Illinois lawmakers are pledging support for a Chicago-area veterans advocate seeking stronger protections and accountability for service members who experience sexual assault, as new Pentagon data shows declines in estimated assaults but advocates warn that fear of reporting remains a serious concern.

State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (D-8th), U.S. Reps. Danny K. Davis (D-7th) and Jonathan Jackson (D-1st), and Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller (6th) have expressed support for Dr. Renee Dickerson, an Air Force veteran, sexual assault survivor and founder and CEO of Victory Place, NFP.

Dickerson is a co-national organizer of the Million Women Veterans March on Washington, which she said is scheduled for October 27, 2027. The effort, known as “Dishonored Valor,” is being organized by National Women Veterans United, the International Association of Military Women of Color and Victory Place. Its policy priorities include military sexual trauma prevention, justice and accountability, mental health care, housing, economic equity and institutional transparency.

Ford and Miller were among veterans and supporters who attended a recent Victory Place fundraiser at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Alsip. Miller, whose father served in Vietnam, chairs the Cook County Board’s Veterans Committee.

“Sexual assault in the military is not a problem of the past. It is still happening to women and men who volunteered to serve our country,” Ford said. “Too many survivors carry that trauma home with them without the care and justice they deserve.”

Ford said he plans to help convene veterans, behavioral health professionals, educators and community partners in Illinois before the Washington march to identify state policies that could complement federal reforms.

“Those who served deserve to be safe while serving and supported when they come home,” Ford said.

Davis said he is committed to working with Dickerson’s group. He also urged voters concerned about federal policy to participate in the November 3 election.

“If people want change in this country, if they want progressive thought and progressive ideas to be actualized, then every chance that they get to put the more progressive people in decision-making places, that is the most effective way to do it,” Davis said.

Dickerson’s campaign comes as the military continues to confront sexual assault and questions about whether survivors trust the reporting system.

The Pentagon’s Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military estimated that 20,492 active-duty service members experienced unwanted sexual contact, down from 29,061 in fiscal 2023. The estimated rate among active-duty women fell from 6.8% to 4.3%, while the rate among men declined from 1.3% to 1.0%. The Pentagon also estimated that 33% of affected service members reported an assault to military authorities, up from 25% in 2023.

Protect Our Defenders, a national advocacy organization focused on military sexual assault and harassment, cautioned that the lower estimates should not end scrutiny of the system. The organization said it continues to hear concerns from service members about fear of reporting and access to survivor protections and has criticized changes to prevention and response programs.

One case cited by the organization involves Army Maj. Blaine McGraw, an obstetrician-gynecologist facing a general court-martial at Fort Hood, Texas. According to the Army, McGraw pleaded not guilty in August to nine charges encompassing 272 specifications involving 93 alleged victims. The allegations include sexual assault and abusive sexual contact, indecent recording, assault consummated by battery and other offenses. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin March 30, 2027.

Dickerson said her advocacy is rooted in her own experience with military sexual trauma. She said the superior who raped her was never charged, an experience that has fueled her work with veterans and their families dealing with trauma.

Through Victory Place and the Million Women Veterans March, Dickerson said she intends to press for policy changes and greater accountability for survivors who believe military systems failed them.

“I am proud to stand with Dr. Dickerson and the Million Women Veterans March,” Ford said.

Based on reporting by Chicago Crusader.

The Jalen Hurts saga hurts

The disturbing reports surrounding Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Houston-born Jalen Hurts, raise a troubling question: How much is a Black athlete’s life worth when winning is on the line? According to reports, the Eagles knew Hurts had a blood clot after he was hospitalized until 4 a.m. before the team’s Week 5 game against Jacksonville in London. Nevertheless, he played the entire game and endured international flights before doctors discovered the clot had progressed to deep vein thrombosis and bilateral pulmonary emboli. He was placed on blood thinners and injured reserve (out for the season). Sports medicine physician Jesse Morse warned that migrating clots could cause a fatal pulmonary blockage, heart attack, or stroke. Pulmonologist Matthew Gordon acknowledged that blood clots can be catastrophic or fatal. Beyond the medical questions, this episode reflects a disturbing American tradition: Treating Black bodies as expendable commodities. From slavery to exploitative labor practices and generations of dangerous sports, Black people have repeatedly been expected to sacrifice their well-being for others’ profits. The NFL’s predominantly Black workforce is literally “fieldhands” making their wealthy “owners” wealthier, giving serious plantation vibes. What’s crazy is, Hurts could have died. And if he had, the Eagles would have simply put another Black body to work and kept it moving.

Blind by choice

Recently, a Black woman conservative social media influencer was physically removed from a Ken Paxton voter event. And as she fought back tears, after being “dog-walked” out of the building, she kept asking, “Why?” She told her followers that she has been a faithful supporter of Donald Trump and the entire Republican ticket. She said she not only voted for Trump and crew, but also organized and volunteered for them on various campaigns. Before she got to the event, she went live on social media, bubbling with excitement about supporting Paxton, which is crazy, because no one is excited about supporting Paxton. But her MAGA-fest was abruptly ended as her live-stream followers saw her suddenly teary-eyed, being led out of the event space. “And there’s no one I can talk to about this,” she asked her exit escort, dumbfounded. She then shared with her MAGA followers, “Someone just came up to me and said Ken Paxton’s campaign manager wanted me to leave… I drove two hours to get here, and I have done nothing but support everyone on the Republican side. And this is how I get treated? I cannot believe the disrespect that I was just given.” Blackfolk in the comments section couldn’t believe that soul sister couldn’t understand what was happening. But you, if she’s been willing to play blind and support one of the most anti-Black regimes in history, and organize for a party that has gone out of its way to disrespect every ounce of Black existence, then I can understand why she couldn’t see their disrespect of her Blackness. But since she’s already given her soul to anti-Blackness, you best believe she’s still voting for Paxton. In fact, she literally said so.

Mecklenburg racist police competitions

It’s old news by now that several Charlotte-Mecklenburg cops sent text messages to each other, degrading Black people with the N-word and racist jokes, celebrating their open competition to see which racist-ass officer could pull over, harass, and even inflict the most bodily harm on Black motorists. Their Klan-ish fun and games had zero to do with Black people breaking the law. It was just white cops making a sport out of terrorizing Black people, using the authority of the state and their literal license to kill to torture Black people emotionally and physically. And they used Flock cameras to help them with their fun and games. But what’s older news is the fact that these are the very actions Blackfolk have been pointing out from cops for centuries. These six cops got caught via text messages. But police in every city and state routinely take this same approach to law enforcement.

Based on reporting by Houston Defender.

Greensboro, NC — When the North Carolina Juvenile Services Association (NCJSA) first organized in 1966, juvenile rehabilitation was largely indistinguishable from adult correction. Young offenders were often held in adult facilities, supervised by adult parole officers, and met with rigid punitive measures rather than developmental care. Six decades later, hundreds of frontline practitioners, community advocates, and statewide leaders gathered at the Embassy Suites in Greensboro from October 14–16, 2026, to celebrate sixty years of groundbreaking advocacy, service, and youth empowerment under the banner: “A Legacy of Service, A Future of Hope.”

The three-day diamond anniversary conference reflected both the historic evolution of juvenile justice across North Carolina and the urgent, modern challenges we face today. From youth mental health and social media exploitation to adult court transfer laws and systemic racial disparities, this important conference created a safe space for essential conversations.

Opening the historical retrospective, longtime leaders Pamela Stokes, Eastern Area Manager for the N.C. Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP), and Johnny Wilson, President and CEO of Fayetteville Urban Ministry, walked attendees through the timeline of change.

Stokes detailed how juvenile justice advocates broke away from the adult probation system in 1966 to build specialized juvenile training, establish community youth homes, and eliminate the warehouse penal approach for minors. By 1997, NCJSA formally received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, continually expanding its network from court counselors to include clinicians, educators, and grassroots diversion specialists. “Rather than a single founding figure, the NCJSA was a group of dedicated people who collectively formed together to ask: What are we going to do to help our children?” Stokes noted, emphasizing that early pioneers recognized children needed rehabilitation, family support, and genuine guidance rather than adult incarceration.

The dialogue throughout the opening sessions remained uncompromisingly honest. Johnny Wilson challenged the room to recognize that what society often labels as “badness” in a child is frequently untreated trauma. Wilson, drawing on decades of community intervention, urged attendees to confront the blind spots in youth service, “Who is mentoring your child when the adults aren’t looking? Mentorship is repetition and consistent relationship. When one child is impacted by the justice system, the entire family is impacted. We have to be the voice for the voiceless and hope for the hopeless.”

Wilson pointed out that while nearly two-thirds of high school students report having an adult at school they can talk to, too many youth still feel unsafe at home and in their communities, leading them toward risky street influences and firearm possession as a misguided shield. He stressed that authentic diversion must bridge safety, accountability, and development before a child ever reaches a courtroom desk.

This protective sentiment was further echoed in a critical digital safety session on internet crimes against children. Law enforcement presenters highlighted the explosion of digital exploitation, online grooming, extortion, and non-consensual artificial intelligence imagery targeting minors, noting a 1,000% statewide increase in related investigations since 2019. Law enforcement and child protection experts urged workers to act swiftly in preserving evidence, report via the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children via MissingKids.org, CyberTipline, and the SBI, and remember above all else: “The child is the victim, not the offender.”

Another powerful keynote on policy and data briefing by Deputy Secretary William “Billy” Lassiter of the NCDPS Division of Juvenile Justice shared vital metrics shaping the state’s current juvenile justice landscape, alongside a recorded welcome address from Governor Josh Stein. Lassiter delivered welcome news: overall juvenile crime complaints across North Carolina experienced a significant decline over the past year—marking nearly 2,000 fewer youth entering the system. However, Lassiter and state analysts pointed to complex systemic dynamics beneath the topline numbers: There has been disproportionate minority contact. Deep racial disparities persist across North Carolina’s system. While African American youth make up approximately 21% of the state’s juvenile population, they accounted for over 21,000 of the complaints filed last year, compared to roughly 8,000 for white youth. Lassiter emphasized that disparities are most severe at the system’s entry and exit points (referrals and secure detention), urging practitioners and lawmakers to directly address these inequities with targeted community resources.

A major concern is the adult transfer burden. Following the implementation of recent statutory changes, including House Bill 834, which directs 16- and 17-year-olds facing Class A through E felonies into adult court, juvenile detention centers are increasingly filled with adult-transferred youth awaiting trial. Lassiter reported that these youths now make up 60% to 70% of daily detention beds, with an average length of stay reaching 276 days, compared to just 25 days for youth under juvenile jurisdiction. Strikingly, approximately 60% of transferred homicide/murder charges against juveniles are eventually dismissed due to accessory or bystander involvement rather than principal culpability.

As we know as a community, there are intensive mental health needs. More than 99% of youth held in Youth Development Centers (YDCs) have at least one mental health diagnosis, averaging nearly five distinct diagnoses per child. In response, NCDPS recently broke ground on a specialized, 10-bed juvenile crisis unit in partnership with New Hope Treatment Centers, set to open on November 1 to provide intensive stabilization and eliminate long, draining emergency room waits.

Finally, Lassiter highlighted North Carolina’s upcoming $451 million settlement from Meta, structured in $45 million annual distributions over nine years, intended to curb screen addiction, fund crisis lines like 988, and expand outdoor and community-based Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) programs.

Celebration was central to the diamond anniversary and the overall mood of the conference. Despite such a serious subject matter, there was also a solid focus on fun and celebration. The association paid tribute to its founding and lifetime members, including pioneers like Jane Steinberg, Renee Walker, and Judy Juliet, whose early service paved the path for today’s statewide continuum.

NCJSA presented several prestigious awards. In a special tribute, the NCJSA Board and Fayetteville Urban Ministry surprised Johnny Wilson with lifetime honors for his steadfast leadership, faith-driven advocacy, and deep commitment to North Carolina’s children and families since joining the association in 2006.

The conference closed with a resounding call to sustain both youth and the professionals who care for them. Keynote reflections framed the transition from mere bureaucratic compliance to genuine human connection, urging attendees to practice self-care and mutual support. Using the metaphor of an airplane’s oxygen mask, speakers reminded caseworkers, court counselors, and facility staff not to leave their own oxygen masks on the floor while rushing to save others, “We cannot serve our children and families effectively if we are operating on empty. To reach year 61 and beyond, we must see each other, celebrate our small victories, heal our own spirits, and remember our ‘why.’”

As attendees stood with linked arms across the ballroom, the message of NCJSA’s 60th anniversary was unmistakable: the past six decades prove that prevention, compassion, and community-centered intervention work. For North Carolina’s youth, the next sixty years will depend on sustaining the people and programs who refuse to give up on their promise.

Based on reporting by The Carolinian.

By Quintella Griffin, Legal Writer

Opinion and documentary analysis | Part 2 of 2

A tentative ruling found that Oakland property occupant Zakiya Jendayi had not received notice before a judge ordered its transfer into an estate.

The ruling was not final. Attention shifted to the assigned judge.

The estate’s special administrator, Phillip Campbell, invoked California Code of Civil Procedure Section 170.6 to disqualify Judge Stephanie Sato. The trial court granted the challenge Sept. 9, 2026.

Five days later, Campbell requested reassignment specifically to Judge Sandra Bean, who had signed the property order Jendayi sought to overturn.

The sequence raises questions about procedural fairness.

A Challenge After an Unfavorable Ruling

Sato’s Sept. 8 tentative ruling concluded that California’s notice requirement protected Jendayi as an occupant, regardless of whether Jendayi held a valid ownership interest.

Her proposed decision would have vacated Bean’s Oct. 8, 2025, order.

Section 170.6 permits challenges under certain circumstances. Whether Campbell’s challenge was timely was disputed.

On Sept. 14, Campbell sought Bean’s reassignment, citing her familiarity with related trust litigation, judicial economy and consistency. Jendayi opposed the request the following day.

The timing invites serious public scrutiny but does not establish misconduct.

The Appellate Court Intervenes

In Kaiser Foundation Hospitals v. Superior Court (1987), a California appellate court examined the danger of allowing litigants to learn a judge’s likely decision before seeking disqualification.

The decision also recognized that changed assignments and insufficient notice can affect when a challenge is permissible.

On Sept. 17, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal stayed the order granting Campbell’s challenge and requested briefing addressing Kaiser.

That intervention did not vacate Bean’s property order, restore the invalidated trust or conclusively decide whether Campbell’s challenge was improper.

It did place the reassignment dispute under appellate review.

Questions in the Docket

Two versions of the court docket present another unresolved issue.

A printout preserved through Sept. 15 lacked reassignment entries that appeared in a later version. The later docket listed reassignment to Bean and a clerk’s notice under Sept. 9.

The difference warrants an explanation of when the entries were created, entered and made publicly accessible.

It does not establish deliberate backdating.

Accountability Beyond an Order

Judges generally enjoy immunity from damages claims arising from judicial acts, even when serious error is alleged. That protection does not make their decisions immune from review.

Appellate courts can correct legal errors; California’s Commission on Judicial Performance can investigate misconduct but cannot reverse judgments.

For Jendayi, the central concern remains practical: How much litigation must an occupant undertake to enforce a notice requirement intended to protect participation before property rights are adjudicated?

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. underscores the importance of meaningful notice and an opportunity to object.

The record establishes contested filings, a tentative ruling and appellate intervention, not anyone’s private motives.

The public deserves a transparent, documented explanation of this consequential judicial process.

A judge’s signature should resolve a lawful dispute, not silence legitimate questions about how the decision was reached.

The case is Estate of Laura Dean Head, Alameda County Superior Court case RP20066047. Records are available through the court’s eCourt Public Portal.

Banner Business Sponsored by The Ujima Project

At a young age, Donald Donnalson helped his stepfather with contractor work during his summers off. He always hated it back then and vowed to never go into the profession.

After earning degrees from Boston College and Northeastern University Law School, he practiced law for a number of years. But when his stepfather asked for help with contracting as an adult, Donnalson “caught the bug.” He launched Beantown Builders, Inc. in 2011, which now focuses on housing builds including multifamily conversions, redevelopment of underutilized properties, and accessory dwelling units throughout Greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts.

“There are a lot of contractors in Massachusetts, and discovering what your niche is — for any entrepreneur, but especially in this industry — is super important,” he said, adding that their housing niche is important for its impact on the community.

“Greater Boston faces significant housing affordability and availability challenges, and we think that existing properties represent an opportunity to create additional housing without always requiring entirely new developments,” he said.

Donnalson started his company with incredible personal investment. He left his role as a finance manager for Audi Natick and liquidated his 401k to jumpstart the business.

“I basically just bet on myself. I didn’t have a project. I didn’t have anything. I was just like, I’m gonna go do this because if I don’t do it now, I’m never gonna do it,” he explained.

Today his minority-owned business is addressing the need for more housing while helping dispel broader distrust of contractors.

“Seeing a company like ours in the community that’s willing to learn more, do more, take on these experiences, and fill the gap where there seems like there’s not enough of us around is a big help,” he said, later adding that, “as an MBE [Minority Business Enterprise], we’re focused on building more than a successful construction company. We’re developing the people, systems and capabilities to take on increasingly complex projects while contributing to housing opportunities, economic development and the communities we serve.”

For Director of Marketing Alicia Zuniga, their mission helps guide the work and build trust with customers. Beantown’s clients are a mix of homeowners, families and property investors.

The team “understands construction is about much more than buildings. Behind every project are people with goals, expectations and important decisions to make,” Zuniga said.

Donnalson said one of the biggest obstacles he currently faces is attracting and keeping the best talent to help on projects, which have taken the team as far south as Fall River and North Attleboro and as far north as Lynn.

They recently supported The Guild nonprofit in constructing a community-oriented urban space, turning a hillside into public green space with paths and areas to gather. Landscape architects at Landworks Studio designed the urban forest project while Beantown supported the build, including masonry and permeable paving.

“Projects like this reflect our belief that construction can do more than improve individual properties; it can also contribute to the neighborhoods and communities around them,” Donnalson said

Based on reporting by Bay State Banner.

Birmingham, Alabama, is on pace to close 2026 with its fewest homicides in roughly 75 years — a turnaround for a majority-Black city that for decades made national headlines for its murder rate.

Birmingham police counted 34 homicides through Oct. 1, down from 61 at the same point in 2025 and 129 at the same point in 2024, Police Chief Michael Pickett said at the department’s third-quarter briefing. The city’s lowest annual total on record is 44, set in 1951. Just two years ago, Birmingham recorded 152 homicides, its deadliest year.

“I did not think that we would have this much of a reduction but of course that’s always the goal,” Pickett said. He put the drop at 74% compared with 2024 and said the department has cleared 91% of this year’s cases.

“Birmingham is on track for our fewest homicides in 75 years,” Mayor Randall Woodfin wrote on Facebook this month, crediting the officers of the Birmingham Police Department, Pickett, and the city’s community violence intervention workers.

The city’s bet runs on two tracks. On the policing side, Pickett has pointed to the department’s crime reduction plan, enforcement targeting illegal firearms, and cooperation with federal agencies. On the community side, Birmingham has put about $5.4 million in American Rescue Plan money into violence intervention programs: a hospital-based partnership with UAB Hospital, the Jefferson County Department of Health, the Offender Alumni Association, and Violence Intervention and Prevention Partners that places specialists at the bedsides of people wounded by gunfire; a street outreach team run with the Urban League of Alabama; a Group Violence Reduction Strategy with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform; and One Hood. With the one-time federal dollars expiring, the city council extended the hospital-linked program through June 2027 with $1.15 million and put $3 million for community violence intervention — a $1.5 million increase — into the city’s fiscal 2027 budget. Whether every program is fully covered once the federal money runs out remains unclear.

The honest caveats: murders are falling across the country, too — crime analyst Jeff Asher projects the lowest U.S. murder rate ever recorded in 2026, after the FBI reported the national homicide rate hit a 75-year low in 2025 — and nobody can prove which piece of Birmingham’s approach drove the drop. One category is moving the wrong way: domestic violence offenses are up 18.3% this year, the chief said. “This is not something the police department can handle alone,” Pickett said of the domestic violence increase.

Two accounting notes readers deserve: the mayor’s latest post says homicides are down 46% from last year, while the police department’s own Oct. 1 numbers work out to about 44% — and a May fact-check by ABC 33/40 found an earlier Woodfin figure slightly overstated. Separately, Bhamwiki counts 38 homicides as of Oct. 1 because it includes police-involved and justified cases; the police count is 34. And the pace math matters: 34 homicides through Oct. 1 projects to roughly 45 for the full year — just above the 1951 record of 44. So “fewest since 1951” is within reach; a new all-time low likely isn’t.

What’s working to make your neighborhood safer? Tell us.

Drafted by News Observed Editorial AI, human reviewed and published.

Based on reporting by Bakersfield News Observer.