All articles are authored by Zachary J. Gittrich, unless otherwise noted.
Qualified Immunity Debate Comes to McLean County
03/01/2021 | The contentious debate around qualified immunity will be introduced at the McLean County Justice Committee this Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Notes on McLean County Jail Part 6
01/29/2021 | New data suggests significant racial disparities in the criminal justice system of McLean County. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
0 COVID Cases in McLean County Jail
01/05/2021 | There are currently zero known cases inside the McLean County jail according to Sheriff Jon Sandage. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Local Quack Chooses Feelings Over Facts
01/01/2021 | Someone call the white-shirts because local quack Connie Beard, who also happens to be the McLean County GOP president, went off the deep end with her opinion piece in the Pantagraph where she bewailed the loss of her dear leader Trump. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Notes on McLean County Jail Part 5
12/29/2020 | Since August, COVID-19 numbers remained flat at 5 inmates & 2 staff. Yet, on November 25th, at least two inmates tested positive bringing the total number to 7. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
McLean County Board: Policing & Police Accountability
11/20/2020 | Interview with Lea Cline on policing & police accountability. (VIEW FULL INTERVIEW)
Notes on McLean County Jail Part 4
09/03/2020 | When there was backlash against an ordinance to regulate protests on county property at the August 18, 2020 Stand-up Property Meeting, Sandage sent out a desperate distress call from his Sandwich-mobile hidden deep within the McLean County Legion of Misery – formally referred to as the Law & (In)justice Center. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
09/03/2020 | The McLean County Property meeting met Thursday, September 3rd, 2020. On the agenda was an ordinance to regulate protests & marches on County property & highways. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
McLean County Board Threatens 1st Amendment
08/21/2020 | After months of nonviolent, constitutionally protected demonstrations in support of Black Liberation, some members of McLean County government are getting fed up with people’s calls for justice. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Notes on McLean County Jail Part 3
08/06/2020 | Another Justice Committee meeting and another vacuous episode of mostly geriatric County Board Members of a Caucasian persuasion salivating over Sheriff Sandage’s authority as their lips firmly smooched his posterior. The sheriff, dressed in his fanciest suit as he wasn’t held accountable, looked particularly pleased at the felatiated adorations of District 3 Board member George Wendt surrounding him moistly. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
COVID-19 Hits McLean County Jail
08/01/2020 | On Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 Sheriff Jon Sandage announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus inside the McLean County Jail. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Notes on McLean County Jail Part 2
07/14/2020 | On July 7th, during a meeting of the McLean County Justice Committee, Sheriff Jon Sandage took his time to complain about the release of 13 people from the jail on Juneteenth by Black Lives Matter BloNo and the Chicago Community Bond Fund. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Normal Police Politely Walk on Sidewalk Against Police Brutality
06/19/2020 | For a whole eight minutes and thirty-four seconds, police politely marched on the sidewalk in Uptown Normal in utter disgust of police brutality. They then took a 46 second moment of silence in memory of George Floyd. No one was inconvenienced in any way. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
05/05/2020 | The Justice Committee of the McLean County Board met Tuesday, the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
06/25/2020 | Organized the day before by a number of high school Zoomers who needed another BLM event, another protest manifested itself on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020 outside the McLean County Law & Justice Center, the Black Lives Matter Solidarity Rally. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
06/24/2020 | Tuesday, June 2nd, saw more demonstrations for Black Lives in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Black Lives Matter in BloNo: Day 2
06/18/2020 | Sunday, May 31st, 2020 was a new day. The NAACP of Bloomington-Normal & Not In Our Town organized an event in front of the McLean County Law & Justice Center in Downtown Bloomington. Over 1,000 people attended filling out the entire plaza in front of the Courthouse, including some people in the nearby parking complex. The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by four former police officers has shocked the national consciousness. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Black Lives Matter in BloNo Day 1
6/11/2020 | The murder of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers has ignited a fresh, new wave of protests in support of Black Liberation across the country. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Black Lives Matter Mclean County Jail Caravan Protest
6/11/2020 | On May Day, May 1st, Black Lives Matter Bloomington-Normal organized a car caravan action around the McLean County Jail calling for decarceration and to waive the costs of video visits/phone calls during COVID19 for inmates. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
COVID-19: We need paid sick leave now!
4/20/2020 | Right now during the pandemic, the city as a government institution must be a leader and require all vendors and contractors to have paid sick leave for their employees. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
COVID-19: the Sandage Status Quo
04/08/2020 | Sheriff Jon Sandage fired back at activists in his briefing before the Mclean County Board’s Justice Committee meeting Tuesday, April 7th. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Free the Homies During COVID-19 Pandemic
03/27/2020 | Sheriff Sandage’s current policies in response to the novel coronavirus are not just irresponsible, they are outright dangerous to our entire community. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Bloomington Grants Emergency Powers During COVID-19 Pandemic
03/27/2020 | After technical difficulties, Bloomington City Council finally held a meeting this week to address the COVID-19 pandemic. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
Bloomington City Council Flops Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
03/26/2020 | Despite us all living in 2020, the council could barely discuss anything because of technological incompetence. (VIEW FULL ARTICLE)
