Two Chicago police officers charged last month with shaking down drug dealers were released Monday from a federal Loop jail to home detention pending trial.
Prosecutors had opposed the release of Officers Corey Flagg and Eural Black from the Metropolitan Correctional Center, but they did not appeal the ruling by U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall.
Two other officers, Broderick Jones and Darek Haynes, have been ordered held in custody as dangers to the community.
ARSON PROBE: A string of arsons were set Sunday and Monday on the Northwest Side, including a blaze that destroyed the computer room of the Immaculate Conception School, officials said.
Firefighters responded at 5 a.m. Monday to the blaze in the school, 7263 W. Talcott Ave., where they found two fires, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. The Chicago police bomb and arson unit is conducting an investigation, police spokeswoman Patrice Harper said.
Two other fires were set early Monday. Two Dumpsters were set on fire at 1:40 a.m. behind Brandy’s Hot Dogs at 6262 N. Harlem Ave., Langford said. At the Norwood Park field house at 5801 N. Natoma Ave., a window was broken, and a curtain was set on fire at 2:10 a.m.
ASSIGNMENT OVER: A temporary reassignment has come to an end for a Criminal Court judge who was sent to counseling for using profanity at the conclusion of the trial of a Chicago police officer convicted of reckless driving, officials said Monday.
Judge Stanley Sacks has returned to the criminal division effective Monday, the office of Chief Cook County Circuit Judge Timothy Evans announced.
Sacks was ordered into mentoring and anger-management counseling after a profanity-laced outburst last year.
NEW LAWS: People convicted of minor drug and prostitution offenses will be able to tell potential employers they have never been convicted of a crime, and prospective voters will have more time to register to vote under legislation Gov. Blagojevich signed Monday.
The first bill, which allows some non-violent offenders to seal their criminal records, will make it easier for people who have committed minor offenses to get jobs, Blagojevich said. Job applicants would not have to say they’ve been convicted of any crime if they are asked while applying for jobs.
Offenders would have to wait four years before they could get their records sealed, and law enforcement would still have access to the records, officials said.
The second bill extends the state’s voter registration deadline, allowing prospective voters to register up to 14 days before an election, instead of the previous 28 days.
