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.

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:

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.

Let's hear from Justice Thomas

[VIDEO] Before I go to bed tonight, here's a video of SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas who in 1998 spoke to the National Bar Association in Memphis, Tennessee. I found the whole text of his speech and this is what you will see in the video above:

I have come here today not in anger or to anger, though my mere presence has been sufficient, obviously, to anger some. Nor have I come to defend my views, but rather to assert my right to think for myself, to refuse to have my ideas assigned to me as though I was an intellectual slave because I’m black. I come to state that I’m a man, free to think for myself and do as I please. I’ve come to assert that I am a judge and I will not be consigned the unquestioned opinions of others.

I've learned of this speech through FOX News' Laura Ingraham on her program tonite. And this is the only video I have found of this provided by the AP. The video she had came from C-Span.

I you click the link within the brackets you will start at the point where Justice Thomas begins to speak and basically that paragraph quoted above. Before that we see the Justice shaking hands with attendees and we see one speaker an Illinois trial judge Shelvin Hall speak of denouncing anyone who "denigrates the aims of the civil rights movement".

I also see from the description to this AP video that Justice Thomas wasn't welcome. This organization didn't want him there. There was an expected walkout and none materialized. Of course Thomas has been over the years suffered attacks as a Black conservation on the nation's highest court.

I just felt as if it was necessary to share this with you. The message from his speech that is a big takeaway for me is always think for yourself. Don't force yourself to conform to the ideas of a group.

Incidentally I vaguely remember the intrigue - even if I didn't entirely understand what was going on back in 1991 - of Thomas' nomination process to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). I didn't understand what sexual harassment was and as it had been in one of our more recent SCOTUS nomination hearings namely Brett Kavanaugh this was an issue that came up again later.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this message from Justice Thomas.

Can government force you to vaccinate? Mr. Beat Supreme Court briefs.

[VIDEO] If I had all day especially as a political science graduate who had to study constitutional law to look for all the landmark cases of SCOTUS.

And I do think this case Jacobson vs Massachusetts of 1905 to be somewhat relevant with this pandemic as it seems a treatment or vaccination for the coronavirus or COVID-19 is a prerequisite for getting society back to normal. While in recent years we've seen the debate over whether or not individuals should be forced to vaccinate.

The court ruled that government can mandate individuals must vaccinate, however, gov't can't actually force you to vaccinate. The opinion for this case was a man by the name of John Marshall Harlan (hey wait some school on the south side is named for him!) and he acknowledged there were some exceptions.

Of course, I can only imagine the debate over vaccinations with what's going on in the world currently. Right now I see social media postings about citizens concerned about other citizens not wearing masks in public. And as with vaccinations, I think individuals should choose whether or not they were a mask during this pandemic or whether or not they choose to be vaccinated.

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.

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!