Tyson Foods’ Secret Recipe For Carving Up Workers’ Comp

By Michael Grabell/ProPublica

About five years ago, one of the nation’s largest corporations, Tyson Foods, drew a bullseye on the official who oversaw Iowa’s system for compensating injured workers.
As workers’ compensation commissioner, Chris Godfrey acted as chief judge of the courts that decided workplace injury disputes. He had annoyed Tyson with a string of rulings that, in the company’s view, expanded what employers had to cover, putting a dent in its bottom line.
So when Republican Terry Branstad ran for governor in 2010, vowing to make Iowa more business-friendly, Tyson hosted an event for him at its headquarters and arranged another meeting for him to hear from large companies who were frustrated with the workers’ comp commission.
Within weeks of his victory, Branstad demanded Godfrey’s resignation. When Godfrey refused, the new governor did the harshest thing in his power: He cut Godfrey’s salary by more than 30 percent.
Amid the fallout, Tyson drafted and hand-delivered 14 pages of talking points criticizing Godfrey to help Branstad defend his decision.

Posted on December 14, 2015

CPD’s Real Leadership Problem

By Bob Angone

When I left the Chicago Police Department, I was one of two SWAT coordinators – called HBT (Hostage/Barricaded/Terrorist) at the time. My wife just retired in March after 34 years. I have never stopped paying attention and I loved the job.
We have heard so much about how badly we need change, and I totally agree. However, there are some things that you can only know if you were an insider and no longer have to watch your ass.

Posted on December 12, 2015

Why Counting Mass Shootings Is A Bad Way To Understand Gun Violence In America

By Lois Beckett/ProPublica

According to articles this week across the Internet, there has been an average of one mass shooting every day in the United States: 355 so far this year. It’s a jarring statistic, and one that has gone viral in the wake of the massacre in San Bernardino, California.
But there are two problems with the number: It doesn’t actually provide a clear estimate of how often the country has seen shooting rampages like the one in San Bernardino. And it obscures the broader reality of gun violence in America.

Posted on December 9, 2015

Crime, Corruption & Cover-Ups

Excerpts From A 2013 Report

“Our analysis of police corruption in Chicago yields four major findings,” a team from UIC found.
“First, corruption has long persisted within the CPD and continues to be a serious problem. There have been 102 convictions of Chicago police since the beginning of 2000.
“Second, police officers often resist reporting crimes and misconduct committed by fellow officers. The ‘blue code of silence,’ while difficult to prove, is an integral part of the
department’s culture and it exacerbates the corruption problems. However last November, a federal jury found that the City of Chicago and its police culture were partially responsible for Officer Anthony Abbate’s brutal beating of a female bartender. After the civil trial to assess damages, the victim’s attorney declared, ‘We proved a code of silence at every level in the Chicago Police Department.’
Third, over time a large portion of police corruption has shifted from policemen aiding and abetting mobsters and organized crime to officers involved with drugs dealers and street gangs. Since the year 2000, a total of 47 Chicago law enforcement officers were convicted of drug and gang related crimes. The department’s war on drugs puts police officers, especially those working undercover, in dangerous situations where they must cooperate with criminals to catch criminals. These endeavors require that CPD superiors provide a high degree of leadership and oversight to keep officers on the straight and narrow.
“Fourth, internal and external sources of authority, including police superintendents and mayors, have up to now failed to provide adequate anti-corruption oversight and leadership.”

Posted on December 8, 2015

Government Agencies Allow Corporations To Write Off Billions In Federal Settlements

By The U.S. Public Interest Research Group

A new study by United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund analyzes which federal agencies allow companies to write off out-of-court settlements as tax deductions and which agencies are transparent about these deals.
The study found that five of the largest government agencies that sign settlement agreements with corporations rarely specify the tax status of the resulting payments. Billions of dollars are allowed to be written off as cost of doing business tax deductions. Additionally, the report found that major government agencies do not consistently disclose the details of corporate settlement agreements.

Posted on December 3, 2015

U.S. Government Reveals Breadth Of Requests For Internet Records

By Dustin Volz/Reuters

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has used a secretive authority to compel internet and telecommunications firms to hand over customer data including an individual’s complete web browsing history and records of all online purchases, a court filing released Monday shows.
The documents are believed to be the first time the government has provided details of its so-called national security letters, which are used by the FBI to conduct electronic surveillance without the need for court approval.

Posted on December 1, 2015

« Previous 1 2