Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 9-3-19

Political News
Thousands Of Weed Convictions Will Be Automatically Expunged In Cook County
Code for America founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka, left, speaks at a news conference in Chicago on Aug. 27 as Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx listens. Pahlka and Foxx announced a historic partnership about Clear My Record tech- nology that will be used to clear tens of thousands of eligible cannabis convictions under a newly passed Illinois law.
Sasha Obama Will Reportedly Attend College At The University Of Michigan
Tens of thousands of cannabis convictions will be automatically expunged under a partnership between a tech nonprofit and Cook County prosecutors, part of an effort State’s Attorney Kim Foxx characterized as “righting the wrongs of the past.”
Foxx said the collaboration with Code for America would help atone for prosecutors’ role in an overzealous “war on drugs.”
Under its partnership with the county, the California- based Code for America will automate the process for Cook County convictions in- volving amounts smaller than 30 grams. Such offenses in- clude misdemeanors as well as Class 4 felonies, the lowest category of felony in Illinois.
Here’s what to know about Code for America, which is helping Cook County to ex- punge thousands of cannabis records.
Code for America’s pro- gram will sift through state and county data to identify which records are eligible for the expungement, then com- plete paperwork for prosecu- tors to submit to judges, who can formally throw out the convictions.
Code for America is a not- for-profit that will begin the work at no cost to the county, said Jennifer Pahlka, the group’s founder and execu- tive director.
The county hopes to begin the automated process as soon as possible, even ahead of Jan. 1 when marijuana le- galization takes effect.
family members: attending a public Big Ten university in- stead of seeking an Ivy League education," the pub- lication continues. Her older
sister Malia is about to enter her third year at Harvard University, which both of her parents attended for law school.
Per Detroit News, the younger of Barack and Michelle's two daughters was seen attending freshman orientation and was report- edly seen again this week ac- companied by members of Secret Service.
"I was walking by pushing a vacuum and she walked out right in front of me," a stu- dent reportedly told the pub- lication. "I said, 'Excuse me.' It was a crowded hallway with her and some Secret Service dudes."
"Sasha Obama is en- rolled for classes that start Tuesday, The Detroit News has learned, which puts her on a path different from her
SASHA, BARACK AND MALIA OBAMA
Poll: Dems More Likely To Support
Candidate Who Backs Medicare
For All Over Fixing Obamacare
As the Democratic presi- dential field continues to grapple with plans to address health care, a significant ma- jority of Democratic voters are more likely to back a 2020 primary candidate who supports “Medicare for All” than building on the Afford- able Care Act, a new poll found.
According the POLITICO/ Morning Consult poll out Wednesday, 65 percent of Democratic primary voters would be more likely to sup- port a candidate who wants to institute a single-payer health care system like Medicare for All; 13 percent said they’d be less likely to back a candidate based on that support.
While the Democratic base has essentially de- manded that its White House hopefuls offer up a plan for
Democrats are divided on how to address health care. Joe Biden has argued for building on Obamacare, while Bernie Sanders has been a vocal proponent of "Medicare for All."
universal health care, the party has devolved into in- fighting over the nuances of such plans, centering almost entirely on the role of private insurers in the health care market.
“Democrats are increas- ingly more inclined to back a 2020 candidate who sup- ports Medicare for All versus
revamping Obamacare,” said Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president. “In January, 57 percent of De- mocrats said they would be more likely to vote for a can- didate who backs a Medicare for All health system over ex- panding the Affordable Care Act. That number has now risen to 65 percent.”
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