Computer professional fraudulently prosecuted in political/criminal cover-up

Annabel Melongo is a computer professional, born in Cameroon, who has lived and worked in the Chicago area since 2003. From December - April, 2006, she worked for the Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF), a nonprofit whose charter was to teach first aid to children in public schools. Founded in 1993, SALF was a member organization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and over the years received close to $9 million in federal and state funding. Since November 2006, SALF has been the subject of about a dozen news reports around the country that raise serious concerns about the organization's claims, activities, and finances.

Melongo discovered extensive fraud in applications for government grants and fraud about the founder/president's credentials. Then, in October 2006, Melongo was fraudulently charged with destroying SALF's files, among them financial records (that prove SALF has committed fraud), likely to cover-up the misconduct of SALF's founder and president. Those charges were entirely based on claims made by SALF's founder/president Carol J. Spizzirri of Grayslake, IL. According to multiple news reports, Spizzirri has a history of serious fabrications, including the false claim that she is a Registered Nurse; that she worked as a renal transplant nurse in a Milwaukee hospital; and that she earned a BSN degree from a Wisconsin college whose name she misspelled on her CV. According to a recent sworn affidavit, in 1985 a Milwaukee court-ordered psychologist, Dr. Burton S. Silberglitt, diagnosed Spizzirri as "paranoid schizophrenic."Nevertheless, based on Spizzirri's word, the offices of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Cook County Prosecutor have indicted Melongo.

Facts indicate they have indicted Melongo in order to cover-up SALF's longstanding relationships with powerful political cronies and funders. These include Attorney General Madigan and her father Mike Madigan, longtime IL House of Representatives Speaker of the House and Chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

After more than three years of such legal harassment, the following web site was launched in an attempt to bring public attention to this abuse of the legal system. Illinois taxpayers may wonder why the state's top law enforcement officer and Cook County Prosecutor Anita Alvarez are expending so much time and public money to prosecute this trumped-up case against Melongo rather than investigate what happened to the millions of tax dollars that went to the Save-A-Life Foundation. This site presents documented information that may help answer that and related questions. If you have more questions, comments, or information, please don't hesitate to send Melongo an email at concernedillinoiscitizen@yahoo.fr

Actors:
Lisa Madigan: Illinois Attorney General
Diane L. Saltoun: Illinois Inspector General
Patricia A. McConnell: Director Of Investigations, Office Of The Inspector General
Anita Alvarez: Cook County State Attorney
Dick Devine: Former Cook County State Attorney
Judge Paul Biebel: Cook County Chief Judge
Joseph Kazmierski: Cook County Supervising Judge
John J. Fleming: Cook County Judge
Mary M. Brosnahan: Cook County Judge
Prosecutor Lynn Palac: Special prosecutor, Rolling Meadows
Prosecutor Kyle French: Prosecutor Attorney General office, High Crime Tech Unit
Prosecutor Joseph Podlasek: Cook County special prosecutor
Prosecutor Julie Gunningle: Cook County Prosecutor
Prosecutor Scott Biestek : State attorney, Rolling Meadows
Pamela Taylor: Cook County Court Reporter Office, Assistant Administrator
Laurel Laudien: Cook County Court Reporter
Commander Daniel Schultze: Schiller Park Police
Detective Martin: Police detective, Schiller Park.
Shahna G. Monge: Forensic Examiner, Attorney General Office
Carol Spizzirri: CEO And Founder Save A Life Foundation
Annemarie Tabor: Court Reporter, Rolling Meadows
Annabel Melongo: defendant. Software Engineer. Computer Networking.

The story about fraudulent prosecution of Annabel Melongo

Sec. of Education Arne Duncan's involvement with director of SALF Spirrizza on Daily Kos web site

Mental Healthcare denied needy in Illinois

Corrupt Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan prevents Medicaid patients from obtaining mental health care http://tr.im/FWJv

Cook County Board President Candidate profiles & their position on issues:

Dr. Shelton has written extensive profiles with links to other sites and description of the candidates position on issues on her web page at Examiner.com, one of the fastest growing Internet news sites. Read the profiles and educate yourself about the candidates.

Dr. Linda Shelton is an independent contractor for Examiner.com and publishes articles as their "Cook County Government Examiner."

See: http://www.examiner.com/x-24257-Cook-County-Government-Examiner

Dr Shelton Hired as Internet News Reporter

I, Dr. Linda Shelton, was hired last week as the new "Cook County Government Examiner [reporter]" for the Internet news agency Examiner.com owned by multibillionaire Anschultz who bought the Hearst media empire.

My first two articles highlight two major cases of fraud by Illinois Government officials, that effect huge numbers of persons and violate multiple federal laws including, but not exclusively, theft of honest services, wire fraud, official misconduct, felony violations of civil rights, falsification of records by officials and police, and criminal conduct of IL AG Lisa Madigan.

Dr. Shelton is preparing articles about the corrupt Cook County Courts and its judges, as well as felony civil rights violations and fraud in CCDOC and IDOC. A network of whistle blowers who have evidence of corruption in many departments in Illinois is assisting Dr. Shelton in her writings. These include DCFS, IDFPR, the State Police, the Attorney General's office, Cook County Sheriff's office, former Governor's office, Mayor's office, Illinois Medicaid, and other departments.

FBI where are you?

See:

http://www.examiner.com/x-24257-Cook-County-Government-Examiner~y2009m9d29-Cook-County-IDOC-Parole-Ofc-falsifies-records-fails-to-supervise-issues-fraudulent-arrest-warrant

http://www.examiner.com/x-24257-Cook-County-Government-Examiner~y2009m9d28-Feds-supports-immunity-for-prosecutors-who-fabricate-evidence-like-Attorney-General-Lisa-Madigan

Sheriff Inv. Sofus Falsely Arrests Dr Shelton Twice Due to Her Incompetent Investigations - Retaliation Against Whistle Blower

by Dr. Linda Shelton:

DOCUMENTATION OF CORRUPTION, FRAUD, WASTE, AND INCOMPETENCE IN THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT OF COOK COUNTY:

Cook County Sheriff Police Investigator Cynthia B. Sofus, earning a salary of $76, 450 per year, is a glaring example of incompetence, arrogance, and vulgarity among the Cook County Sheriff’s staff. She works for the Criminal Intelligence, Gangs & Crimes Unit of the Sheriff’s Police at the Cook County Department of Corrections. She has what is known as a “potty mouth”. The following gives a detailed description as to how, in two cases against me which are false arrests and malicious prosecutions, she was grossly negligent in her investigation and has ended up suborning perjury (supporting perjury of the state’s witnesses, Sgt. Anthony Salemi and Lt. Prescott, among others).

Case 1:
On May 16, 2005, Cook County Correctional Sgt. Anthony Salemi came to my cell at the women’s medical unit of the Cermak infirmary at Cook County Jail. I was housed alone in a single cell. I was in the medical unit due to multiple medical problems including: 1) a congenital & acquired spinal cord injury causing a weak right side (right hemiparesis) where I cannot raise my right leg above my waist; 2) heart arrythmias; 3) Hemiplegic migraine causing frequent dizziness, unsteadiness, and headache, plus some intermittent neurologic deficits (migraines with symptoms of stroke); 4) severe intermittent asthma with vocal cord dysfunction, episodes of unconsciousness due to hypoxia, and severe sensitivity to chemicals such as cleaning solutions, perfumes, and the formaldehyde found in cigarettes (ignorant poorly-trained paramedics, nurses, and physicians, such as they have at the CCDOC, confuse my symptoms with malingering because I don’t always wheeze but rather develop a “silent chest syndrome” with poor air movement and whistling gurgling sound when inhaling, just before I go unconscious), and 5) malignant neurocardiogenic syncope – a severe form of nerve mediated fainting that in me is caused partly by the spinal cord injury destroying nerves needed to regulate respiration and heart beat, but also due to congenital disorder of contraction or twitchiness of the blood vessels necessary to keep a person from fainting when they stand up (the blood vessels in the lower body must contract when standing or the blood flows to the lower body and there is insufficient blood for the brain). This is a complex and interacting set of medical problems, which for treatment, require a certain mix of medications, a high salt diet, and rapid response to deterioration of medical condition.

As the jail staff had: 1) violated my constitutional rights to have pen & paper to write grievances and write court papers to appeal my unlawful incarceration, thus illegally and unconstitutionally denying me ”access to the courts” (I was later aquitted of the fraudlent charge for which I was incarcerated); 2) denied me necessary medication and high salt diet (the correctional staff said salt was contraband and everyone had to eat a low salt diet, despite the doctor’s orders) to prevent fainting on standing and weakness or other serious symptoms; and 3) denied me my statutory right to call non-collect when I was incarcerated to arrange for the care of my disabled father (when I came home a month later he was dehydrated, weak, mildly confused, and clearly had needed more assistance) – the social worker told me that she was instructed NOT to help me arrange for the care of my father, I protested with, from May 11, 2005 on, a continuous dry hunger strike.

I ate and drank NOTHING. Every three to five days I would take 2-3 ounces of water to lessen the likelihood of a quick death. This resulted in a 1 and 1/2 lb weight loss per day, and by May 16, 2009, I had nearly passed out in the shower and required the use of a wheelchair, although I had been using a cane. I no longer could stand for more than a few seconds without passing out. I was moderately dehydrated, which causes weakness and fainting when standing. Obviously, this made my congenitally weak arms & shoulders, and weak leg, even weaker. I was physically unable to batter anyone, especially a strong male who was taller and 50 lbs heavier than I was, like Sgt. Salemi.

The wheelchair had most of the tread missing from the right wheel. Therefore, when I pushed it, if there was a divit in the floor or a slightly bumpy area on the floor, I couldn’t move it over this tiny obstacle as the right wheel would not catch the floor and would spin freely. The right wheel also had one of the three spacers missing from the hand rail on the wheel and this made the wheel a bit cockeyed and caused the long screw to constantly rattle and move into the wheel obstructing movement of the wheel if I used the hand rail instead of someone pushing me. The armrests were missing. The wheel was extra wide and meant for a very obese person – I am thin. This meant you have to spread your arms wider, this produces less torc, and the person in the chair has more difficulty moving it than an ordinary wheelchair.

My medical condition is that I have congenital weakness of the hands, arms, and shoulders due to the spinal cord injury resulting from a congenital defect in my spine. I kept the left foot rest folded up and put my weak right leg on the right foot rest. I used my fairly good left leg to propel the wheelchair backwards (it is hard to use a leg to move the wheelchair fast forwards – try it!) as my arms were a little too weak to get the wheelchair start moving from a stop and too weak to go very far. The officers are required NOT to push inmates in wheelchairs, but Officer Boutte, who does transport for female inmates, always pushed my wheelchair, because it was obvious I was too weak to push it very far. He was illegally not allowed to testify on my behalf.
Unit officers open cell doors for meal and time in the common room, a large hall with tables and chairs, and inmates can open the cell doors and leave their cells when the doors are unlocked part of the day.

I had great difficulty opening the cell door and maneuvering my wheelchair out of the cell. I had to do this backwards pushing with my left leg and then wedging my arms in the door jams so as to get more force to help my leg push the door open with the back of the wheelchair. At least half the time, a nurse or inmate would take pity and help me open the door. Only one officer actually helped me open the door. The others were sadistic. I often didn’t bother, because I wasn’t eating anyways, and more and more stayed in bed, too weak to do anything. My pulse was consistently rapid and I was consistently short of breath if I tried to stand up or move around. I suffered at least 4 asthma attackes in the few days before this incident due to exposure to inmates who were smoking or exposure to floor cleaning solutions. The medical staff didn’t care to protect me from this. This further weakened me. My attorney was illegally not allowed to present the paramedic reports about these asthma attacks to the jury.

Sgt. Anthony Salemi came to my cell on May 16, 2005, sent the female unit officer away, and cracked the door open to talk with me. I was next to the cell door as I had banged on it trying to get the unit officer to call a sergeant or lieutenant so I could make verbal complaints again, that they continually ignored. The department rules require that a male officer may NOT enter a female inmate’s cell without a witness, except in a life-threatening emergency. There was no life-threatening emergency.

Sgt. Anthony Salemi told me “I’m going to make a case so you don’t get out.” He then opened the door enough to lunge in and grab my neck with his left hand. Sgt. Hernandez and several officers later told me to “get that ***” in court because he “only attacks women”. The door shut behind him.

The force of his attack made the wheelchair propel backwards. He stumbled and slid down a bit, skinning his shins on the footrests, more so on the left as the left footrest was folded up and sticking out less. The wheelchair spun a little to the right. We were now in the middle of the cell nearer the bed. I curled up in a ball somewhat, leaning to my right side so I could wedge my left shoeless foot against his chest to try to pry him off. His harry arms were very strong, like tree trunks and my arms were too weak in my feeble attempts to pull his hand off of my neck. He got mad when I pushed his chest with my foot and let go. Then he rapidly grabbed my left arm with his left hand, while he yanked the wheelchair out from under me, simultaneously flipping me off the wheelchair against the hospital bed railing that was down.

I landed against the bed and on my right knee and hands. My right middle toe got caught in the right foot rest and became severely contused. It later swelled up like a grape, black and blue. I was stunned and terrified. I didn’t know what to expect next and feared for my life. The wheelchair had two posts on either side of the seat where the missing armrests insert. They were slightly higher than the seat and hard metal. As he pulled the wheelchair out from under me, they raked my thighs and caused huge contusions – testimony in court described “bruises on (L) – Upper posterior thigh (4” X 2”), (R) Inner upper thigh (6 ½ “ X 3 ½ “) (R) Third metatarsal toe.” Officer unit log notes describe a bruise on my right knee. No one carefully examined me, so they didn’t write down the bruises on my left arm in the shape of fingers. The doctor, days later, ordered multiple X-rays due to the extent of contusions to rule out fractures. He however did not examine me in any way other than to visualize a few bruises. He was not called to testify.

I have post-traumatic-stress disorder because I was previously attacked by men. This attack by Sgt. Salemi put me into a flashback and was crying and screaming hysterical to “stay away from me”, as well as cowering after this attack. I let no one touch me or view my injuries for several shifts and simply cowered in the bed and was silent.

Sgt. Salemi falsified his records and said from a dead stop in the middle of the cell, I “surprised him” while he was looking at me, accelerated the wheelchair and rammed it into him, skinning his shins and making him fall. He said the cell door stayed open on its own but no one saw him fall out of the door or in any way (the cell doors have heavy hydraulic door closing mechanisms that make them close automatically so this is a lie).

He said he was too surprised to protect himself! He said he then got up and I kicked him while sitting in the wheelchair in the chest with my RIGHT leg (sofus quotes him in her report) so hard that he was pushed against the “closed” door. He does not explain how the door remained open on its own and then mysteriously closed so he could be kicked against it. In his testimony at trial, Sgt. Salemi stated that I raised both legs and kicked him in the chest, while the wheelchair was rolling backwards with such force he was thrown against the door several feet away!

In his incident report and Inv. Sofus’ investigative report they state that I was at the cell door stating “I’m coming out” and as he opened the door, while facing forward, rammed Salemi and kicked him, but somehow, none of the inmates eating dinner in the hall, the officer or others saw me, except nurse Ogali, who stated that Salemi’s body was blocking the door way with him standing in the threshold and the door against his shoulder, and she only saw me move my wheelchair towards the door and did not see me ram or kick him, but did see him bend down after entering the cell and removing the wheelchair. She said she couldn’t see everything because the cell door window starts 4 feet up off the floor and she was sitting in the nurse’s station 15 feet away kitty corner to the cell.

Inv. Sofus came to my cell on the next day, like a bull in a China shop in a very butch manner. She asked bruskly if I would answer her questions. She was very confrontational in her demeanor, and obviously not willing to listen to facts. I was laying in bed and so traumatized that I said leave me alone, I won’t talk to anyone without an attorney.

Inv. Sofus failed in her duty to preserve the “weapon”, the broken wheelchair, that would have exonerated me. Judge Kazmierski through judicial misconduct failed to dismiss the case due to this fact, which is required by previous United States Supreme Court decisions holding that when the State destroys or fails to preserve a weapon in a crime the case must be dismissed.
She failed to ask anyone about my medical conditions and didn’t mention them at all in her grand jury testimony or her report. Judge Kazmierski illegally prevented my attorney from essentially asking any questions to point out all the discrepencies and negligent investigation to the jury. Therefore, he was illegally prohibited by the court from impeaching Sgt. Salemi, the only witness against me (who presented only perjured statements), by using the testimony and reports of Inv. Sofus.

Sgt. Salemi also committed perjury in stating that all wheelchairs in the jail are in perfect working condition. Another officer at sentencing (illegally not allowed to testify at trial) stated “its a jail!” and that “the cell doors close automatically.” He also testified that most of the wheelchairs are in poor condition and broken. Inv. Sofus would have noted this if she wasn’t so negligent, careless, arrogant, and incompetent. She failed to write in her report important details and observations. She appears to do a selective investigation, only including details credible or not, verified or not, that support the allegation. She carefully hides or avoids writing down any exculpatory evidence that proves the person innocent. A real Gestapo type!

A few days later, a nurse documented my extensive contusions. Inv. Sofus failed to follow-up to see if I was injured. She and all the jail staff refused to take photos of these injuries, but took photos of Sgt. Salemi’s shin which revealed several inch long abrasions running up them. If he was rammed, he would have had one linear horizontal mark or bruise on his lower leg near his ankle on the left and one short mark on his right shin corresponding to the wheelchair folded up footrest. There would be no long linear abrasions running up his shins, which are consistent with my story that he stumbled and slid down against the foot rests, not with his story.

As Sgt. Salemi was the ONLY witness with testimony against me and his testimony was not believable as not compatible with the photos/injuries of his shins or my injuries, as well as his testimony was contradictory in itself and with the statements of others, the State actually presented not one shred of credible evidence against me.

The conviction was due to extreme prosecutorial and judicial misconduct that mislead the jury, mis-stated the facts to the jury in closing and ignored the evidence. See my appeal: http://www.scribd.com/doc/16301520/Appeal-of-Wrongful-Conviction-Battery-Shelton-Illinois-2009

What kind of an investigator is so negligent to not even identify the medical condition of a person on a medical unit when investigating a crime that requires physical force and strength to accomplish, and who fails to preserve the alleged weapon (the broken wheelchair), as well as fails to note the discrepencies in the story by Sgt. Salemi that contradict the notes of the officers in the unit logs about the broken wheelchair as well as other officer’s testimony (only allowed after trial at sentencing hearing) that the cell doors cannot stay open on their own??

Case 2:
Maisha Hamilton Bennett, Ph.d, a psychologist was wrongfully incarcerated after a wrongful conviction at the Cook County Jail in July and August 2009 on fraudulent charges brought by the corrupt IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan. See: http://drlindashelton.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/mental-health-care-denied-poor-in-illinois/ and http://drlindashelton.wordpress.com/free-dr-maisha-hamilton-bennett/

She was being transferred and called me to come pick up five bags of legal documents so they would not be thrown out. I had gone to visit her in mid-July and after my visit, as I was waiting for some papers Dr. Hamilton Bennett wan’t me to take home that she had arranged to have the social worker give to me, Sgt. Alex Cruz assaulted me by yelling at me that I had to leave or I would be arrested because former inmates cannot visit during the year after release (It has been more than one year since my release – this “rule” also is not posted anywhere and inmates when released are not informed about this “rule” – I’m not even sure this rule is legal). I left because I didn’t feel like arguing and being wrongfully arrested that day.

On or about August 26th, Jail Social Worker Richardson called me and told me to come pick up Dr. Hamilton Bennett’s papers. Due to the fact I have several suits againt the Sheriff and his corrupt staff, I called the Jail’s Executive office on or about August 27th and asked the Jail ExecutiveDirector’s Assistant if I could have an escort so I would not be harassed. She refused to connect me with any higher officer and said I wouldn’t be harassed or falsely arrested. I called the Jail’s legal office and they said they couldn’t do anything as they don’t arrange escorts. I called Sheriff’s Dart’s Office at the Daley Center and his Executive Assistant also said they do not arrange escorts into the jail, no one would harass me, and that there was not problem with me picking up documents for an inmate being transferrred out.

I came on Friday August 28 and picked up three bags of documents and said I would come back for the rest.

I returned on Monday, August 31, 2009 to pick up the rest of the documents. At the entrance, I was held up unusually long while Sgt. Arthur at the gate called Sgt. Cruz. I was then let in. I told them that I had the OK from the executive and Sheriff’s office and they promised me no one would bother me. They refused to call the executive office of the jail or the Sheriff’s office.
Officer Levy was at the desk in the visitor area. She is one of the guards I am suing for holding me down and kicking me with their boots. See: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19434501/Shelton-1983-Against-Cook-County-Sheriff-Illegal-Administration-Psychotropic-Drugs-and-Battery-2009

I told Deputy Levy that why I was there and that Dr. Hamilton Bennett told me to ask for Kim Laster who was in charge of property in the Annex of Division 3. She had arranged with her to transfer the last two bags of documents to me. Deputy Levy instead called a female Lt. Prescott who came out to talk to me. Lt. Prescott was immediately hostile, verbally aggressive, and wouldn’t listen. She went out and came back and said I had to leave that I couldn’t pick up any property. Social Worker Vaughn said Ms. Richardson wasn’t there and nobody can ever pick up property – a lie. I told them I had already picked up three bags and had the OK from their superiors, as well as that I was not an inmate there during the last year.

Lt. Prescott called the guardhouse and they sent over a tall obese African-American officer Delgado, who was very polite, and female African-American officer Gonzalez. They tried to push me to the gate. I let go of my walker and sat on the ground and told them I had permission to pick up property, the property was available, I was to talk to Ofc. Laster, Ms. Richardson had called me to come there, and that I had already picked up three bags and was there for the last two. I told them they were illegaly harassing me, disobeying their superiors, and committing a federal felony as I am a federal witness against many officers at the jail , have federal suits against them, so this could be construed as an illegal penalty on the exercise of my and Dr. Hamilton Bennetts civil rights, as well as a felony civil rights violation including harssing a federal witness.

Ofc. Delgado, said if we went to the front gate, they were in a different department and they would call the executive office and solve the problem so I walked there with them using my walker. I however was getting a bit overheated from their assault on me and had been suffering from a viral infection for several days.

At the front gate guard house, Sgt. Arthur refused to call the executive office or solve the problem and insisted that I leave saying that Lt. Prescott had informed him that I could not pick up any property. I told him he was wrong and all the crimes he was committing. Sgt. Arthur then had the deputies handcuff me and said they were arresting me for “vagrancy”. He called the Sheriff’s police and Inv. Sofus, Sgt. Robert J. Fitzgerald and Correctional Officer Sgt. James P. Aurenz responded.

Before they arrived I began to feel poorly from being overheated and this triggered my fainting and heart arrythmia. The deputies wouldn’t let me take off my suit jacket and lie down on the bench. So, just as I felt I was going to pass out, I lay down on the floor. When Inv. Sofus and her buddies arrive I tried to abort passing out by using the bathroom and putting cold water on myself. Sgt. Aurenz was kind enough to let me do this. Then when I came back to the bench and lied down, now without handcuffs, I briefly lost consciousness. I may have had brief episodes of irregular breathing. I don’t think I was responsive. An ambulance was called.

When the ambulance arrived I was coming out of the confusion after waking up. In the ambulance I told them I wanted to sign a release and go get the property I was there to get. I was still very short of breath and had difficulty standing so I crawled toward the guard house.
Then I became more alert and recognized Inv. Sofus as the person who had suborned perjury and collaberated with the misconduct of Sgt. Salemi. I went into a brief flashback reliving in a dream like state the assault on me by Sgt. Salemi. Then I tried to get into the guard house to go get the two bags.

At this point Inv. Sofus arrested me for “disorderly conduct.”

It is illegal to harass a federal witness.
It is illegal to deny me entrance to the jail without cause.
It is illegal to deny Dr. Hamilton Bennett the right to have someone pick up her property when she is being transferred.
It is illegal for an officer to commit a crime and arrest someone without probable cause in order to cover-up for their misconduct.
An arrest must have a good faith probable cause. There was none.

After being arrested Sgt. Aurenz let me explain to him what happened. His response was that they have no authority because the “chain of command” prevents it to call the executive office or Ofc. Laster or Social Worker Richardson to check out the story.

The law says that theydo have a DUTY to investigate exculpatory evidence brought to them after an arrest, they do have a DUTY to drop charges when they discover the arrest was without probable cause, and they do have a DUTY to protect a federal witness against assault.

This is a grotesque civil rights violaton and may rise to the level of a felony civil rights violation under federal law.

The due process clause of the constitution secures the individual from arbitrary exercise of the powers of the government and prevents governmental power from being used for purposes of oppression.

Was this arrest arbitrary? – YES
Was this arrest used for purposes of oppressions? – YES
Was this a scheme to deny civil rights? – YES
Does this shock the conscience? – YES

Its time for Inv. Sofus, Sgt. Salemi, and the other puppets of corruption who are arrogant, power-grabbing, incompetent, violate law with impunity, and commit perjury with impunity to be arrested, lose their jobs, and brought before the federal court.

Please write the following persons and urge them to act quickly to stop this totalitarian police state called Cook County:

Asst. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, Office of U.S. Attorney, 219 S. Dearborn, 5th Floor, Chicago IL, 60604

Special Agent Robert Grant, Chicago FBI, 2111 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago IL, 60608

Anita Alvarez, Cook County States Attorney, 50 West Washington, Rm 500, Chicago IL, 60602

President Barrack Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ae. NW, Washington DC, 20500

Senator Richard Durbin

Senator Roland Burris

Your representative

The press in your community and nationally.

If you’re in Chicago, come to my trials ( I have been arrested 5 times illegally in 2009 for the above type nonsense without probable cause). Watch my blog: http://drlindashelton.wordpress.com/ for court dates. If possible donate to my legal fund. I am now indigent, as a result of fighting for our Constitutional rights and catastrophic medical problems. Donations can be sent to:

Shelton Legal Fund, C/O Albukerk & Associates, 3025 W. 26th St. 2nd floor, Chicago IL, 60625

PLEASE, MOST IMPORTANTLY, HELP RAISE GRASS ROOTS AWARENESS OF THE ATROCIOUS VIOLATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN COOK COUNTY AND ILLINOIS THAT I HAVE DOCUMENTED ON THIS AND MY OTHER WEB SITES THAT YOU CAN ACCESS THROUGH LINKS ON THIS WEB SITE. COPY MY WRITINGS AND POST THEM ANYWAY YOU WANT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE!!

Illinois Appellate Court Intentionally Violates Constitution, Illinois Supreme Court Rule, & United States Supreme Court

The Illinois Appellate Court is proving how corrupt it is by snubbing its nose at United States Supreme Court precedent ("stare decisis"), snubbing its nose at the United States Constitution's due process and equal protection clauses, and violating Illinois Supreme Court Rule 607, all of which are the basis for the standard practice in American Law to provide free transcripts to indigent defendants so they can pursue their constitional right to a direct appeal of their conviction.

Corruption is pervasive in Illinois politics, Illinois courts, and Illinois policing agencies. American justice is a myth in Illinois. Illinois is a totalitarian police state.

Anyone who wishes to donate expertise at contacting the press, expertise at spreading the word on the Internet in order to bring the light of day to this corruption, pro bono legal expertise in assisting in bringing this case to the United States Supreme Court, or provide support in some other way, please contact me. I could use all the help I can get.

I have filed a criminal appeal on a case where I as a disabled person in a wheelchair was attacked by Cook County Sheriff Sgt. Anthony Salemi, he falsified his records, accused me of attacking him, committed perjury and I was wrongfully convicted:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16301520/Appeal-of-Wrongful-Conviction-Battery-Shelton-Illinois-2009

The trial court declared me indigent and ordered the court reporter to file a free copy of the transcripts with the court for an appeal. The court reporter has refused to follow the court order. The trial judge refuses to enforce the order because he said he lost jurisdiction to the IL Appellate Court.

The IL Appellate court has six time refused to enforce the court order and compel the court reporter to file the transcripts or hold her in contempt. My appeal is therefore delayed due to the illegal and unconstitutional acts of the Illinois Appellate Court First District.

The costs of copying documents and writing them, mailing costs and delivery costs are being paid by loans or gifts from friends and relatives, but is not quite enough to continue all necessary litigation on all my issues. I am indigent due to disabilities and retaliatory false arrests and malicious prosecutions against me as I am a whistle blower in Illinois exposing government corruption and fraud.

The Illinois Supreme Court also has denied a motion for supervisory order to compel the court reporter to file the transcripts and compel the IL Appellate Court to enforce the order.

The IL Appellate Court granted the Cook County States Attorney's motion to compel me to pay for the transcripts and file them, instead of the court reporter. This is fraud upon the court as it violates a previous court order and is contempt as it also violates the United States Supreme Court holding (precedent) in a case where they ruled that indigent defendants are entitled under the due process and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution to a free transcript for appeal. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 607 also mandates that indigent defendants are entitled to free transcripts filed with the court clerk by the court reporter.

Therefore both the Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court are committing illegal acts.

The Illinois Appellate Court has now vacated their order to compel me to file the transcripts as I moved for them to vacate order as they illegally granted the motion from the State two days too early according to IL Supreme Court rules. They also allowed me to file immediately (instanter) my response to the States Attorney's motion to compel me to file the transcripts. This response clearly spells out the illegal acts of the IL Appellate and IL Supreme Courts in refusing to uphold previous court orders, and statutory and constitutional rights as previously decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. These are impeachable intentional acts by these corrupt and dishonorable judges. I hope the IL Appellate Court recognizes its mistakes and doesn't just vacate the order to re-instate it several days later when the law allows them to make a decision.

It is incumbent upon the IL Appellate Court to compel the court reporter to file the transcripts and hold her in contempt if she fails to do so.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18285468/Response-to-State-Motion-to-Deny-Indigent-Defendant-Transcripts-for-Appeal-Illinois-Appellate-Court-2009

Another Corrupt Government Agency in Illinois, Cook County, and Chicago - the schools

The feds have issued search warrants for the records at the Illinois Secretary of State's Office and convicted George Ryan, Governor's Office and indicted Rod Blagojevic, Chicago City Hall and convicted Sorich, Illinois Department of Corrections for taking bribes and convicted the former Director, Illinois Department of Professional Regulation - investigation pending, Cook County Human Resources - investigation pending, etc., and now has issued search warrants for the Chicago Public Schools because of questionable placement of students in highly selective schools. The U.S. Attorney has issued a 98 page report detailing extensive pattern of civil rights violations at the Cook County Department of Corrections. Even college admissions are being looked at as corrupt in Illinois State schools.

I have successfully litigated against the Cook County Sheriff for violation of Freedom of Information Act. I am presently litigating in civil court against the Illinois Department of Corrections for violation of State laws in running a sham parole system that commits fraud in excess of $36 million, for failing to follow law as to Prisoner Review Board orders to parolees for mental health evaluation and treatment. I have won a suit against the Illinois Department of Corrections for violating the Freedom of Information Act. I have won a suit against the Illinois Human Rights Authority for failing to do their constitutional duty and investigate abuse of mental health patietns. I am suing AG Lisa Madigan, several judges and the State police for unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution in a scheme to deny mental health care to persons on Medicaid and to fraudulently attack legitimate mental health service providers so they can claim they are tough on fraud.

I and a number of whistle blowers have lots more evidence of fraud, kickbacks, and other corruption in Illinis, Cook County, and Chicago by corrupt officials. Please contact me and help financially support our efforts to expose and eliminate corruption in Illinois. Stop allowing 10 % of your tax dollars to be used for kickbacks and fraud. Stop allowing State, County, and City jobs to be given out according to race and patronage. Stop excess incarcerations and failure to rehabilitate that may make more prison jobs but makes Illinois more unsafe as unrehabilitated addicts and criminals are released and not properly supervised.

Illinois, Cook County, Chicago, and its suburbs are a cesspool of patronage, kickbacks, bribery, fraud and corruption at the expense of the taxpayers and to the detriment of all its citizens. Stop voting for the same corrupt officials over and over. Go to the polls and vote them out of office, including all those who inherited their positions. Stop allowing political dynasties to rule our State. Vote against the Burks, Madigans, the Daleys, the Strogers, the Beavers, the Steels, the Hasterts, the and their loyal servants, Dart, Alvarez etc.

Contact me at picepil@aol.com with evidence of corruption in Illinois, Cook County, and Chicago. Give me permission to publicize that evidence on this site. If you are an attorney consider taking one of our issues and making it into a class action suit. Contact me for documents we have already filed. Consider taking one of my cases in civil court pro bono. Go to courts on your free days and days off and observe the corruption in our courts, take notes, and send me them to post on this site. Contact Shelton through comments on this post and offer to help organize regular meetins to share, discuss, and disseminate the evidence in our possession about corruption. Donate money to help Linda Shelton pursue her civil litigation and fight further unlawful arrests at:

Shelton legal fund
C/O Albukerk & Associates
3025 W 26th Street 2nd Floor
Chicago IL, 60625

Chicago Fees Extort Money from Small Business

The job losses and poor economy should be an incentive for municipalities to make their cities and towns more friendly and less costly to small businesses that often financially struggle to stay in existence. Chicago believes the opposite. Our wonderful mayor and city council have made sure to nickle and dime small businesses with unnecessary costs, fees, and regulations.

The number of empty storefronts is sure to grow until the city council is replaced with responsible aldermen who realize that 80 % of jobs in this country come from small businesses. They should do EVERYTHING possible to eliminate paperwork, unnecessary regulations, excessive fees, and hassles for small businesses in Chicago.

Mayor and Aldermen - ANY COMMENT?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0717workjul17,0,1783432.story

Illinois Parole System a Fraud - Endangers the Public

I have now filed an Illinois Appellate Court appeal of a civil case I brought, pro se (through self-representation) in the public interest. If there are any pro bono attorneys who care about society and wish to help me, please contact me at picepil@aol.com.

If you are reading this blog, you are aware that I was wrongfully convicted of aggravated battery to a correctional officer in 2007 and sentenced to two years IDOC and one year mandatory supervised release (parole). I served the minimum of 6 months and one year parole. The facts are that I am innocent. The corrupt officer, Sgt. Anthony Salemi, attacked me in my wheelchair while I was wrongfully incarcerated, falsified his records, said I attacked him, committed perjury at trial, and the prosecuters committed extreme prosecutorial misconduct while the judge denied due process. See my appeal: http://www.scribd.com/doc/16301520/Appeal-of-Wrongful-Conviction-Battery-Shelton-Illinois-2009

During the parole time, I discovered that the parole system is a sham with incompetent sociopathic and undertrained parole officers who are not supervised properly. My parole officer, Victoria Dockery (alias Pork), supposedly supervised by P/A Dana Travis falsified her records and issued an arrest warrant for me that was on the books for five months and the fugitive apprehension unit of the IDOC NEVER EVER attempted to capture or find me.

I am disabled, live with my father, was hospitalized several times during this period for a heart procedure and stroke like symptoms. Therefore, I am NOT difficult to find. I also appeared in both federal and state court on criminal cases and on my civil cases more than 30 times and no officer even attempted to arrest me for this warrant, despite the fact I am on their "escort" list as a danger for unknown reasons (because I sue corrupt officials). Apparently the fugitive apprehension unit is a joke and exists on paper only. The Director of the parole division of IDOC was informed of all this and has done nothing. Apparently he is also being paid fraudulently for doing nothing.

The Dir. of IDOC also admitted to me in writing that the IDOC contracts with a private agency to maintain a parolee check-in telephone number but they don't have a contract. The comptroller has confirmed this agency, Protocol Services, Inc., has been paid by the state of IL $6 million per year for the past six years. It is illegal in Illinois to give this much money to a contractor without competitive bidding and a contract. Therefore the Dir. of the IDOC is admitting fraud and corruption.

The IL Attorney Gen. Madigan is defending these acts of violations of law. This is outrageous. She should recuse herself from this case, work with the US Attorney, and recommend that corrupt officials be indicted. The lack of a functional parole system in Illinois not only wastes money through fraud, but is a danger to the public.

The acting Dir. of the IL State Police, Mr. Monken is refusing to investigate these crimes. He therefore, should NOT be confirmed in his position by the Illinois Senate. I have reported all of this to the FBI, but they have not done anything yet. They are slow as malasses.

Mr. Birkett and other candidates: What are you going to do about this corruption?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17475829/Shelton-Appellate-Brief-IL-State-Case-Mandamus-IL-Parole-System-2009

Excess Incarceration Rate Leads to More Troubled Children and More Welfare

The huge incarceration rate in Illinois, where we send non-violent drug abusers and thieves to prison at a rate 40 times greater than any civilized country means that we are breaking our economy. The children of the prisoners are a great social burden when parents don't earn an income or care for them. Tax dollars are also lost when prisoners do not work.

It is a much better solution to sentence non-violent offenders to curfews when not at work and community service to pay back what they took from society. Restorative justice is more appropriate. In prison less than 15% of addicts get treatment and there are five times more mentally ill in prison, without appropriate treatment than in all the mental health facilities in the country combined.

It is a much better solution to pay for daily drug addiction treatment, home monitoring, and mental health treatment than to pay $30,000 per year to incarcerate a prisoner, not treat them, and then send them back to a life of crime or untreated mental illness.

We are FOOLS in Illinois and the rest of the country! What a waste of dollars and human potential! Talk to your legislators. Elect only those that pledge to change this disaster. Our phony war of being "tough on crime" is a joke and has not worked. These prisoners, are usually released. If we don't rehabilitate them, we deserve what we get.

For discussion and solutions to the problems see:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/us/05prison.html?_r=1

http://drlindashelton.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/help-save-economy-by-saving-billions-with-judicialprison-reform-stop-torture/

http://drlindashelton.wordpress.com/2008/12/21/re-integrating-600000-ex-cons-per-year-and-growing-give-your-suggestions/

http://drlindashelton.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/punishment-and-fairness-comparative-nature-of-punishment/

Chicago Police Ofc Gets Off Lightly - Corrupt Judge Fleming

Circuit Court of Cook County Judge John Fleming continued the tradition of letting the police get away with anything and sentenced Chicago Police Officer Anthony Abbate, a 250 lb man, who brutally beat a 125 lb female bartender and was convicted of aggravated battery to only two years probation and NO prison time. The woman now suffers post-traumatic-stress, nightmares, and great fear.

This is another example of the outrageous favoratism towards cops and official misconduct of Cook County judges. They let officers lie through their teeth and even when they are caught red-handed on tape in criminal activity, they get away with it. Abbate even is still claiming he is innocent and the woman started the fight!! He shows no remorse! – And the judge didn’t take this into consideration?

The man was clearly seen on surveillance video from the bar in this aggravated battery against a defenseless and tiny woman. What more do you need to convince the judge that giving him a slap on the wrist condones this conduct?

Failure to jail this dirtbag gives the message that drunkenness excuses behavior, police can get away with anything, there is a double standard regarding police v. average citizens, and that Chicago remains as corrupt as ever. It depricates the seriousness of the offense and gives the green light to other officers to abuse citizens.

For another opinion see: http://radiochicagoland.blogspot.com/2009/06/fire-judge-john-j-fleming-and-jail.html

Until the public votes out those in office that condone this outrageous behavior of not just police, but more so of the courts such as Stroger, Daleys, Madigans, Dart, Beavers, Jones, Steele, and all their cronies, Chicago, C[r]ook County, and Illinois will remain lawless where the officials use citizens as their slaves and puppets in total disregard for humanity, for their own profit and fame. Deals will still be made behind closed doors and transparency will be hypothetical only.
I was beaten and choked by Sheriff Sgt. Anthony Salemi, he falsified his records, accused me of attacking him, committed perjury and I was wrongfully convicted. I received a two year prison sentence, served the sentence and parole before I was allowed to appeal in violation of the constitution. Fed. Judge Coar has even ruled that the IL Appellate Court is impeding my appeal! I am disabled and was abused and medically neglected in prison. Torture is the appropriate word. I am a non-violent pacifist. I have no prior record! I am a whistle blower against corrupt officials and police in Cook County, IL. This attack on me was retaliation for my complaints of corruption. I’m sure, if there is justice, the conviction will be overturned shortly, and then I will bring the mother of all civil rights suits against this creep, the creeps that support him such as Sheriff Inv. Sofus, and Sheriff Dart.

There is no equal treatment here! The Circuit Court of Cook County is a criminal enterprise. The U.S. Attorney should make indictments against these corrupt officials and police for felony violation of civil rights under color of law.

I hope the woman wins a huge award in her civil suit against him! I applaud CPD Supt. Jody Weiss in seeking his dismissal from the CPD. I just want to ask Supt. Weiss – Why won’t you have a meeting with me? The CPD beat me several times illegally, while I was in a wheelchair! I have pictures and your dept. of professional responsibity (internal affairs) did nothing!! I’ve requested meetings and you haven’t even had the courtesy to respond to me.

For details of my case see: http://cookcountysheriffdeputies.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/dr-shelton-appeals-wrongful-conviction-sgt-salemi-attacked-her/

Legislature Ignores Call for Reform in Illinois

Gov. Quinn appointed a reform commission and they made modest suggestions. Illinois' legislature under the iron hand of Speaker of the House for the past 20 yrs Mike Madigan and a handfull of other Lords of the system made sure this won't happen on his watch.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/us/16reform.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&src=twt&twt=nytimes

Cook County Sheriff Illegally Shackles Women During Childbirth

As usual, the Cook County Sheriff feels he is above the law and above morality. Therefore a class action suit has been filed on behalf of women shackled during childbirth.

Personally I think it is obscene and cruel and unusual punishment to separate women form their children during the first crucial two years of their lives. Most civilized countries allow women to keep their babies with them for two years in jail or prison so that bonding is not interrupted.

Apparently America is still uncivilized.

http://kurthlampe.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/woman-in-childbirth-shackled-by-cook-county-sheriff/

Murder of Inmate at IDOC from Medical Neglect by Wexford Physicians

Wexford has a contract too provide medical care to inmates in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). I presume they paid the 10% kickback (bribe) to get the multimillion dollar contract. I also presume they get bonuses for failing to refer inmates to outside consultants and for skimping on medical care and using generic medications and denying expensive cancer care, care for HIV, and care for severe chronic illnesses.

Mr. Burhmester died recently in prison due to extreme medical neglect. He had suffered excruciating pain from ulcerative colitis and died due to lack of proper medical care.

We need a federal investigation and indictments for felony violation of civil rights. See: http://www.wicd15.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wicd_vid_895.shtml

Shelton Files Appeal of Wrongful Conviction - Officer Attacked Her and Falsified Records

I have now filed my Illinois Appellate Court appeal of my wrongful conviction for aggravated battery of a correctional officer. Sgt. Anthony Salemi had attacked me, falsified his records, committed perjury, and with the help of Nifong-like prosecutorial misconduct and extreme judicial misconduct I was convicted and sentenced to two years in the Illinois Dept. of Corrections plus one year of mandatory supervised release.

I served the minimum 6 months and the full supervised release and was not able to appeal due to illegal conduct of staff at the Cook County Dept. of Corrections and Illinois Dept. of Corrections where I was held and due to damage to my health requiring several hospitalizations within the last year since my release on March 27, 2008 from prison. The damage to my health was a result of torture at the CCDOC and IDOC by ignorant, sociopathic, poorly trained officers and incompetent medical staff (with the exception of Dr. Baker). The social workers even told me they purposely were told not to allow me to use the law library. My medications were withheld in illegal acts of willful indifference to medical needs.

I have informed the FBI and asked them to prosecute for felony conspiracy to violate rights under color of law, etc.

You can read my appeal at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/16301520/Appeal-of-Wrongful-Conviction-Battery-Shelton-Illinois-2009

Sherrif Deputies Commit Perjury

Cook County Sheriff Deputies Rebecca Doran and Maureen Caliendo, with the full encouragement of Assistant Chief Lyons and the Cook County State's Attorney falsely arrested Dr. Shelton, maliciously prosecuted Dr. Shelton, for aggravated battery, but Dr. Shelton was found not guilty by a responsible and honest, intelligent judge, Honorable Judge James L. Rhodes, who found the deputies' testimony "not credible".

http://cookcountysheriffdeputies.wordpress.com/2009/06/06/deputy-rebecca-doran-deputy-maureen-caliendo-sergeant-patricia-mccollum-assistant-chief-kevin-lyons/

Fight Corruption with Patriotism - Stand Up & Be Counted

PATRIOTISM MEANS STANDING UP – FIGHT CORRUPTION

How can we fight corruption as an ordinary citizen?

Patriotism to me is helping not just secure our country and protecting the Constitution, but ACTIVELY working on a daily and regular basis to make our country better. This means walking the walk and not just talking the talk. Patriotism is a constant war where we serve and protect our values embodied in our Constitution. Never fight a war unless you are willing to die. Yes there are sacrifices, but that is the price of justice and freedom.

In the United States ask who in the population is thought to be putting themselves on the line every day and not shirking their responsibility to their country? I don’t just mean upholding the law as an officer! I mean standing next to your neighbor, your colleague, your co-worker, your enemy – whenever and whereever the Bill of Rights is threatened. Stand up for compassion. Stand up for opportunity. Stand up for education. Stand up for justice. Stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

We have failed as Americans in the last few decades by looking the other way, being only self-centered and self-interested, putting profit before compassion and justice, ignoring our neighbors, wearing blinders next to the needy, and justifying our mistakes with pat phrases. Silence and lack of action are the biggest dangers to our democracy. Transparency, action, and open debate will save us.

Please be patriotic – VOTE at EVERY ELECTION. INFORM yourself about the candidates. Please DON”T cover up corruption. BREAK the thin blue line and stand with what’s right. SPEAK OUT for those who are attacked for defending the Bill of Rights.

Don't have a defeatest attitude. Yes we can fight city hall if we are united. We only lose if we allow intimidation, greed, defamation, and power grabbers to succeed.

UNITED WE STAND – DIVIDED WE FALL!

Chief Judge Timothy Evans Asked to Resign

STOP ILLINOIS CORRUPTION
Linda Lorincz Shelton, Ph.D., M.D.
Founder and Director
708 952-0040

April 19, 2009

Chief Judge Timothy Evans
Circuit Court of Cook County
50 W. Washington, Rm 2600
Chicago, IL 60602

Dear Judge Evans:

Thank you for your response letter of April 20, 2009. I understand your concerns not to involve yourself in judicial decisions concerning other judges. However, decisions on indigency petitions are not judicial decisions. They are administrative decisions. As chief administrator of the courts you are responsible for the employees under you including the judges, the clerk, and the court reporters. As you have now willfully refused to do your job and actually are condoning many criminal acts committed by judges under you, the Sheriff’s staff, the Court Clerk, and the Court Reporters, I MUST NOW ASK ON BEHALF OF THE CITIZENS OF COOK COUNTY FOR YOUR RESIGNATION. It is not acceptable for the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County to engage in willful denial of due process on such a large scale, and at the same time to abdicate his responsibility as an administrator. The net result of your crimes is that you are participating in running the Circuit Court of Cook County as a criminal enterprise.

It is clear from your previous responses to my concerns that you have no intention of doing your job as an administrator. Your court reporters have defied and still are defying court orders to prepare and file transcripts in 05 CR 29530 [correction - 05 CR 12718]. The Illinois Appellate Court has also violated their oaths of office and the law by failing to enforce Judge Kazmierski’s order to prepare free transcripts and file them. Therefore, Federal Judge Coar has ruled in 09 C 105, a habeas corpus petition on this case, that the Appellate Court through their actions has waived the right of the State of Illinois to insist I exhaust State remedies with direct appeals and a petition for habeas before the Illinois Supreme Court. He is hearing my habeas petition on this [wrongful] conviction where a Cook County Correctional Officer, Sgt. Anthony Salemi, attacked me, falsified his records, perjured himself in court, and the Judge, Kazmierski, committed gross judicial misconduct and the prosecutors, Andrew Dalkin and John Maher committed gross prosecutorial misconduct resulting in an unfair trial denying me due process. Then Judge Kazmierski illegally sentenced me to two years in IDOC, refused to stay sentence pending appeal, in violation of U.S. Supreme Court Holding in Cunningham v. California, 127 S. Ct. 856 (2007). I fully expect to be vindicated and for the Sgt. to be arrested and convicted of official misconduct and other crimes and for the prosecutors to be charged with prosecutorial misconduct and punished appropriately. Judge Kazmierski should be disciplined and I intend to find a way to hold him accountable in a court of law or before the JIB and press.

Judge Maddux is running a criminal enterprise called the Law Division, which denies pro se litigants in particularly the constitutional rights to redress of grievances and due process. He does this by running an illegal and unconstitutional operation called the “Black Line Trial System” of which you are fully aware and condone. He also illegally denies indigent petition and then violates law by ordering his clerks not to promptly give the litigant a copy of their petition and his order concerning the petition. I have now publicized this misconduct and criminal RICO violation on the Internet. As you know Sheila Mannix has also documented and publicized the RICO operation run by the Family Court Division and its judges, which you apparently also condone. See:

Judge William D Maddux, in collusion with Sheriff Dart and Clerk Dorothy Brown, as well as with approval of Chief Judge Timothy Evans runs the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook Count as a Criminal Enterprise in violation of RICO. The following has been provided to the FBI and posted on my blogs:

http://cookcountyjudges.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/judge-maddux-dismisses-torts-with-dual-court-assignments-for-same-case-hidden-black-line-trial-call-rico-violation/

http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2009/05/judge-maddux-runs-law-division-cook.html

Circuit Court of Cook County Family Division is Criminal Enterprise and committing RICO violations. See federal RICO suit brought by Dr. Sheila Mannix:

1:09-cv-00103

Dorothy Brown’s Clerk’s Office has violated Supreme Court Rules and failed to transmit a notice of appeal in a criminal case, as well as has refused to pepare a record of appeal in that case, along with permitting and condoning her staff in stealing court files from pro se litigants, extorting money from indigent litigants, and causing false arrest of indigent llitigants, as noted in above Internet blogs. As you are fully aware of these crimes and have failed to act to stop further crimes and remedy the above, you are aiding and abetting in such criminal acts, as well as attempting to cover them up.

You are also fully informed that Judge Schultz, Gainer, Alonso, Pantle, Beibel have blatantly violated law, including Illinois Supreme Court Rules and United States Supreme Court Holdings. I also have evidence of misconduct of at least a half dozen other judges including Judges Kuriakos Ciecil, Brosnahan, Petrone, and Donnelly.

http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2009/04/presiding-criminal-court-judge-paul-p.html

http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2009/02/judge-jorge-alonso-overturns-federal.html

http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2009/01/criminal-acts-il-attorney-general-lisa.html

http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2008/12/save-life-dr-maisha-hamilton-bennett.html

http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2008/12/lawless-corrupt-incompetent-wacko-cook_04.html

As Chief Judge of the Circuit Court you are responsible for referring judicial misconduct to the JIB and you have failed to do so. You are also responsible for judicial assignments, yet you leave judges who blatantly violate the law in positions of authority and supervision over other judges. Your failure to do you job is not only irresponsible, but I believe purposeful.

I have also fully informed the FBI about the above schemes and crimes, as well as your refusal to do your job. I believe these acts amount to felony theft of honest services, felony conspiracy to violate rights under color of law, felony violation of rights under color of law, obstruction of justice, extortion, fraud, official misconduct, and wire fraud, as well as other crimes including felony RICO violations.

I respectfully therefore, as a citizen on behalf of the people of Cook County ask for your resignation as Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Sincerely,
Linda Lorincz Shelton, Ph.D., M.D.

Judge Maddux Runs Law Division Cook County Court as Criminal Enterprise - Dr Linda Shelton Unlawfully Arrested

Circuit Court of Cook County Law Division Presiding Judge William Maddux blatantly violates constitutional rights of litigants and runs the Circuit Court of Cook County Law Division as a criminal enterprise to enrich the County of Cook Circuit Court Clerk’s Office and Sheriff’s Office. He requires indigent plaintiffs to pay-to-play in regards to enforcing their rights to redress of grievances by filing a suit. He illegally denies indigency petitions. He illegally orders his clerks to refuse to give the litigant a copy of the order granting or denying the indigency petition.

Dr. Linda Shelton unlawfully arrested by A/C Nolan of the Cook County Sheriff's Office when she tried to get Sheriff to enforce her right to sue as an indigent person. Sheriff Dart and Court Clerk Dorothy Brown aiding and abetting, or participating in this RICO crime. This is racketeering to enrich a criminal enterprise - the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Cook County Sheriff's Office. This also illegally denies the right of citizens in Illinois to sue corrupt officials and police in C[r]ook County Illinois and Chicago.

For details please read the following document:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15575803/Cook-County-Circuit-Court-a-Criminal-Enterprise-Judge-Maddux-2009

If you wish to help fight this corruption please donate to Dr Linda Shelton's legal fund:

Make checks payable to J. Nicolas Albukerk & Associates
Write on them - "for Dr. Linda Shelton legal fund

C/O J. Nicolas Albukerk and Associates
Dr. Linda Shelton legal fund
3025 W. 26th Street, 2nd floor
Chicago, IL 60623

Illinois Corruption from Stem to Stern - Recent Summary

The University of Illinois Political Science Department has written an excellent summary of corruption cases over the last 35 years or so. This is a great reference and illustrates that Illinois is run by patronage, bribery, and a long-term mentality of pay-to-play. Competence and cost-effectiveness are ignored. Power, greed, and patronage rules. That is one reason Illinois has more politicians per capita than any other state and why corruption costs taxpayers over $ 500
million per year. As most contracts in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois require 10 % kickbacks (bribes) the burden of corruption on taxpayers in Illinois is huge and a large reason for our failing economy in Illinois.

http://www.uic.edu/depts/pols/ChicagoPolitics/Anti-corruptionReportNumber2.pdf

In my opinion, until we have a truth commission that encourages open confession and transparency, Illinois will not change.

Cook County Jail Officer Charged with Bringing Drugs into Jail

A Cook County jail guard was ordered held on $250,000 bail April 17, 2009 after allegedly smuggling marijuana, tobacco and Bacardi rum into the Cook County Jail for an inmate.
Jose C. Nava Jr., 37, is charged with official misconduct and bringing contraband into a penal institution, among other charges.

See Chicago Sun Times article:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1531637,county-officer-sneaks-drugs-into-jail-041709.article

Cook County Jail Computer SO OLD its Dangerous

The County of Cook has been so negligent in not funding computer upgrades that lawyers have asked a federal judge to order it to update the 30 year old antiquated DOS based computer system at the largest county jail in the country. Even Sheriff Dart admits that there is a danger of releasing the wrong inmate.

This is typical of Cook County where pay-to-play is King and priorities are backwards. Despite the highest county taxes in the country, Cook County because it wastes 10% of the citizen's tax dollars on "required" kickbacks, excess employees with four hour lunches, and padded salaries of incompetent patronage hires, can't afford the basics that ensure public safety. Corruption is still King in Cook County.

For more information see:

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/03/cook-county-jail-computer.html

Presiding Criminal Court Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr Violates Law - Withdraws Defendant's Notice of Appeal

I filed a Notice of Appeal as a right with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County on March 9, 2009. I was found not guilty of Medicaid vendor fraud because it was a case of ID theft. I am NOT appealing the verdict. I am appealing the issue of jurisdiction both because controversies remain and due to the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine.

The Circuit Court loses jurisdiction once the Notice of Appeal is file. The Clerk of the Court is required by law to transmit the Notice of Appeal to the Illinois Appellate Court.

On March 20, 2009 Judge Biebel sue sponte wrote an order barring the Clerk from transmitting the Notice of Appeal or from preparing the record on appeal, illegally declaring that there was “no appeallable order”.

I too the Notice of Appeal to the Illinos Appellate Court and had the case docketed - 09-0949. I also filed the following two motions. Judge Biebel has violated his oath of office by blatantly violating law.

The result of his order would have been to deny the appeal of the jurisdictional issue, which if I win, will set precedent and prove that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Unit in conjunction with the Office of Inspector General Federal Dept. of Health and Human Services have been illegally and baselessly prosecuting a number of quality and dedicated providers of mental health services to persons on Medicaid. A win would free Dr. Maisha Hamilton Bennett, overturn her conviction and overturn the conviction of Naomi Jennings and perhaps others I don’t know about, as well as force the prosecution against Vernon Glass to cease.

As explained in the following link AG Madigan and IL Medicaid (started by previous AG Ryan and previous administrations) have a scheme to deny mental health care to persons on Medicaid, use this as a phony claim they are tough on fraud for election purposes, and use this to help balance the IL budget on the backs of the mentally ill. They are claiming that Medicaid will not pay for psychiatric services performed by non-physicians such as licensed drug-addiction counselors and psychologists when billed fee-for-service as employees of physicians. They claim it is felony fraud for a physician to bill Medicaid for services of such licensed employees.
This essentially denies mental health care to persons on Medicaid as > 80 % of mental health care in this country is provided by non-physicians. We need 30,000+ pediatric psychiatrists yet the country has less than 5,000. Failure to provide mental health care increases crime, misery, family disruption, and poverty. It is a disaster to our economy. Judge Biebel is part of the problem, not the solution. He should be impeached. As presiding criminal division judge he should be held to a higher standard and should know better.

For a detailed and exhaustive analysis of the fraudulent nature of the charges and the state scheme see:
http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2009/02/judge-jorge-alonso-overturns-federal.html
For a detailed analysis of why the indictment is legally insufficient and therefore the case is void see:
http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2008/10/legally-insufficient-indictment-failure.html
For a shorter description of the scheme by the state to deny mental health care see:
http://illinoiscorruption.blogspot.com/2008/10/criminal-scheme-of-il-attorney-general.html
For detailed discussion of the jurisditional issues in a federal Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus which was denied and is pending before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals under the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine see:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9708949/Shelton-Federal-Petition-for-Writ-Habeas-Corpus-Vendor-Fraud-2008

The following is my Motion to the IL Appellate Court to overturn Judge Biebel’s void and illegal order:

IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
FIRST DISTRICT

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
) of Cook County, Illinois
Plaintiff-Appellee )
)
-vs.- ) No. 04 CR 17571-03
)
LINDA L. SHELTON )
) Honorable Jorge Alonso
Defendant-Appellant ) Judge Presiding

MOTION TO ORDER JUDGE PAUL P. BIEBEL JR. TO VACATE HIS ILLEGAL ORDER FOR CIRCUIT COURT CLERK NOT TO TRANSMIT NOTICE OF APPEAL TO APPELLATE COURT

NOW COMES, Linda Shelton, Defendant, Pro Se, who respectfully moves this Honorable Court to order Presiding Circuit Court of Cook County Criminal Division Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr. to vacate his illegal order for Circuit Court of Cook County Clerk not to transmit Notice of Appeal in above titled case to Illinois Appellate Court. In support of this motion Defendant states as follows:
Defendant, pro se, filed Notice of Appeal (Exhibit A) with the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County (“Clerk”) on March 9, 2009 and requested the Clerk to prepare the Record on Appeal.
Defendant, on April 10, 2009, received an order made sue sponte by Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr. instructing the Clerk NOT to transmit the Notice of Appeal to this Appellate Court stating that there was no final appealable order. (Exhibit B)
Notice of Appeal states that Defendant was found not guilty on February 24, 2009, but was appealing NOT THE VERDICT, but the issue of JURISDICTION of the court.
The Illinois Appellate Court, 3rd District in King v. DeDonker, 17 Ill.App.3d 1064, 309 N.E.2d 598 (1974) ruled that a judge’s refusal to enter a finding of not guilty after a not guilty verdict was a final appealable order. The United States Supreme Court in several cases granted certiorari after not guilty verdicts and ruled that issues in cases where there were not guilty verdicts were appealable if they met two tests: 1) there remained a controversy, and 2) when there is no threat of either multiple punishments or successive prosecutions as a result of overturning the decisions of the trial court; in essence that as long as the double jeopardy clause is not offended the appeal is not barred. United States v. Jenkins, 420 U.S. 358, 95 S.Ct. 1006, (1975); Serfass v. United States, 420 U.S. 377, 95 S.Ct. 1055 (1975); United States v. Wilson, 420 U.S. 332, 95 S.Ct. 1013 (1975); United States v. Martin Linen Supply Co, 430 U.S. 564, 97 S.Ct 1349 (1977); and United States v. Ceccolini, 435 U.S. 268, 98 S.Ct. 1054 (1978)
A case is only moot when it involves no controversy. Hynde v. Hopper, 56 Ill.App.2d 152, 205 N.E.2d 647 (1965)
In the present case there remains a controversy – the issue of personal and subject matter jurisdiction. The appeal and decision about this controversy denying Defendant’s multiple motions to dismiss pretrial for lack of jurisdiction was barred until there was a final order of the court (finding of not guilty after not guilty jury verdict). The issue is not moot because a decision on jurisdiction will solve several remaining controversies. There is no limitations on the time to appeal void orders.
First, if the case lacked jurisdiction and was null and void ab initio, then all bail orders are void and the Clerk may not retain the 10% of the bail or $1100, and she must return this money to the Defendant.
Second, if the case was null and void ab initio, then the case must be expunged from Defendant’s criminal record without charge to her and without the requirement that she apply for it to be expunged.
Third, if the case was null and void ab initio, then two findings of criminal contempt found during the precedings would also be null and void and must be vacated and expunged, even IF the defendant had made contemptuous statements or made contemptuous actions during these two hearings which would become nullities. ACC 050087-01 and ACC 070057-01
Fourth and finally, Defendant also claims that the issue of jurisdiction is not moot because if the valid controversy of alleged lack of jurisdiction in this case is resolved in favor of the State’s position that there is jurisdiction, res judicata on this issue would bar any tort action against Judge Pantle and Attorney General Lisa Madigan in federal case number 1:06-cv-04259, a pending civil rights suit against these persons on hold in federal court pending the disposition of this criminal case (now it will be taken off of hold status). The orders of the federal court based on presumed absolute judicial and prosecutorial immunity did not address the merits of the allegation of total lack of jurisdiction of prosecutor or Trial Court and its judge. Therefore, the Federal District Court has NOT decided this jurisdictional issue in the pending case, 1:06-cv-04259. There is no issue of res judicata barring the consideration by the Illinois Appellate Court of the controversy concerning jurisdiction in this case. The Federal Court order removing these two persons from the suit as defendants will be appealed due to their lack of jurisdiction. This order of the Federal District Court in case number 1:06-cv-04259 becomes null and void if this Illinois Appellate Court rules that this criminal case was null and void ab initio, as prosecutors and judges lose absolute immunity ONLY when they are declared to have NO jurisdiction in a case. Therefore a controversy remains as to whether the Illinois Attorney General ever had jurisdiction to indict and prosecute defendant and whether the Trial Court ever had jurisdiction to hear this case, based on the resulting void indictment. The resolution of this controversy has immediate impact on the resolution of the above mentioned federal case and on the convictions of Maisha Hamilton Bennett and Naomi Jennings, as well as on the pending criminal case against Vernon Glass. All these cases involve the same charges and the same issues leading to the conclusion that there was a lack of trial court and prosecutorial jurisdiction or authority as listed in the Notice of Appeal. Therefore, harm will befall defendant and continue to befall Maisha Hamilton Bennett, Naomi Jennings, and Vernon Glass if the issue on this appeal of jurisdiction is not resolved in defendant’s favor.
Therefore, the Illinois Appellate Court is NOT BARRED from hearing this appeal pertaining solely to the jurisdictional issues.

WHEREFORE, Defendant, respectfully moves this Honorable Court to issue an order for Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr. to vacate his order of March 20, 2009 to the Clerk not to transmit the Notice of Appeal to this Honorable Court.

Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/109-1 I certify that the statements set forth herein are true and correct.
Dated: April 14, 2009
Respectfully Submitted,
___________________
Linda L. Shelton, Ph.D., M.D. Linda L. Shelton

Dwight Penitentiary for Women - Abuse of Inmates Standard Fair

Two federal lawsuits allege a pattern of sexual misconduct and repeated inmate rapes at Dwight Correctional Center with the knowledge of administrators at the maximum-security prison.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/03/20/news/doc47e1fc57db601224975909.txt

Gov. Quinn - Please Pardon Debra Gindorf, Post-Partum Psychosis is an Illness NOT a Crime

GOV. QUINN GRANTED CLEMENCY ON MAY 1, 2009 REDUCING DEBRA'S SENTENCE FROM LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE TO 48 YEARS. SINCE SHE HAS SERVED 24 YEARS AND THE SENTENCING LAW AT THE TIME REQUIRED A PRISONER TO SERVE HALF THE SENTENCE SHE WILL BE RELEASED IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS ONCE PAROLE CONDITIONS ARE SET AND LIVING ARRANGMENT IS APPROVED.

PLEASE WRITE OR CALL GOV. PAT QUINN IN SUPPORT OF PARDON AT:
Quinn, Pat 217-782-6830

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
CAPITOL BLDG RM 207
SPRINGFIELD IL 62706-1150

AN E-MAIL I SENT TO GOV. QUINN TODAY:

I am appalled that former Gov. Blagojevic ignored so many clemency petitions [THOUSANDS]. I am writing to bring to your urgent attention one of the most egregious cases where a person was wrongfully convicted. I wrote a letter several years ago to the Prisoner Review Board as an expert on pediatrics and post-partum psychosis, on her behalf urging clemency.

This case is a national and international embarrassment to Illinois. I urge you to make it your FIRST ACT of clemency ASAP.

Ms. Gindorf was a 20ish single mother of two small children/babies 24+ years ago - she had been abandoned by the father and was very poor. In a psychotic act due to post-partum psychosis and due to EGREGIOUS neglect of friends, family, and the state in not providing her the medical/psychiatric/social service help she needed, she apparently heard voices telling her to kill herself and take her children to heaven with her. She was also deeply depressed about her personal situation.

A family member suffered the same after giving birth two times, but I and family were always there to help her through this time. Unfortunately NO ONE WAS THERE TO HELP MS. GINDORF.

As a result she carefully washed and dressed her children/babies and gave them an overdose of over the counter medication (I’m not completely sure about what medication but that doesn’t matter) and also took an overdose herself. However, being young, uneducated and naive, she didn’t give herself a big enough dose and woke up later finding her children dead.

She was charged and convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole, because those many years ago the disease of post-partum psychosis was not recognized, and the murder of children always gets no sympathy from jurors who are so overwhelmed with passion against the murderer that they don’t usually think fairly or rationally.

She was clearly innocent due to temporary insanity from the post-partum psychosis. All the psychiatrists and a half dozen others who have examined her since or who are nationally renowned now support clemency. No where else in the world, let alone the U.S. are we so irrational and harsh in treatment of women with post-partum psychosis who commit crimes. It is a national and international disgrace and a stain on Illinois.

PLEASE SHOW THE WORLD, ILLINOIS, AND MS GINDORF THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THE WRONG DONE TO HER AND GRANT HER A FULL PARDON. I BELIEVE SHE IS ONLY REQUESTING CLEMENCY. Please pull out her clemency petition from the pile and review it first.

In Europe, women with this illness who murder their children are sent to a mental hospital for two years and released. [In England those that murder their child under age one are evaluated by a psychiatrist and if they did it due to post-partum psychosis, they are not prosecuted but are forced to undergo psychiatric treatment as long as necessary]. High-profile cases where a woman drowned her five children have resulted in not guilty verdicts due to post-partum psychosis. PLEASE SHOW THE WORLD THAT ILLINOIS IS COMPASSIONATE AND BRING IT INTO THE 21ST CENTURY NOW BY IMMEDIATELY GRANTING A FULL PARDON TO MS. GINDORF. I’m sure she will be shocked if you pardon her and not just release her with clemency.

Gov., I believe you are a rational, honest, and hard-working leader. Please reveal this to the world by taking this action!! I do not know Ms. Gindorf, but she deserves your mercy and a chance to recover some small amount of money from the state for wrongful incarceration and the way she has been mistreated by the courts. 24+ years in prison when she is innocent due to a transient mental psychosis is simply barbaric. Within a year of the “crime” she no longer was a danger to society or anyone. She is punished daily with the knowledge that she took the lives of her children, but has received mental health care and now copes with this reality.

This is a treatable illness that even goes away on its own within 6 mo to a year after the child’s birth and only recurs with pregnancy. Most women suffering from it if not treated commit suicide. It is treatable even after subsequent pregnancies. Ms. Gindorf, due to her age, no longer has the option of pregnancy so she is not a risk to anyone.

I am available for discussion at any time about the details of post-partum psychosis.

May the Lord give you the wisdom and strength to act quickly and boldly to reverse this injustice. I know you have a lot on your plate, but this action is sorely needed and will make you and all of us in Illinois feel a little better about admitting our mistakes. Please give Ms. Gindorf justice.

Yours truly,
Linda Lorincz Shelton, Ph.D., M.D.

Cook County Jail Staff Daily Commits Assault with a Deadly Weapon

Jerry Brown, the Attorney General of California has indicted a doctor, a nurse, and a pharmacist for elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon for forcing high doses of psychotropic medications on Alzeimer's and other patients to shut them up and keep them in a zombie like state. Three patients died due to results of these wrongful acts.

In Illinois it is illegal to involuntarily force psychotropic drugs like Haldol, Zyprexa, Ativan and even Benedryl by injection on patients unless they are an immediate danger to their own life or someone else's life and then a court order must be obtained to continue the medication involuntarily.

CCDOC officers constantly request nurses to give such medication to shut up complaints by inmates, to quiet them even though they are not harming anyone and are locked in their cells, and in retaliation for disagreements with the officers. Nurses call doctors on the phone and ask for prescriptions and the doctors illegally prescribe the medication without examining the patients. Even if they examine the patients doctors at CCDOC under the direction of the Director of Psychiatry, Dr. David Carrington, continue to violate ethical standards and the law with such prescriptions when they are not needed and when there has not been adequate evaluations or diagnoses that require such medication. Even if the medications may be indicated, they cannot be given involuntarily except under strict guidelines.

I complained to the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commissions Human Rights Authority Branch that by law must investigate complaints of violations of the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code. They sustained my complaint that psychotropic drugs were being given illegally to inmates to shut them up. After the HRA warned Dr. Carrington that this illegal practice must stop, Dr. Carrington and his staff with assistance of the officers are continuing to violate the law. Each act of forcing psychotropic drugs on an inmate/patient without proper diagnosis and without documentation that they are a danger to their own life or the life of others is a class A misdemeanor.

For more details about this "Haldol Menace" see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA2S-oOOJyY&NR=1

Dr. Carrington should be disciplined, his license revoked, the nurse's involved licenses revoked, and the officers retrained to understand the law and how to properly help in the mental health care of mentally ill persons without assaulting them.

If this was California, Dr. Carrington would be charged with abuse of patients and assault with a deadly weapon and face up to 11 years in prison. Why is State's Attorney Anita Alvarez doing nothing? Why is the United States Attorney who came to the same conclusion about this medical battery and malpractice doing nothing? We need a public outcry, legislative hearings, and indictments and action by the Illinois Department of Professional Responsibility.

Please complain to:
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, Cook County State's Attorney, 50 W. Washington, Room 500, Chicago, IL 60602,
Patrick Fitzgerald and Joan Laser, Asstant United State's Attorneys at 219 S. Dearborn, 5 th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604, and
the press.

This barbaric medical battery and abuse must stop! Injection of these drugs into asthmatics or others without careful review of their medical records and careful diagnosis is malpractice, assault with a deadly weapon, and medical battery. It may cause death in certain persons (fatal laryngospasm in asthmatics) and permanent brain injury. Haldol has now been documented to cause brain atrophy in long term use and has a half life of 8 days in the brain - and leads to serious complications in at least half of people it is given to.

Vastly Undertrained and Abusive Cook County Correctional Officers - Need Federal Oversight and Indictments to Issue

The United States Attorney executed a 17 month investigation of Cook County Department of Corrections for Civil Rights Violations and concluded it is a terribly deficient institution where medical care is denied resulting in death, hygiene is non-existent, illegal gratuitous violence is the norm, (against inmates by officers and gang control pitting inmate against inmate) and there is a culture of corruption. Unfortunately the officers are improperly screened so that many bullies and sociopaths get hired and abuse inmates as well as violate law.

The press release from July 2007 announcing that the U.S. Attorney had finished their investigation of civil rights violations at CCDOC:

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr0717_01.pdf

The 98 page letter to the Cook County Commissioners which describes in detail the torture, medical neglect, excessive force, and unsanitary conditions including amputation of an inmates leg because the CCDOC staff withheld antibiotics when his leg was in a cast until pus was oozing from the cast and murder of an inmates by officers who knocked out his teeth, bashed in his head resulting in a skull fracture, and then left him to die without medical care locked in a cell, is contained in the following link:

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr0717_01a.pdf

Why are there no indictments? What is the use of an investigation without teeth? Where are the outraged civil rights activists? Where is the public outrage on this issue? How can we ignore murder of inmates by guards, medical neglect requiring amputations, illegal forced druggings of inmates to shut them up, and this culture of neglect, abuse, and corruption?

Where are the hearings before the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Illinois Reform Committee, the Illinois Senate and House Judiciary Committees, and the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representative's Judiciary Committees? Where is the outrage from Senators Durbin (Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee), Obama, and McCain? This is an American Abu Ghraib. Where is the press?

Most of the officers are babies with no more than a high school education and two months of training at the Sheriff's academy at Moraine Valley Community College. That is barely enough to learn how to say "yes sir" to a supervisor, handcuff someone, how to handle a gun, and the bare basics of law, psychology, and self defense. They make up for this by being trained on the job to be loud foul-mouthed and attempt intimidation. They are also trained to act and not think and use pain procedures, mace, etc whenever possible to abuse inmates.

They have jobs at CCDOC because they are unable to obtain jobs anywhere else. They had NO skills when they graduated from High School because our education system stinks and our high school education is no better than grammar school education in other civilized countries. They work there because they obtained their job through connections or because that's one of the only things they can do that requires so little additional education. They want, immediately after high school good money, a pension, early retirement, and not much effort. They may feel pressured to get a job at the expense of education and long term goals because of acute financial needs.

They need our sympathy, but also they need oversight, better screening, and better training. You can't learn to be a correctional officer able to handle riots, psychotic inmates, medical emergencies, and irrational agression, essentially being a psychologist, a paramedic, a self-defense and control expert, and a paralegal in two months with only a high school degree. It is unfair to expect this of the officers and stupid to let them believe they have any degree of qualification to do so.

Society needs to provide treatment for mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, which is presently essentially non-available to the Medicaid population in Illinois. It would be far less costly to spend $5,000 to $10,000 per person per year on this treatment than to incarcerate these people at the cost of $40,000 + cost of welfare for their families and cost of lost taxes because they don't work, along with the cost of their arrest and court case (I am estimating about $100,000 per year per inmate). I estimate that for each individual that is incarcerated due to non-violent crimes of theft or robbery to support a habit or when they were shoplifting or harassing someone to obtain food when they were mentally ill it would cost no more than about $200,000 for 20 years of treatment, but would cost 2 million in court costs, arrest costs, incarceration costs, welfare for their families, and lost tax revenues over the same 20 years. Our society is penny wise and pound foolish with its policy about being "tough on crime" meaning excessive incarceration from long sentences and total lack of rehabilitation, mental health treatment, or drug addiction and alcoholism treatment before, during, or after incarceration. We incarcerate 40,000 in Illinois prisons and probably an equal number in jails. Even if we are conservative and say only half would not be incarcerated if proper mental health care and drug addiction and alcoholism treatment was provided we could save about 1.8 billion per year in Illinois in court costs, policing costs, jail and prison costs and cost of crime in Illinois.

I don't think the public or government understands this is a tremendously large part of the problem with our economy right now. The costs of incarcerating more than 40 X more persons per capita than any other civilized country is staggering. Not just direct costs, but costs of welfare for their children and families, lost income taxes, and long term costs for pensions for officers and correctional/court staff. 

President Obama should immediately pardon all non-violent non-dealer drug offenders, provide clemency to those that are mentally ill and committed non-violent crimes, and force the development of a plan for mental health, drug addiction and alcoholism treatment and SUPERVISION of those charged or convicted of such crimes. Inmates could be released in waves in a staged manner as such supersivion and medical care are instituted. Do you realize that if Illinois was England we would have only 1,000 persons in prison! (calculated from the per capita rate of incarceration) We must be doing something wrong!

The correctonal officers are essentially told they have the power and knowledge to act like all of the trained professionals mentioned above. In this case a little knowledge is worse than none at all because these puffed up, arrogant officers THINK they know what they are doing! The situation is extremely dangerous for both the officers and the inmates.

The "Stanford Prison Experiment" of the early 1970s proved that without extreme oversight a prison degenerates into a situation like in the book "the Lord of the Flies" - total anarchy and lawless brutality.
http://www.prisonexp.org/

Laws need to be changed and outside citizens need to provide oversight and continuing education. Extreme oversight needs to be instituted with extreme transparency. The fox cannot watch the hen house. It will take years to transition to a professional well-trained set of officers from the present vastly undertrained, horrendously incompetent, and pitifully abusive force that is now in place. Very few young new officers can avoid becoming callous, brutal, and aggressive numskulls under the pressure of their brain-washed and warped senior colleagues.

I would estimate 5 % of the officers, 25 % of the sergeants, and 50 % of the higher ranking officers and officials at the CCDOC are maliciouis, arrogant, bullies, sociopathic, and dangerous criminals who should be removed from the ranks.

The situation is even more dangerous because medical staff at intake (nurses) have ammonia inhalant capsules and illegally use them on inmates to "shock" them out of "faking" their medical problems. Ammonia is a toxic gas and these capsules used 100 yrs ago as smelling salts by ladies with tight girdles who had a tendency to faint are now abused by correctional staff. In Florida a "nurse" and officers shoved ammonia capsules at a teen in a boot camp who was forced as punishment to run around a track. The teen DIED because of laryngospasm caused by the ammonia. This was murder and the Gov. of Florida then CLOSED all the teen boot camps. The nurse and officers stood trial for MURDER, but got off free - a verdict many of us disagree with as this is at least negligent manslaughter.

I was attacked by a nurse at CCDOC at intake with an ammonia capsule. I have chemically induced asthma from an environmental accident where I was overcome by gasoline fumes and this has sensitized my lungs. I fought off the toxic ammonia being forced before my face. The physician's assistant had listened to my lungs and proclaimed I was faking an asthma attack because he didn't hear wheezes. Unfortunately he was incompetent. I have "silent chest" type severe asthma where I don't wheeze but my lungs slowly collapse and nerve injury that weakens my muscles of expiration due to a spinal cord injury. This makes me NOT wheeze during asthma attacks, especially when I already have an element of laryngospasm. Fortunately the amount of exposure to the ammonia I received was small and I only went unconscious for a short period and turned blue. Sgt. Queen, who recognized I was having an asthma attack and went back to the nurse and told her I was turning blue. The medical staff just laughed as I was waking up and has perpetuated the false rumors that I fake my medical disorders. Ammonia capsules should be BANNED at CCDOC and these medical staff should be severely disciplined. They covered their misconduct by failing to document this in my medical record.

As I have posted on this site, I have been wrongfully incarcerated at CCDOC several times, an officer attacked me (Sgt. Anthony Salemi), falsified his records, and claimed I attacked him. I was convicted wrongfully and imprisoned when the court (Dishonorable Judge Kazmierski) and Nifong-like prosecutors (Andrew Dalkin and John Maher) gave false information to the jury and Sgt. Salemi committed perjury. The judge interferred with or forbid my attorney from giving evidence that proved my innocence. I have requested meetings with SA Richard Divine and now Anita Alvarez and Sheriff Sheahan and now Dart to provide them evidence of my innocence, my wrongful conviction and the perjury and official misconduct of their staff. So far they have REFUSED to meet with me. SOOO much for justice!

Federal Judge David Coar recently ruled that the Illinois Appellate Court has WAIVED the State's right to hear my appeal first and force me to exhaust state remedies (appeals) before coming to the federal court with a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (request to overturn conviction due to actual innocence and unfair trial that violated due process as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights - including right to present evidence and defend oneself.

I have given Judge Coar the evidence of my innocence not allowed at trial. I expect within the next few months for him to overturn the conviction. Then I am hopeful Sgt. Salemi will be arrested for falsification of records, perjury, aggravated battery of a handicapped person, official misconduct and federal felony violation of civil rights under color of law along with his colleague

Sgt. Molevetti who told me "We got you on one made charge so I can write anything I want [in the jail log books] and get you on another,"

 and the officers who falsified records, improperly investigated the incident ignoring my information, or covered up this criminal act. Also I am hopeful Andrew Dalkin and John Maher will be disbarred and punished like former State's Attorney, now disbarred attorney and convict Mr. Nifong. Finally, I am prayerful that Judge Kazmierski will be disciplined and removed from the bench.

Now the potential injuries to inmates are even higher due to the authorization of the use of O.C. pepper spray and stun guns by jail supervisors and "specially trained" officers.

Unfortunately the officers who have the O.C. pepper spray are putting themselves at great risk of legal liability because the stuff can be deadly to a person like me with uncontrolled chemically induced asthma. This kind of chemical can induce a fatal asthma attack. The officers are so undertrained and the medical screening at the jail is so deficient (done by incompetent staff) that they would not be knowledgeable if the inmate had a potential to have a fatal reaction. Other conditions where it should never be used are ANY type of respiratory problem or certain heart conditions. Unfortunately the officers are not trained to humanely control psychotic or violent inmates. They are trained to damage and kill. They should be trained by mental health professionals and their teams at mental health facilities where psychology, environment, proper restraint procedures, and rational behavior are used instead of dangerous vicious and gratuitous intentional violence meant to mame and kill.

Stun guns should be banned also as they have caused many fatalities around the world and in the U.S. Anyone with a heart condition, particularly wild drug addicts and obese individuals, and particularly individuals like me with a history of serious cardiac arrythmias and invasive heart procedures is at great risk of death if stunned. Again the officers are so aggressive, malicious, careless, and untrained that they don't know or don't care about an inmates physical condition. Lt. Pan even said to the female inmates on 3E "We don't care if you're alive or dead in your cells, we just have to count you."

CCDOC is a death chamber. They take a body out every 4th day or so. Most do not die of natural causes, despite the fraudulent claims of the medical examiner. They die of abuse, battery, and medical neglect. The fact that the United States Attorney knows about this and has indicted no one is atrocious. It's like telling a notorious gang "We investigated you and found you engage in murder, extortion, prostitution, gambling, and massive illegal drug dealing, so we are asking you to review this and make a plan to stop." How bizarre! How outrageous! How illegal!

I request a meeting with Sheriff Dart, Mental Health Professionals, Drug Addiction Professionals, Drug legalization advocates, Prison reform advocates, Prison and Jail Experts from other countries who do this better and from in the U.S., along with officials in Gov. Quinn's administration and President Obama's administration to sit down and come up with a plan.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall