Source: Chicago Sun-Times – Eye on Islamism

More than 10 years added to sentence of man who plotted to detonate car bomb outside Chicago bar Adel Daoud will now serve 27 years instead of 16 in 2012 case.

July 19, 2024 Matthew Hendrickson

(Chicago Sun-Times) A man who plotted to detonate a massive car bomb outside a Chicago bar has been resentenced to 27 years in prison after a federal appeals [court] found his initial sentence too lenient. Adel Daoud was handed the new prison […]

Orland Park mayor rejects Gaza cease-fire resolution, suggests those opposing U.S. interests ‘go to another country’ The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Keith Pekau’s comments, calling them ‘ignorant and dangerous.’ Pekau said he valued the ‘respectful views of all my constituents.’

February 6, 2024 Emmanuel Camarillo

(Chicago Sun-Times) The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Tuesday condemned Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau’s suggestion that those who disagree with America’s interests regarding the Israel-Hamas war can “go to another country.” The southwest suburban mayor made the remarks […]

Muslim community leaders will meet in Chicago to push campaign against Biden as deaths mount in Israel-Hamas war Chicago’s #AbandonBiden event is scheduled to coincide with the annual Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America convention, expected to draw more than 30,000 to McCormick Place over the weekend.

December 29, 2023 Mitchell Armentrout

(Chicago Sun-Times) Muslim community leaders from across the country will rally in Chicago Saturday, calling for voters to drop their support for President Joe Biden because of his administration’s refusal to call for a cease-fire in Gaza as the civilian death toll […]

Lombard man pleads guilty to trafficking fentanyl and providing support to ISIS Jason Brown, 41, has been in custody since his 2019 arrest. He was accused of shipping fentanyl from California to the suburbs and sending money to the Islamic State of Iraq.

December 6, 2023 Cindy Hernandez

(Chicago Sun-Times) A suburban man pleaded guilty Wednesday to trafficking drugs and attempting to provide materials to the Islamic State of Iraq in 2019. Jason Brown, 41, was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, one count […]

Former DePaul University student gets 7.5 years for trying to help Islamic State with computer program Thomas Osadzinski’s prosecution was believed to be the first of its kind when it began three years ago — a terrorism case brought against a U.S.-based defendant involving computer code.

November 17, 2022 Jon Seidel

(Chicago Sun-Times) An unusual terrorism case in Chicago came to a close Thursday when a federal judge handed a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence to a former DePaul University student who tried to aid the Islamic State with a computer script. Before he was […]

Former DePaul University student guilty of trying to help Islamic State through computer program Defense attorneys said the case ran up against fundamental questions about free speech, insisting that Thomas Osadzinski 'had a right to watch those videos. He had a right to share those videos.'

October 18, 2021 Jon Seidel

(Chicago Sun-Times) A federal jury on Monday convicted a onetime student at DePaul University of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State in the form of a computer script that helped disseminate the terrorist group’s propaganda. Jurors at the Dirksen […]

Zion man gets more than 13 years in prison for conspiracy to support Islamic State, telling informant ‘I want to see blood flowing’ U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood called Edward Schimenti the 'more culpable' of the two men charged in the case, but she also described the crime as 'on the less serious end of a scale that starts at a very serious level.'

April 9, 2021 Jon Seidel

(Chicago Sun-Times) A federal judge on Friday sentenced a Zion man to 13 and a half years in prison for taking part in a conspiracy to support the Islamic State, in part by collecting cellphones he thought could be used as detonators […]

Chicago man accused of helping preserve Islamic State propaganda on social media Thomas Osadzinski, a 20-year-old college student, has been charged in a criminal complaint with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization

November 19, 2019 Jon Seidel

(Chicago Sun-Times) Thomas Osadzinski said he couldn’t just “sit in the chair while Muslims are dying,” so he allegedly studied bomb-making and promised he would not be stopped “once I get my gun and explosive belt.” But the 20-year-old Lake View resident […]

Muslim civil rights group sues feds over delays in asylum applications CAIR-Chicago is asking a federal court to force immigration agents to rule on seven asylum applications that have been in the pipeline for years.

September 9, 2019 Carlos Ballesteros

(Chicago Sun-Times) The Chicago chapter of the country’s largest Muslim civil rights group is asking a federal court to force immigration agents to rule on asylum applications that have been in the pipeline for years. Asylum applicants have the right to live […]

Lawsuit claims DMV rule about head coverings violates religious, civil liberties The lawsuit’s plaintiff said she felt pressured to sign the form last year at a driver’s license facility in Rockford, and now fears losing her license if she’s seen without a head covering.

August 26, 2019 David Struett

(Chicago Sun-Times) A civil rights group is suing Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White over a rule it claims violates people’s religious rights at driver’s license facilities across the state. The issue: Anyone wearing a religious head covering while taking a driver’s […]

Woman charged with robbing Rogers Park, Skokie banks in one day Willie M. Thomas demanded money from a Wintrust Bank in [Chicago] and a Byline Bank in [Skokie] Aug. 15, according to federal prosecutors.

August 23, 2019 Carly Behm

(Chicago Sun-Times) Federal charges have been filed against a woman in two bank robberies in north suburban Skokie and West Rogers Park earlier this month. Willie M. Thomas robbed both Aug. 15, stealing more than $8,000 in total, according to a criminal […]

Woman robs banks in Skokie, West Rogers Park on same day: FBI The same woman is suspected in an April 29 robbery at a Huntington Bank branch in Oak Lawn. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for tips that lead directly to her arrest.

August 16, 2019 Luke Wilusz

(Chicago Sun-Times) A woman robbed two banks Thursday in north suburban Skokie and West Rogers Park on the North Side. About 11:50 a.m., a woman with a gun robbed the Byline Bank at 8400 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, according to the FBI. […]

Two suburban men guilty of providing support to Islamic State It’s rare for a terrorism case to go to trial at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. And in the lead-up to this one, defense attorneys convinced the judge they should be allowed to present an entrapment defense to the jury.

June 20, 2019 Jon Seidel

(Chicago Sun-Times) The FBI descended on their north suburban home in a raid two years ago that began with a “boom,” neighbors said. Then, the feds unveiled a 77-page criminal complaint in April 2017 that accused Joseph D. Jones and Edward Schimenti […]

Daoud gets 16 years in FBI terror sting; tried to set off car bomb in Loop

May 6, 2019 Andy Grimm

(Chicago Sun-Times) Adel Daoud was sentenced Monday to 16 years in prison for a decision he made at age 18 — when he pushed what he thought was a detonator that would set off a half-ton car bomb in the Loop. The […]

Sentence in long-running Chicago terrorism case to be handed down Monday

May 1, 2019 Jon Seidel

(Chicago Sun-Times) In one of the last moments of freedom Adel Daoud has known, the Hillside man said a prayer as he traveled to Chicago in 2012 to push the detonator on a 1,000-pound car bomb in the Loop that could have […]

Judge clears courtroom for undercover FBI agent’s testimony in terrorism case

April 30, 2019 Jon Seidel

(Chicago Sun-Times) The FBI wanted Adel Daoud to understand the destruction he could cause — and the number of lives that would be lost — if he followed through with his plan in 2012 to blow up a downtown Chicago bar. The […]

Prosecutors want 40 years for bomb plot suspect, defense seeks 2021 release

April 27, 2019 Nader Issa

(Chicago Sun-Times) Federal prosecutors view Adel Daoud as a once-aspiring terrorist who, when given the opportunity to act on his beliefs, tried to detonate what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb outside a downtown Chicago bar. Daoud’s defense attorney says the U.S. […]

Tom Ricketts says Cubs will keep promise, follow plan set by local Muslim group

February 18, 2019 Madeline Kenney

(Chicago Sun-Times) Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts apologized Monday for the “pain” caused by Joe Ricketts’ racist emails and promised the Cubs will make an effort to mend their relationship with the Muslim community. That healing process will, he said, include steps outlined […]

Muslim group says Cubs promise ‘concrete steps’ after leaked Islamophobic emails

February 8, 2019 Sam Charles

(Chicago Sun-Times) A local Muslim organization said Friday the Chicago Cubs have committed to “concrete steps” they can take to combat Islamophobia in the wake of the leaking of racist emails sent by Joe Ricketts, patriarch of the family that owns the […]

Cubs to meet with local Muslim groups in wake of Joe Ricketts’ racist emails

February 5, 2019 Madeline Kenney

(Chicago Sun-Times) Many Cubs fans, especially those who are Muslim, felt betrayed and hurt after leaked emails from Cubs ownership patriarch and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts revealed racist jokes and Islamophobic rhetoric. The Chicago chapter of the Council [on] American-Islamic Relations […]