Driver’s license revoked, car taken by guardian to sell.

Please listen to this woman beg and plead for her life. They have a police officer stationed outside a hotel room where she is followed all the time. All her assets have been plundered. She is in grave danger.  Please pray for her.

Finally, the abuse in probate and nursing homes is starting to get nationwide attention from mega media:

And in Illinois, nursing homes are particular dangerous, so why are Illinois probate courts forcing seniors into nursing homes? Why are there soooo many seniors in nursing homes that want to go home?  When studies show that yoga, diet and supplements (vitamins) can reverse dementia in a few short months, why is this never any major news?

This week I faxed off my list of 30 horror guardianship stories to the authorities, again, in Illinois and of course, I have not heard a peep back from:  Michael Madigan (Speaker of Illinois House), Lisa Madigan, Patrick Blachard, the Senate Subcommittee on Aging (Demanding public hearing), the House subcommittee on the Judiciary (demanding public hearing) and I do not hear a peep from anyone. Of course, I received a ton of their emails and postcards begging me to vote for them, but why?  What are they doing to prevent the death and destruction of seniors in nursing homes?

Jerome Larkin and James Grogin of the ARDC work actively to quash dissent by disciplining attorneys excercising their first amendment right to speak out. The out and out lie about US Supreme Court cases that say it is a fundamental right and a necessity for attorneys to speak out against corruption in the courts (Sawyer, et al.)  What are those two hiding?  Why doesn’t the FBI do an investigation and get rid of them and the other attorneys participating in suppressing the crooked cases on the 18th probate floor of the Daley center (ARDC attorneys Opryszek, Steven Splitt, Leah Black, Melissa Smart) Why aren’t all of these attorneys gone by now and myself, Ken Ditkowsky and Lanre Amu reinstated with reparations? What’s up with that?

I’ll let you all know if I hear from any of these representatives on helping stop the murder (narcotizing to death, withholding food and water) and torture (bed sores, easily preventable, and chemical restraints–illegal use of psychotropic drugs).

From Senior Living Watch:

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On Sat, Sep 17, 2016 at 8:47 AM, kenneth ditkowsky <kenditkowsky@yahoo.com> wrote:

The Tim Lahrman saga is best put into writing by the e-mail that we all received from Attorney Candice Schwager.     It demonstrates just how absurd the guardianship laws are a how they have evolved from well-meaning legislation to a method by which avarice can flourish.   Greedy and corrupt judicial officials, allied with corrupt member of the political elite, and protected by corrupt member of the Judicial elite not only create a class of people who are non-entities, but a class of people who are potentially non-entities after they are stripped of their humanity, civil rights, property and finally their lives.

 

   The Political elite and the Judicial elite lull us – the great unwashed with their rhetoric, demonization of the whistleblowers, demonization of the objecting family, and the camouflage of dishonesty – such as campaign slogans crying out for ‘saving social security’ etc.    The victims of elder cleansing and Tim are victims of the political elite who will say anything and do anything to get elected!    

 

On Sep 15, 2016, at 1:49 AM, Candy Schwager < candiceschwager@icloud.com > wrote:

 Pondering

Want to hear something outrageous? Tim Lahrman was fraudulently stripped of all rights and placed in guardianship by his brother to steal $1 million. He’s a genius but hasn’t been able to escape 30 years.
Tim suddenly had a heart attack making everyone think he died. We prayed Ezekiel when he prophesied to dry lifeless bones? We played it all night. He was breathing on ventilators and heart beat 30/ minute. Drs said since he didn’t breathe even 1% after they unfroze him and heated him 0-95 degrees, call hospice. They planned to pull plug at 6:30 pm Sunday and I couldn’t handle it so I went to bed sobbing. I woke up at 9:00 pm and a text said he began breathing moments before 6:30. They removed life support and his vital signs returned to perfect. after no oxygen or heart beat 10 minutes.
   Drs say he now has a strong heart and the body of a younger man. It’s like he’s asleep but he’s deeply sedated. Drs said he was brain dead ,which is legally dead. Sherry Johnston blurted out “That terminated the guardianship” by law.
If he recovers he is free because he died, death is usually the only way out but Tim found a loophole in the law and began freeing people with his work.  He just had no way to free himself until now.
  His brother (& guardian) put him in guardianship 30 years ago, the guardian abandoned him 15 years ago penniless and Indiana is one of a few states with no program for indigent. 15 years His mother, sister and children abandoned him. Yet he found happiness in just being alive and fishing.
His brother asked for his social security number and His girlfriend has nothing because he’s not been able to legally work in 30 years. he couldn’t use it after his rights were removed to vote, work, marry, sue, pay taxes, apply for state or federal money, and the only person with authority was his guardian, or a federal judge, who refused saying he had no capacity to sue.
So an act of 2/3 of congress to impeach a federal judge or that Judge dying would have been the only action he could rely on. Only the federal judge and the one who deemed him incapacitated had jurisdiction. Federal judges serve for life. Not even the president of US could help because separation of powers and 10th amendment and abstention doctrine prohibits a federal judge from ordering a state judge to do something — unless his civil rights under 42 USC 1983 were violated. 1983 didn’t include disabled as a suspect class but race, sex, age, national origin.
The US and State were immune so they didn’t care. I searched for his guardianship but there’s no record of him being in guardianship in Allen County, so. The prosecutor, sheriff and judge in the criminal case with 17-year-old bogus charges laughed in my face when I threatened to sue for illegally detaining an incapacitated person. They falsely imprisoned him 73 days and he wrote his own habeas corpus and got released. The sheriff refused to let him go because he could not verify he was in guardianship. His girlfriend of 26 years could have been his de facto guardian if they married but he lacked capacity as a ward and lacked even a valid ID.
Indiana does not recognize common law marriage to make his 26-year lifelong love his de facto guardian. Since he was deemed incapacitated he could legally work so he didn’t have a social security card or IRS document because he lacked capacity.
It’s as if he was dead since 1987.  He had no rights and didn’t exist–if that were possible to take away inalienable rights.
Indiana has no indigent program for wards of the state, so as soon as they took every penny and he was totally broke, the state of Indiana abandoned him. His guardian said stop harassing him or calling and was much older so he’s likely dead, incapacitated or has no records because he had to have thrown them away after he knew he couldn’t be sued.
Tim filed a suit in 1987 and the federal court ruled he lacked capacity to sue and threw him out. The only person who could sue was his guardian and he wasn’t going to sue himself or get his capacity restored because he could then be personally liable.
The US Supreme Court ruled in Jackson vs Indiana that you can’t hold an incapacitated person in jail but who could do anything about it?
He had no authority to get representative payee social security benefits because they denied his application saying he wasn’t disabled. I don’t know if an appellate  court could even make a ruling because there was no order to appeal and no records. Well even though he’s off life support and seemingly very alive, the law defines brain death as legally dead. Those 10 minutes he died ended the guardianship because death immediately terminated guardianship.
His brother can’t sue because he has no standing because of what he did. Nor can other family members. So why ask for his SSN? To protect himself, the guardian or the federal judge who threw his case out for lack of capacity.  Intentionally violating Constitutional rights is a death penalty crime if he died!!
Now rule 17c gives federal judges the authority to appoint someone to be a guardian ad Litem to sue in his place where his guardian has a conflict of interest,
if we went to the Supreme Court on habeas corpus we might win based on Indiana constructively falsely imprisoning him but states are immune under 10th Amendment. The state has no law like that so legally he was trapped. Worse than a dead person or death row inmate, the State purportedly removed all of his inalienable Constitutional rights even though that is a legal fiction or treason  because any state law violating federal law is void under Supremacy Clause. Caperton V Massey.
The governor could not do anything because he had only power to pardon and he committed no crime. The state can’t tell a federal judge what to do under the 11th amendment and it would violate separation of powers. the civil rights act of 1964 didn’t include Disability as a protected class. The only statute that could have helped him was the ADA of 1990 and he was declared incapacitated in 1987. So now he’s free and he isn’t really dead just like he was never really incapacitated but a genius.
What a mess but Oh Lord let him live and have no brain damage so when he wakes up, watch out!!! He was never incapacitated which means he was kidnapped and falsely imprisoned 30 years. Try $10,000 per day x 30 years x 3 for punitive damages and add 6% interest. My calculator won’t go that far

 From Ken:

     Tim was a victim of long standing corruption in Indiana.     I am copying our Presidential candidates with this e-mail.    Here is an opportunity for one or both of them to act presidential and come to the aid (belatedly) to a citizen who was a victim of the American Holocaust and greed that is on a par and parallel with Philip Esformes.  (Mr. Esformes stole a billion dollars from the Medicare program – these people attempted to steal a life).       Helping the victims of elder cleansing and DEMANDING not only an HONEST INVESTIGATION but practical restitution would demonstrate that the Presidential candidate actually is more than a big bag of wind.

 

    For the record – I am not naïve.    When I wrote to Senator Durbin, I got a copy of a stupid speech he gave on saving social security!       Indeed, Senator Durbin I do not give a damn if the thief who steals the life and property of an elder cleansing victim gets his social security!

Ken Ditkowsky

www.ditkowskylawoffice.com

It is with heavy heart I repost this. Tim was at my ARDC trial all the way from Indiana, and an ardent supporter, though we had many, many intellectual disputes.

From Atty Candice Schwager:

Thank you everyone for your prayers. Miracles happened. Tim stuck around a few days and His family and brother cried and apologized for taking 30 years of his life and rendering him dead in the eyes of the law. His girlfriend Cindy never got to marry him but she finally got a beautiful picture of them together when he started breathing again and life support removed all of those awful hoses and wires. A childhood friend wrote and said he knew he had little time due to heart and lung problems. I think his heart was broken. I should have known because the day our foundation logo was done and I had his vision, he was praising God that his suffering was over. I asked if he wanted me to get his capacity restored to give him the right to sue and though he knew his lawsuit was worth millions, he said no. We were getting calls and emails to file cases together in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Nevada. He was so happy he found a lawyer who he really wanted to work with that understood his vision and was happy to sit at the feet of a genius and learn. Strangely we did not become close friends until 2016 but instantly we hit it off like best friends. I am honored to know that he felt the same way. I was so amazed at his genius but he humbly said “Im only a vessel” . We were supposed to sit by the lake and eat steak as we strategized. We finally had the money to buy steaks and airline tickets to meet. I wish I would have moved faster. Cindy and Crystal sent me a photo of Tim so I could see what he looked like. He has a big fish. Then I saw pictures of Cindy’s son and grand daughter who were Tim’s family. Each one was holding a fish. So I decided to make them laugh by showing them my fish was bigger. We went back and forth laughing. A lady on Facebook told me her father went fishing with Jesus while in a coma. So I thought Tim has gone fishing and is coming back. Suddenly his heart was perfectly healthy and Drs said he had the body of a young man. Vital signs were normal. But he had no significant brain activity except seizures requiring he be sedated again. I just found out he passed away, and can only surmise he was fishing with Jesus too.

Want to hear something outrageous? Tim Lahrman was fraudulently stripped of all rights and placed in guardianship by his brother to steal $1 million. He’s a genius but hasn’t been able to escape 30 years.
Tim suddenly had a heart attack making everyone think he died. We prayed Ezekiel when he prophesied to dry lifeless bones ? We played it all night. He was breathing on ventilators and heart beat 30/ minute. Drs said since he didn’t breathe even 1% after they unfroze him and heated him 0-95 degrees, call hospice. They planned to pull plug at 6:30 pm Sunday and I couldn’t handle it so I went to bed sobbing. I woke up at 9:00 pm and a text said he began breathing moments before 6:30. They removed life support and his vital signs returned to perfect. after no oxygen or heart beat 10 minutes.
Drs say he now has a strong heart and the body of a younger man. It’s like he’s asleep but he’s deeply sedated. Drs said he was brain dead ,which is legally dead. Sherry Johnston blurted out “That terminated the guardianship” by law.
If he recovers he is free because he died, death is usually the only way out but Tim found a loophole in the law and began freeing people with his work. He just had no way to free himself until now.
His brother & guardian) put him in guardianship 30 years ago, the guardian abandoned him 15 years ago penniless and Indiana is one of a few states with no program for indigent. 15 years His mother, sister and children abandoned him. Yet he found happiness in just being alive and fishing.
His brother asked for his social security number and His girlfriend has nothing because he’s not been able to legally work in 30 years. he couldn’t use it after his rights were removed to vote, work, marry, sue, pay taxes, apply for state or federal money, and the only person with authority was his guardian, or a federal judge, who refused saying he had no capacity to sue.
So an act of 2/3 of congress to impeach a federal judge or that Judge dying would have been the only action he could rely on. Only the federal judge and the one who deemed him incapacitated had jurisdiction. Federal judges serve for life. Not even the president of US could help because separation of powers and 10th amendment and abstention doctrine prohibits a federal judge from ordering a state judge to do something — unless his civil rights under 42 USC 1983 were violated. 1983 didn’t include disabled as a suspect class but race, sex, age, national origin.
The US and State were immune so they didn’t care. I searched for his guardianship but there’s no record of him being in guardianship in Allen County, so. The prosecutor, sheriff and judge in the criminal case with 17 year old bogus charges laughed in my face when I threatened to sue for illegally detaining an incapacitated person. They falsely imprisoned him 73 days and he wrote his own habeas corpus and got released. The sheriff refused to let him go because he could not verify he was in guardianship. His girlfriend of 26 years could have been his de facto guardian if they married but he lacked capacity as a ward and lacked even a valid ID.
Indiana does not recognize common law marriage to make his 26 year life long love his de facto guardian. Since he was deemed incapacitated he could legally work so he didn’t have a social security card or IRS document because he lacked capacity.
It’s as if he was dead since 1987. He had no rights and didn’t exist–if that were possible to take away inalienable rights.
Indiana has no indigent program for wArds of the state, so as soon as they took every penny and he was totally broke, the state of Indiana abandoned him. His guardian said stop harassing him or calling and was much older so he’s likely dead, incapacitated or has no records because he had to have thrown them away after he knew he couldn’t be sued.
Tim filed a suit in 1987 and the federal court ruled he lacked capacity to sue and threw him out. The only person who could sue was his guardian and he wasn’t going to sue himself or get his capacity restored because he could then be personally liable.
The US Supreme Court ruled in Jackson vs Indiana that you can’t hold an incapacitated person in jail but who could do anything about it?
He had no authority to get representative payee social security benefits because they denied his application saying he wasn’t disabled. I don’t know if an appellate court could even make a ruling because there was no order to appeal and no records. Well even though he’s off life support and seemingly very alive, the law defines brain death as legally dead. Those 10 minutes he died ended the guardianship because death immediately terminated guardianship.
His brother can’t sue because he has no standing because of what he did. Nor can other family members. So why ask for his SSN? To protect himself, the guardian or the federal judge who threw his case out for lack of capacity. Intentionally violating Constitutional rights is a death penalty crime if he died!!
Now rule 17c gives federal judges the authority to appoint someone to be a guardian ad Litem to sue in his place where his guardian has a conflict of interest,
if we went to the Supreme Court on habeas corpus we might win based on Indiana constructively falsely imprisoning him but states are immune under 10th Amendment. The state has no law like that so legally he was trapped. Worse than a dead person or death row inmate, the State purportedly removed all of his inalienable Constitutional rights even though that is a legal fiction or treason because any state law violating federal law is void under Supremacy Clause. Caperton V Massey.
The governor could not do anything because he had only power to pardon and he committed no crime. The state can’t tell a federal judge what to do under the 11th amendment and it would violate separation of powers. the civil rights act of 1964 didn’t include Disability as a protected class. The only statute that could have helped him was the ADA of 1990 and he was declared incapacitated in 1987. So now he’s free and he isn’t really dead just like he was never really incapacitated but a genius.
What a mess but Oh Lord let him live and have no brain damage so when he wakes up, watch out!!! He was never incapacitated which means he was kidnapped and falsely imprisoned 30 years. Try $10,000 per day x 30 years x 3 for punitive damages and add 6% interest. My calculator won’t go that far! Pray!!!!!

5,000 employees were involved in mass overdraft fees, fines and penalties.

$2.6 million goes to victims.  $185 million to US govt.  How fair is that.

Now see what the CEO in charge of the fake accounts gets: She gets $124 million for fake accounts!

Thanks to every one for their prayers.  Tim Lahrman is breathing on his own.  I don’t know the full story, but Tim was out cold on the floor for more than 10 minutes at his home, his wife Cindy conducted CPR until the ambulance arrived. When he arrived at the hospital everything was shut down, and there was no brain activity and they put him on 100% life support, chilled his body for a few days and then warmed him up.

During that time he had no brain activity.  When he warmed up, there was no brain activity. They were getting to pull the plug, but they noted that Tim’s heart rate would rise from 30 bpm to 80 whenever his wife spoke him, so she kept on speaking.

I just received a picture of him off the respirator and Cindy is right with him hugging him and smiling.

So much for ANYONE knowing when human life is over.

He has not awoken yet, and everyone must keep him in their prayers, he does have a terrible heart condition, I am told. He is not out of the woods because he is still in a coma, but breathing on his own is the first step.

And three guesses as to the people that broke his heart from a karmic perspective, and I bet they were all involved in his guardianship.

JoAnne

As an update, Tim Lahrman was found passed out and in a coma from a severe heart attack.  They tried to chill him down, then thaw him out to revive him, but he still won’t breathe on his own.

His wife Cindy is very upset and everyone is praying for him and many, many people have send condolences.

Please continue to pray for Cindy and Tim’s acute illness. He is still in intensive care, on 100% life support.

From Dr. Sugar:

Tim’s passing is a real tragedy and we all mourn his death.

Dear Friends of Tim and even a few who did not have the pleasure of knowing him:

It is with deep sadness that I must let you know our brilliant friend Tim Lahrman has apparently passed away, after he suffered a major heart attack Thursday night and has now been confirmed to be with no brain activity and on machines to breath and pump his heart. Tim had a heart attack on August 5, 2016 and went to the hospital but did not tell anyone including Cindy, because he did not want to worry her. He did not tell me either and during the past year, we had become like best friends. He taught me so much about the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and we formed the Foundation for Elder Justice with the slogan ADA in Action! Thursday, I sent him the logo and we both tweaked it. Cases began to come in and we were singing contracts to help people in Missouri, Florida and North Carolina.

The light bulb finally went off in my head and I understood the simplicity of the ADA and the message he tried to convey to me for a year, that I could not grasp because I am no Einstein like Tim. I am blessed to have known a true genius who said to me on his last day coherent, “Candice, I am just an instrument.” In March, when he was arrested on trumped up 17 year old charges that were illegal and past any semblance of a statute of limitations 15 years ago, notwithstanding the US Supreme Court ruled the Sheriff could not hold Tim those 73 days because he was a ward of the State of Indiana 30 years and the State could not have it both ways—to destroy his ability to marry, work, as it stole everything he worked hard to build and left him with no rights as a dead person 15 years, he laughed and told me he thought it was hilarious because he heard cha ching $10,000 a day for false imprisonment. I said “I cannot believe you can laugh in jail” and he even laughed as he fired his court appointed lawyer and wrote his own habeas corpus, making the Judge eat crow and rule he was right all along. He asked me many months ago to be his attorney and help him sue the State of Indiana for $12,000,000 because his wish was that Cindy always be taken care of when he was gone. He told me “Candice, I am so full of joy that it has finally come the time for this because I am 59 and there’s not much time left.” I guess he knew since he had the heart attack it would not be long. I wish he would have told someone so he could have seen a Cardiologist and maybe taken preventative measures. Thursday night, he was supposed to appear on Andy Ostrowski’s Justice Served and talk about our Foundation we planned together and our vision. The vision Tim had is growing rapidly as all of his wonderful friends who were waiting on Tim to help them in their case call me and we decide to pull together and carry his vision forward. He said it was oppressively hot and his asthma was bad, but he was going into cardiac arrest.

Cindy cried as she gave him CPR desperate to save his life, but the hospital determined he was dead 10 minutes. Most of you know it’s over after that, but we kept thinking he would sit up and go “Let’s get out of here.” I was supposed to go to Indiana in October and have steaks on the lake with Cindy as we planned our campaign going forward. He sent me that and I share that with you and ask you to join me and make his dream come true. Thursday night, they froze his body to prevent brain damage and yesterday began to heat it back up slowly to 95 degrees, which Cynthia Stephens told me is actually a life saving and capacity saving blessing for him. Doctors said as they warmed him, he could go into cardiac arrest again, though his heart rate was only 30 ppm until Cindy came and spoke with him and prayed, it spiked to 80 momentarily. Today, the slowly removed the sedation though they were already certain it was too late because he did not begin breathing even 1%. He began to suffer seizures, requiring that he be resedated into a coma. It’s not possible to bring him back and his lungs and heart are being kept alive on machines. I suppose the blessing for him is that Indiana could not make him incapacitated and he was never incapacitated, but an absolute genius. He kind of looked like Einstein and I would have asked him if he had a haircut this decade if I had met him. As this happened, I had the idea

It’s a book but not about me. It’s about an “incapacitated “ (tongue in cheek) genius saving all of us intellectuals and making a MOCKERY OF THE COURT by having the last laugh proving them all wrong. And in fact, that is exactly what I believe is happening. ! It’s bizarre and he will be the “Erin brokovich” of the ADA because while he was “incapacitated”, he sat in his basement studying the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to master it and come up with a brilliant plan to end the captivity of people suffering in guardianship for good. He understood long ago the power of the ADA and now, we will see it come to pass. I have enough drafts he made to finish the work he began for clients who asked for our help in just the past weeks. The first lawsuit will be filed in Houston, Texas before month’s end. As I thought of this book, I thought of the scripture, “God uses the foolish things of the World to confound those thinking themselves wise.” And so the Book will be entitled “A mockery of the Court” because that is what Tim did best. I have a vision in my head of just how big this is going to be and trust me, you will sit stunned as you see it too. Cindy Damron was by his side for 24 years as he roughed it out without much money working to free other people from guardianship as a paralegal.
Just this week, two very senior attorneys with decades more experience than me joined me and saw the vision Tim had and their expertise is probate, guardianship, ADA, and Civil Rights Litigation under Section 1983. We also were blessed to have a man who is a former corporate executive who retired to join the cause and end this travesty / cancer killing our elderly and disabled in what Congress deemed a National Disgrace 30 years ago. It’s still a National Disgrace and more so. We will begin in Texas and the saying goes, “So goes Texas, so goes the Nation.” I’m not sure why, but that’s kind of what I think. Florida, Nevada, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and many others come next. God will make a way to help us in our journey forward because it’s just time.

About a week ago, Tim wrote the Fundraising Crowd Presentation he envisioned and it is based upon the Freedom Riders of the 1960’s, something he had to explain to me having not been born! lol. Here is what he wrote:

Stop the discrimination now because not one of us will ever escape growing old

The Foundation for Elder Justice is a non-profit civil rights advocacy organization seeking tax exempt status to go past awareness into Action and our slogan is ADA in action! We need the public’s support, please.

Our mission is to protect, preserve and advance every person’s civil and human right to ‘personal autonomy’ and self determination as they age and become vulnerable due to disability and incapacity.  One need not be old to be stricken by disability or incapacity but as our aging baby-boomer population grows even older, the elderly and disabled are particularly vulnerable and many a parent and family across the country are being victimized by a state run system which in 1987 the U.S. Congress declared to be “A National Disgrace”¹.

In both growing numbers and frequency across the country, news reports, victims’ stories, and shocking details are emerging about these issues of significant pubic importance.  Sadly, for many in America growing old and/or being disabled is or has been an absolutely terrifying event.  You can read the stories for yourself – but know in advance that a common theme in most every one of these stories is that lives and families are being torn apart and devastated, left in ruin — family members are being forcibly separated and isolated from one and other while family fortunes and peoples’ entire retirement and life’s savings are being preyed upon, completely liquidated and consumed by courts and complete strangers under the  gyves of “guarding” and “conserving”. Know too before you read – often times death is visiting these families while they struggle desperately to find justice for their elderly and disabled loved ones.

In the 1960’s it took a few brave and daring souls to make a difference, to go where no man or woman, no black man or black woman anyhow, dared to go.  A group of  brave and daring souls boarded a caravan of buses and they began their “Freedom Ride” across the segregated south.  The story, the events and the results made history, and moved the masses to recognize the human dignity of every human being whether black or white.  The issue of systemic discrimination had made its way into the public discussion and into living rooms across America, and as a nation we were forced to face an ugly truth.  Bigotry is real.

In 1990 the United States Congress passed the Americans’ With Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  Hailed as “the emancipation proclamation for disabled Americans”, the ADA was passed to remedy what Congress found to be Jim Crow laws for the disabled, who were considered not worthy of protection or even quality of life.  In 2004 the United States Supreme Court affirmed the authority of Congress to strip state and local government of their immunity from liability for violating our nation’s anti-discrimination public policy.  There is an emerging trend of state and local governments, even several state court judges, who are in fact having to answer for violating these federal laws – a movement to challenge the status quo and decades of disability discrimination is underway.

I ask you to join us on our Freedom Ride as we sweep the Nation with ADA lawsuits and take back our liberty, happiness and justice and go boldly where everyone but us has gone before.

-Tim Lahrman, 2016

As I think of the year of friendship and especially the past three weeks, I learned what Tim looked like, something I was always curious of and I thought what an odd couple of mutt and jeff we would have been – Einstein and Legally Blonde. But, this past week Tim finished the work on several cases we are working together. I only wish he had made it until October or November, when I thought maybe I could sue Indiana for Tim and begin the process of restoring what had been taken from him for more than 1/2 his life. Job was restored in the Bible twice  what he lost and he lost everything as Tim did. Heartbreaking is the fact that Tim lost his children 15 years ago to his ex-wife, something that he secretly mourned. His guardian abandoned him 15 years ago and he sued him but the Court held he lacked the capacity to maintain the lawsuit—knowing if they let it go forward, the Judge / Guardian was toast. Imagine the catch 22 he was in, yet strangely when I asked if he wanted me to restore him officially, he said no. Tim was happy whether in jail, or in guardianship. It really didn’t matter to him because he was confident he was anything but incapacitated.

As he praised God for his dream finally coming true on Thursday, and I told him, this is going to explode like wildfire, he sent me a Billy Joel Song, “We didn’t start the fire”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g. In other words, it’s time to reap what you’ve sown corrupt cabal. We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning as the World was turning! Incidentally, Einstein and the Mafia are mentioned in the song. I have no idea what the song means, but he did.

He leaves behind his beloved Cindy, who is the sweetest little thing I think I ever imagined. She loves him so deeply—every last aspect of Tim, even his feet, who most agree should have socks on! LOL! I attach pictures of the two so that you see the little 4’9” sweetheart who stood by his 6’1” side going fishing and sitting by the lake having steaks for 24 years. In October, I was going to have a steak with them and stare at the stars. Then we were going to Florida and he was coming to Texas. Wednesday I asked  him how he was always so happy and he just told me he enjoyed every last simple thing in life and tried to savor every moment. He didn’t seem angry or bitter and I believe he forgave each and every person who ever harmed him. He liked to argue and made a lot of people mad, but I hope you know that it wasn’t malicious. He had a mischievous streak and liked to stir the “POT.” For those of you that know what happened in March, you will get the joke in that. If not, I have to leave you with something that I absolutely KNOW TIM WOULD WANT. He would never want anyone to cry. He would want you to laugh and he will get the last laugh if I have much to say about it.

Tim lived a good life and did not drink. He was not by any means excessive, but he liked to smoke pot and made no secret of it. Maybe it allowed him to tolerate the difficult 30 years he endured and have a positive outlook on life, really wanting for nothing. It certainly did not dull his mind. Because I know he would want you rolling in laughter, which is not the appropriate response, but neither was laughing as they put him in solitary confinement for firing his lawyer and writing his own briefs. I posted a picture of a marijuana leaf in an email to him at the time that said “Weed miss you” so I leave you with a request that you laugh and celebrate Tim’s goodness and that he was never incapacitated and now he is free and doesn’t need anything to experience joy. Please know that this was my idea to ensure you leave with peace. I have a weird sense of humor, like Tim. Ok, get ready for this…the first is a command related to our civil rights movement.. If you aren’t prepared to giggle, you might want to stop here and just say a prayer. For the record, I do not personally indulge, I simply don’t judge others as I have known friends with devastating chronic pain who have benefitted medically and feel “to each his own.” Everything in moderation. Whether you loved Tim, knew him only in reputation, or he drove you crazy, he left a mark.

Now for some fun…Since we didn’t get to eat steak..

I will send out a link to the GoFundMe I am setting up to care for Cindy. That is what Tim wanted and I think he knows we are all going to make sure she is fine. Please pray and consider giving to the foundation for elder justice at http://elderjusticefoundation.com because it will fund litigation across the nation to end guardianship under the ADA. It’s time to take ACTION!  ADA in Action!!

-Dedicated to Tim Lahrman

Regards,

Candice L Schwager
SCHWAGER LAW FIRM
T: (832) 315-8489
F: (832) 514-4738
candiceschwager@icloud.com
http://www.schwagerfirm.com

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start the Fire (Official Video)

Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start the Fire (Official Video)

Candy and Cindy

My sincere condolences –

Tim was a true friend  –  most importantly he stood up for what he believed in and gave tirelessly to the cause of making it safe to grow old in the United States of America.  He will be missed.

The atrocity that Tim suffered at the hands of the Indiana government is a stain on Indiana that cannot be erased without effort on the part of law enforcement.  Like Illinois, Indiana has a policy of ignoring the plight of the elderly and disabled who have been targeted by corrupt political figures and corrupt judicial figures for elder cleansing.    Tim escaped with his life from the corrupt judicial figures who conspired with his sibling to rob him of his estate; however Tim did not escape the pecuniary prison that literally stole from him his youth, his fortune, and his citizenship.    No one was interested in a travesty that should never have happened and was a monument to corruption and elitism of the people who run the political system in Indiana.   What happened to Tim could happen to YOU!

We need HONEST law enforcement to do an HONEST (AND COMPREHENSIVE) INVESTIGATION and if our allegation are confirmed – HONEST PROSECUTION of each of the miscreants who have been carrying out the WAR AGAINST THE ELDERLY AND THE DISABLED.  (NB.  if someone with clout is your enemy – even if you are young – like Tim was you can lose you freedom, your humanity and your property)

Each of the political candidates for President gives speeches that are filled with promises and naked statements as to their concern for the ‘little guy!’    Each candidate bleed tears BUT NEITHER TRUMP OR CLINTON has demonstrated that they can do much other than talk – and talk, and talk.    Neither has joined in a call for an HONEST INVESTIGATION.

(NB.  We call for an honest investigation by Honest law enforcement BECAUSE we believe in the constitution and equal protection of the law even though the political and judicial elite openly and notoriously deny us our basic Constitutional Rights with impunity.   We believe that the laws should be enforced equality without regard to age, race, color of skin, nationality, *****, without exception.     To us these words are not just words – they are core values.   We deplore the racism exhibited by the lawyer disciplinary commissions and in particular the Illinois ARDC.   We cannot rest when Lanre Amu is suspended for practicing law while black and Diane Nash is barred from an IARDC public assembly – especially when neither candidate for President (or any other member of the political community) has the courage to speak out.

Indeed, when the avarice of political elite (including Tim’s brother) denied Tim his citizenship (by the wrongful appointment of a guardian for profit) and literally stole his assets – not one Indiana political figure spoke out – indeed, none speak out today.  

Ken Ditkowsky

Of course, this only happens when the money in the estate runs out and has been handed over to the probate attorneys and the GALs.

Thanks to Karen Federighi for the post. Good one.

This “US Probate Court Ward Disposal Program” has also been approved by the Illinios Atty Registration Association, Jerome Larkin, Sharon Opryszek, Melissa Smart and others who refuse to do their job and investigate the Mary G. Sykes, a woman who was murdered in probate after the money ran out, there was no accounting filed on the sale of her home (likely sold for pennies on the dollar) and hundreds of thousands of valuable gold and silver coins are missing from this estate–and both the ARDC and the probate court quashed all discovery on the issue.

The system is the same across the nation. The FBI, states attorneys and ARDC all look the other way.

Something must happen now to change this system.

JoAnne

Apparently one of our finest court corruption fighters, Tim Lahrman, a victim of guardianship himself, has suddenly become ill and has collapsed.

Please pray for him and his wife Cindy.

I will update you all as I learn more.

JoAnne

From Tatiana:

The topic of how attorney licensing affects the public is very vast, and I covered it in multiple blog articles (I have nearly 2000 on the blog now).  I cannot provide links to all of them, and you won’t be able to review them over this short time.

But, the idea is that it should be the consumer’s choice and not the government’s as to who represents people in court, and that attorney licensing – as a sort of help in marketing for an attorney – creates an illusion of protection in the public, while it provides no protection, but instead serves to perpetuate the “justice gap”, the situation where many people cannot afford an attorney.

I would like to cover – time permitting – the concept of attorney licensing as help offered to consumers by the government, to help them in picking their provider of services, and, since it is an offer of help, the possibility for the consumer to reject that help and ask for an opting-out provision in respective laws, as well as for an option to hire an unlicensed provider.

I would like to explain how the illusion of competency is created:

1) that attorneys are not necessarily taught what they need for representation in law schools;

2) are not necessarily tested in the law they are practicing on the bar exams;

3) and, are not disciplined for violation of disciplinary rules, if they work for the government or are well-connected politically – and here the anti-trust issue can be raised in how attorney discipline is imposed.

If it is the public that is protected, then the question is why the public is not allowed to cast the final vote in attorney disciplinary cases.  If attorneys are “experts” in such proceedings, they should be called as such – expert witnesses – and should be called in by the lay disciplinary panels as such, on an as-needed basis, to inform the panels, not to make the decisions.

I can also focus on the need for an independent court representative, whose livelihood does not depend on whether he or she pisses off the judge or not by raising sensitive issues.  We can discuss the issue that, because of how attorney licensing works, and because it is entirely in the hands of judges, it is increasingly difficult, if at all possible, to find an attorney who would make a motion to recuse – to ensure impartial judicial review for the client.

I think, in this respect it is all right if you ask me questions about my disciplinary status, I just did not want to go very far into it since my appeal is still pending.  But, I can certainly state that I was suspended for making motions to recuse – for doing my constitutional duty to my clients, and that my suspension removed my skills from the reach of many people, which did not make the justice gap any narrower.

Here are some links to my blog posts:

1) the idea of deregulation goes mainstream – on the recent criticism by George Mason Law school professor Ilya Somin of Justice Sonya Sotomayor’s appeal to force attorneys into mandatory pro bono service – Professor Somin instead offers three solutions – deregulation, corporatization of legal services, and introducing vouchers for indigents given directly to the clients, so that they, and not the court, can choose their own public defender to represent them.

http://attorneyindependence.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-idea-of-deregulation-of-legal.html

2) I have several posts about Kathleen Kane and the way attorney disciplinary rules are used to oust or interfere with the work of a public official, voted for by millions of people, who dared to go against the legal establishment in doing her job.

3) http://attorneyindependence.blogspot.com/2016/05/american-courts-rule-that-protection.html

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the poor can have an unlicensed attorney if otherwise they would go without any attorney at all –

4)  http://attorneyindependence.blogspot.com/2016/05/when-criminal-conviction-is-at-stake-in.html

The decisions of several highest state courts – regulating attorney licenses – that said that suspension of an attorney, even for disciplinary reasons, may have nothing to do with his competency or ability to effectively represent a client (criminal convictions sustained despite representation by a suspended attorney in Texas, California, Michigan).

5) on education of attorneys – antitrust lawsuits against BARBRI for stifling innovation in legal education;

http://attorneyindependence.blogspot.com/2016/05/to-consumers-of-legal-services-when-you.html

6)  ABA close to approval of online education which previously was claimed as inadequate for protection of consumers – because “brick and mortar” schools are financially hurting by reduced enrollment:

http://attorneyindependence.blogspot.com/2016/04/online-law-education-is-now-good.html

7)  admission of attorneys through reciprocity without ever testing them on knowledge of state laws

http://attorneyindependence.blogspot.com/2016/05/while-india-invalidates-its-bar-exam.html

We can, of course, discuss North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v FTC, FTC guidelines introduced after that,

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/attachments/competition-policy-guidance/active_supervision_of_state_boards.pdf

my complaint to FTC of antitrust regulation of the legal profession – and the fact that, despite amicus briefs that state bar associations filed in opposition to stripping antitrust immunities from market-player-run disciplinary boards in North Carolina Dental, 1.5 years after the precedent, no changes were made by states to rectify the situation where attorney regulation is run in all states and on the federal level without participation of consumers (for whose benefit attorney regulation allegedly exists), basically, it is run as a criminal cartel that stifles innovation, competition and punishes critics of the government, stripping consumers of skilled advocates who are willing to work at reduced cost and pro bono.

If you want me to, I can go over New York new disciplinary rules for attorneys that were introduced after North Carolina Dental, but did not rectify the antitrust problems in discipline, did not mention selective enforcement of attorney discipline against connected attorneys and prosecutors, and did not mention judicial corruption and retaliation as influencing attorney discipline – all these issues were raised in public hearings before the Commission that was about to introduce such rules (the Commission also consisted of a super-majority of market players, consumers were practically not present there).

Basically, all of the above boils down to a simple set of recognized facts:

1) legal education does not ensure competency of attorneys, as attorneys are not trained in all areas of laws their license covers;

2) bar examination does not ensure competency of attorneys, and bar exams are often skipped under comity agreements;

3) attorney discipline as protection of consumers is an illusion, because:

1.   a) it appears to exist only for criminal defense attorneys, civil rights attorneys for criticizing the government – and, on rare occasions, connected attorneys are disbarred, but only after they are convicted by the feds after years and years of corruption;

1.   b) it is run by competitors – consumers of legal services who could voice an objection against removal of a criminal defense, family court or civil rights practitioner, do not have a say.

There is a U.S. Supreme Court case by which the top court of the country has declared that a person can hire an unlicensed individual if the state cannot provide a licensed individual for the same purpose, and if people will go without a court representation if the unlicensed individual is not allowed to work for them –  Johnson v Avery,

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/393/483/case.html

Yet, the only case thus known when a consumer asked representation by an individual without a valid license was that of my husband, and that motion was removed from the file without review on the merits.  I can discuss that, if you would like me to.  My husband, as you know, claimed that attorneys are afraid to touch his case, and the issues he needs to be raising (such as recusal of the court) are sensitive issues that regulated attorneys are afraid to raise, for fear of sanctions – exactly the Johnson v Avery situation that he will go without an attorney if he is not allowed to hire an unlicensed individual (me).

You know issues I raised over the years in the blog, Andy, they are all connected, and I am flexible as to which way the discussion will go.

Those are just some points that can be covered.

Yet, throughout the interview we can go back to the same issue – that representation by a licensed attorney, offered by the government as help in marketing, should be an option for the consumer, not a mandate – and that is especially true where the government regulating attorneys, is also suing the consumer and/or setting rules restricting the consumer’s time to hire an attorney in order to preserve the consumer’s rights in court.

I think, this idea of occupational licensing being an option, not a mandate, is fairly novel for the public, and should be discussed from different aspects, and especially from the point of people’s right to make their own decisions and to reject help whoever is offering it, and especially when it is offered in situations of grave conflicts of interest (like in cases where the consumer is suing the government or when the government is suing the consumer).

Tatiana Neroni

See her blog at http://attorneyindependence.blogspot.com/.  It has about 2000 posts on it with ethics questions and rights of the public to have fair representation.

Thanks so much for sending me these the quotes and citations on corruption in government and how it is the duty of everyone in a democratic society to speak up and report to the authorities and that they should take action:

Greetings to all,

The question which needs to be focused on while seeking a response to Dr. Cordero’s papers, is why citizens have permitted the courts in collusion with Clinton, Bush and Obama have assisted in the concealment of criminal acts acts by government attorneys and employees, including judges (see http:www.isidororodriguez.com).

As confirmed in Navarro-Lopez v. Gonzales, 503 F.3d 1063 (9th Cir. 2007), 04-70345, the court explained that the Supreme Court has reminded  that “[c]oncealment of crime has been condemned throughout our history.” See Roberts v. United States, 445 U.S. 552, 557, 100 S.Ct. 1358, 63 L.Ed.2d 622 (1980); see also Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 696, 92 S.Ct. 2646, 33 L.Ed.2d 626 (1972) (emphasizing that each citizen bears the responsibility to “raise the ‘hue and cry’ and report felonies to the authorities”); id. at 697, 92 S.Ct. 2646 (“[Concealment of a crime] deserves no encomium.”). The universal disdain for the concealment of a crime “was an established tenet of Anglo-Saxon law at least as early as the 13th century,” making it no surprise that our first Congress enacted a statute criminalizing such behavior. Roberts, 445 U.S. at 557-58, 100 S.Ct. 1358. As the Roberts Court acknowledged, “gross indifference to the duty to report known criminal behavior remains a badge of irresponsible citizenship.” Id. at 558, 100 S.Ct. 1358. This principle is as true today as it was in the 1200s”

William Duane of Philadelphia, wrote in 1804:  “A privileged order or class, to whom the administration of justice is given as a support, first employ their art and influence to gain legislation; they then so manage legislation as never to injure themselves; and they so manage justice as to engross the general property to themselves through the medium of litigation; and the misfortune is, that to be able to effect this point, it is attended by loss of time, by delay, expense, ill blood, bad habits, lessons of fraud and temptation to villainy, crimes, punishments, loss of estate, character and soul, public burden, and even loss of national character.”

“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” ‑‑ John F. Kennedy, 1963

From Trillions magazine:

Medical Mafia Ring Busted – Again

1. Heart disease (clogged arteries)
2. Cancer
3. Medical mafia (doctors, nurses, hospitals, drug companies)

Dear Readers;

While we all know that Illinois is chock full of corruption, some officials are doing their jobs.  Read on what happened when Patrick Blanchard served subpoenas on the Assessor’s offices and they refused to answer saying OIIG had no authority.

It was a 3 to 0 decision by the 1st District Court of Appeals and I understand it is up with the Illionis Supreme Court right now–the same court that said unlicensed court reporters are okay, so who knows what will happen. This is the same court that ignores the fact an attorney must bring $150k in cash to the party chair to get elected–what is the quid pro quo for that one?

Click to access 1142857.pdf

Illinois Official Reports Appellate Court Blanchard v. Berrios, 2015 IL App (1st) 142857 Appellate Court Caption PATRICK M. BLANCHARD, in His Official Capacity as Independent Inspector General of Cook County, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JOSEPH BERRIOS, in His Official Capacity as Assessor of Cook County, Defendant-Appellant. District & No. First District, Second Division Docket No. 1-14-2857 Filed December 8, 2015 Decision Under Review Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County, No. 13-CH-14300; the Hon. Franklin U. Valderrama, Judge, presiding. Judgment Affirmed. Counsel on Appeal Anita M. Alvarez, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Daniel F. Gallagher, Paul Castiglione, Jeffrey S. McCutchan, Kent S. Ray, and Marie D. Spicuzza, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for appellant. Alexander Polikoff, Special State’s Attorney, of Chicago, for appellee. – 2 – Panel JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Simon and Hyman concurred in the judgment and opinion. OPINION ¶ 1 Cook County’s independent inspector general filed a complaint to enforce a subpoena that the Office of the Independent Inspector General (OIIG) directed to the assessor of Cook County. The circuit court entered an order requiring the assessor to produce the subpoenaed documents. In this appeal, the assessor argues that the Cook County board of commissioners (Board) exceeded its constitutional authority when it enacted ordinances purportedly empowering the OIIG to issue subpoenas directed to elected county officials and requiring the officials to cooperate with the OIIG. We find the ordinances constitutional, and therefore we affirm the circuit court’s order. ¶ 2 BACKGROUND ¶ 3 On November 4, 2013, the OIIG issued a subpoena addressed to the assessor, commanding the assessor to give the OIIG all documents relating to homeowners exemptions granted for two specific addresses for the years 2005 through 2012. The assessor promptly objected to the subpoena and refused to produce the requested documents. The OIIG filed the lawsuit now before this court, seeking a judgment declaring that the assessor must comply with the subpoena. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court entered an order in favor of the OIIG. The assessor filed this appeal. ¶ 4 ANALYSIS ¶ 5 We review de novo the order granting a motion for summary judgment. Standard Mutual Insurance Co. v. Lay, 2013 IL 114617, ¶ 15. The assessor admits that the Board adopted an ordinance that purportedly gave the OIIG the power to issue subpoenas to elected county officials, including the assessor, and the Board also adopted an ordinance directing county officials to cooperate with the OIIG’s investigations. The assessor contends that the ordinances violate the Illinois Constitution of 1970. ¶ 6 In 2007, the Board established the OIIG (Cook County Ordinance No. 07-O-52, § 2-281 (approved July 31, 2007)), and authorized the OIIG “[t]o investigate corruption, fraud, *** and misconduct in operations of *** the separately elected County officials” (Cook County Ordinance No. 07-O-52, § 2-284(2) (approved July 31, 2007); Cook County Ordinance No. 09-O-71, § 2-284(2) (approved Oct. 6, 2009)). The ordinance required the OIIG “[t]o notify the State’s Attorney or other appropriate law enforcement authority if the Independent Inspector General determines or suspects that possible criminal conduct has occurred, and to promptly tender to such authorities any evidence or information which has been obtained by the [OIIG].” Cook County Ordinance No. 07-O-52, § 2-284(6) (approved July 31, 2007); Cook County Ordinance No. 09-O-71, § 2-284(6) (approved Oct. 6, 2009). The Board also said, “It shall be the duty of all County *** officials *** to cooperate with the OIIG in the conduct of investigations undertaken pursuant to this division.” Cook County Ordinance No. 07-O-52, – 3 – § 2-285(a) (approved July 31, 2007); Cook County Ordinance No. 12-O-44, § 2-285(a) (approved Oct. 2, 2012). The Board specifically gave the OIIG the power “to issue subpoenas to request documents or testimony related to an investigation authorized by this division.” Cook County Ordinance No. 07-O-52, § 2-286 (approved July 31, 2007); Cook County Ordinance No. 13-O-42, § 2-286 (approved Sept. 11, 2013). ¶ 7 The assessor claims that the ordinances exceed the Board’s constitutional authority. The Illinois Constitution of 1970 provides that “County officers shall have those duties, powers and functions provided by law and those provided by county ordinance. County officers shall have the duties, powers or functions derived from common law or historical precedent unless altered by law or county ordinance.” Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, § 4(d). The assessor points out that section 4(d) does not give counties unlimited power to impose on county officers any added duties the county chooses. Instead, the county must add the duties in an ordinance that the county has the power to enact. See Ampersand, Inc. v. Finley, 61 Ill. 2d 537, 540-43 (1975). The OIIG argues that the county’s broad home rule powers validate the ordinances at issue. See Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, § 6. ¶ 8 In City of Chicago v. StubHub, Inc., 2011 IL 111127, our supreme court explained the procedure for determining whether ordinances exceed a home rule unit’s constitutional powers. The court adopted Professor David Baum’s interpretation of the constitution, as the court said: “ ‘[H]ome rule units are supposed to be free to carry on activities that relate to their communities even if the state is also interested and is active in the area. This idea is expressed in section 6(i), which provides that “[h]ome rule units may exercise and perform concurrently with the State any power or function of a home rule unit to the extent that the General Assembly by law does not specifically limit the concurrent exercise or specifically declare the State’s exercise to be exclusive.” ’ [Ill. Const. 1970, Art. VII, § 6(i).] *** (Emphases in original.) [David Baum, A Tentative Survey of Illinois Home Rule (Part I): Powers and Limitations, 1972 U. Ill. L.F. 137, 154-55 (quoting Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, § 6(i)).] *** ‘Certainly, the “pertaining to …” language leaves some leeway for judicial intervention. But if the constitutional design is to be respected, the courts should step in to compensate for legislative inaction or oversight only in the clearest cases of oppression, injustice, or interference by local ordinances with vital state policies.’ [David Baum, A Tentative Survey of Illinois Home Rule (Part I): Powers and Limitations, 1972 U. Ill. L.F. 137, 156-57.] That is, because the legislature can always vindicate state interests by express preemption, only vital state interests would allow a court to decide that an exercise of home rule power does not pertain to local government and affairs. [Citation.] *** *** ‘Whether a particular problem is of statewide rather than local dimension must be decided not on the basis of a specific formula or listing set forth in the Constitution but with regard for the nature and extent of the problem, the units of government which have the most vital interest in its solution, and the role traditionally played by local and statewide authorities in dealing with it.’ [Kalodimos v. Village of Morton Grove, 103 Ill. 2d 483, 501 (1984).] – 4 – This is not a ‘free-wheeling preemption rule’ resting upon the mere existence of comprehensive state regulation. [Kalodimos, 103 Ill. 2d at 502.] Rather, the rule limits our function under section 6(a) to a threshold one, in which we can declare a subject off-limits to local government control only where the state has a vital interest and a traditionally exclusive role.” StubHub, 2011 IL 111127, ¶¶ 21-25. ¶ 9 In Chicago Bar Ass’n v. County of Cook, 102 Ill. 2d 438, 440-41 (1984), our supreme court held that “assessment, which requires a greater exercise of discretion than does the collection of taxes, does not pertain to the county’s local government and affairs within the contemplation of article VII, section 6(a).” However, none of the ordinances at issue address assessment. Instead, the Board created the OIIG “[t]o investigate corruption, fraud, *** and misconduct in operations of *** the separately elected County officials,” including the assessor. Cook County Ordinance No. 07-O-52, § 2-284(2) (approved July 31, 2007); Cook County Ordinance No. 09-O-71, § 2-284(2) (approved Oct. 6, 2009). ¶ 10 Chicago, another home rule unit, enacted ordinances very similar to the ordinances at issue, and Chicago similarly gave its inspector general the power to subpoena documents from city officials. Ferguson v. Patton, 2013 IL 112488, ¶ 3. In Ferguson, the city’s inspector general issued a subpoena directing the city’s law department to produce certain documents. The inspector general retained private attorneys to sue to enforce the subpoena. The Ferguson court held that the inspector general “had no right to retain private counsel to initiate proceedings in circuit court in furtherance of an official investigation undertaken by his department.” Ferguson, 2013 IL 112488, ¶ 33. But in the course of the opinion, the Ferguson court noted that the inspector general had authority to issue subpoenas and to bring an action to enforce its subpoenas. Ferguson, 2013 IL 112488, ¶¶ 27-28. ¶ 11 Courts in other jurisdictions have more explicitly held that home rule units have the power to investigate allegations of corruption of officials of the home rule unit. Dibb v. County of San Diego, 884 P.2d 1003, 1008-14 (Cal. 1994); Kiernan v. City of New York, 315 N.Y.S.2d 74 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1970); Ex Parte Holman, 191 S.W. 1109, 1114-17 (Mo. Ct. App. 1917). We find that the Board has the power to investigate allegations that county officials have abused their powers or committed fraud in their official capacities, as the corruption of county officials pertains to the county’s government and affairs within the meaning of the Illinois Constitution. See Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, § 6(a). Moreover, as the trial court noted, the allegations that the assessor granted homeowners exemptions improperly affect the county’s financial resources and efficient operation of county government. “It is undisputed that Cook County has an interest in the efficient operation of any and all of the offices that it funds. The county board is the manager of county funds and business and is ultimately responsible to the public for the total operation of county government.” Loop Mortgage Co. v. County of Cook, 291 Ill. App. 3d 442, 447 (1997). ¶ 12 The assessor argues that the county lacks authority to oversee the assessor’s operations, and the county cannot, by ordinance, eliminate the office of the assessor. Ill. Const. 1970, art. VII, § 4(c). But investigating allegations of corruption in the assessor’s office neither eliminates the office nor makes the investigator a supervisor of the assessor’s operations. The assessor compares this case to Fairbank v. Stratton, 14 Ill. 2d 307 (1958), in which taxpayers sought to enjoin the treasurer from purchasing a revenue bond because the purchase constituted speculation with public funds. The court held, “In the absence of fraud, corruption, – 5 – oppression or gross injustice, and none has been charged or shown in this case, the courts will not interfere to control the discretionary powers of the Treasurer.” Fairbank, 14 Ill. 2d at 312. ¶ 13 Here, the OIIG sought to investigate allegations of corruption in the assessment of properties, specifically in the assessor’s decision to grant homeowners exemptions to owners of the two specified properties. Fairbank does not deprive the county of authority to investigate allegations of corruption of county officials and the misuse of county funds. We hold that the Board validly exercised its home rule powers when it adopted the ordinance that gave the OIIG the power to investigate allegations that the assessor and other county officials acted corruptly. ¶ 14 Next, the assessor argues that the Board lacked authority to grant the OIIG the power to issue subpoenas. The assessor points first to the grand jury’s subpoena power. See In re May 1991 Will County Grand Jury, 152 Ill. 2d 381, 389 (1992). But the constitution and the General Assembly have not prevented other bodies from having subpoena power. Illinois Department of Public Aid v. Kessler, 72 Ill. App. 3d 802, 804-05 (1979); 5 ILCS 430/20-20(3) (West 2012). The Ferguson court did not mention any problem with the subpoena power granted to Chicago’s inspector general. Ferguson, 2013 IL 112488, ¶¶ 27-28. Other states have upheld the subpoena powers granted to similar bodies charged with investigating allegations of governmental corruption. Dibb, 884 P.2d at 1008-14; Hanna v. Common Council, 363 N.Y.S.2d 361, 362-64 (N.Y. App. Div. 1975); In re Shain, 457 A.2d 828 (N.J. 1983); Holman, 191 S.W. at 1114-17. ¶ 15 The assessor notes that no statute expressly confers on the county the power to issue subpoenas. But under StubHub, the county, as a home rule unit, has all powers of a sovereign unless the General Assembly has explicitly limited its powers. StubHub, 2011 IL 111127, ¶¶ 21-25; see Johnson v. Halloran, 194 Ill. 2d 493, 496-97 (2000). The assessor does not identify any statute in which the General Assembly has expressly limited the power of home rule units to issue subpoenas. Thus, just as the State has authority to delegate its subpoena power to its agencies (see Kessler, 72 Ill. App. 3d at 804-05; 5 ILCS 430/20-20(3) (West 2012)), the county may delegate its subpoena power to its OIIG. ¶ 16 Finally, the assessor argues that the ordinances unconstitutionally infringe on the State’s Attorney’s power to convene grand juries and prosecute crimes. The ordinances do not even purport to grant the OIIG concurrent power to convene a grand jury or prosecute crimes. The ordinances grant the OIIG power to “notify the State’s Attorney or other appropriate law enforcement authority” if the OIIG finds evidence of crime. Cook County Ordinance No. 07-O-52, § 2-284(6) (approved July 31, 2007); Cook County Ordinance No. 09-O-71, § 2-284(6) (approved Oct. 6, 2009). We find no infringement on the State’s Attorney’s authority. ¶ 17 CONCLUSION ¶ 18 The Board validly exercised its home rule powers when it created the OIIG and gave it the power to issue subpoenas to aid in its investigation of allegations that county officers, including the assessor, have acted corruptly. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgment directing the assessor to produce for the OIIG the materials listed in the subpoena. ¶ 19 Affirmed.

My conclusion?  Please take all of your complaints about corruption in Cook (crook) County to the OIIG.

We might just actually have a politician that is doing something about corruption in Illionis.

And a special thanks to Patrick Blanchard, his staff and his FOIA officer (Steven E. Cyranoski) for sending me this case.

Joanne

From Candice:

Mary Lou Robinson (Age 82) is a name I will never forget, for she showed me more JUSTICE in one day than I have seen in a lifetime. I was literally HIGH on JUSTICE for 3 weeks before I could get my head out of the clouds back to earth as a result of this amazing woman. She restored my faith that judges still exist who are so righteous I have no words to describe them and yet, she had the perfect balance of mercy that caused her to withhold harsh actions she could have taken against a man who took my friend’s money and made the biggest mess I have ever seen by a lawyer. Clearly, Raul wasn’t a special education lawyer and had no idea what he was doing, but he also appears to have hardly cared. I firmly believe he was impaired and the Bar thought so as well.

You could look at the file from Houston to Amarillo and see “something is terribly amiss” with the attorney. In return for $25,000 and a contingent fee in the outcome, Raul agreed to handle my radio co-host’s case Tim. Tim was awesome and now advocates for special needs kids. He was hilarious on the radio. It was 2010, Thanksgiving, and while I prepared for a long relaxing break, Tim called and said, “would you mind taking a look at my case. I think something is terribly wrong. My lawyer won’t call me back and it’s almost time for trial.” I did. My response, “sit down.–”

I don’t know how to tell you this, but you are getting what’s called the ‘death penalty’, the worst of all sanctions. Your pleadings will be struck because your lawyer failed to amend them as the Judge ordered. You will be prohibited from introducing any evidence because your attorney failed to produce discovery, file an exhibit list, witness list or disclosures. And the School District is seeking $50,000 in sanctions against you for filing a frivolous lawsuit to teach you a lesson not unlike the lesson they teach other parents: this is what you get for asking us to provide an education to your child. And, trial is in 11 days. Your statute of limitations runs in 10 days on the Title 9 claim your lawyer should have pled, but didn’t. There are 5 motions to dismiss on file and your attorney has not answered any of them. After a long pause, I said, let’s do it. Fire your lawyer and go pro se. I will help you but it’s an emergency, so let me get busy.  

There goes thanksgiving, but what the heck?  I had never in my life even contemplated what I ultimately did in federal court, no less. I am still bewildered that I did this, and even more so that it worked!  Most people know how formal and strict federal judges are. The walls are even higher than state court, making you feel that much smaller. After reading the Judge ordered Raul to amend the pleadings and spoon fed him the amendments, which HAD TO BE MADE in order to cure the fatal defects in the way he sued the principal and school–their official capacity. That made them immune from suit, one basis for dismissal.

Instead of just following her generous instructions (federal judges do not tell you how to plead your case), he said, “oh, it’s no big deal. she won’t care.” Touche! Yikes! A federal judge can throw you in jail for next to nothing and Raul says “no big deal.” After reading that Raul asked for $2 billion in damages for various claims, stating that though he wasn’t suing for defamation per se (automatic damages presumed), he would like the same kind of presumed damages automatically–wouldn’t we all? I truly believed this man was on the moon, he was so impaired. The lawsuit was filed for illegal retaliation and discrimination against Tim’s autistic daughter for extreme retaliatory acts the district took against him for simply requesting a due process hearing to challenge the utterly pathetic education the district offered his daughter. That caused the first false APS report alleging Tim abused his daughter. Tim was cleared immediately.

Brandy suffered unbelievable acts of retaliation and neglect including a sexual assault by another developmentally disabled student and being assaulted with a goose egg size bump on the head courtesy of her instructor. The abuse was so severe, she suffered flashbacks for years thereafter, causing her to dig her fingernails into her mother’s arm and draw blood. Tim suffered three false APS reports and though he was cleared of wrongdoing in all, he and his wife were so scared of his school district and the lengths they would go to not provide federally mandated services, he abruptly got up and moved in the middle of the night, leaving his home and not looking back. He knew what it was like to be a Whistle blower because he blew the whistle before calling the EPA. He understood being a target.

I took one look at the file and knew that if God didn’t part the Red Sea and give me a miracle, he was done. So I stayed up all night drafting emergency motions for new trial, discovery, to amend the complaint late, for leave of court to late file designations of witnesses and exhibits, disclosures, and for an entirely new scheduling order with new dates for everything. As my opposing counsel whined, “she wants a ‘do-over’.” He was right, but it just sounds so crazy to ask a federal judge for a “do-over” 10 days before trial. Desperate people do desperate things. I suppose I expected many things, but not the “smart alike” TAPS motion the opposing counsel filed, stating that I failed to file a brief to support my request pursuant to Rule 7.1(h).

Anger surged through me and I said to myself, “I’ll give you a damn brief.” Writing has always been my passion and I’ve been told I am the equivalent of a sniper when it comes to hitting my target. I had little time with the hearing the following morning, given it was 8pm. But I was not going to let anything stop me from responding to that jerk. The attached brief is my response to his TAPS brief, mocking the fact that my friend was going down in flames and it was time for the funeral. THAT made me so angry, I could hardly see straight. But, I think it was the single biggest mistake the district’s attorney made because it made me angry enough to write one of the funniest briefs I have written in my life (Tim laughed 4 days straight with his wife and I wondered how he could laugh at all). I decided to use the defendant’s military style theme and the only case he cited, which supported Tim in every respect and rip him to shreds, while inciting the passions of the Judge in my approach. I first nearly vomited all of the disgusting facts into section 1, detailing the horrific abuse Brandy suffered and the retaliation Tim endured for doing nothing but enforcing his rights.

Then, I told the judge what a complete callous jerk their lawyer was to call his brief “TAPS” to signify “get ready for your funeral!” I truly could not believe this jerk was mocking my friend’s suffering. Section 2 takes the defendant’s only cited case and rips him to shred with it because every prong of the 4 part test supported us. Section 3 includes citation to Rules 15 (manifest injustice) and 16 (good cause) and while the defendant argued we lacked good cause, I invoked the sacred concept of manifest injustice as the harm Tim would suffer if our motions were denied. Ultimately, I showed the reverence and respect which I believe a Judge like Mary Lou merits 100 times over. I called Tim at 6am and said, “check your email. Fax this to that jerk and go file it now!  Hearing in 3 hours”. It wasn’t an hour before the district’s lawyer called Tim, begging forgiveness for his tasteless comment, but it was too late for that. The Judge’s emotions were seething just as I had hoped. In a display that was truly for the movies or a novel, the Judge ignored the sloppy drunk as if he weren’t there and went for the jerk’s jugular.

The rules stated that the Judge had no discretion to deny the 5 motions to dismiss, but he just totally pissed off the judge like nothing I have ever seen and she agreed with me–this was MANIFEST INJUSTICE! So, she called the district’s lawyer to the bench and intending to dismiss every motion to dismiss, she made him assert each one first so she could scream in his face “DENIED!!!” About that time, one of the very best special education lawyers in Texas walked in the door–and everyone must have fainted because it was a game changer. Marty Cirkiel did not enter an appearance, but notified the Judge he was there to take over for Tim. So, the question of what Tim was going to do was already resolved thanks to my ability to grovel and beg–and get him to Amarillo in 10 hours with almost no notice. I was riding on a prayer.

Tim asked me beforehand, “what do I do if she asks me who wrote this? she is going to know I didn’t.” I said, “you don’t ever lie to a federal judge. But don’t give me up unless she asks for my name.” Due to the emergency of having to file in 48 hours, I did not have time to get admitted to the ND Texas Federal Court, which was only a matter of paperwork easily done if we had time. Tim was summoned to the bench and asked, “So, I guess you had a little help?” Yes, Your honor. “and I am guessing an attorney helped you?” Yes, your honor. And that was that. Whew! Apparently that brief had everyone in Amarillo giggling. The result was unimaginable. I am still shocked, but we got a “do over.” And the district was not paid fees, even though Raul did waste their time. Hours before that statute ran on the Title 9 sexual harassment claim, Marty emailed the amended complaint to me, including Title 9, as well as everything else that should have been pled, but was not. I have never cried reading a petition, but that day, I bawled.

The Judge issued a lengthy ORDER and even sent a message to me, the Lone Ranger who rode in and out without detection like a ghost. The ORDER said clearly “all attorneys not admitted to the Northern district of Texas MUST do so immediately.” Enjoy the brief as you are thinking “she filed this in federal court?” I still ask myself the same question, wondering how in the world I got a “do-over” in federal court based upon JUSTICE ALONE. This case and other less dramatic cases keep me going, believing there is justice in our Courts. I will never forget this Judge! What a firecracker!

She was 82 when she heard Tim’s case. I honestly felt that God parted the Red Sea that day because I asked the Judge for something I am willing to bet has never been asked–a “do over.” A review of the record almost seemed like she knew Raul had “gone fishing” and was praying someone would come along and rescue Tim from his impaired lawyer. There is hardly a good explanation for her decision to not dismiss the case long before I came along. Divine Intervention? Absolutely!

The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) named MARY LOU ROBINSON “Jurist of the Year 2016” and this Judge is absolutely one Judge I will never forget as long as I live. I only wish I could have met her. She is beyond honorable and a true hero who elevated JUSTICE over legalism and rigid rules. To date, this is the only scenario in which I have ever pled FRCP 15, MANIFEST INJUSTICE. The Honorable Mary Lou Robinson of Amarillo, Texas, served as a judge for more than 60 years, beginning in 1955 – before women were allowed to serve on juries! Judge Robinson first served as a trial court judge in state courts, then as a justice on the Amarillo Court of Appeals, and for the last 37 years as a United States District Judge. Judge Robinson has exemplified fairness, impartiality and an intense commitment to the U.S. and Texas constitutional rights to jury trial in the American system of justice. Among her many notable cases, she was the presiding judge in the “Oprah Trial” in Amarillo, Texas.

From Joanne:

Actually, the rules are in Federal Court that an attorney can ghost write pleadings for a pro se client, but the client must let the court know they had an attorney draft the pleadings.

In Illinois, there is no duty to report ghost writing pleadings in state court.

http://nasga-stopguardianabuse.blogspot.com/2014/08/medication-errors-increasing-in-nursing.html

Medication Errors Increasing in Nursing Homes

KVUE Defenders investigation uncovers an increase in Texas nursing home residents harmed by medication errors.

KVUE’s findings come after Sandy Martinez says her father, Paul Travio, is one of those residents impacted.

“We had noticed some behavior issues with him, and we couldn’t pinpoint what was going on because he started sundowning a lot. He wasn’t talkative anymore,” said Martinez.

A few months later, Travio’s daughter got a call from CVS Pharmacy indicating it was time to refill their father’s prescription for Sinemet, a medication to help treat Travio’s Parkinson’s disease.

She then checked with her father’s nursing home. “And it wasn’t until then that we had found out that he was not getting his medication properly.”

While the state cited Travio’s nursing home for medication errors in the past, his family couldn’t prove it this time. A KVUE Defenders investigation uncovered their concerns shed light into an increasing problem across the state.

Digging through state records, the KVUE Defenders uncovered state investigators cited Texas nursing homes 1,060 times for medication errors in 2011. In 2013, violations jumped by nearly 200 more.

Of those, staff giving residents ‘unnecessary drugs’ increased the most by more than 78 percent.

Earlier this year, AARP conducted a study on nursing home care across the country. It found Texas nursing homes inappropriately administer antipsychotic drugs to residents with no mental illness, nearly more than any other state in the country. Texas tied with Louisiana.

Full Article and Source:
Medication Errors Increasing in Nursing Home

first the article:

http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/Archives/2016/02/26/states-attorney-dem-2-26-16.aspx