The fallout from an explosive story involving a top ally of House Speaker Michael Madigan. Our politics team digs into that story and more in our weekly roundtable.
Sexual Abuse
Even as it has pledged to go after predators in its ranks and provide support to those harmed by clergy, the church has done little to identify and reach sexual abuse victims. For survivors of color, the lack of concerted outreach means less public exposure.
This year’s report from Chicago Public Schools’ Office of Inspector General includes data from the new Sexual Allegations Unit, which was formed in the wake of the Chicago Tribune’s bombshell “Betrayed” series.
The lawsuit charges that the late Rev. Donald McGuire, a globe-trotting Jesuit with ties to Saint Teresa of Calcutta, abused Robert J. Goldberg “more than 1,000 times, in multiple states and countries,” during sojourns to spiritual retreats throughout the United States and Europe.
Singer R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he schemed with others to pay for a fake ID for an unnamed female a day before he married R&B singer Aaliyah, then 15 years old, in a secret ceremony in 1994.
The U.S. government is moving to revoke the citizenship of José Vilchis, a longtime gymnastics coach who’s been accused of sexually abusing multiple underage girls over the course of three-plus decades.
Federal prosecutors are accusing singer R. Kelly of scheming with others to pay for a fake ID for an unnamed female a day before he married R&B singer Aaliyah, then 15 years old, in a secret ceremony in 1994.
The R&B singer’s attorney said his client has been hobbled by a toe infection and was worried about aggravating the injury by appearing in court for a hearing Wednesday.
In a new book, New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor detail how they uncovered allegations of sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein. Twohey, an Evanston native, joins us in discussion.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has paid $80 million to victims of sexual abuse by clergy represented by a single law firm alone since 2000, the Minnesota-based attorney who heads the firm told reporters.
The first sexual experience for 1 in 16 U.S. women was forced or coerced intercourse in their early teens, encounters that for some may have had lasting health repercussions, a study suggests.
One of the most comprehensive investigations undertaken by federal authorities revealed widespread violations in the way Chicago Public Schools handles and investigates sexual violence cases. “The findings were deeply disturbing,” one federal education official said. “We cannot permit this to recur in Chicago or anywhere else.”
A judge has set an April 27, 2020 trial date in R. Kelly’s federal case in Chicago that accuses the R&B star of child pornography and obstruction of justice.
A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges two security guards who worked at a public high school in suburban Chicago had sex with female students, and the school failed to adequately protect girls from purported predators.
R. Kelly refused transport Thursday to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, where he faces several criminal sexual charges, according to a Cook County prosecutor.
The 40 counts R. Kelly faces carry a combined maximum prison sentence of more than 500 years, meaning the R&B star could spend the rest of his life behind bars if he loses badly at trial.
