from the IMC Newsroom

On December 1, a continuance was given to former Sgt. William Alan Myers to resolve a plea bargain offered by State’s Attorney Julia Rietz. Myers is charged with aggravated battery, obstruction of justice, and disorderly conduct (Case No. 05CF2105) for illegally tasing inmate Ray Hsieh in Champaign County jails and trying to cover it up. In addition, corrections officers have testified that Myers illegally tased two other inmates, including a pregnant African-American woman. A fourth inmate, Northern Illinois student Michael Rich, has also testified that November 6, 2004, Myers tortured him with a taser in the Champaign County jail.

Sergeant Myers, accused of tasing inmates in the Champaign County jail
is in court Monday, November 20 at 3pm in Courtroom A.
We will be a demonstration at 2pm outside the court house.

This story is particularly relevant given the recent footage
of 23 year old Iranian-American student Mostafa Tabatabainejad
being tased 5 times by UCLA campus police in the library.

For more information read below or see my article in the public i.

Via The Daily Illini, there's a YouTube video of a student in the UCLA library being tasered. There has been extensive discussion of police use of tasers in Champaign County on UCIMC. The article by The Daily Bruin's Sara Taylor notes "....according to a study published in the Lancet Medical Journal in 2001, a charge of three to five seconds can result in immobilization for five to 15 minutes, which would mean that Tabatabainejad could have been physically unable to stand when the officers demanded that he do so."

By Korinta Maldonado

Editors Note: Learn more at the Oaxaca Teach-in at the IMC (Elm & Broadway in Urbana), Thursday, Nov. 16th at 7 pm.

On the dawn of Friday, October 27, 2006, news about the assassination of the New York independent media reporter Brad Will by paramilitary forces in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico reverberated throughout the world. This day marked the beginning of the direct state-sponsored offensive towards the Oaxacan people who had tired of the repression and corruption of the governor Ulises Ruíz. For almost six months they have peacefully organized to remove him from office. Ruíz has been the subject of an escalating conflict. He was elected in August 2004 through fraudulent means and since then has persistently used brute force against social and political organizations. The repressive tactics of the governor have sharpened the conflict.

By Brian Dolinar

Following on the heels of a similar proposition in Urbana, the Champaign police department is currently considering a citizen police review board. Just the mention of such an oversight has provoked reprisals from the Mayor, the News-Gazette, and their local law-and-order constituents.

The News-Gazette has already begun editorializing against a police review board. An editorial ran on October 11, 2006 titled, “Police review board plan raises problems.” As if concerned for the minority community, the editorial says a review board will be a “tough sell to people who have long viewed police either with suspicion or fear.” Of course, many leaders in the African American community have supported the formation of a police review board. The suggestion is that nothing can (or should) be done to improve police relations in the black community. Filing a complaint is a relatively simple act, according to the News-Gazette. A citizen police review board would “do nothing except duplicate an existing discipline process.”

I spent election day observing five campus polling places. There is a long history of students being turned away at the polls so I decided to be a watchdog to guard against such behavior. As a poll watcher, this is what I saw ...

I estimate 1 in 8 students had problems voting. Most stuck it out until they were able to vote, but about 1 in 20 potential student voters couldn't or didn't vote. The County Clerk's office changed its story throughout the day - starting with restrictive interpretations of law and then backing down over time, in a kind of cat and mouse game. Many many voters lacked basic information about the voter registration process.

Tuesday is the General Election with races for U.S. Representative, State, and County offices. There are also referenda - on war & impeachment of Bush and Cheney, and Township tax rate (in Champaign only). Polls are open 6am - 7pm. Find your polling place and view a sample ballot here:
https://www.champaigncountyclerk.com/elections/registration_status.html

Happy voting!

Here's hoping it all adds up to nothing.

Over the last several years, Tim Johnson has collected some interesting campaign contributions. One of his largest single contributors was AT&T, which gave him $29500. By an interesting coincidence, he voted for the COPE (communications) act, and against the Net Neutrality provision. Another big corporate contributor was Exelon ($30000), which owns the nuclear reactor in Braidwood. Unfortunately, the plant was leaking a radioactive compound called tritium into the soil, and Exelon's now being sued by 11 families and the Illinois attorney general.

On October 5, 2006, the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority held a social activity referred to as an exchange. At this event, called "Fiesta," students dressed in racially overt, stereotypical attire that portrayed Mexican people in derogatory ways. Students dressed as farm workers and pregnant women.

In light of this event, students, faculty, staff, and community members held a rally/protest on October 31st, 2006 to demonstrate their outrage at the act of intolerance by Zeta Beta Tau and Delta Delta Delta, and the campus administrations insufficient response to it.