Jon Burge, the disgraced Chicago police commander and felon whose sordid legacy of torture and other misconduct exacted an agonizing price from the city, has died in Florida at age 70, according to police union officials and a Florida funeral home.
Details about his death were scarce as the union and family members declined to speak with members of the news media, which spent years reporting on the numerous cases in which Burge was accused of torturing suspects in order to obtain confessions.
Representatives of Zipperer Funeral Home in Ruskin, Fla., confirmed receiving Burge’s body but declined to share any further information, citing the family’s wishes. Burge, who had previously been treated for cancer, lived in nearby Apollo Beach.
“They (family members) let us know they’re not doing anything in any newspapers,’’ said Sarah Zipperer.
Stories of the violence committed under Burge — including beatings, electric shock, suffocation with typewriter covers and games of Russian roulette — proved to have a long reach. Although most of Burge’s alleged misconduct took place in the 1970s and ’80s, his accusers played a fundamental role in former Gov. George Ryan’s decision to vacate Illinois’ death row in 2000 and declare a moratorium on capital punishment in the state.
Lawsuits from Burge’s victims, meanwhile, have cost taxpayers many millions in settlements and judgments, much of it paid out of city coffers in the past decade. Read More
Business and marketing are two colors in the same Rubik’s cube that is entrepreneurship. You may create the best-in-class products or services, but it won’t make much of a difference if you don’t have a good marketing strategy in place, to ensure your customers know what you do. To continue, marketing isn’t just limited to spreading awareness about your product or service. It is a tool that is meant to set you apart and well above the competition. It is a tool that makes you as a brand, much more relatable to your consumers, so they remember exactly why they buy from you. As an entrepreneur, you should consider the following marketing strategies, if you haven’t implemented them already.
Google has launched a new type of search engine designed specifically around helping people find data.
Simply called “Dataset Search,” the tool provides easier access to millions of datasets across thousands of data repositories on the web.
Anyone can use Dataset Search, which is still in beta, but Google emphasizes the benefits it has for journalists and data scientists.
“In today’s world, scientists in many disciplines and a growing number of journalists live and breathe data… To enable easy access to this data, we launched Dataset Search, so that scientists, data journalists, data geeks, or anyone else can find the data required for their work and their stories, or simply to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.”
Dataset Search surfaces results from publishers’ sites, digital libraries, and authors’ personal web pages.
Google’s new search engine is largely dependent on the schema markup for dataset providers that was rolled out in July. Read More
If you’re thinking of selling your home, you need to be smart about it. Recent data from Zillow indicates that while the housing market has favored sellers over the past two years, there are early signs that the market may be shifting. Zillow says it’s too soon to call it a buyer’s market, but an increased share of listings are experiencing price cuts. Kalena Masching, senior agent at Redfin says there are four things homeowners should do to get the best offers when selling their home.
Timing is everything
When you decide to list your home is very important. Not only should you take into account the day of the week, but also the season. According to Redfin data, listing on a Wednesday or a Thursday will get you the best price and sell your home the fastest. Masching says on those days, most buyers are prepping their weekend plans around open house schedules. Make your home one of the first listings buyers decide to see. If you list on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, your home’s online listing will be further down on the first search page or on the second page; which buyers may not flip to.
Masching says you should also discuss with your agent the best time of year to sell in your area. She notes that every market has a different hot season where demand is higher based on moving patterns and other factors. The best time to sell may even vary within a metro area. Read More
“AT&T and Comcast spent enormous amounts of money lobbying to kill SB 822. They almost succeeded more than once, but we fought back.”
In a major victory for the open internet that could have ripple effects throughout the United States, the California Senate on Friday thwarted aggressive lobbying by the telecom industry and passed the strongest, most comprehensive net neutrality bill in the nation.
“The passage of SB 822 in California has huge implications for our fight to restore neutrality nationwide,” declared the advocacy group Fight for the Future (FFTF) following Friday’s vote. “We also need to harness the momentum from this huge victory to put pressure on our elected officials in Congress.”
“Finally,” FFTF added, “y’all should be really proud of yourselves. Giant telcos like AT&T and Comcast spent enormous amounts of money lobbying to kill SB 822. They almost succeeded more than once, but we fought back. We drove phone calls, tweets, crowdfunded billboards, attended meetings.”
Having cleared both houses of California’s legislature, SB 822 will now head to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for a signature.
Brown, who has 30 days to sign the measure, is already facing pressure from the telecom industry to veto the bill, so open internet advocates are warning Californians to remain vigilant and keep up the pressure. Read More
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