Blogger Who Said Judges Deserve to Die Was Trained by FBI to Incite Others, Attorney Says

*Hey Hal Turner…FUCK YOU.*

A New Jersey blogger facing charges in two states for allegedly making threats against lawmakers and judges had training from the FBI on how to be deliberately provocative, his attorney said Tuesday.

Hal Turner worked for the FBI from 2002 to 2007 as an “agent provocateur” and was taught by the agency “what he could say that wouldn’t be crossing the line,” defense attorney Michael Orozco said.

“His job was basically to publish information which would cause other parties to act in a manner which would lead to their arrest,” Orozco said.

Prosecutors have acknowledged that Turner was an informant who spied on radical right-wing organizations, but Turner was not working for the FBI when he allegedly made threats against Connecticut legislators and wrote that three federal judges in Illinois deserved to die.

“But if you compare anything that he did say when he was operating, there was no difference. No difference whatsoever,” Orozco said.

Orozco spoke to reporters after a court hearing in Hartford on Tuesday. Turner, 47, of North Bergen, N.J., did not appear, because he is in federal custody in Illinois. His arraignment on the Connecticut charges was rescheduled to Oct. 19.

In June, Turner urged his readers to “take up arms” against Connecticut lawmakers and suggested government officials should “obey the Constitution or die,” because he was angry over legislation — later withdrawn — that would have given lay members of Roman Catholic churches more control over their parish’s finances.

He wrote in Internet postings the same month that the Illinois federal appeals judges “deserve to be killed” because they issued a ruling that upheld ordinances in Chicago and suburban Oak Park banning handguns. He included their photos and the room numbers of their chambers at the courthouse.

Orozco officially joined Turner’s defense team in the Connecticut case on Tuesday, with approval from Superior Court Judge David Gold. Orozco said his Newark, N.J.-based firm has been representing Turner for the past five years, including during his FBI informant years.

Turner’s Connecticut attorney, Matthew R. Potter, said it’s too early to tell which trial will move forward first. Orozco said he plans First Amendment defenses in both cases.

Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago, said the office would not comment on Orozco’s statements. The FBI office in Chicago didn’t immediately return a call for comment Tuesday.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202433145191&Blogger_Who_Said_Judges_Deserve_to_Die_Was_Trained_by_FBI_to_Incite_Others_Attorney_Says_

Caterpillar to lay off 2,454 workers in 3 states

*Hmmm…that worked well.*

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Caterpillar Inc. on Tuesday announced plans to lay off more than 2,400 employees at five plants in Illinois, Indiana and Georgia as the heavy equipment maker continues to cut costs amid the global economic downturn.

Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of mining and construction equipment, has seen its sales wither as the sluggish world economy and the credit crisis weaken demand for its products, used to build everything from houses to highways. The company had expanded dramatically in recent years, helped by a building boom in developing countries.

In response to the worsening conditions, Caterpillar in January announced job cuts that will ultimately eliminate 20,000 positions. It also said it would slash executive compensation by up to 50 percent and offer buyouts to about 25,000 U.S.-based employees. Caterpillar, which employs about 112,000 people worldwide, said it had imposed a global hiring freeze.

In the latest cuts, the Peoria, Ill.-based company said 2,365 support and management workers had been notified of layoffs expected to last at least six months – including 245 announced previously – and 89 workers will be let go permanently.

Among the affected workers are 1,726 people at plants in Illinois. They include 911 workers at a plant in East Peoria that makes track-type tractors and pipelayers and 815 at a factory in Aurora that produces hydraulic excavators and wheel loaders. Caterpillar notified the employees Tuesday of the layoffs expected to last at least six months starting in June.

In Indiana, Caterpillar said it notified 439 employees at its large engine factory in Lafayette of layoffs effective May 29, also expected to last at least six months. The plant makes diesel engines for boats, locomotives and other applications.

Caterpillar notified 89 employees at its Jefferson, Ga., fuel systems plant that they would be laid off permanently when the company closes the facility, expected by the end of June. Work currently done at the plant will be shifted to factories in Thomasville, Ga., and Pontiac, Ill.

Also in Georgia, Caterpillar said it had notified 200 employees at a plant in Griffin, where the company makes generators, engines and oil service units, of layoffs scheduled to begin in May.

Meanwhile, the company has implemented so-called rolling layoffs, which vary in duration, at plants across the country and around the world, according to Jim Dugan, a Caterpillar spokesman.

Caterpillar – perhaps best known for its yellow-and-black painted backhoes, tractors and paving machines – said more layoffs may be needed as the year continues, depending on business conditions.

In January, Caterpillar said its earnings plunged 32 percent in the last three months of 2008, and that it had lowered its 2009 profit expectations. Demand plummeted at the end of the year, pulled down by slumping commodity prices, tight credit markets and a decline in home building. It said a first-quarter loss is possible as costs may outstrip falling orders.

In February, Caterpillar said it planned to offer early retirement packages to about 2,000 production workers.

President Barack Obama, during a visit to a Caterpillar factory last month, said the company’s chief executive, Jim Owens, had promised to rehire some workers if Congress approved the president’s economic stimulus plan. But Owens later said more cuts were likely before the company could start hiring again, and that a stimulus plan was unlikely to have an effect on the economy until late 2009 or early 2010.

The White House tried Tuesday to sound a positive note despite the news of more layoffs at Caterpillar.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House was confident the stimulus bill will create opportunities for Caterpillar and other companies to grow their businesses because of the many construction projects states will be breaking ground on.

“The president believes as the money begins to get let out as a result of the Recovery and Reinvestment plan, that businesses will make different economic decisions,” Gibbs told reporters.

Shares of Caterpillar rose 41 cents to close at $26.83 on Tuesday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CATERPILLAR_LAYOFFS?SITE=AP

This post removed due to Cook County government intimidation

*Just a TAD bit freaky, eh?*

This is the URL given for a story entitled “Why doesn’t Rahm Emanuel pay property taxes?” which includes the following comments.

According to the Cook County Assessor’s website, the Chicago home of four-term Democrat Congressman and new White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, doesn’t exist. While the address of 4228 North Hermitage is listed as Emanuel’s residence on the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website, there seems to be no public record of Emanuel ever paying property taxes on this home.

The Cook County Assessor’s and Cook County Treasurer’s online records indicate Emanuel’s Chicago neighbors pay between $3,500 and $7,000 annually. However, Illinois Review has been unable to locate any evidence that the former Clinton advisor and investment banker is paying his fair share of Cook County’s notoriously high tax burden.

One can understand why pressure may have been brought to bear to yank this story at the original source.

http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/11/why-doesnt-rahm.html

Spate of ‘zombie’ attacks hit road signs

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Pranksters in at least three states are messing with electronic road signs meant to warn motorists of possible traffic problems by putting drivers on notice about zombies and raptors. Highway officials aren’t amused.

The latest breach came Tuesday morning near the St. Louis suburb of Collinsville, Ill., where hackers changed a sign on southbound Interstate 255 to read, “Daily Lane Closures Due To Zombies.”

A day earlier in Indiana’s Hamilton County, the electronic message in a construction zone warned drivers of “Raptors Ahead — Caution.”

The incidents follow one in Austin on Jan. 26 in which a sign on Lamar Boulevard was reprogrammed to flash: “Nazi Zombies! Run!!!” and “Caution! Zombies! Ahead!!!”

Officials in Illinois say they are concerned the signs distract motorists from heeding legitimate hazards down the road. The hacked sign Tuesday had warned drivers of crews replacing guardrails.

Some Web sites, such as Jalopnik.com, have published tutorials on “How to Hack an Electronic Road Sign,” reputedly as a way to alert traffic safety officials to security holes. Jalopnik urges its readers not to put the lesson to practice.

“Hacking generally is about showing where there are holes in security systems, and I think this is a great example of that,” said the site’s editor-in-chief, Ray Wert. “We’re trying to make clear this is an issue that needs to be confronted by traffic safety and transportation officials.”

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/nation/02/05/0205zombie.html

V-shaped craft low flying over Chicago

CHICAGO – JAN. 5, 2009 – A low flying V-shaped object was spotted by a Dan Ryan Expressway driver just before 5 a.m. at the Cumberland Exit, according to information filed with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.

The stationary craft was first visible to the man as he saw four lights in the sky – three green and one white. He noticed “divisions” between the lights.

“I could see what looked like light grey metal separating the lights, and a design that reminded me of mother of pearl coloring, shaped like frothy waves going up the metal divisions.”

Illinois MUFON Director Sam Maranto said Tuesday night that his office is following up on this sighting and he will have additional information soon.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2363-Chicago-UFO-Examiner~y2009m1d13-Vshaped-craft-low-flying-over-Chicago

Did Rahm Emanuel End Rod Blagojevich?

*Very, very interesting…why is this guy connected to nearly everything? Rather scary when you ponder the information.*

One of the more fascinating details to emerge in the Blagojevich scandal is the idea that Rahm Emanuel had a hand in the Illinois Governor’s arrest. The backstory, from Think Progress:
Marcy Wheeler catches local Chicago press reporting that Rahm Emanuel may have tipped off federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was engaging in corrupt acts. Jack Conaty, a Chicago reporter for the local Fox affiliate, said on-air that Rahm Emanuel might have been responsible for causing federal investigators to act quickly to apprehend Blagojevich this morning.
You can see the video of that report below.

TPM, however, reports getting an email tip contradicting the report:
But a source close to Rahm emails us that “it’s not true,” adding that the story is the “result of some overzealous reporting.”
Now, to me, that quote sounds like an official source trying to sound unofficial.

I spoke to a lot of people today, and while none of them would go on the record (even anonymously), not one of them tried to walk the rumor back even a little.

I think that what’s at play here is a desire to keep the focus on Blagojevich, and off of Barack Obama. While the idea that someone from his team helped to bring Blago down seems like a huge positive, it is outweighed by the desire to keep the incoming administration out of the morass and on task.

With all that in mind, I still love the idea of Blagojevich trying to out-Rahm Rahm. I envision the phone call going something like this: (Warning – Heavily asterisked expletives)

Someone should really contact David Mamet to work on this one. It’s like Glengarry Glen Ross meets The Spanish Prisoner.

RB: Rahm! F**kin’ Blago here.

RE: Blago, you ****sucker, how the f*** are you?

RB: Really f**king good, listen, I understand you’re looking to put Val (Jarrett) into the Big Guy’s seat…

RE: Yeah, we’d appreciate the s**t out of that.

RB: Yeah, here’s the thing, R-dog. It’s gonna cost you. A cool mil.

RE: What the…Who the f**k do you think you’re talking to, Blah-goya-B*tch? I will f**king END you!

RB: Ahhh, what are you gonna do, Emanuel? Give me the finger?

Re: I’ll give you the whole fist, and I bet I never even touch the sides!

RB: Oh, sorry, Rahm, I gotta go, I got The Nanny on the other line. You think it over. (click)

http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/12/10/did-rahm-emanuel-end-rod-blagojevich/

GRAND JURY SUBPOENAS ISSUED ON REZKO/OBAMA LAND DEAL

A former Illinois bank official, now claiming whistleblower status, says bank officials replaced a loan reappraisal that he prepared for a Chicago property that was purchased by the wife of now-convicted felon Tony Rezko, part of which was later sold to next-door neighbor Barack Obama.

In a complaint filed Thursday in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Kenneth J. Connor said that his reappraisal of Rita Rezko’s property was replaced with a higher one and that he was fired when he questioned the document.

Mr. Connor, a real estate and commercial credit analyst at the Mutual Bank Corp. in Chicago, also noted in the complaint that the bank received a grand jury subpoena in October 2006 requiring it to produce information concerning Mrs. Rezko’s purchase, including the bank’s files on the property.

The complaint also said that the grand jury wanted information on Mrs. Rezko’s checking account and loan file and that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) had audited the Rezko file – although Mr. Connor’s lower reappraisal had been replaced with a higher amount.

“Connor’s internal whistle-blowing activity at Mutual Bank implicates Mutual Bank and the potentially guilty officers thereof to prosecution under federal and Illinois statutes,” said the complaint, filed by attorney Glenn R. Gaffney.

The complaint said Mutual Bank officials could be guilty of making false statements, willfully overvaluing property, bank fraud, witness retaliation, willful violation of a lawful subpoena, FDIC violations, and state banking regulations.

Mr. Gaffney, contacted at his office, declined to elaborate but confirmed that the complaint had been filed.

“It says what it says,” said Mr. Gaffney of Glendale Heights, Ill.

According to the complaint, Mr. Connor reviewed the appraisal of the Rezko property by another firm, Adams Appraisal, which had set the value at $625,000. Mr. Connor’s complaint said that he told his bosses in a report that the property had been overvalued by at least $125,000 and that a “reasonable and fair evaluation” should have been no greater than $500,000.

Later, the complaint states, Mr. Connor observed that his lower appraisal was not in the Rezko file and that he notified his supervisors that it had been replaced. He said, according to the complaint, the new file had been reviewed by the FBI and “if the FBI were to ask me about such matters, I would tell them the truth. I never rescinded my original findings.”

Critics of Mr. Obama’s dealings with Rezko charge that the senator may have gotten a deal on his property purchase, noting that Mrs. Rezko paid the full asking price for her property on an adjacent lot. Both of which were sold by a single seller. Mr. Obama bought his house for $1.65 million – $300,000 below the asking price.

When the property was sold, Mr. Obama knew Rezko was under investigation on fraud charges.

The complaint said the Rezko loan was approved by Mutual Bank President and CEO Amrish Mahajan and others so that Mrs. Rezko could buy a 9,090-square-foot vacant parcel of real estate. It said that in January 2006, Mrs. Rezko and Mr. Obama, along with his wife Michelle, signed an agreement to sell a 10-foot strip of the property to the Obamas. At that point, according to the complaint, Mr. Connor’s firm asked him to conduct the reappraisal.

The complaint said Mr. Connor is seeking $4.2 million for compensatory damages, plus unspecified punitive damages.

Rezko was a key supporter and donor throughout Mr. Obama’s political career, with the Illinois Democrat estimating that Rezko raised $250,000 for his various political campaigns, though not for his presidential bid. The two were friends who talked frequently about politics and occasionally dined out together with their wives.

Rezko was convicted this summer on federal charges of using his clout with state government to squeeze kickbacks out of firms wanting to do business with the state. The charges did not involve Mr. Obama. Rezko is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in a continuing probe of corruption in Illinois government.

Mr. Obama consulted Rezko, a real estate developer, before buying his home in 2005.

As a state senator, Mr. Obama wrote letters endorsing government support of a Rezko housing project for senior citizens. Obama aides say he was simply supporting a project that would help residents of his district, not doing a favor for a friend.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/18/whistleblower-hits-obama-friends-appraisal/

Illinois Governor pressures national bank to restore credit

CHICAGO — Gov. Rod Blagojevich said this morning the state of Illinois “will suspend doing any business with Bank of America” until the company restores credit to the shuttered Republic Windows & Doors company on the North Side.

Blagojevich made the announcement after meeting with former workers who have been staging a sit-in on the factory floor since Friday to protest abruptly losing their jobs. The governor said the state has “hundreds of millions of dollars” in dealings with the bank.

“We’re going to do everything possible here in Illinois to side with these workers,” the governor said. He added that the state would go into federal court Tuesday to try to get workers the money they say they are owed.

Union leaders say they’ve been trying to get Republic’s creditor, Bank of America, to reinstate the company’s line of credit and save hundreds of jobs.

The bank has said it isn’t responsible for Republic’s financial obligations to its employees.

A meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. with bank officials, company management and a union representing the workers, U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a Chicago Democrat, said.

The workers have attracted media attention and become a national symbol for thousands of employees laid off nationwide as the economy continues to sour.

Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said Sunday her office is investigating the company.

President-elect Barack Obama said during a news conference Sunday that the company should follow through on its commitments to the workers.

Gutierrez said the workers under federal law are entitled to 60 days’ pay in the event of a shutdown.

http://www.wgntv.com/landing/?blockID=155675&feedID=1503

Illinois parks/historic sites closing

PARKS AND HISTORIC SITES CLOSING SUNDAY

A dozen Illinois state historic sites and seven state parks will close Sunday as part of budget cuts made by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to help close a $2 billion budget deficit.

PARKS CLOSING:

—Castle Rock State Park, Oregon

—Lowden State Park, Oregon

—Illini State Park, Marseilles

—Hidden Springs State Forrest, Strasburg

—Moraine View State Park, Leroy

—Weldon Springs State Park, Clinton

—Wolf Creek State Park, Windsor

HISTORIC SITES CLOSING:

—Dana-Thomas House, Springfield

—Lincoln log cabin near Charleston

—Fort de Chartres, Randolph County

—Vandalia statehouse

—State center at Bishop Hill, Henry County

—Carl Sandburg birthplace, Galesburg

—Cahokia courthouse

—Hauberg Indian Museum in Black Hawk State Historic Site, Rock Island County, but the adjacent natural area will stay open.

—Jubilee College, near Peoria

—Apple River Fort, Elizabeth

—Fort Kaskaskia, Randolph County

—Pierre Menard home, Randolph County

Local funds and volunteers will keep open at least temporarily:

—Bryant cottage, Bement

—David Davis mansion, Bloomington

Black Hawk State Historic Site to close in Rock Island

*I’m so sad about this…it is a favourite childhood memory. Sigh…everything is disappearing.*

The John Hauberg Indian Museum is the only facility in the country that tells the history of what was once Illinois’ largest city and capital of the Sauk Nation.

Housed in Black Hawk State Historic Site’s Watch Tower Lodge in Rock Island, it sits within a half-mile of that ghost town’s western edge.

This weekend may give general visitors to the museum a last look at the lives of the Sauk (Sac) and Mesquaki (Fox) Indians in the city of Saukenuk — and even a plaster cast of the head of their leader, Black Hawk. It might be the final peek visitors to the historic site get at most facilities here even though the park itself will remain open.

At least that is how things appear right now.

“We keep hoping for a reprieve. Maybe the Legislature can find a way yet,” said Janet Moline, chairwoman of the Citizens to Preserve Black Hawk Park.

Victim of budget cuts

Illinois’ elimination of financial support for state historic site personnel has played out for five months. All but four state parks have been spared, but not historic sites. Cuts — which have meant closure for some sites — were threatened on Oct. 1, then Oct. 15.

As of Monday, Black Hawk State Historic Site is slated to lose half of its paid staff of four. Lack of staffing and maintenance effectively means doors will close to the John Hauberg Indian Museum, the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum and Singing Bird Lodge.

“The heat and air conditioning will be on, but the doors are closed except for groups already booked,” Moline said. “(The citizens foundation) pays for a naturalist for groups.”

What will remain available at Black Hawk are the park’s trails and picnic shelters. A popular place for wedding receptions, the Black Hawk Room in Watch Tower Lodge, will be available for rental.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed a bill that would have provided $2.4 million to keep state historic sites staffed.

“I don’t understand what this governor did. It’s a bunch of baloney,” Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, said.

Verschoore said historic site employee salaries are not a big burden to the state. “These sites are pretty much (financially) self-sufficient. What else can you say that about?”

Thanks to private grants to Citizens to Preserve Black Hawk Park, a display about who the Sauk and Mesquaki were, when and how they arrived here and left, will open at the Hauberg Indian Museum on May 9 next year.

“There will be a grand opening,” Moline said.

Site supervisor Beth Carvey added, “Even though we’re in crisis mode, we’re still moving forward.”

Moline is glad grants keep programming afloat, but the state’s actions disappoint her.

“It’s the state’s responsibility — not private groups or citizens — to make the history of Saukenuk available.”

Efforts to stay open

Lack of interest was not the reason funding was suspended.

Black Hawk State Historic Site Supervisor Scott Roman said the facilities draw between 140,000 to 150,000 visitors per year.

In September 2008, Carvey said, 1,200 school children visited the Hauberg Indian Museum.

In 2007, the Illinois Bureau of Tourism named Black Hawk State Historic Site one of the “7 Wonders of Illinois.”

Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, said public support has been strong.

“I have received well over a thousand letters, e-mails and phone calls,” he said. “We have received some for the Hennepin Canal and Bishop Hill, but Black Hawk park has inspired the most response, by far.”

Petitions have been another form of support. Signers and those circulating the petitions included Native American Coalition of the Quad-Cities members, who meet at Singing Bird Lodge.

Regina Tsosie, the coalition’s president, said, “We’ve been concerned about the closures since summer. I guess it’s finally happening, and it’s sad.”

Tsosie, who is also a member of Citizens to Preserve Black Hawk Park, noted that President George W. Bush has named November as National American Indian Heritage Month.

“The timing is ironic. How can we celebrate? Being a Native American, I feel (the closures at Black Hawk) put a dark cloud over our history, especially for the Sauk and Mesquaki people.”

http://ads.qctimes.com/articles/2008/11/29/news/local/doc4930be3d5935d995110883.txt