>>5292718 (lb)

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>Smollett indicted

News articles state that filing a false police report is a Class 4 Felony in Illinois – the least serious type of felony. It still has some serious potential penalties attached.

What Is A Class 4 Felony In Illinois?

https://www.wolfeandstec.com/what-is-class-4-felony-illinois/

In Illinois, crimes are classified according to how serious they are. Misdemeanors are less serious than felonies, which are broken down into five classifications, from most serious to least: Class X, Class 1, Class 2, Class 3 and Class 4. Although a Class 4 felony is the least serious of all felony charges, it still is a serious charge, with serious punishments. A prison sentence for a Class 4 felony conviction is 1 to 3 years, and Class 4 felony convictions can also include fines of up to $25,000.

Some common Class 4 felonies include aggravated assault, stalking, drug possession of a controlled substance, aggravated DUI, driving on a revoked driver’s license, and theft, depending on the amount that was stolen and the circumstances involved.

Didn't see this in notable, item from yesterday:

In blow to Obama Presidential Center backers, judge allows lawsuit challenging Chicago's Jackson Park location to proceed

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obamacenter/ct-met-obama-center-presidential-library-chicago-lawsuit-20190219-story.html

FTA (moar at link)

n a setback to plans to build the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side lakefront, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that a lawsuit challenging its location can proceed.

U.S. Judge John Robert Blakey said in a written ruling that the environmental group Protect Our Parks has enough legal ground to bring some of its objections before him. Blakey did toss out parts of the lawsuit filed against the city of Chicago and the Park District.

The ruling to allow the suit to proceed is significant because it could delay construction for months, and potentially raise the question of whether the $500 million sprawling presidential campus can be built at all on lakefront property in Jackson Park.

A major point of contention has been whether Chicago has legal standing to build the Obama center on public park property to begin with.

Herbert Caplan, founder of Protect Our Parks, hailed the ruling “as a victory because it keeps our case alive.”

“We are not opposing construction of the Obama Presidential Center, as long as it’s not in historic Jackson Park,” he said.

City officials, for their part, said they were pleased that parts of the suit were dismissed and indicated their intention to move forward with the plans.

“The Obama Presidential Center is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all of Chicago,” said a statement released by the city’s corporation counsel, Ed Siskel. “It will bring transformative investment to the South Side, create hundreds of permanent jobs, and inspire young Chicagoans and people from across the world to follow the lead of Barack and Michelle Obama.”

Members of South Side communities near the proposed site who support the center plans also vowed to press on.

“All of these things are delaying our opportunity to celebrate the Obama presidency and usher in a new form of economic development,” said Carol Adams, a South Shore resident and former CEO of the DuSable Museum of African American History.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which backed the Protect Our Parks suit, said Obama Center planners “created this controversy by insisting on the confiscation of public parkland.”