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Controversial 'overdose prevention sites' get $18 million in Illinois funding

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Controversial 'overdose prevention sites' get  million in Illinois funding


A state board Thursday approved up to $18 million in funding for controversial “overdose prevention sites” that would allow people to use drugs in a public space where clinicians could make sure they’re safe.

The money would come from the state’s growing $235 million opioid settlement fund.

The fund is generated by Illinois’ share of settlements from lawsuits that states have filed against drug manufacturers and retailers. The fund is expected to rise to least $795 million in Illinois.

New York City and Vancouver, Canada are among the cities that have overdose prevention sites. State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, has previously introduced legislation that would make such sites legal in Illinois.

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On Thursday, the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board voted 8-3 to approve funding for up to three overdose prevention sites, each of which would annually get up to $2 million over a three-year pilot program, for a total of $18 million.

Dr. Miao Jenny Hua, a board member and Chicago’s interim deputy commissioner of behavioral health, was among those who voted for it. Board member Chelsea Laliberte Barnes said there’s “35 to 40 years of global evidence as to why this proposal is critical.”

Details of the pilot program haven’t been worked out, including where the sites would go. But the priority will be given to communities with the highest number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses. Chicago’s West Side has the worst overdose problem in the state.

The opioid settlement board acknowledged the pilot program may need accompanying legislation to protect drug users and clinicians from getting prosecuted under state drug laws.

Last year, the Illinois ACLU and AIDS Foundation of Chicago supported Ford’s proposed legislation to allow the sites. But the bill failed because opponents instead favored a measure to supply jails, hospitals and other institutions with fentanyl test strips.

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The board’s funding approval is expected to give a boost to new legislation Ford plans to file in the General Assembly to allow overdose prevention sites to operate legally in the state.

“Living in an area that is probably one of the highest fatal overdose communities, I think this is monumental and it’s actually going to save lives,” Ford, who represents the West Side, said after the board’s vote.

The vote, in his opinion, will be one of the best recommendations to come out of the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board. Members at Thursday’s meeting echoed Ford’s sentiments, describing it as historic.

“Many people think that this is just about people going into the site to use drugs,” Ford said, adding that the locations are expected to provide other services to address medical issues and job placement. “These sites will be about a safe place where people will have a chance at life and they will have a chance for recovery.”

On Thursday, the opioid settlement board also approved $20 million in one-time statewide housing for people recovering from drug addiction.

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Illinois

Murder trial to begin for Illinois man charged in fatal stabbing of Palestinian American boy

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Murder trial to begin for Illinois man charged in fatal stabbing of Palestinian American boy


The trial for the Illinois man charged in the fatal 2023 stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy in what prosecutors call a hate crime is set to begin in Will County on Monday.

Joseph Czuba, 71, is accused of stabbing Wadea Al-Fayoume to death and seriously injuring the boy’s mother, Hanaan Shahin, 32. He has been charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and hate crime in connection with the attack.

Czuba pleaded not guilty to the charges in October 2023. He was ordered detained until trial.

Joseph Czuba, second from right, stands with his attorneys during his arraignment at the Will County courthouse in Joliet, Ill., on Oct. 30, 2023.Charles Rex Arbogast / AP file

Wadea was stabbed 26 times and died in the hospital. Shahin was seriously injured after she was stabbed more than a dozen times as she called for help and tried to protect her son, investigators have said.

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The stabbings occurred on Oct. 14, 2023, days after the Hamas attack on Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed around 250 taken hostage, according to the country’s officials. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to health officials in the enclave.

The attack was investigated as an anti-Muslim hate crime. Prosecutors have said Czuba targeted the mother and son because of their Muslim faith.

6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume.
Wadea Al-Fayoume.Courtesy Hela Yousef

The day after the attack, then-President Joe Biden denounced the stabbings.

“The child’s Palestinian Muslim family came to America seeking what we all seek — a refuge to live, learn and pray in peace,” he said at the time.

George D. Lenard, the public defender representing Czuba, said by phone Thursday night that he does not comment on cases while they are pending.

Shahin and her son rented rooms from Czuba at his home in Plainfield Township, Illinois, about 40 miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

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Czuba’s wife told investigators that days before the attack, her husband said he wanted Shahin and her son to “move out of the home.” That same day, Czuba confronted Shahin about the situation in the Middle East, according to court documents.

Just before he attacked her, Czuba told Shahin “he was angry at her for what was going on” in Israel, Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Fitzgerald wrote in the petition requesting that Czuba be detained.

6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume.
Wadea Al-Fayoume.Courtesy of Hela Yousef

Shahin “stated she responded to him ‘let’s pray for peace,’” and that “Czuba gave her no chance to do anything” before he attacked her with a knife, according to the petition.

Family friend Yousef Hannon told NBC News at the time that Shahin didn’t expect Czuba would hurt her son because he had been like a grandfather to Wadea and had even built him a tree house.

“The child, when he saw Czuba, ran to him for a hug and instead was stabbed 26 times,” Hannon said.

Czuba’s wife, Mary Czuba, told investigators that her husband had become obsessed with the war between Israel and Hamas, authorities have said.

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Shahin told police she had been texting Czuba’s wife earlier that week about his “hatred for Muslims.”



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Commission to explore Illinois-Indiana land exchange one step closer to reality

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Commission to explore Illinois-Indiana land exchange one step closer to reality


A bill aiming to explore the possibility of a land exchange between Illinois and Indiana took a step closer to reality in the Indiana legislature.

The bill, which would establish an “Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission,” passed on a party-line vote in the House on Thursday, and was referred to the state’s Senate on Friday.

That legislation comes as more than 30 Illinois counties have passed referendums expressing a desire to explore the possibility of severing ties with Illinois over what they believe to be a stark difference in values and ideals from those of Cook County, where a plurality of the state’s population resides and most of the state’s political power is centered.

The Indiana bill was authored by House Speaker Todd Huston, and passed through committee and the full House last week.

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“To all of our neighbors in the west, we hear your frustrations and invite you to join us in low-cost, low-tax Indiana,” Huston has said, according to the Indianapolis Star.

The language of the bill would create a commission made up of five representatives from Indiana and five from Illinois, and would be tasked with evaluating the boundary between the two states, and whether states that want to leave Illinois would be permitted to be added into Indiana.

Even if Indiana passes the bill and Gov. Mike Braun signs it, Illinois would have to pass similar legislation, which is not considered likely given the state’s Democratic Party majority in both chambers of the General Assembly.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker dismissed talk of Indiana taking counties from Illinois as a “stunt.”

“It’s not going to happen, he recently said. “But I’ll just that say Indiana is a low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers, a state that does not provide health care for people when they’re in need and so I don’t think it’s very attractive for anybody in Illinois.”

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In previous election cycles, more than 30 Illinois counties have evaluated non-binding referendums over the question of whether they would explore separating from Cook County and forming their own state. All of those counties have approved the measure, including Iroquois County, which is located roughly 75 miles south of Chicago.

The reasoning behind the referendums, according to supporters, is that the city of Chicago and Cook County have a sizable impact on the policies enacted by the state legislature, and rural counties share different interests that are not being represented by the actions of the General Assembly.

Many legal experts have expressed skepticism that such an effort would be successful on numerous fronts. To start, Illinois and Indiana legislators would both have to agree on territory that would move between the two states, and if that agreement were to be reached, the U.S. Congress would have to approve the move, as it has final say over all border debates between states.



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Firefighters battling apartment building fire in Justice: 'I've lost everything'

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Firefighters battling apartment building fire in Justice: 'I've lost everything'


JUSTICE, Ill. (WLS) — Firefighters are working to put out a fire at an apartment building Saturday in the southwest suburbs.

The fire broke out Saturday morning in the 8500 block of South 88th Terrace in Justice.

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There was a massive response as crews were still trying to contain the fire as of 4 p.m. Saturday.

The fire heavily damaged an apartment complex, and ABC7 was told at least 16 units have been destroyed and the roof caved in.

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People living in the building tell ABC7 the fire started shortly after 9 a.m., with crews still battling the fire at least eight hours later.

ABC7 was told no injuries have been reported as residents managed to evacuate safely.

The fire department said it appears the fire started on the third floor of the building.

ABC7 saw neighboring fire departments from Brookfield, Bridgeview and many other areas come to the scene to try and help out.

“It’s very cold out here,” resident Jaclyn Jackson said. “I have a lot of things in my apartment, and I’ve lost everything. I’ve lost everything.”

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Residents stood outside, feeling helpless as they watched their homes and all of their belongings get destroyed by the massive fire.

“I come back in the front room, and it’s just foggy, smoky everywhere, and I had to grab my dog, so they evacuated me outside,” resident Keshawn Hollis said.

The work continued Saturday evening for fire crews as they made significant progress with the smoke going down considerably.

Residents said they were worried about a fire happening as they claimed the building has had some electrical issues recently, but the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

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