Dan Hinkel

Spring training update: There is a cat in the Brewers dugout.

I'll be there! Come hang out.

All manner of cool places to pick up our guide but I would just note that two places to hang out and learn about judges are the Beer Temple and Bucket O’ Blood Books and Records. Could make a nice Saturday afternoon of it.

Turn to @kellygarcia.bsky.social for some facts and then have a look at our guide to the upcoming Cook County judicial election.

Elgin cop awaiting disciplinary action for ICE social media post granted a disability pension Jason Lentz, the Elgin police officer awaiting discipline for an inflammatory social media post, receives disability pension.

An Elgin cop who went on Facebook to suggest specific places where federal agents might arrest immigrants was granted a disability pension while city officials were still determining whether he would be fired.

March 2026 Cook County Judicial Election Guide | Injustice Watch Injustice Watch's guide to the March 2026 Cook County judicial primary elections.

How to use our Cook County judicial election guide in four simple steps:
1️⃣ Enter your address to find your judicial subcircuit
2️⃣ Review the candidates
3️⃣ Make your selections
4️⃣ Vote!
2026primary.injusticewatch.org

Thanks for helping us spread the word!

I’m zipping around town dropping off stacks of the print version of the @injusticewatch.org judicial election guide. Find them all over the dang place or online at that link.

2026primary.injusticewatch.org

Rotating cam atop the SE corner of Soldier Field. // Image captured at: 2026-02-26 13:34:35 UTC (about 2 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: windy.com // Current Temp in Chicago: 27 F | -3 C // Precip: broken clouds // Wind: S at 8 mph | 13 kph // Humidity: 77%

Current* conditions near Chicago, IL:

Unstated in this piece is that Mr Clean is retiring in lieu of facing a disciplinary hearing for firing his service weapon during a fight at a high school basketball game that he was refereeing

Toxic Masculinity Brought To Jigsaw Puzzle

Toxic Masculinity Brought To Jigsaw Puzzle

Thanks to Mike Stephen from @wgnradio.bsky.social’s Outside the Loop for having me on this morning’s show to talk about my story with David Jackson on the dearth of Cook County judicial candidates and the @injusticewatch.org guide to the March primary election.

It's not close. Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby." I was hungover and the movie was screaming in my face.

Thunderstruck by a memory that the soundtrack to the VHS highlight reel of my mediocre ‘99 HS football team was “I Am the Bullgod.” Kid Rock screeching about feeding on all that is forsaken over Zapruder-quality video of our TE gaining 4 yards on the only completed pass of a game we lost by 3 TDs.

HBD from me and Charlie O’Brien

Thanks to the Sun-Times for republishing my @injusticewatch.org story with David Jackson raising the curtain on the guide, highlighting some interesting races and explaining the most noticeable trend in local judicial races: Few people are running.

He also came into the Tribune newsroom and very deliberately made the rounds shaking hands with reporters and editors. That was not a thing I saw many public figures do. RIP.

Jesse Jackson had a particular approach to the media. In the fallout from Laquan McDonald's murder, his media person would cold call after we'd broken a first online version of a CPD story, say "I have Rev. Jackson on the line" & transfer the call & he'd give quotes without the prompt of a question.

The @injusticewatch.org newsletter had a bunch of interesting stuff the other day - including the headline news that our Cook County judicial election guide is out - but it also had restaurant recommendations from @kellygarcia.bsky.social and I.

www.injusticewatch.org/subscribe/

No contest: Cook County judicial primary elections draw dwindling field of candidates For the second straight primary season, more than half the races for Cook County circuit judge on the March 17 ballot are uncontested, with just 45 candidates vying for 28 open seats.

Some Cook County judicial candidates who are virtually assured to breeze onto the bench have liabilities that might hurt them in a contested race — including one with a history of failing to pay income taxes, and one who only recently moved to Cook County.

Are you part of a community organization in Cook County? Do you want copies of our nonpartisan judicial election guide to share with members of your organization? Fill out our request form and we’ll do our best to drop off copies with you. buff.ly/5Gp92Mu

Happy Valentine's Day

No contest: Cook County judicial primary elections draw dwindling field of candidates For the second straight primary season, more than half the races for Cook County circuit judge on the March 17 ballot are uncontested, with just 45 candidates vying for 28 open seats.

This year there are just 45 candidates running for 26 seats on the Cook County Circuit Court, continuing a trend toward less and less competition in local judicial races. You can read about some of the notable contested races in our overview of the judicial primary.

Cook County, IL primary voters, check out this very helpful story and link to a voter guide.

Here's my story on the judicial races w/David Jackson. A key trend in these primaries is fewer people trying to be judges, which observers link to cost, a hotter spotlight & Democratic dominance. Some candidates have a glide path to power despite liabilities that might matter if they had opponents.

If you don't know much (or anything) about the people on your primary ballot running for judge, we're here to help! The time has come to #checkyourjudges

Our team has put in a TON of work to create our judicial election guide, so you have everything you need to know about people running for judge in Cook County. Sign up for our free newsletter to be the first to receive it this week. buff.ly/shwiAej

Here's another screen shot of a text where a fellow agent on the "Posse Chat" asks Charles Exum if the bosses have been supportive.
"Everyone has been including Chief Bovino, Chief Banks, Sec Noem and El Jefe himself...according to Bovino

in a text string after the shooting, a fellow agent told Exum he's a "legend"
"Beers on me"

Like a Shadow Among Other Men Twelve years without Philip Seymour Hoffman

Wrote about Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Small Bow www.thesmallbow.com/p/like-a-sha...