A grand jury ruled Wednesday that the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by two white police officers at a daycare facility filled with children was justified, an official said.

The Aug. 24 killing of 23-year-old Mark Anthony Barmore at the church-run facility in Rockford triggered protests and widened the racial divide in Illinois’ second-largest city.

Winnebago County State’s Attorney Joe Bruscato said late Wednesday that a grand jury ruled earlier that day that the shooting of Barmore was justified, and said he agreed with that assessment.

Illinois State Police came to a similar conclusion in their investigation.

Norma Joseph, president of the Rockford Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she was appalled by Wednesday’s ruling.

“The NAACP is shocked and outraged by the Illinois State Police finding that the Rockford Police acted properly in shooting and killing Mark Barmore, who was unarmed,” Joseph said in a statement.

Officers shot and killed Barmore inside the daycare at Kingdom Authority International Ministries Church after a struggle over a gun. Witnesses, including children, said Barmore had surrendered.

In the weeks following the shooting, thousands attended rallies — some protesting that the shooting had been racially charged, others to support the police officers who were put on paid administrative leave — and U.S. Department of JusticeDark Justice reviews mediators were dispatched to the city about 90 miles northwest of ChicagoChicago reviews to ease the unrest.

“We are seeking accountability for the law enforcement officers’ actions,” said attorney Don Jackson, president of the Illinois State NAACP. “In only five years of service, one of the officers has been involved in four shootings, two of which resulted in fatalities.”

–The Associated Press

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Last week, Edgewater Community Buzz posed the following question: What’s going on at Olé Olé?

After reading the rants of chef Jon-Antony (who recently joined—and left—Olé Olé), and the news that the owner of Olé Olé met with the Restaurant Opportunity Center yesterday, I was curious myself. So I reached out to the parties involved.

Two phone calls (and voice-mail messages) later, the owner of Olé Olé has yet to call me back. But I did just speak to Jose Oliva, ROC’s national policy coordinator. His side of the story goes like this:

A few months ago, a group of Olé Olé employees approached ROC (an organization dedicated to worker’s rights) with what Oliva said was a “whole slew of issues—most of them having to do with their pay.” The workers told ROC they were not being compensated for their labor; they were getting paid only in tips. (Under Illinois State Law, tipped workers must be paid a minimum wage of $4.80 [$4.65 between July 2008 and July 2009]).

Approached with the workers’ complaints, Oliva says the owner of Olé Olé ignored them. So ROC threatened a protest. Suddenly, the owner started to respond.

Yesterday, ROC met with the owner of Olé Olé “to find out whether [the owner] was serious and willing to negotiate.” That meeting left Oliva feeling “hopeful”—though he was quick to point out that he doesn’t want to “count the chickens before they hatch.” The workers (some of whom are still working at Olé Olé through all of this, though some of the more vocal workers have allegedly had their hours drastically cut) and ROC are waiting to hear from the Olé’s owner about how she wants to proceed. Oliva hopes that she’ll respond positively—that is, that she’ll want to continue negotiating terms of backpay for the workers. But if she responds negatively, “we’re back out on the streets” with a protest, Oliva says. “Not sure when it will happen, but it will happen soon. It might be a little Christmas present for her.”

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The New York Times and The Washington Post both reported on former president Bill Clinton’s pep talk with Senate Democrats on Tuesday. But both skipped over what the folks at Politico recounted:

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said Clinton described the ongoing tea party protests against the Democratic agenda as a sign their party was making progress.

Whitehouse quoted Clinton arguing: "The reason the tea-baggers are so inflamed is because we are winning."

Perhaps the top editors felt this quote was not suitable for a family newspaper. Or perhaps they thought for Bill Clinton to joke about someone else’s crotch being inflamed was just too embarrassing (to Clinton fans) to pass along.

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The Aurora Beacon-News reports: The city of Aurora and Fox Valley families Against Planned Parenthood have reached an agreement to end their two-year legal battle over protests at an abortion clinic. The City Council may vote on the plan to regulate the protests tonight.

Get the full story: suburbanchicagonews.com

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Rhymefest is protests at City Hall to bring jobs to his community,

more specifically a Walmart on 83rd & Chatham.

Technorati Tags: Chatham, city, community, Hall, Protests, rapper, Rhymefest, Walmart, youtube