Crystal Paul

Dan Davis, Mount Greenwood Man Missing Since November, Found Dead, Officials Say Dan Davis, the longtime sound guy and beloved employee at 115 Bourbon Street, was found dead Monday in Blue Island, officials with the suburb confirmed.

Davis’s daughter, Wendy Davis posted Tuesday, confirming:

“This is the news we’ve all been expecting in a way, but nothing really prepares you for it. I’ve never laughed harder with anybody than I have with my dad. And I can’t wait to do it again someday.”
blockclubchicago.org/2026/03/10/d...

Why Is The Cook County State's Attorney Prosecuting Nonviolent ICE Protesters? A Block Club investigation found dozens of protesters arrested by state police are still facing criminal charges for minor infractions, such as sitting on a concrete barrier — even after Gov. JB…

UPDATE: Cook County prosecutors dismissed 21 of the roughly 100 cases against ICE protesters Wednesday. About 80 cases are still being prosecuted, mostly as misdemeanors.

Last week, @minabloom.bsky.social reported on the cases still open: blockclubchi.co/3ZXJS6K

Why Is The Cook County State's Attorney Prosecuting Nonviolent ICE Protesters? A Block Club investigation found dozens of protesters arrested by state police are still facing criminal charges for minor infractions, such as sitting on a concrete barrier — even after Gov. JB Pritz...

They're charged w/ misdemeanors for things like sitting on concrete barriers.

One w/ a felony for allegedly fingerpainting on a barrier.

The feds have dropped similar cases; the Cook County State's Attorney is prosecuting nearly all.
📝 @minabloom.bsky.social

blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/26/w...

A neighbor is suing the Chicago Housing Authority over a vacant West Humboldt Park property used as a drug stash house. blockclubchi.co/4qOg4Eq

Chicago teen whose father was detained by ICE while she fought cancer dies The Torres family story came to public attention after the teen’s father was detained at a Home Depot in Niles.

“Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE’s detention and threatened deportation of her father... and we hope that she will serve as a model for us all for how to be courageous and to fight for what’s right to our last breaths.”
✍🏽 @royalpratt.bsky.social

www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/14/c...

In all, Black drivers received 30,751 tickets during the study’s time period — over 21,000 more tickets than white drivers, who received only 14 percent of tickets across Chicago while making up 36 percent of its population.

✍🏽 Mack Liederman

Evidence Shows Feds Lied To Justify Shooting Marimar Martinez, Lawyer Says Body camera footage shows Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum yanking his steering wheel toward Marimar Martinez's car, hitting her, before getting out of his car and shooting her.

New evidence suggests Exum, a fed-trained firearms instructor, fired as Martinez was turning away from him.

We also ID-ed agents Lorenzo Cordero & Adam J. Perkins who were in the vehicle w/ Exum & pointed weapons toward another car before Exum fired on Martinez

blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/11/e...

Gun Violence Down On West Side, But Prevention Groups Say Success Is Threatened By Trump Cuts The city's major decrease in murders and shootings in 2025 was led by a small group of community areas primarily on the West and South sides. New efforts helped violence prevention groups achieve that...

"Much of the decrease in shootings and homicides can be attributed to a small cluster of community areas, with seven of them accounting for 35 percent of the total citywide drop in gun violence..."

✍🏽 @michaeljliptrot.bsky.social

blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/09/g...

Families Scammed By Convicted Mortgage Fraudsters Are Still Fighting For Their Homes More than two decades after Mark Diamond began conning homeowners on the West and South sides, some of his victims have lost their homes, while others are battling lenders in court.

Mark Diamond swindled more than 100 families in his reverse mortgage scam. He's now serving 17 years in prison.

But some of the families he scammed are still battling the lenders he used in court and losing their homes anyway...

blockclubchicago.org/2026/02/03/f...

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...

Agents in Alex Pretti's shooting identified -- Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35.

Ochoa joined CBP in 2018. Gutierrez joined CBP's OFO in 2014.

Both are from South Texas.

via @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/article/alex...

ICYMI Absolutely scathing opinion from Judge Fred Biery in the case of 5yo Liam Conejo Ramos and his father. From start to finish, just doesn't let up.

Ends with a famous quote from the Constitutional Convention:

"'Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?' 'A republic, if you
can keep it.'"

Journalist Don Lemon arrested after protest that disrupted Minnesota church service Journalist Don Lemon has been arrested after he entered a Minnesota church and recorded anti-immigration enforcement protesters who disrupted a service.

"The Justice Department’s swift investigation into the church disruption stands in contrast to its decision not to open a civil rights investigation into Good’s killing by an ICE officer."

apnews.com/article/don-...

'Abolish ICE' Submitted 9,200 Times For Chicago Snowplow Naming Contest, Records Show Anti-ICE sentiments made up nearly 80 percent of submissions. Voting for the top five names opens Sunday and runs through Feb. 14.

Courtesy of a good journo friend who stays curious
blockclubchicago.org/2026/01/28/a...

The Lawyer for the Agent Who Shot Renee Good Thinks ICE Has Gone Too Far GOP candidate Chris Madel is dropping out of the Minnesota’s governor’s race, saying national Republicans “have made it nearly impossible.”

Earlier this month he helped Jonathan Ross find representation: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Update from Talya Minsberg

Chris Madel, a Republican, announced he is ending his candidacy for Minnesota governor. Madel said he “cannot support the national Republican stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

As Bitter Cold Settles In, Chicago Tallies Homeless Population City workers, volunteers and homeless services providers fanned out across the city to conduct the annual point-in-time count of people living unhoused, as some sought shelter to escape dangerously lo...

"As they moved around the city, the night grew colder, with temperatures feeling around 3 degrees below zero about 9:30 p.m. — as those doing the unsheltered count began their work — and dropping to around 14 degrees below zero about 1 a.m."

blockclubchicago.org/2026/01/23/a...

New OIG data portal details misconduct patterns among CPD officers, units The Office of Inspector General now offers an interactive data portal that allows anyone to see which Chicago Police Department officers are connected to misconduct claims.

The data goes back to 2000, encompassing thousands of internal misconduct complaints, and will be continuously updated as pending investigations are brought to a close, Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said.

Chicago police brass had rejected troubled cop's move to elite unit before he fatally shot partner Chief of Patrol Jon Hein ultimately approved Officer Carlos Baker’s transfer despite having denied his request for the move less than a year earlier because of “discipline" problems.

Latest on Krystal Rivera:

Baker's application to join the tactical team was initially rejected due to his disciplinary record... A 2nd application was approved after he sustained more complaints.

chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog...

📝 @ctoner.bsky.social, Peter Nickeas, @schuba.bsky.social

What is the cost of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minnesota? It's a question many people have been asking: What is the cost of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minnesota? WCCO was able to get some numbers.

"The short answer is yes," he said. "Yes, your tax dollars are going to this funding, but understanding the government operates in a budget deficit, they spend far more money than they bring in. It's really our kids that end up paying off a lot of this debt."

www.cbsnews.com/amp/minnesot...

Chicago’s Domestic Homicides Surged Last Year Even As Overall Violent Crime Dropped Martina Mosby was the first of at least 63 people killed in domestic homicides in 2025. Experts say the increase is in part due to federal funding cuts to victim services programs.

While homicides and most violent crime decreased in Chicago in 2025...domestic violence climbed. Domestic fatal shootings specifically rose by 50%.

Martina Mosby was one of 63 people killed in a domestic violence homicide last year.

✍️ @minabloom.bsky.social

blockclubchicago.org/2026/01/13/c...

Chicago, Illinois File Lawsuit Over Feds' 'Unlawful And Violent' Operation Midway Blitz Tactics The city and state allege that President Donald Trump's administration has violated Tenth Amendment rights regarding state sovereignty in the government's "organized bombardment" of the area.

“Defendants describe this assault as ‘immigration enforcement,’ the reality is that uniformed, military-trained personnel...have rampaged for months through Chicago and surrounding areas lawlessly stopping, interrogating, and arresting residents”
blockclubchicago.org/2026/01/12/c...

Operation Midway Blitz will leave lasting mark on children of detained parents, experts say

Families told the Sun-Times they saw immediate changes in their children when their parents were detained, ranging from physical changes to emotional outbursts.

ICE Threw Thousands of Kids in Detention, Many For Longer Than Court-Prescribed Limit Former immigration staffers argue ICE is choosing to detain families for prolonged periods to speed deportations and compel them to leave.

At least 3,800 children under age 18, including 20 infants, have been booked into immigration detention since Trump took office.

1300 of them held longer than 20 days.

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/12/17/c...

Rioters? Agitators? Immigration agents’ claims against US citizens mostly fall apart in court. Time and again, Donald Trump’s immigration agents claimed horrific crimes at the hands of protesters in Chicago. Those allegations of abuse did not withstand the scrutiny of judicial review.

Some excellent reporting here:

DHS has compared the experiences of immigration agents in Chicago to 'Sicario' -a movie in which the FBI takes down a brutal drug cartel.

But those allegations "have not withstood the harsh light of the federal court system"

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/30/c...

Chicago Under Siege: How Operation Midway Blitz Changed Our City Federal agents arrested thousands during an unprecedented immigration mission in Chicago. They also killed a man, shot a woman five times, tear-gassed a 1-year-old, separated families and brutalized p...

Block Club reporters were there every day as immigration agents teargassed, shot, violently arrested & separated Chicagoans from their families.

Bolstered by hours of video analysis & hundreds of documents, "Chicago Under Siege" is the record of what happened.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/30/c...

ICE's Illinois Arrests During Trump's Crackdown Were Among Nation's Highest Most people arrested in Operation Midway Blitz didn't have criminal records, according to ICE's own data. Here are four other findings our investigative team discovered.

40%+ of all people arrested were citizens of Mexico

Most weren’t charged with a crime. Many have already been deported.

Though ICE has said it rarely detains unaccompanied children, its records show kids as young as 4 and 6 were arrested in Illinois this year.

blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/23/i...

Lawyers Race To Free Detained Immigrants – Before They’re Flown Away During its immigration crackdown, the Trump administration has hurried to arrest, move and even deport thousands of people before they appear in court. But more than 100 in Illinois have won their rel...

Hector Leon Perez was detained on Oct. 18. By noon the next day, he was on a plane.

His family didn't know where he was; lawyers scrambled to file a special petition for his release.

This has become a common story since ICE effectively revoked bond in June.

blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/18/l...

Southwest side includes neighborhoods like Little Village and Pilsen, which have large Latino communities. Little Village is where a lot of Border Patrol activity occurred this fall.

Border Patrol Boss Bovino Back In Chicago As Agents Target Southwest Side Bovino and about 200 Border Patrol agents have arrived in Chicago for more enforcement action, sources said.

Border Patrol is back.

"Law enforcement agencies in the area have been alerted that Bovino and about 200 Border Patrol agents have arrived in Chicago for more enforcement action, sources said."

blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/16/b...

Little Village Chamber Leader Thanked Border Patrol Agents As They Arrested Neighbors, Video Shows Little Village, an enclave for Mexican Americans and immigrants, was heavily targeted during Operation Midway Blitz. After Block Club uncovered the video, the chamber said the employee was no longer e...

Video shows him during a raid in Little Village saying to Border Patrol Agents "My regards for all of you and the work that you guys are doing... God bless you guys.”

At the time he was Director of Community Outreach at Little Village Chamber of Commerce.

blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/03/l...