting a $175 million bond. The court, which was split on the merits of the lawsuit and the lower court's fraud finding, dismissed the penalty Engoron imposed in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for further appeals to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. Advertisement The appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state's trial court, took an unusually long time to rule, weighing Trump's appeal for nearly 11 months after oral arguments last fall. Normally, appeals are decided in a matter of weeks or a few months. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the suit on the state's behalf, has said the businessman-turned-politician engaged in 'lying, cheating, and staggering fraud.' Trump and his co-defendants denied wrongdoing. In a six-minute summation of sorts after a monthslong trial, Trump proclaimed in January 2024 that he was 'an innocent man' and the case was a 'fraud on me.' He has repeatedly maintained that the case and verdict were political moves by James and Engoron, who are both Democrats. Trump's Justice Department has subpoenaed James for records related to the lawsuit, among other documents, as part of an investigation into whether she violated the president's civil rights. James' personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, has said that investigating the fraud case is 'the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president's political retribution campaign.' Trump and his lawyers said his financial statements weren't deceptive, since they came with disclaimers noting they weren't audited. The defense also noted that bankers and insurers independently evaluated the numbers, and the loans were repaid. Despite such discrepancies as tripling the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, he said the financial statements were, if anything, lowball estimates of his fortune. Advertisement During an appellate court hearing in September, Trump's lawyers argued that many of the case's allegations were too old, an assertion they made unsuccessfully before trial. The defense also contends that James misused a consumer-protection law to sue Trump and improperly policed private business transactions that were satisfactory to those involved. State attorneys said the law in question applies to fraudulent or illegal business conduct, whether it targets everyday consumers or big corporations. Though Trump insists no one was harmed by the financial statements, the state contends that the numbers led lenders to make riskier loans than they knew, and that honest borrowers lose out when others game their net-worth numbers. The state has argued that the verdict rests on ample evidence and that the scale of the penalty comports with Trump's gains, including his profits on properties financed with the loans and the interest he saved by getting favorable terms offered to wealthy borrowers. The civil fraud case was just one of several legal obstacles for Trump as he campaigned, won and segued to a second term as president. On Jan. 10, he was sentenced in his criminal hush money case to what's known as an unconditional discharge, leaving his conviction on the books but sparing him jail, probation, a fine or other punishment. He is appealing the conviction. And in December, a federal appeals court upheld a jury's finding that Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her, affirming a $5 million judgment against him. The appeals court declined in June to reconsider; he still can try to get the Supreme Court to hear his appeal. He's also appealing a subsequent verdict that requires him to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamation claims. Advertisement
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Trump's massive $500M civil fraud fine in AG Tish James' case thrown out by NY appeals court
A New York appeals court Thursday threw out the massive $464 million judgment dealt to President Trump after he was found liable at a civil trial for business fraud. The Appellate Division, First Department overturned the whopping fine in the case in which Trump, 78, was found to have fraudulently inflated his net worth by billions of dollars over a decade to get better loan and insurance terms. Trump would have had to pay a total of more than $500 million, including more than $100 million in interest, had the February 2024 ruling from Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron been upheld. 3 Matthew McDermott The appeal court's decision follows a theatric 11-week trial that threatened to derail Trump's image as a real estate tycoon — and brand him a fraudster — as he campaigned to regain the White House. Trial evidence revealed that Trump secured cushy interest rates between 2011 and 2021 after goosing up the value of assets like his Big Apple penthouse and Mar-a-Lago estate on financial papers. Trump's business falsely claimed that his Trump Tower triplex was 30,000 square feet — rather than its true size of 11,000 square feet — and used the phony figures to pump up the pad's value to $327 million in 2015 after claiming it was worth $80 million just four years earlier, evidence showed. Trump also valued Mar-a-Lago at $517 million on a financial filing despite his own tax broker admitting to listing the palatial estate's 'market value' at just $27 million in 2020, a witness revealed. Trump tax representative Michael Corbiciero testified that he used the lowball valuation — which is far below the estate's value if it were sold as a private home — by calling the estate a 'social club,' a distinction that scored Trump juicy tax breaks. The deed for Mar-A-Lago bars Trump from selling the estate as anything but a social club, trial evidence shows. Trump nonetheless told banks and insurers that the Palm Beach estate was worth $517 million, and boasted during the trial that it was actually worth up to $1.5 billion — which would make it four times' more valuable than the most expensive private home listed in the country. 'The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience,' Judge Engoron wrote in his ruling. The ruling comes after some members of the five-judge appeals panel appeared skeptical in September of the merits of the lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which led to the trial. 3 Steven Hirsch for the Judge Peter Moulton called the size of the penalty 'troubling' and questioned if the law James had used to sue Trump — which doesn't technically require someone to be 'harmed' — had 'morphed into something it was not meant to do.' The case roiled the soon-to-be-47th president, who chose to leave the campaign trial for several days to attend the trial, calling the proceedings a 'political witch hunt' and insisting that he did 'nothing wrong.' Engoron and James are both elected Democrats, and James campaigned on a promise to investigate Trump, calling the then-president a 'con man' and ″carnival barker.' 3 Stephen Yang for NY Post Trump's lawyers argued that the case had no 'victims,' and that 'sophisticated' companies like Deutsche Bank did their own research before entering into the deals, and were all paid back in full. But James' office argued that Trump's fudged financial filings were nonetheless harmful to the marketplace as a whole — and Engoron agreed. 'The next group of lenders to receive bogus statements might not be so lucky,' he wrote in his ruling. Trump has posted a bond of $175 million as he appeals the ruling, and will get the chance to further challenge it next in the Empire State's highest appeals court, the New York State Court of Appeals.
