Guns, grenades and deadly gadgets: What TSA found in carry-ons last year
Are air travelers more scared than ever, or just less informed?
That's the question we found ourselves asking after seeing a recent report from the Transportation Security Administration showing that, once again, a record number of flyers had been caught trying to get firearms aboard planes in carry-on luggage.
According to the TSA, officers discovered 3,957 firearms - 84 percent of them loaded - at security checkpoints last year. That's up 17 percent from the record high in 2016. Only 926 firearms were found at checkpoints in 2008.
TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy said some of the increase can be attributed to the nationwide increase in passenger volume, but that doesn't account for all of it.
"The number one excuse we hear from passengers is that they forgot the weapon was in their bag," McCarthy said in an email. "This, of course, is not a valid excuse as it's incumbent on the owner of the weapon - and only the owner - to know where their firearm is stored."
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport saw the most gun discoveries last year, with 245. Second was Dallas/Fort Worth International, with 211, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston was third with 142.
Despite its place as the nation's second-busiest airport, O'Hare had just 38 firearm discoveries last year, placing it well outside the top 10. Midway wasn't far behind, with 27.
Grenades, gunpowder and gadgetry
Guns are just the beginning when it comes to the weaponry seized by TSA officers last year. Live grenades, bottles of gunpowder and a howitzer projectile were among the things that go "boom," according to the report. Someone even tried to board with a realistic replica suicide vest and claymore mine.
Sharp instruments seized include a Grim Reaper-style scythe, a bladed fidget spinner and a sword cane.
Some of the more stealthy (but not stealthy enough) weapons found: a stun gun disguised as a tube of lipstick, a knife concealed in a stick of deodorant and a hairbrush/dagger. For a video of the TSA's 10 Most Unusual finds, check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Rx8Tn05S8.
While the TSA has some fun with the video, getting caught trying to sneak a weapon aboard a plane has serious consequences, ranging from criminal charges to fines ranging from $1,500 to $13,000 for a single violation. For details on how to travel with weapons, visit the TSA website.
So far, so good
Good news from Lake County on an innovative program aimed at closing the revolving door at the county jail for some low-level repeat offenders.
Launched about two years ago, the program provides intense case management for nonviolent inmates labeled as "high utilizers" of the jail - those who wind up behind bars three or more times in a year. The inmates chosen receive help finding employment and a place to live, substance abuse counseling and other assistance before and after their release.
So far, 31 inmates have participated. While 11 of them have yet to be released, 15 of the other 20 haven't been rebooked in the jail. Five have been dropped from the program for various reasons.
Those are impressive results, given that the national recidivism rate for the incarcerated is about 67 percent, according to the National Institute of Justice.
Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran told us part of the success comes from giving inmates life skills they never learned growing up.
"This program shows them what they need to do in order to succeed," he said.
The program is funded through a grant from the Safety and Justice Challenge, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Lifesavers
Prospect Heights will honor four of its police officers Monday for their actions to save citizens' lives on two occasions earlier this year.
Officers Todd Collins and Pardeep Deol will receive their department's Life Saving Award for rescuing a man found not breathing Jan. 12 as a result of a suspected drug overdose. Collins gave the man two doses of the anti-opiate naloxone, and Deol used an Automated External Defibrillator to deliver an electric pulse that caused the man to begin gasping for breath.
Officers Alan Thibeault and Mitch Webber will receive the same award for their actions Feb. 9, when they responded to reports of a man found unresponsive in the hallway of his apartment building. The officers used a defibrillator and performed CPR to keep the man alive until paramedics arrived to continue treatment.
"Had it not been for the training, experience, and fast actions by Officers Collins, Deol, Thibeault and Webber, the distressed individuals would have passed away prior to the arrival of paramedics," police said.
Divine intervention?
Ryan Hopp claims dirty dish trays at the Kane County jail made him so ill and gaseous that a priest should have been called in to perform an exorcism on his behind.
His words, not ours, in a federal lawsuit he recently filed.
Hopp's complaint stems from a period between fall 2016 and late winter 2017, when the jail didn't have a working commercial dishwashing machine. As the jail waited - first for approval from elected officials to buy a new machine, then for the machine to arrive - the food trays (they don't use plates) were being hand-rinsed, -washed and -sanitized in garbage cans.
Hopp claims the trays were often coated with grease and soap residue and the jail refused requests to serve meals on paper or foam plates.
He is seeking $500,000 in damages.
Jail records show Hopp, 28, is in custody on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle and fleeing the scene of an accident. He's due in court in that case March 2.
Another inmate sued over the same thing last year, but that was dismissed when the inmate failed to either pay a $400 filing fee or apply for permission to waive the fee due to poverty.
Records search
A woman who authorities say was shot in the head Dec. 17 by her ex-husband in Sugar Grove sought an order of protection from him just two weeks earlier, we learned while digging through court records.
Documents from Kendall County show she reported that Kennrith L. Foster called her 200 times Dec. 4, called or texted 40 times Dec. 5, and called 10 more times Dec. 6. She ignored most of them, but when she answered once, he became enraged when she told him there was no way she was ever going back to him, she wrote in her request for the protective order. On that same application she wrote that he threatened to kill her and whoever was with her.
Foster, 48, remains in the Kane County jail on $1 million bail facing charges including attempted murder, armed violence and aggravated domestic battery. He's due back in court March 15.
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