By The Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Electronic Frontier Foundation urged the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last Wednesday to permit Wikimedia and other groups to continue their lawsuit against the NSA over illegal internet surveillance. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in Wikimedia v. NSA would follow the lead of the Ninth Circuit, which allowed EFF’s Jewel v. NSA to go forward despite years of stalling attempts by the government.
In Wikimedia, the American Civil Liberties Union represents nine plaintiffs, including human rights organizations, members of the media, and the Wikimedia Foundation. A federal district judge in Maryland dismissed the case last fall, ruling that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue. In EFF’s long-running challenge to NSA spying, Jewel, a separate appeals court rightly rejected a similar argument in 2011, and the case is ongoing in federal court. In fact, a week ago Friday, after eight years of litigation in Jewel, a judge authorized EFF to conduct discovery – meaning, for the first time, EFF can begin to compel the government to produce evidence related to the NSA’s surveillance of the nation’s fiber optic Internet backbone.

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Posted on February 29, 2016

By Diane Bartz and Greg Roumeliotis/Reuters

A spate of proposed Chinese takeovers of U.S. companies, from the Chicago Stock Exchange to makers of high-end semiconductors, has created a vibrant business for a small circuit of Washington insiders who advise on how to get cross-border deals approved by the U.S. government.
Several former U.S. officials have in recent years joined the ranks of lawyers, consultants and lobbyists who have emerged as key brokers in trying to get Chinese acquisitions or investments in U.S. companies approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes deals for national security concerns.
Because this interagency panel, comprising 16 U.S. government departments or agencies and chaired by the Treasury, does not publish its decisions or its reasoning for them, advisers say inside knowledge and connections are important to navigate what outsiders often see as a “black-box” review process.

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Posted on February 27, 2016

By Kingsmill Resort

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Golf primary season is upon us – when duffers up and down the East Coast and across the country hit the links and get back into the game.
In this diverse and opinionated land (and potential “swing” state), Kingsmill Resort asked the more pressing question on hand:
“If the leading contenders vying to be the President of the United States talked golf programs, what might they say about the resort’s just-unveiled Best Golf Package Ever ($139/person for one round of golf, AAA Four Diamond accommodations and breakfast overlooking the historic James River)?”

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Posted on February 26, 2016

By Adam Harris/ProPublica

There have been several events throughout American history that have, for some, signaled the beginning of a post-racial society. The election of Barack Obama to the office of President of the United States is the latest milestone. But the reality is, many believe that racism is still a big problem in the U.S.
To sort through America’s troubled history of inequality, here’s a guide to some of the best recent reporting we’ve seen that shines a light on the issue of racial injustice and celebrates the resilience of black Americans. See any we missed? Share in the comments.

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Posted on February 25, 2016

By Nirej Sekhon/The Conversation

The Department of Justice is currently investigating the Chicago Police Department.
The high-profile police shooting of teen Laquan McDonald – combined with the city’s efforts to prevent the public from learning about it – prompted the investigation.
Given that the Justice Department is playing hardball with Ferguson, Missouri – suing the city following its refusal to voluntarily enter into an agreement to reform its police department and courts – advocates in Chicago may also expect something important to change as a result of DOJ involvement.

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Posted on February 18, 2016

By Bill McDonald*

Recently Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass suggested suburban taxpayers would be the ones to foot the bill for a CPS bailout. His idea rests on the notion that if the State of Illinois bails out CPS, it will be on the backs of more affluent suburban homeowners. Kass wrote his soliloquy to suburban taxpayers: “You don’t need me to tell you how much they’ve sacrificed. You know what you’ve given up, or delayed – from that car you didn’t buy to the vacation you never took – to put that down payment together. You know how hard you looked to find the right schools, the research you did on test scores.”
I have friends and family living in the suburbs, and certainly they don’t want to bail out another school district, but the fact is, the suburbs have been getting bailed out for decades.

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Posted on February 17, 2016

By The Illinois Public Interest Research Group

Candidates in the 2016 Cook County State’s Attorney Democratic primary race would see a dramatic shift in fundraising focus under a proposed small donor matching program, according to a study released Tuesday by the Illinois PIRG Education Fund.
Using year-end fundraising data, the report examines the impact of a program that matches small contributions from constituents with limited public funds for candidates who agree not to accept large donations.

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Posted on February 17, 2016

By Julia Edwards/Reuters

U.S. immigration authorities violated their own rules by telling some of the 121 Central American women and children they arrested in raids last month that they had no legal recourse to dispute their deportations, according to several of the women and their lawyers.
The accusation centers on the Jan. 2 – 4 raids that were the U.S. administration’s first large-scale operation since mid-2014 to deport hundreds of families who crossed the southern border illegally.
Four of the women – three of them in statements to Reuters through their lawyers and one in an interview with Reuters – said that ICE agents had misled them on their right to legal counsel while they were detained at a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.

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Posted on February 16, 2016

By Steve Rhodes

The throughline from Dean. Plus: I Don’t Care About Beyoncé; Rahm’s Big Bad Bond Deal; Seven Innocent People, Picked To Share A Jail . . . ; and Meet The Chicago Police: Rigged Lineups, ‘Lost’ Files, Upside-Down Batteries.

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Posted on February 15, 2016

By Allan Sloan/ProPublica

This story was co-published with the Washington Post.
Wealth, jobs and pay inequality are big political issues this presidential primary season, and they’re bound to become bigger once the parties pick their nominees. In the plethora of plans candidates tout for tackling these problems, one favored tool stands out: the federal tax code.
But trying to legislate corporate behavior and economic fairness – however you define fairness – through the tax system is a lot trickier than it sounds.
Consider the supposed solution to an equality and social-justice issue debated six elections ago – a law designed to limit how much companies could deduct from their taxable income for lush pay packages to high-paid executives.

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Posted on February 12, 2016