Judge Derek Ewanic rendered his verdict after a two-day bench trial last week.

The charges stemmed from March 2024 when Traynere, a Bolingbrook Democrat, went into the email of board member Judy Ogalla, a Monee Republican, who was the County Board chair at the time.

Traynere testified last week she was testing a rumor she heard at the county office building the day before that all board members had the same email password when they were issued new computers.

During the trial, Ogalla testified she never authorized Traynere to enter her email account.

Traynere said she never expected Ogalla’s email to open when she entered her own password. She testified she closed the email after about 10 seconds and contacted the county’s Information Technology Department and the county executive to alert them to a security vulnerability. Later that day, Traynere called Ogalla to inform her about the incident.

After the verdict Monday, Traynere said she didn’t look at anything in Ogalla’s email when she opened it.

“I told Judy at the time this was not me trying to do anything malicious to her,” Traynere said.

Traynere’s attorneys contend she was “sounding the alarm” that all board members had the same email password.

William Elward, a special prosecutor in the case, argued that Traynere instead was “tripping an alarm.”

Elward said Traynere was using the email to gain a political advantage and learn what members of the opposing party were thinking. He argued that Traynere is sophisticated and intelligent but got caught sneaking around in someone else’s inbox.

Ewanic said he sided with the prosecution that Traynere tripped the alarm. He said there are 21 other board members, and Traynere accessed a rival party member’s inbox.

Ewanic likened the alarm to a “dumpster fire” in the county that was small and contained.

Traynere testified last week she believed she had logged out of Ogalla’s account and was opening her own email when she forwarded an email from County Board member Steve Balich, a Homer Glen Republican.

In finding her not guilty of this count, Ewanic said he believed that Traynere thought she was in her own account when she forwarded that email.

Colin “CJ” Haney, Traynere’s attorney, said he plans to file a motion for a new trial. Sentencing is set for April 7.

Traynere said after the verdict that she is a “go-getter” and she gets things done. When she heard the rumor about the passwords, she sprung into action, she said.

“It was a bad judgement on my part,” Traynere said.

She said she was busy in her job as an administrator at DuPage Township and as a County Board member she acted too quickly without thinking it through. She said it would have been better had she waited instead of testing the theory about the same passwords herself.

“I did sound the alarm when I sent the email to IT,” Traynere said. “This violates every IT rule there is.”

Traynere said she believes politics played a role in the judge’s decision, noting he is a Republican.

She said she is not a political rival of Ogalla’s since they are from two different districts and cannot run against one another in elections. Rather, they are two board members with differing viewpoints, Traynere said.

Traynere said she plans to ask for an audit of the county’s information technology system.

April 7 will also be the next court date for a pending traffic ticket.

Elward last year refiled a case that alleges Traynere failed to yield to a pedestrian crossing the roadway in March 2025. The original traffic case was dismissed last May after a complaining witness did not show up to court, records show.

Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.

BOGOTÁ (AP) — El partido político del presidente colombiano Gustavo Petro se consolidó como la principal fuerza política de un Congreso fragmentado, en el que ninguno logró mayorías, por lo que el próximo presidente del país deberá negociar con el Legislativo.

El izquierdista Pacto Histórico obtuvo en el Senado más de 4,4 millones de votos, seguido del opositor Centro Democrático con más de tres millones. Ambos aumentarán escaños, según el conteo informativo del 99% del escrutinio.

“El Pacto Histórico recoge aproximadamente el 34% del Poder Legislativo. Eso no le da las mayorías absolutas, pero le permitiría consolidarlas porque hay políticos afines al petrismo que lograron escaños en otros partidos”, dijo a The Associated Press Carlos Arias Orjuela, consultor en comunicación política.

En el Congreso siguen teniendo fuerza otros partidos tradicionales —de derecha y moderados— como el Liberal, el Conservador, la Alianza Verde y La U. Especialmente en la Cámara de Representantes donde, junto al Centro Democrático, obtuvieron los primeros puestos y en quinto lugar se posicionó el Pacto Histórico.

Petro celebró el domingo en la red social X el triunfo de su partido e indicó que es “indudable que el Pacto arrasó en las elecciones de Congreso”, aunque dijo que deberán impulsar una “alianza por la vida”.

Bajo el gobierno de Petro el Congreso ha sido un contrapeso de sus políticas en un cambio respecto del pasado, cuando la legislatura tendía a estar alineada con el presidente. Los analistas vaticinan que el próximo gobierno también tendrá ese contrapeso.

“Claramente esas concesiones con el Congreso van a ser mucho más duras para un gobierno de derecha o para uno de centro que para un gobierno de izquierda que llegaría más fortalecido en cuanto al apoyo legislativo”, aseguró a AP Sandra Borda, profesora de Ciencia Política de la Universidad de Los Andes.

La primera vuelta presidencial se celebrará el 31 de mayo y un eventual balotaje se realizaría a mediados de junio.

Polos opuestos

Borda consideró que en la elección “los extremos salieron fortalecidos” y ahora son las dos fuerzas dominantes en el Congreso, lo que muestra que el electorado está privilegiando a las plataformas políticas con posiciones más definidas y radicales que a las moderadas.

Para la izquierda se trata de una mejora notable, dado que en Colombia solía ser minoría y alcanzó por primera vez la presidencia con Petro en el 2022, rompiendo con la tradición de gobiernos conservadores y moderados.

“La izquierda ha demostrado que tuvo una curva de aprendizaje superrápida en materia de cómo se hace política. Estas personas entraron a ser parte del escenario político hace muy poco tiempo, después del proceso de paz” firmado hace una década con la extinta guerrilla Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), explicó Borda.

Borda cree que al Centro Democrático le sirvió para ganar presencia en el Congreso participar en las consultas presidenciales de tres corrientes políticas que, en paralelo, se celebraron con las legislativas y en las que su candidata Paloma Valencia resultó ganadora entre nueve aspirantes de derecha.

Las consultas presidenciales también mostraron mayor votación para la derecha, con el 82% de los votos, que para sectores de centro y de centroizquierda que lograron cada uno un 8%.

“Creo que el país cambió y no quiere voces de centro, está polarizado, porque en el Congreso y en las consultas muchos de centro perdieron”, aseguró Arias Orjuela.

Aunque no participó en las consultas, esos resultados catapultaron al izquierdista Iván Cepeda, del partido de Petro, como el principal candidato de izquierda, dado que no resultó un contrincante fuerte de este sector en las consultas.

Del otro lado está el ultraderechista Abelardo de la Espriella, quien tampoco participó en las consultas y aparece como uno de los punteros en encuestas. El partido que lo apoya, Salvación Nacional, alcanzó una representación menor en el Congreso.

Los analistas creen que Valencia intentará quitarle a De la Espriella electorado de derecha para la primera vuelta presidencial. Aunque tanto la derecha como la izquierda deberán buscar votos del centro para aumentar sus posibilidades.

Temperatures Monday afternoon will reach the low 70s, according to Kevin Doom, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Expect gusts of wind 20 to 25 miles per hour that will cool the air a bit, Doom said, but added that Monday seems “pretty nice” overall.

Doom said there’s a small chance some areas of the metro — mainly Northwest Indiana — may see showers pop up Monday, but Chicago will likely remain storm-free.

Tuesday is a different story. Doom said those in the metro area should be prepared for severe weather. Tornadoes are possible in the afternoon and evening, and large hail and strong winds may come in the evening and stay overnight.

“Should a strong or severe storm be headed into your area, you kind of know the drill,” Doom said. “Head inside, and then, if there’s a tornado threat, obviously take shelter if you need to.”

The storms will be scattered, according to Doom, mostly near a warm front that is expected to cover the southern portion of the area. The threat of tornadoes lies mainly along I-80 — give or take some tens of miles — near where the warm front will set up, Doom said.

On Tuesday, Chicago will be just north of the warm front, Doom said, so temperatures in the city will drop back into the 50s. The southern suburbs may see highs in the 70s, reaching toward 80 degrees.

Doom said it’s important to be aware of Tuesday’s weather because even though storms will scattered, they’ll certainly be in the area, and windstorms could occur in late evening and overnight as Chicago’s cold front pushes through.

“Keep a loose eye on the things,” Doom said. “Maybe turn the news on every once in a while.”

The Bruins picked up three first-place votes after their 51-point win over then-No. 9 Iowa in the Big Ten title game Sunday. UConn had been a unanimous No. 1 from the national media panel for the last eight weeks. The undefeated Huskies received the other 28 first-place votes.

UConn and UCLA are expected to be the top two teams when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed Sunday night. While the Bruins are done until then, the Huskies face Villanova for the Big East Tournament title Monday night.

LSU moved up to No. 5, swapping spots with Vanderbilt. Despite its loss to UCLA, Iowa moved up to seventh. Duke jumped five places to eighth after winning the ACC Tournament, beating then-No. 12 Louisville in overtime.

Michigan was ninth and Oklahoma 10th.

In and out

Buoyed by reaching the ACC Tournament semifinals, Notre Dame reentered the Top 25, coming in at No. 22. Notre Dame replaced Fairfield, which had entered the poll last week and advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game Monday.

Conference supremacy

The SEC has the most teams in the Top 25 with eight. The Big Ten is next with seven. The Big 12 and ACC each have four. The Ivy League and Big East each have one.

Games of the week

Besides UConn, Princeton is the only other Top 25 team playing this week. The Tigers will face Brown in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals Friday night. If they win, they will play either Harvard or Columbia on Saturday. The Lions handed the Tigers two of their three losses this season.

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — El periodista bielorruso Pavel Dabravolski fue declarado culpable el lunes de traición y condenado a nueve años en una prisión de máxima seguridad, según informaron activistas; es el quinto trabajador de los medios encarcelado en dos semanas en una implacable ofensiva del gobierno contra la libertad de prensa.

Dabravolski, que ha trabajado para medios internacionales y nacionales y ha ganado numerosos premios por su trabajo, fue hallado culpable durante un juicio a puerta cerrada en el Tribunal Municipal de Minsk, de acuerdo con la Asociación de Periodistas de Bielorrusia. El hombre, de 36 años, trabajó más recientemente para BelaPAN, que las autoridades bielorrusas han designado como extremista.

El presidente Alexander Lukashenko, que ha gobernado Bielorrusia durante más de tres décadas, se ha mantenido en el poder mediante una implacable represión de la disidencia.

Estallaron protestas masivas tras las elecciones de 2020, que fueron ampliamente denunciadas como fraudulentas. Más de 65.000 personas fueron arrestadas y miles fueron golpeadas. A raíz de las protestas, cientos de medios independientes y organizaciones no gubernamentales fueron cerrados y prohibidos.

La líder opositora exiliada Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya afirmó que Dabravolski estaba siendo blanco de “cargos inventados”.

“El único ‘delito’ de Dabravolski fue hacer su trabajo y cubrir las protestas de 2020 tras las elecciones robadas”, declaró Tsikhanouskaya. “Vemos que la cadena de represión dentro de Bielorrusia continúa sin freno”.

Activistas han reportado un fuerte aumento de la presión del gobierno sobre los trabajadores de los medios en Bielorrusia.

“La represión se está intensificando y la condena de Dabravolski muestra que las autoridades están aumentando la presión sobre los periodistas en un país que ya tiene la peor libertad de expresión de Europa”, indicó Andrei Bastunets, jefe de la asociación de periodistas, a The Associated Press.

El grupo afirma que 28 periodistas están encarcelados en Bielorrusia.

“Esto contradice la idea de que la situación de los derechos humanos en Bielorrusia supuestamente ha mejorado debido a la liberación de destacados presos políticos”, señaló Bastunets.

Bajo Lukashenko, Bielorrusia ha enfrentado años de aislamiento occidental y sanciones por la represión y por permitir que Moscú use su territorio durante la invasión de Ucrania. Recientemente ha buscado mejorar las relaciones con Occidente liberando a cientos de presos políticos.

Sin embargo, muchos más siguen tras las rejas, y la organización de derechos humanos Viasna estima que hay 1.140 presos políticos.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

No se dio de inmediato ninguna razón para la ausencia del internacional brasileño de cara al encuentro del martes en Estambul.

Alisson disputó el partido completo en el partuido más reciente del Liverpool, una victoria 3-1 en Wolverhampton por la Copa FA el viernes.

Es probable que el portero georgiano Giorgi Mamardashvili sustituya a Alisson.

Mamardashvili ya atajó en el feudo de Galatasaray esta temporada cuando ingresó como suplente para reemplazar a Alisson en la segunda mitad de la derrota 1-0 de Liverpool en septiembre.

El guardameta georgiano luego disputó las tres siguientes rondas de la Liga de Campeones, con triunfos contra Eintracht Frankfurt y Real Madrid, y después una derrota 4-1 en casa ante PSV Eindhoven.

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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

“I propose we create a vocational training grant program,” the governor said, “which will provide school districts a regional vocational center with support to build and expand a specialized workforce program like the proposed Southland Career and Technical Education Center in Park Forest.”

The governor’s proposal puts a hammer in the hands of High School District 227 and Superintendent Johnnie Phillips, in his public five-year campaign to turn the unused building which was once the pride of the community into a vocational training ground in everything from plumbing and policing to flying a plane.

And thank you for asking how much it would cost.

According to a Chicago marketing group which is collaborating with the school district, it would take an estimated $100 million to replace the deteriorating building with a new structure.

If all the I’s and Ts are dotted and crossed, plans are to turn over the first shovelful of dirt in summer 2027 with financial support coming from both federal and state grants. School programs would be funded through money doled out by the Illinois State Board of Education.

When in operation, students in other schools would be transported to the Park Forest school but according to the marketing group, school districts would not have to tap into their budgets.

For the record, Rich East has been closed for six years and was seen as the symbol of a community’s hope for the future when, in 1951, pioneer residents of the new village voted 1,828 to 12 to tax themselves by creating a high school. Among its list of graduates are actor Tom Berenger, opera singer Dawn Upshaw, NBA star Craig Hodges and major league baseball players Pete and Steve Stanicek.

When the Rich East campus closed, depending on home addresses Rich East students were funneled into the two remaining high schools, Rich South in Richton Park or Rich Central in Olympia Field school.

Frustration station

The 11 members of Park Forest’s Civic Leadership Academy got an earful and then some last Friday from two members of the state legislature who discussed the difficulties of getting anything done in Springfield.

Both state Sen. Patrick Joyce and state Rep. Anthony DeLuca expressed exasperation in what they said were their attempts to pass legislation that would alleviate the large property tax burden inflicted upon residents as well as checking the economic clout of school districts.

DeLuca spent time arguing that school funding, which is the biggest reason for high property taxes, is an ongoing problem with the hungry financial appetites of some districts to always ask the maximum and criticized the plethora of school districts.

“The system is broken,” DeLuca said.

Joyce agreed.

“We have to reform school districts who ask for the maximum,” he said.

According to the nonprofit group Illinois Policy, Illinois has more than 850 school districts with more than half serving fewer than 1,000 students.

Economic drivers for the south suburbs, such as a third airport and a “racino” (a combined horse racetrack and casino) was also discussed. A bill which would allow two racinos to be built in the state, including one in Richton Park, is still awaiting passage in the legislature.

In 2015, Park Forest, which has one of the highest property tax assessments in the state, started this academy which offers residents the opportunity to pry open village government and see how it ticks.

Perhaps there was a reason when Joyce asked the audience how many of them were willing to use tax dollars to keep the Bears, one person slowly raised a hand and then pulled it down.

That can happen when “we need” clashes with “we want.”

Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.

Across Chicagoland, we’re seeing that happen as hopefuls vie for political plums. Most of that action is on the Democratic side and the sniping is getting downright churlish as we near the March 17 primary elections.

As journalist and author Allen Drury once observed, “Few people can hate one another with more cordial enthusiasm than a bunch of Democrats.” In the early days of the runup to voting on St. Patrick’s Day, there was sort of a collegial tone to debates and appearances among candidates seeking to move up the Illinois political ladder.

Prior to this month, they had a common enemy: President Donald Trump and his policies, which are anathema in this strongly blue state. That lasted for a while, and now they are turning on each other in several high-stakes primary contests.

Going at it hammer and tongs are 10 candidates who want to replace a pair of retiring octogenarian Democrats, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and 9th Congressional District Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston.

In the Senate race, charges and counter-charges have escalated between U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Robin Kelly of South Suburban Lynwood, and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton over who does or doesn’t want to disband the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and who has or hasn’t taken funds from Super PACs. They’ve also accused fellow candidates in a slew of expensive television campaign ads of accepting money from MAGA donors and not standing up to the Trump administration.

It’s only going to get muddier before the primary. Seldom do this many federal seats become available in an election year.

Indeed, it is historic to have this many political openings in the state at the federal level. Which is why the races are brimming with candidates.

Four congressional districts — the 8th, 2nd, 7th, and 9th — have open races without incumbents on the Democratic primary ballot. The 8th was held by Krishnamoorthi, the 2nd represented by Kelly and the 7th by long-time Congressman Danny Davis of Chicago, who decided to retire this election cycle.

The 8th has eight candidates, the 2nd has 10 candidates, and in the 7th, there are 13. In the 9th, 15 Democrats and four Republicans are seeking to replace Schakowsky.

The Chicago-centric district, like the 5th Congressional District, seeps into Lake County through a snake-like gerrymandered remap. In the county, the district includes the communities of Buffalo Grove, Barrington Hills, Hawthorn Woods, Island Lake, Lake Barrington, Long Grove, Port Barrington and Wauconda.

The seat has been solid Democratic since 1949, unparalleled in the state for one-party rule in a congressional district. That means whoever makes it out of the GOP primary — Rocio Cleveland of Island Lake, John Elleson of Arlington Heights, Paul Friedman of Chicago or Dongbo Mark Su of Chicago — has little hope of victory.

The last year the seat was open was in 1998 when incumbent Sidney Yates stepped down and Schakowsky won the primary and general election. One of her defeated primary opponents was JB Pritzker, now Illinois governor, who this year is seeking a third term as the state’s chief executive.

The 15 Democrats in the 9th District include some familiar names to voters, especially those in the Cook County portions of the district. Those include state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, state Sen. Mike Simmons of Chicago and state Rep. Hoan Huyh of Chicago. Others in the crowded field are making their first try for public office.

The primary also includes the rare opening for a statewide office, Illinois comptroller, where four Democrats, including Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim of Mundelein, want to replace incumbent Susana Mendoza, who decided not to seek re-election. Mendoza last week endorsed Kim for the job over state Reps. Margaret Croke of Chicago and Stephanie Kifowit of Oswego, and state Sen. Karina Villa of West Chicago.

These primary contests aren’t for the faint-hearted, as a flurry of last-minute attack ads soon will become prevalent on our TV screens. Negative campaigning, many will advise, works. In most cases.

After all, “politics ain’t beanbag” is the prevailing tenor in the rough-and-tumble political arena of Illinois elections.

Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor. sellenews@gmail.com. X @sellenews.

The school announced the deal Monday, a day before the conference tournament begins at the United Center with Nebraska as the No. 2 seed. Hoiberg is now under contract through the 2031-32 season. He previously signed a two-year extension in 2024.

“Fred has built this program step by step, and his leadership has Nebraska positioned to continue to compete at a high level in the Big Ten Conference and nationally,” athletic director Troy Dannen said in a statement. “Fred is one of the most respected coaches in the country by his peers, and his success has been recognized throughout the college basketball world.”

The Huskers, who have won 20-plus games in three consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 26-5 record. They reached a program-best No. 5 national ranking in January.

“We have a long family history with the University of Nebraska, and the support we have received over the last seven years is truly remarkable,” Hoiberg said. “We are blessed with world-class facilities, but the people are what make Nebraska special. Our goal is to continue building a program that our fans can embrace and have pride in because it represents the values of Nebraska.”

Anthropic demandó al gobierno de Trump, pidiendo a los tribunales federales que anulen la decisión del Pentágono de designar a la empresa de inteligencia artificial como un “riesgo para la cadena de suministro” por su negativa a permitir un uso militar sin restricciones de su tecnología.

Anthropic presentó dos demandas separadas el lunes: una ante un tribunal federal en California y otra ante el tribunal federal de apelaciones en Washington, D.C.; cada una impugna distintos aspectos de las acciones del Pentágono contra la empresa.

El Pentágono designó formalmente la semana pasada a la empresa tecnológica de San Francisco como un riesgo para la cadena de suministro tras una disputa inusualmente pública sobre cómo podría utilizarse en la guerra su chatbot de IA, Claude.

“Estas acciones no tienen precedentes y son ilegales”, dice la demanda de Anthropic. “La Constitución no permite que el gobierno ejerza su enorme poder para castigar a una empresa por su expresión protegida. Ninguna ley federal autoriza las acciones tomadas aquí. Anthropic recurre al poder judicial como último recurso para reivindicar sus derechos y detener la campaña ilegal de represalias del Ejecutivo”.

El Departamento de Defensa declinó hacer comentarios el lunes.

Anthropic declaró que buscó restringir que su tecnología se utilizara para dos usos de alto nivel: la vigilancia masiva de estadounidenses y las armas totalmente autónomas. El secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth, y otros funcionarios insistieron en que la empresa debe aceptar “todos los usos legales” de Claude y amenazaron con castigos si la empresa no cumplía.

Designar a la empresa como un riesgo para la cadena de suministro impide el uso del trabajo de defensa de Anthropic, utilizando una autoridad que fue diseñada para evitar que adversarios extranjeros perjudiquen los sistemas de seguridad nacional. Es la primera vez que se sabe que el gobierno federal ha utilizado tal designación contra una empresa estadounidense.

El presidente Donald Trump también dijo que ordenaría a las agencias federales dejar de usar Claude, aunque le dio al Pentágono seis meses para eliminar gradualmente un producto que está profundamente integrado en sistemas militares clasificados, incluidos los utilizados en la guerra de Irán.

Incluso mientras combate las acciones del Pentágono, Anthropic ha buscado convencer a empresas y a otras agencias gubernamentales de que la sanción del gobierno de Trump es limitada y que solo afecta a los contratistas militares cuando están usando Claude en trabajos para el Departamento de Defensa.

Dejar clara esa distinción es crucial para la empresa porque la mayor parte de sus ingresos proyectados de 14.000 millones de dólares este año proviene de empresas y agencias gubernamentales que están usando Claude para programación informática y otras tareas. Más de 500 clientes están pagando a Anthropic al menos 1 millón de dólares al año por Claude, según una inversión que había valorado a la empresa en 380.000 millones de dólares.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.