Foes of Chicago closing six of its 12 mental health clinics in
April will air their grievances today in a new venue – the Cook County
Criminal Court.
Five protesters charged with trespassing at the
since closed Woodlawn mental health clinic will use the
“necessity defense” according to their attorney James Fennerty, who
spoke at a press conference this morning outside the courthouse.
Defendants invoke the necessity defense when they claim to have
committed a crime so as to benefit the public good.
“These people
don’t deny that they trespassed,” Fennerty said. “But they were doing it
to prevent a greater evil — meaning the closing down of the clinics and
people not getting their mental health care, and not getting their drugs
or seeing their therapist.” Read more »
Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia (D-Chicago) introduced at a
county board meeting today an amendment to the county’s human rights
ordinance that would give legal recourse to people with federal housing
vouchers that landlords discriminate against.
As part of the build up to Sunday's NATO summit protest, Occupy
Chicago marched to Daley Plaza in Chicago today with a focus on
foreclosures. Speakers demanded that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart
implement a one-year moratorium on evicting homeowners who face
foreclosure.