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Stories by Laura A. Bischoff
Poor unfairly jailed for failing to pay fines, report says
Courts in at least seven counties routinely jail Ohioans for owing court fines and fees, in violation of the state constitution and laws and against a 1983 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, according to a new study released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice ...
Ohio State issues alert after threats target a ‘cafeteria’
Ohio State University officials posted extra police officers around 25 campus dining areas on Wednesday after OSU got tipped off to a threat of a shooting. Users on fantasy gaming websites alerted OSU authorities on Tuesday when they saw chatter about a shooting at an OSU cafeteria on April 4. ...
Pension board refuses to cancel Hawaii trip
In a feisty meeting Thursday, the School Employees Retirement System board rejected calls to cancel a trip to Hawaii and dismissed a proposal to limit trustees’ annual out-of-state travel expenses to $6,000 per board member. Board member Mary Ann Howell withdrew her request to travel to Hawaii in May for ...
Political consultant accuses business partner of theft
Two high-profile Ohio political consultants are embroiled in a civil lawsuit over who is entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in casino gambling revenues.Ian James, who runs a petition gathering company, is suing Rex Elsass, who runs a Republican ad placement and consulting firm, in Delaware County Common Pleas ...
Pension board members spend big on out-of-state conferences
Members of the state pension board that is sending three members to a conference in Hawaii have made 67 other trips over the past four years to New Orleans, San Francisco, New York and other vacation destinations, a Dayton Daily News investigation found. VIEW travel costs for retirement board members ...
70-mph limit clears another hurdle
Faster speed limits on most Ohio highways advanced one step on Wednesday when the Ohio Senate gave its approval to the final compromise version of the transportation budget bill. The House is expected to do the same Thursday. Motorists would be allowed to drive 70 miles per hour on interstates ...
Ex-State Rep. Clayton Luckie’s escort pushes reporter as lawmaker booked in jail
Former state lawmaker Clayton Luckie turned himself in at the Franklin County Jail on Monday to begin a three-year prison sentence for misusing roughly $130,000 from his campaign account while serving in the Ohio House of Representatives. Luckie walked into the jail lobby in downtown Columbus shortly after 4 p.m. ...
Lawmakers pushing for heavier truck limits in Ohio
State lawmakers Ross McGregor and Lynn Wachtmann, who are pushing for heavier truck limits on Ohio roads, have businesses that could benefit from the proposed law change but neither of them see it as a potential conflict of interest.McGregor, R-Springfield, who sponsored the transportation budget bill in the Ohio House, ...
Democrat announces he is not running for Ohio governor
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, ended political speculation with an announcement Friday that he will not run for governor of Ohio in 2014. Ryan issued a statement that said in part: “This is the most exciting time in the history of Northeast Ohio and it has become increasingly clear to ...
Ohio Senate votes to raise speed limit on some highways
The speed limit on some Ohio highways could go up to 70 miles per hour under a bill that passed the Ohio Senate on Wednesday. The higher speed limit would apply to interstate freeways outside of urban areas — such as parts of Interstates 75, 70 and 71. The limit ...
Prison guard who made Facebook threat to Gov. Kasich gets job back
Fourteen months after Jessie Hubbard was fired for making a threatening Facebook posting about the governor, an arbitrator ruled that he should be reinstated as a guard at Lebanon Correctional Institution but without back pay. Hubbard’s dismissal in January 2012 ignited a debate over free speech in the workplace and ...
Ohio taxpayers saving millions as fewer ex-cons return to prison
The rate at which Ohio ex-convicts return to prison for new crimes has been steadily declining since 2003, which means taxpayers are saving tens of millions of dollars and the general public is enduring less crime.Ohio’s recidivism rate hit 28.7 percent for inmates released in 2009, down from 39.5 percent ...
What people think of prisons nationally
Pew Trusts national survey in January 2012 found: 84 percent agree that some of the money now spent locking up low-risk, non-violent offenders should be shifted to community corrections programs such as probation and parole 87 percent favor shortening prison time for non-violent offenders for up to a year if ...
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction by the numbers
Employees: 11,835Inmate population: 49,924Annual budget: $1.5 billionAverage daily cost per inmate: $65.27Average annual cost per inmate: $23,823
Ohio Crime Rates per 100,000 Residents
Ohio’s violent and property crime rates have gone down since 2005, along with the rate of prisoners returning to prison.Year, Violent Crime, Property Crime2005: 351 violent, 3,663 property2006: 350 violent, 3,679 property2007: 343 violent, 3,455 property2008: 346 violent, 3,412 property2009: 332 violent, 3,271 property2010: 315 violent, 3,245 property2011: 307 violent, ...
Ohio’s 3-Year Recidivism Rate 2000-2009
The rate of Ohio’s prisoners returning to prison has gone down since 2000 from nearly 40 percent to nearly 29 percent.Exit year, Recidivism Rate2000: 39.02%2001: 39.06%2002: 38.79%2003: 39.53%2004: 38.93%2005: 38.37%2006: 36.44%2007: 34.03%2008: 31.2%2009: 28.67%Source: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Racing Commission doesn’t like plan for Dayton racetrack
The Ohio State Racing Commission does not like Penn National Gaming’s plan for a racino in Dayton saying that it places more emphasis on video lottery gambling than watching live horse races.Penn National is asking permission from the commission to move Raceway Park in Toledo to Dayton and Beulah Park ...
Democrat takes step toward running for Ohio governor in 2014
Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald on Monday took another step toward running for governor next year, forming an exploratory committee and the structure needed to start raising money. The committee formation and FitzGerald’s scheduled speaking engagements — 25 county party dinners over the next several months — indicate that he ...
State, foundation ramp up adoptions
The state of Ohio has joined forces with The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to expand a program that finds homes for older foster children. On any given day, Ohio has about 12,000 children in foster care, including about 1,900 who fall into the hard-to-place category — those who are ...
School union board members under pressure to cancel $11K Hawaii trip
Three Ohio School Employees Retirement System board members are refusing to withdraw a request for a $11,232 trip to a conference in Hawaii despite warnings. State lawmakers on the Ohio Retirement Study Council are expected to fire off a sternly worded letter Wednesday, urging the three SERS board members to ...
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