On Q Professional Investigations

A lawsuit filed in Cook County Court pits a losing applicant in the Illinois Medical Marijuana derby, against the State Department of Agriculture, and indirectly, the biggest winner in the sweepstakes for the coveted licenses.

“In my world, they changed the rules,” says Andy James, chairman of PMRX, the unsuccessful bidder on a cultivation license in District 21. “We had to file a lawsuit to get any information. Nobody’s talking.”

At issue, is the fact that PMRX lost out to Cresco Labs, a seeming marijuana juggernaut which received the three highest scores in the contest for what promise to be lucrative licenses to grow medical pot in Illinois.

The suit contends the state changed the security scoring rules at midstream, converting to pass/fail what had been a numerical score which could have spelled the difference between applicants with close ratings.

“We’re not sure the implementation of the process, i.e. the scoring, was done pursuant to the rules,” James said. And he said one of the reasons for his lawsuit, was to see his own scores, which so far, have been kept confidential.

“Can you imagine a history class, and the only person who gets a grade is the person with the highest score?” he asked. “No sour grapes here. Sure we would have loved to have won the license. But when you spend the money we spent, would just love to know that it was done correctly or fairly.”

James also alleges that someone from Cresco met with then-governor Pat Quinn while the application process was unfolding.

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Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, was among only 13 lawmakers who voted against the Texas Stand Your Ground law when it passed in 2007.

A bill introduced Thursday is his attempt eight years later to stop what he feels have been the law’s unintended consequences.

“The problem we have is that there’s a perception of certain people that who they are makes them dangerous,” said Coleman. “You’ve seen people walk across the street to avoid certain people, which might be appropriate. But shooting them because they perceive that that individual is actually going to hurt them and have that be legal under the law is just not appropriate.”

Coleman filed House Bill 1627 on Thursday to modify the existing Stand Your Ground law. HB 1627, while not affecting the right to use deadly force in one’s home or “castle”, would allow the use of lethal force in other self-defense situations only if a person cannot safely retreat. Texas is one of nearly two dozen states that currently do not have a so-called duty to retreat before someone opts to use deadly force.

“People can’t be judge, jury and executioner,” Coleman said, referring to the current law that he says disproportionately puts a target on minorities. “You know they used to lynch people. And that was people taking the law into their own hands.”

In introducing HB 1627, Coleman mentioned the 2007 case of Joe Horn in Pasadena. Horn, despite a 911 operator pleading with him to stay inside his house and not confront the two burglars he was watching through a bedroom window as they robbed his neighbor’s house, exited his home armed with a shotgun and confronted the burglars as they ran away. He shot and killed them both and a Harris County grand jury chose not to indict him. Coleman says under his bill Horn would have been charged with a crime.

“I don’t blame anybody for being apprehensive. But apprehension should not give an individual the right to take someone’s life,” said Coleman.

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The number of approved medical marijuana patients in Illinois has reached about 1,000, officials announced Wednesday.

While the number remains far below initial projections, it’s a noticeable increase from 650 one month ago.

“Some people may be waiting until the product is actually available,” Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said.

That earlier number was “terrifying” for medical marijuana business owners, said Mark Passerini, president of the Illinois Cannabis Industry Association, who had said it’s not a sustainable business unless more patients sign up.

About 14,000 people have registered to begin the patient application process for medical cannabis since the state began accepting applications last fall. Of those, about 2,100 have submitted at least part of the application.

To qualify, patients must have one of about three dozen specified medical conditions, and they must fill out a written application with a doctor’s recommendation and fingerprints to pass a criminal background check.

The most commonly cited conditions initially included cancer, severe fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries, officials said.

Most of the licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana in Illinois were just issued Monday after an extensive application and vetting process. Business owners said it will take time to prepare their sites and about four months to grow the first crop.

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State officials have awarded a business license to a medical marijuana dispensary planned for the corner of North and Harlem avenues in Oak Park.

Future Transactions Holdings, LLC won the sole license to operate a marijuana dispensary in Oak Park, River Forest, Berwyn, Cicero and Riverside. It will be one of the state’s 60 dispensaries under the four-year pilot program.

The dispensary’s tentative name is “District 36,” named after the Illinois State Police district it’s located within.

Its owner is Chicagoan Brad Zerman. He’s also the CEO of Sky Processing, an ATM processing service company located at 3360 N. Elston Ave. in Chicago, which already processes cash for marijuana dispensaries in Colorado.

After talking to some of his clients at a trade show in Colorado and some of his Chicago-area friends, Zerman decided to apply for three licenses within Illinois. One application was in Highland Park, one was in Evanston and one was in Oak Park. In total, after hiring consultants, the three applications cost him about $200,000.

“There are just so many components to this, there was no room for error,” said Zerman. “The state could just go to the next applicant because it was so competitive.”

When applying for the licenses, Zerman said he chose municipalities that were “forward-thinking” and would not impose additional zoning regulations that would force his business into a manufacturing zone, like Morton Grove or Niles.

“According to Oak Park’s zoning department all we have to do is apply for a village business license,” said Zerman. “And the state is imposing such a high bar for security that it made sense to open the business in a commercial area with high traffic that’s well lit and regularly patrolled by police.”

Paul Stephanides, Oak Park’s village attorney, said the dispensary would most likely be regulated within the village the same way pharmacies currently are.

In a statement Monday, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s General Counsel Jason Barclay said his office conducted a comprehensive review of the process ex-Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration used to recommend applicants for the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program.

Barclay said Quinn’s administration imposed arbitrary scoring cutoffs that were not authorized in the state law and that agencies conducted character and fitness reviews, which they suggested came at the wrong stage of the process. He also said some applicants were disqualified without clear procedures.

“These actions may result in some additional minimal delay in a limited number of districts and for that, we apologize to the patient community,” Barclay said.

The state estimates that it will take at least six months for most of Illinois’ marijuana growing centers to get their operations up and running now that they’ve been approved.

For now, medical marijuana in Illinois is a pilot program with a four-year life span. If the state doesn’t renew the medical marijuana law, Zerman and other marijuana businesses in Illinois may lose their investment. But he’s not worried, for now.

“I’m an entrepreneur,” said Zerman. “Yes, it is a risk, but given where the state is going, and provided it does a good job overseeing these businesses, I don’t see why they wouldn’t renew the law.”

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The seemingly impossible challenge YouTube faces to swiftly block all terrorist propaganda and hostage videos was highlighted this week during a meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels.

Speaking to lawmakers, Verity Harding, the public policy manager for Google, which owns the video website, said approximately 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute by users around the world.

That’s 12 and a half days of content every minute.

“To pre-screen those videos before they are uploaded would be like screening a phone call before it’s made,” she said at the meeting, according to the Associated Press.

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RICHMOND, Va. Jan 23 2015 – Coming on the heels of unruly protests in Ferguson, Mo. and the public outcry in New York City, two examples of high profile deaths involving police officers, several Virginia lawmakers want law enforcement across the Commonwealth to wear body cameras as part of their uniforms.

Muriel Diggs agrees with the idea.

“It will protect both sides and we won’t have so much controversy when something happens,” said Diggs.

Under House Bill 2280, any law enforcement agency must adopt a written policy and procedure before using the body cameras.

Here’s how the bill breaks down:

Police have to tell a person they’re being recorded;

Police are not permitted to record in a person’s home or office unless there’s a warrant or an emergency;

Police must say where the recordings are stored;

The recordings can be destroyed in seven days, unless there’s an ongoing criminal investigation;

And, the person recorded can look at the camera and make copies, pending an open investigation.

“I’m not against cameras. I’m against how they’re trying to implement the program,” said Kevin Carroll, President of the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police.

“We take a vow to honor the Constitution, to honor the Constitution of Virginia, to tell the truth, the whole truth and if we find one that’s bad, we’ll get rid of him,” said Carroll.

Carroll also points how it will be a challenge for cash-strapped localities.

“Asset forfeiture money may be enough to get you started in the program in order to buy the cameras that are necessary,” said Carroll. “But it’s not going to be enough to sustain the program over time because asset forfeiture money is not guaranteed every year.”

However, the ACLU calls it a win-win for everyone–if the policy is followed.

“We need to be sure those policies provide disciplinary action in case an officer violates a policy because otherwise, what you get is selective picture taking and not what body cams are good for,” said Claire Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU.

House Bill 2280 and several other bills involving police body cameras are still making their way through the Virginia’s General Assembly.

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Civilian security personnel at public schools in the Fredericksburg area and statewide could carry stun guns and other nonlethal weapons if Del. Mark Cole gets his way.

Cole, R–Spotsylvania County, has introduced a bill for the upcoming General Assembly session that would allow school boards to equip security officers with stun guns, batons and spray devices such as Mace.

The bill would not let those officers—who are employed by school systems, not sheriff’s offices—have actual guns.

“I’m not concerned about them having to Taser a student or something like that,” Cole said. “I’m concerned about an armed intruder.” He added that he thought a bill allowing nonlethal weapons rather than guns had the best chance of passing.

School systems in Spotsylvania and Stafford counties have security officers at every high school.

They also have armed school resource officers. or SROs, at all middle and high schools. SROs are sworn deputies who report to sheriff’s offices.

Some Spotsylvania officials have questioned the effectiveness of the unarmed security personnel, with Supervisor Greg Cebula calling them “glorified hall monitors.”

Last year, the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors voted to reject state grants that would have partially covered the cost of hiring security personnel at Lee Hill and Spotswood elementary schools.

Cole, who is also Spotsylvania’s deputy county administrator, said his bill is unrelated to that discussion, which he said “highlights the plight” of the security officers. Spotsylvania’s security personnel carry radios but don’t have any weapons, schools spokeswoman Rene Daniels said.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday capped a swift and forceful response to an Associated Press investigation by signing into law a measure that bars suspected Nazi war criminals from receiving U.S. government pension benefits, known as Social Security.

AP’s investigation, which was the impetus for the No Social Security for Nazis Act, found that dozens of former Nazis collected millions of dollars in retirement benefits after being forced to leave the United States. Recipients ranged from the SS guards who patrolled the Third Reich’s network of camps where millions of Jews died to a rocket scientist who helped develop the V-2 rocket that Nazi Germany used to attack London.

The speed with which the legislation moved underscored the outrage AP’s findings triggered among lawmakers in Congress — and American taxpayers. The House unanimously approved the bill Dec. 2 and the Senate passed it by voice vote just two days later.

Mike King, a Vietnam veteran and a retired police office, gets a Social Security check of $900 a month. That’s less than half of what he could be getting based on his years in the workforce. But his benefits are reduced because of a rule that docks retirees who simultaneously collect a public pension. It’s “appalling,” he said, that former Nazis collected benefits when he and others in his position are forced to accept less.

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Philadelphia PA Oct 6 2014 The saying that the best defense is a good offense is not necessarily a strategy most wish would be applied to schools.

But as the issue of school safety stemming from school shootings continues, some lawmakers and schools are looking at offensive measures to help protect students.

One such measure is a bill in the state Senate Education Committee that would allow school employees to carry guns on school property. The bill was introduced as another option for protecting students, especially those in rural areas that rely on often-distant state troopers for police protection, The Associated Press reported.

That measure, however, does not sit well with everyone — even those who back offensive defense training for school staff.

After the Columbine shooting, former law enforcement officer Greg Crane co-founded the ALICE Training Institute with his wife, an elementary school principal. The two designed a training regimen for schools across the country that would allow staff to take action if confronted with an intruder.

Though a number of states allow teachers to carry guns on school property, Crane said he has not included weapons in the training program and does not believe they are a good idea.

“It’s actually not at all the same for people using weapons for self-defense as it is to use it (offensively),” Crane said. “(Arming teachers) is asking too much of teachers to be … the security force. If there’s a shooting in the cafeteria, what are the teachers supposed to do? Are they supposed to leave their students alone to respond?”

Mike Hurley, co-founder and president of Cumberland County Safe Schools Association, said there has been discussion locally on arming school staff after the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting, but the association has no position on the matter.

“There was a lot of discussion, there was a lot of different opinions, a lot of pros and cons that have to be looked at, and I think that’s something each school district has to look at with their own community,” he said.

Crane said there is a danger in adding more guns to an intruder scenario. He used the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan as an example, saying the Secret Service members present were all armed but they did not fire their weapons — they used their numbers to tackle the shooter.

“They did not shoot back, but subdued him in three seconds,” Crane said. “They did it with overwhelming numbers. In that environment, there was a lot of friendlies standing around, and it’s unacceptable to put other people at risk.”

Intruder Training

Although using guns is not an option as a defensive measure in Pennsylvania, what is being taught is a way for teachers and staff to verbally or physically intervene when confronted with a violent and armed intruder.

Since its founding after Columbine, the ALICE Training Institute has trained teachers in 49 states and reached students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Crane said they are branching out to training staff in the private sector of education.

Crane said the training itself is not so much physical as it is retraining the policies with which the schools follow in intruder incidents.

“It’s not something out of a manual,” Crane said. “We don’t want you fighting a gunman, but you may have to mitigate his chances of hurting someone.”

The point of the training is to follow what Crane believes is the better instinct to flee instead of instituting the sole method of a lockdown.

“I don’t understand why in a fire everyone gets out of the building, but you stay in the building when an intruder is on the loose,” Crane said. “At Sandy Hook, the children who ran out of the classroom survived. Why didn’t we evacuate if it is possible?

“We don’t dismiss lockdowns as strategy, but we dismiss lockdowns as policy,” he added.
The training isn’t too involved because Crane said it can’t be.

“It really is very simple — it had to be very, very simple,” he explained. “In (a confrontation), people are not going to come up with fine motor skills and complicated (orders). But it is also very, very effective.”

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CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ Supreme Court declared one of the nation’s toughest eavesdropping laws unconstitutional, saying Thursday that the law was so overly broad that it would technically make the recording of screaming fans at a football game a crime.

The ruling is the final defeat for the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, which had made it a felony for someone to record a conversation unless all parties involved agreed. The 1961 law violates free speech and due process protections, the court decided in unanimous decisions in two related cases focused on audio recordings.

State legislators will now have to draft new rules in a very different privacy environment than existed five decades ago.

“The burden is now on the legislature to craft a statute that actually serves the goal of protecting privacy — and that does so without infringing on the rights of citizens to keep public officials honest,” said Gabe Plotkin, a lawyer for Annabel Melongo, a defendant in one of the two cases.

Melongo spent nearly two years in jail after being charged under the statute for recording a Cook County court official over the phone who she believed wasn’t carrying out her duties properly.

The Illinois law had suffered earlier defeats, including in 2012 when the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a provision that barred anyone from video recording police officers doing their jobs in public. Thursday’s decisions — in People v. Melongo and People v. Clark — mean lawmakers in Springfield will have to ensure the statute complies with court findings.

“Instead of serving as a shield to protect individual privacy, the statute was written so broadly that it allowed the state to use it as a sword to prosecute citizens for monitoring and reporting on the conduct of public officials,” Plotkin said.

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