Ex-CPS principal found dead on day of sentencing

 This story caught my eye and is worth sharing.

Former Brennemann Elementary School Principal Sarah Jackson Abedelal was found dead after she failed to show up for her sentencing in an overtime kickback scheme, her lawyer told a judge Wednesday.

Abedelal, 61, had been scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday morning before U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who issued an arrest warrant after she failed to show up an rescheduled the hearing for Wednesday afternoon.

At those proceedings, Abedelal’s attorney, Jonathan Bedi, told the judge he was informed last night that his client had passed away. No further details of the circumstances of her death were discussed in court.

You might want to know what she did that caused Federal scrutiny

Abedelal was charged in July 2021 in a 10-count wire fraud indictment alleging a seven-year scheme to have employees file for overtime they didn’t work and kick back at least $200,000 to her, which she allegedly used for her own purposes including for her car and her student loans.

Abedelal was one of six defendants — including two of her underlings — ensnared in the case, which also involved an alleged scheme to falsify orders for school supplies to provide iPhones, iPads and prepaid gift cards to school officials for personal use.

Abedelal pleaded guilty to a single wire fraud count nearly three years ago. Prosecutors had been seeking a 38-month prison sentence, arguing she “diverted critical funds meant to further children’s education away from a school and school district that were already having financial difficulties in order to line her pockets.”

A statement from her lawyer emphasized that this chapter of her life and that she impacted the educational journey of "hundreds of students". And will be deeply missed by her many friends, family and colleagues.

Also this not to stay in the negative with regards to her:

Abedelal’s attorneys, meanwhile, had asked for six months behind bars. In a recent court filing, Abedelal’s lawyers said she has a history of mental issues including bipolar disorder and depression, and they asked she be placed in a treatment program if she was incarcerated.

 Now that she's no longer with us the charges against her will be formally dropped.

Student loan payment pause extended thru June 2023

 

[VIDEO] Via CBS Miami. If you have federal student loans there is yet another pause in restarting payments through June 2023. Originally you would have to start making payments to federal student loans in January 2023.

This is one consequence of the student loan forgiveness which was blocked by a federal court ruling. $10K was to be forgiven up to $20K was forgiven if you held a pell grant.

Also of note the federal student loan repayment was paused during the coronavirus pandemic starting in 2020 and since Joe Biden had become President in 2021 the pause had been occasionally extended.

Forbes: Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Survives Multiple Court Challenges — But Legal Battles Continue

 Sorry I have been slow about this, however, there was bound to be legal challenges to the Biden admin's proposed student loan forgiveness program.

Forbes: 

Mr. Beat: What the heck is up with the current Supreme Court?

 

[VIDEO] On Sunday, Mr. Beat did a two-hour livestream talking about the recent decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States - aka SCOTUS. He especially talks about the recent decision that overturns the very controversial decision of Roe Vs. Wade - the recent decision basically returns the abortion issue back to the states and many states have passed laws regarding abortion.

One thing I do know is that the Supreme Court as he discussed early in the stream has a very limited schedule. They operate largely in secret which is why the Roe Vs. Wade leak in May was so controversial. They might have lawyers argue cases in front of the SCOTUS and then of course they deliberate those cases. They may spend time to draft the decision of the court.

And yet SCOTUS is a very important branch of the US Federal Gov't. This is why there is great debate over who gets to become a Justice as we had with the first Black female Supreme Court Justice who was sworn in just last month. And you might have heard a callback to the confirmation process of Justice Clarence Thomas who has been on the court since the 1990s.

For those of you with the interest one non-biased source to follow the work of SCOTUS is the SCOTUSblog.com which should allow you to follow the work of the court. I wish I followed that site more and especially after that leak at the court.

The namesake of Harlan Community Academy

When you check out Harlan's official IG you will see a post celebrating the class of '21 andI 'm using that post to celebrate their accomplishment in graduating. Here's hoping for their best successes in the future.

The namesake of Harlan High School was a US Supreme Court Justice who was the only dissent in the landmark SCOTUS case Plessy vs. Ferguson which legally allowed for separate but equal - essentially racial segregation. So this recent article from NPR talks a bit about the legacy of the late Justice John Marshall Harlan:

How did 2021 start?

 First and foremost happy new year.

2021 has definitely started off with a bang, and unfortunate we didn't go a whole week into the year until a major incident took place. And we're still going through the fallout. Let me be clear I don't care about the politics of anyone involved in the property damage and the breach of our US Capitol in Washington, DC. All involved must be prosecuted.

Regardless the fallout so far includes the impeachment of the outgoing President - incidentally the Capitol was breached just as the US Congress met to certify the electoral votes for the 2020 race. I don't think this will help unify America it may further divide and certainly conflict with the incoming president's calls for greater unity after a very tumultuous year.

Anyone who went to a rally before the breach of the Capitol are suffering their own consequence which is why I'm sharing this article with you. A teacher in Wisconsin had been suspended because allegedly he shared a video with regards to the 2020 race. The video disputed the 2020 election as President Trump had up until the events of January 6, 2021. What you will see in that article is that the claims of the outgoing President Trump are largely considered baseless or debunked and is considered controversial politics and also note he allegedly attending this rally in D.C. on the 6th. He had a passion about election integrity.

As stated we're going to see a lot of fallout for a while as Trump gets impeached again although he will be leaving office on January 20th. I want everyone to remember America has a history of free speech and expression. And the fallout of this will also challenge the rights to free speech and expression. There are plenty who believe this election was "stolen" or otherwise there were some irregularities that tilted the election in a certain direction.

President Trump and his team had attempted to lawfully challenge the election results so far no court has been willing to hear the challenges. The S.C.O.T.U.S. even has a hearing with regards to the results in Pennsylvania scheduled for after the January 20th inauguration. Either way most of us have heard what was said by Trump as far as his election loss, and we know the media's response to it. It's too bad that a well stated sentiment became a basis for more division when we should get at the truth.

Either way I try to maintain my optimism and hopefully a divided America will heal and unify. I'm not happy about the last two months to be honest, however, after seeing the issues with this pandemic I can't wait to see a nation finally settling down.

Terry vs. Ohio - Stop & Frisk

[VIDEO] Allow me to introduce you to Mr. Beat, a social studies teacher out of Kansas who is an "edutuber" who among other things looks at important Supreme Court rulings. This video was uploaded to YouTube on July 10, 2020 and had wanted to share this with you all.

We're still under some form of unrest over the issue of "racial justice" and this is a case worth looking at since, many citizens want authorities to look at the issue of "stop & frisk". In this video we also learn they can also be referred to as "Terry stops".

The subject Terry was stopped by a Cleveland police detective in 1967 just as he was about to commit a crime. This case is pretty interesting there were three men who were arrested by the detective, however, two were arrested they were Black. The one who got off scott free was white.

I started Googling what happened to all the subjects of this case. What happened to the Black suspects, and what happened to the detective. Found this article it's very interesting that everyone who was related to the people involved with this case are now police officers. Unfortunately the Terry of this ruling met a very sad end, having died while incarcerated.

Mr. Beat: Why the principal can search your purse

[VIDEO] It seems I like to post videos on this blog very often. In this case here's Mr. Beat's latest Supreme Court Briefs and is on the case of the State of New Jersey vs. T.L.O. The student T.L.O. escalated this case from New Jersey courts to the SCOTUS after her school principal searched her purse based on a suspicion that she was smoking in a bathroom. She and another young lady had gotten caught by a teacher and T.LO. had denied she was smoking.

Well police were called T.L.O. confessed and was advised by a lawyer about the exclusionary clause of the 4th amendment. Just remember when it comes to searches of anyone's person or property a warrant is necessary. So a lot to cover as far as what say a police officer can do without warrant. For example is there a reasonable suspicion or is it in plain sight?

So either way SCOTUS sided with the State of New Jersey in this case. Also I want to note T.L.O. was a minor at the time reportedly 14-years-old when she was caught smoking in her school's bathroom. So we only know her identity by her initials.

BTW, this is the first time I shared a Mr. Beat video the same day it was uploaded

What are the feds looking for in #Ward34?

While this is old news from last week south side alderman Carrie Austin of Ward 34 has her ward offices raided by federal authorities on a search warrant. Reports seem to suggest that this might be related to the indictment of Ald. Ed Burke (Ward 11) or even a colleague wearing a wire for the feds former Ald. Danny Solis (Ward 25). Of course is it possible that the feds have been looking at Ald. Austin in the first place.

This is a topic of discussion on last weeks Chicago Tonight with Paris Shutz and Carol Marin

This is something that I did a post or two over at The Sixth Ward. However I wanted to add this from last week from Rich Millers CapFax

Could this be part of what the feds are looking at? https://t.co/EGJHZOb9eG

— Rich Miller (@capitolfax) June 21, 2019

 

I also found this through CapFax's tweets. Another link as far as what the feds are looking for in Ward 34.

Family members. Her longtime chief of staff. Campaign contributions. Even food stamps.

The federal grand jury probe is looking for all sorts of stuff on Ald. Carrie Austin - and it's been going on since 2017.https://t.co/mVQDUhNZKg

— Dan Mihalopoulos (@dmihalopoulos) June 23, 2019

The Sixth Ward: Van Dyke - guilty! #laquanmcdonald

[VIDEO] Above I will share coverage from the CBS network which was live streamed on their YouTube channel yesterday. Below will be a tweet that shares the link to "The Sixth Ward" that attempted to compile various video stories about the reaction to the verdict of the Jason Van Dyke trial.

In late 2014, Officer Van Dyke shot LaQuan McDonald 16 times and McDonald died from his wounds. Yesterday among other charges, Van Dyke was convicted by a jury of second degree murder.

Van Dyke - guilty! https://t.co/6FPUQDZGsl pic.twitter.com/NnSidgglUe

— The Sixth Ward (@TheSixthWard) October 6, 2018

I'm relieved that there will be no rioting as the city was on high alert for any disturbances although there were protests around the city after the verdict was read.

TODAY: 2nd chance adult & juvenile expungement summit

Also a job info rmation seminar for ex-offenders to take place at Kennedy-King College 6343 S. Halsted in building W on Saturday June 2, 2018. Registration at 8:30 AM doors close at 6:00 PM. Also this applies to non-federal crimes committed in the state of Illinois. For more info call 312.603.5200 or 4641. Also visit the webpage of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County at www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org

Here's an ig post from Kennedy-King College

Thinking about the past after a recent visit to a courthouse...

Looking outside of the courthouse

Recently, I was summoned to jury duty at the Cook County criminal courthouse when it hits me that many years before had been my first visit actual visit to this area. My 8th grade class at Bennett School took a field trip to the adjacent Cook County Jail where we were met by the inmates who's apparent goal was to scare us straight.

They made a unified statement telling us to think about it. Some of us smirked to which some of these inmates let us know that there was nothing funny about what they said. Some of us were passionate as whatever these inmates were saying struck a nerve. Some were in tears and others had an outburst.

Many of them tried to relate to us tales of what happened to put them in jail and some of my peers were finding themselves in the same situation anyway. In fact, I'm sure this experience probably saved a few of us that day. Unfortunately in spite of this trip, there is at least one classmate who was headed for trouble back then who is no longer walking among us today.

In fact that experience was the first time I realize that some of my peers were in gangs. It was a revelation that was only the beginning as I headed to one of the worst high schools in the city at the time. If I had no clue they were in a gang when I finally got to my assigned high school that fact would be thrown in my face.

Hopefully the youth of today don't have a trip such as this, one of the most unusual during my time in public school. Although perhaps a trip such as this should be reserved for the ones who are known to be trouble. Although if only we had a true crystal ball for the ones who's future are either dead & buried or constant trouble with the law.

If anything I'd rather hope we sent our youth to the courts for a tour of a courthouse. If only my grammar school had arranged for that back in the day instead of a trip to the jail. Perhaps someone in my class - especially myself - could've been inspired to be a lawyer or judge. Or the future 8th graders could be inspired to have a career in the law.

All the same, I'm satisfied only with having to make a rare trip to a Cook County Courthouse for jury duty. Thankfully no brushes with the law that would land me at either Cook County Jail or in a courtroom at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse. And I hope to keep it that way!