If Romeo were alive today, he would be a sex offender. That’s the situation with Illinois sex offender laws, say reformers calling for changes to laws they say unfairly stigmatize low-risk teenage offenders. Illinois law criminalizes so-called “Romeo and Juliet” relationships, in which two consenting teens have sexual contact but one is under the age […]
legal
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Stamping out hate
No more nooses, says the Springfield-based Coalition to Promote Human Dignity and Diversity. No more swastikas, KKK marches or hate-inspired arson. It’s time to stamp out hate expressions in Springfield. That was the message at the coalition’s Nov. 15 public forum on hate activities and hate crimes at Union Baptist Church, 1405 East Monroe St. […]
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Dog fight ends with hall pass
A legal battle over a boy and his dog has ended, allowing an autistic second-grader to bring his service dog to school for good. In a ruling released Aug. 24, the Fourth District Appellate Court of Illinois said the Villa Grove Community Unit School District #302, located south of Champaign-Urbana, could not keep seven-year-old Kaleb […]
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Should pig opponents have to pay?
A contested hog farm in Rochester is once again the topic of debate as the group formed to stop the farm’s construction fights to avoid paying almost $300,000 in damages. Last month, the Illinois 4th District Appellate Court ruled that Rochester farmer Robert Young was entitled to damages caused by an injunction that delayed the […]
