Articles

Group seeks 2nd hearing on tainted East Chicago site’s cleanup

East Chicago community group is asking for a second public hearing on the proposed cleanup of the site of a public housing complex that was evacuated and demolished because of industrial contamination. The East Chicago Calumet Coalition Community Advisory Group says many residents didn’t get to speak at a Nov. 29 hearing about a $26.5 million project to remove tainted soil from the site of the West Calumet Housing Complex.

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Indiana midterm election turnout hit 51 percent

Voter participation in Indiana’s fall election was 51 percent, the first time since 1994 that the state topped 50 percent in a midterm election. Henry County had the highest turnout in Indiana with 64 percent of registered voters casting a ballot, while Vigo and Madison counties had the lowest turnout at 44 percent of registered voters. 

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Indiana Supreme Court calls for review of bar exam

Amid slumping passage rates, the Indiana Supreme Court has created a special commission to review the state’s bar exam and make recommendations for changes in format or content, including whether to modify what is considered a passing score.

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Washington to pay respects, bid farewell to George H.W. Bush

George H.W. Bush is set to embark on his final tour of Washington, the capital city that is remembering the 41st president’s lifetime of public service that began in the Navy during World War II, ended with one term as president and was characterized throughout by what admirers say was his innate decency, generosity and kindness.

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Judge: Woman can’t keep pet pigs in Anderson

A judge has ruled that a woman can’t keep her three miniature pigs within the city limits of her central Indiana community. Madison Circuit Court Judge George Pancol rejected Lily Harsh’s appeal of a 2017 decision by the Anderson Board of Zoning Appeals to deny her a zoning variance to keep the pet pigs.

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High court rejects request to reinstate murderer Baer’s death sentence

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request by Indiana’s attorney general’s office to reinstate the death sentence of a man convicted of killing a central Indiana woman and her 4-year-old daughter. Monday’s decision leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling that threw out Frederick Baer’s death sentence because he had ineffective legal counsel. He’ll now be resentenced by an Indiana court.

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Target in Mueller probe files complaint against prosecutors

A conservative author in the crosshairs of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has filed a complaint with the Justice Department, alleging prosecutors tried to coerce him to give false testimony. Jerome Corsi said Monday the prosecutors were trying to entice him to lie to a grand jury and threatened to indict him.

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7th Circuit revives Indiana wine retailer’s challenge to Illinois liquor laws

Finding the arguments needed to be allowed to ferment a little while longer, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has returned a dispute involving an Indiana wine retailer and Illinois’ liquor laws back to the district court for further proceedings. The case, Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc., et al. v. Bruce V. Rauner, et al. and Wine & Spirits Distributors of Illinois, 17-2495, raises the oft-asked question of how far states can go under the 21st Amendment in regulating alcohol within their borders.

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Judge strikes lethal injection secrecy law, says lawmakers ‘overstepped’

The Indiana Department of Correction has again lost a suit in which it argues to keep secret the drugs it would use in a lethal injection. The judge in the case extraordinarily outlined how the DOC, the governor’s office, and the Indiana General Assembly appeared to directly undermine her order that the department disclose the drugs it might use in a potential execution.

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Elkhart police chief suspended after discipline reports

A northern Indiana police chief has been suspended 30 days without pay after revelations that two of his officers received only reprimands for repeatedly punching a handcuffed man and that nearly all of his supervisors have been disciplined at some point in their careers.

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Mueller accuses Manafort of breaking plea agreement by lying

The special counsel in the Russia investigation is accusing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of violating his plea agreement by repeatedly lying to federal investigators, an extraordinary allegation that could expose him to a lengthier prison sentence — and potentially more criminal charges.

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Appeals court orders return of $60K in seized cash

The Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered the return of more than $60,000 in cash seized by an Indianapolis detective who was checking packages at a parcel-shipping company. The same detective’s prior seizure of cash in a similar manner set the precedent in a 2017 case that such searches are unlawful.

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