Council criticised for spending £50k on ecologist
Forest of Dean District Council plans to recruit an "oceans officer", with the Green leadership saying the post will help protect the "precious" environment in the Severn and Wye rivers.
But former council leader, Tim Gwilliam, who represents the Progressive Independent party, has criticised the decision to spend money on something he does not believe to be the council's responsibility.
Current leader, Adrian Birch, said the plans had been progressed correctly with "clear support" from the council.
The council approved its budget in February, which included an agreement to allocate £50,000 for an ecologist to help deliver the council's rivers and oceans motion, to tackle pollution.
"I'm sure Foresters in their ocean-fronted homes in Bream and Bicknor will be well pleased," said Gwilliam.
"I noted with some irony that the cabinet member said when asked about possibly funding libraries or road improvements that were not Forest of Dean District Council responsibility at the very same time he and his cabinet were committing to spend tens of thousands of pounds on an oceans officer," he added.
The Severn is identified as the worst river in England for sewage pollution, jeopardising ecological, economic, and recreational activity and human health, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Green councillors said the rivers are being polluted by farm and sewage run-off, affecting salmon and eel populations. They also raised the issue of plastic polluting the ocean.
Birch said questions over the role had been repeatedly answered.
"There is clearly more we can do to work alongside others to protect our precious river environment, but we cannot do this without the necessary additional resource," he said.
"We will now be progressing this important work and recruiting to this post. We sincerely hope that all elected members will now get behind us and support this initiative."
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Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Local officials grow wary of helping ICE detain immigrants
A growing number of local law enforcement officials are alarmed about their jails and prisons holding immigration detainees without warrants, saying it exposes their departments to legal risks. Why it matters: It's the latest sign of tension between local authorities and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, whose strong-arm tactics in arresting immigrants have shocked communities across the nation. Zoom in: As part of President Trump 's push to deport "millions" of unauthorized immigrants, ICE has leaned on local agencies to help arrest and temporarily detain unauthorized immigrants. Over the past decade most of ICE's arrests involved people who already were in law enforcement custody, according to a review of 10 years of data from Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). But with ICE arrests soaring to more than 2,000 a day under Trump, local jail and prison officials are increasingly concerned about being liable for detainees' care — particularly when ICE leaves them in local facilities for lengthy periods. The officials note that in the past, lawsuits filed on behalf of ICE detainees wrongly left languishing in local jails have cost local governments enormously — $92.5 million in one New York City case involving 20,000 people who were held in prison for ICE without due process between 1997 and 2012. How it works: ICE can ask a local agency to hold someone they believe isn't legally in the U.S., using a request called a detainer. Usually there's a 48-hour limit on this request. A detainer request from ICE isn't the same as a warrant issued by a judge, which local agencies require to hold their suspects. "The ICE administrative warrant is not enough to hold somebody's liberty away," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) told Axios. "It's essentially holding somebody and locking them up when there's no legal, lawful authority to do so." "The risk to the institution that's holding them is civil liability," he added. "They could end up paying a lot of money — and not just money, but injunctive relief." The National Sheriffs' Association has asked the Trump administration to clarify how long someone should be held on ICE's behalf, and has raised the issue with Border Czar Tom Homan. The group also has been lobbying Congress to pass a law addressing the issue for sheriffs, who often manage jails. Between the lines: A few law enforcement officials have spoken publicly about their concerns for ICE detainees' civil liberties under Trump's deportation push — and have faced a backlash from GOP officials for doing so. In February, Sheriff Dan Marx of Winneshiek County, Iowa, aired his concerns about cooperating with ICE detainers in a since-deleted Facebook post. "The only reason detainers are issued is because the federal agency does not have enough information or has not taken the time to obtain a valid judicial warrant," Marx wrote. "These detainers are violations of our 4th Amendment protection against warrantless search, seizure and arrest, and our 6th Amendment right to due process." Marx's post led Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds — a Republican who has ordered the state's local law enforcement to "fully cooperate" with Trump's deportation mission — to file a formal complaint against the sheriff. Marx was investigated by Iowa's attorney general over whether he violated a state law mandating such cooperation. He deleted his first post and issued another statement that said in part: "I do not believe law enforcement officials should have to choose between upholding their sworn duty to the Constitution and following the state statute." He declined to be interviewed because of the investigation. "From a constitutional standpoint, if we're going to hold somebody in jail or detain them, we want to be doing so lawfully and have legal grounds to do so. And I think for a sheriff to ask for a judicial warrant is reasonable," Michael Tupper, a former police chief in Marshalltown, Iowa, told Axios. In a New Orleans court, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office is being sued by Louisiana's attorney general for not honoring ICE detainers. Orleans Parish has a policy of honoring ICE detainers only when a detainee has a warrant for a violent offense. The policy stems from has a legal settlement from 2010, when two men in the Orleans jail were held without due process for two months longer than their sentences, waiting for ICE. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) argues it amounts to a sanctuary policy, in violation of state law. The case is ongoing. Several other jurisdictions nationwide have faced similar lawsuits when people have been held on ICE detainers longer than their sentences or after their cases were dismissed. Some, like Orleans Parish, are changing their policies to limit their exposure to such suits. Montgomery and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania, for example, now require judicial warrants in addition to an ICE detainers to hold immigration detainees. What they're saying: " When a sheriff or a police chief stands up and voices concerns, they are oftentimes painted as soft on crime, or, you know, they don't care about keeping their community safe," Tupper said. "It's really the opposite. These folks are trying to do the right thing for the community."
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Yahoo
Breaking down claim bodies of Trump admin deportees washed up in Spain
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The claim also appeared on Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), X (archived) and Reddit (archived). However, we found no evidence that the bodies found in the Balearic Islands were people deported from the U.S. We also found no evidence that U.S. authorities had placed deported people in the Balearics. Spanish authorities had not yet identified the deceased at the time of this writing. But we did not find evidence of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) deportation flights to Spain, though the Trump administration did carry out flights to several African nations. People migrating from Africa often attempt to cross into Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, ending up on islands like the Balearics. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson dismissed the claim in its entirety, writing via email, "This claim is so stupid and obviously false it hardly dignifies a response." We reached out to ICE to ask for its comments on the claim and whether it had carried out any deportation flights to Europe since January 2025. We also reached out to the Spanish Civil Guard and the Balearic Government Delegation, which governs the Balearic Islands including Mallorca, to ask if they had identified any of the deceased from the Spanish reports as people deported from the U.S. or found evidence to support this claim. We await replies to our queries. The claim appeared to be based on an alleged connection between images (archived) posted by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt of a deportation flight in January 2025 and news articles about bodies with bound hands and feet washing up on beaches in the Balearic Islands in June. Leavitt's images showed people with shackled hands and feet being led onto a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane. Leavitt wrote, "President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences." Reuters reported at the time that the flight was bound for Guatemala, citing an unnamed administration official. According to reports, shackling people on deportation flights is common ICE practice. We asked ICE to confirm this and await a reply. Then, in June 2025, reports circulated about several bodies that washed up on the shores of the Balearic holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera with their hands and feet tied together. The Spanish Civil Guard opened an investigation into the deaths, suspected to be murders, at the time of this writing. According to local reports, officials recovered the first bound body on May 18, 2025. According to Diario de Mallorca, a local newspaper, at least five bound bodies washed up on Balearic Island beaches by the end of June. Other reports did not provide a total. Police suspected the deaths were connected to people smuggling and migrants attempting to cross into Europe from northern Africa. On June 30, authorities in Ibiza said police believed the deceased were "on a boat that arrived in Alicante," according to local reports. Reports did not indicate that officials suspected the deceased were migrants deported from the U.S. Identification work was ongoing. Migrant boat crossings from northern Africa to the Balearic Islands are a common occurrence, as are deaths on this route. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 2,700 migrants arrived by sea to the Balearic Islands between January 2025 and June 22. Spanish authorities often step in to rescue migrants in distress at sea. ICE does not publicly publish full lists of deportation flights and destinations. Therefore, it was not possible to confirm from its own data whether it carried out deportation flights to Spain or the Balearic Islands that could have resulted in deported people washing up there. According to Tom Cartwright, a human rights advocate who tracks ICE deportation flights, ICE carried out 3,889 deportation flights between January and the end of May 2025. Though none of these flights appeared to be to Spain, Cartwright's list did include African countries like Mauritania, Senegal, Liberia, Nigeria, Kenya and Angola. It was possible that people deported to these destinations might attempt to migrate to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. However, without identification of the bodies washed up in the Balearic Islands it was impossible to say whether that was the case. Snopes did not independently confirm Cartwright's data, though news organizations and advocacy groups have acknowledged his database as the most complete that is publicly available. In sum, at the time of this writing, it was not possible to confirm whether the bodies that washed ashore in the Balearic Islands were people deported from the U.S. We found no evidence that ICE was carrying out deportation flights to Spain or the Balearic Islands. It was possible that migrants deported to African nations could have since attempted to cross into Europe via the Mediterranean Sea but we found no evidence of this. Ali, Idrees, et al. "US Military Aircraft Deport Migrants as Pentagon Readies More Troops for Border." Reuters, 24 Jan. 2025. Bohórquez, Lucía. "La Guardia Civil investiga la aparición de cadáveres atados de pies y manos en aguas de Baleares." El País, 23 Jun. 2025, Cartwright, Thomas H. May 2025 and Last 12 Months. 3 Jun. 2025, "El hallazgo de cadáveres maniatados en Baleares se vincula a una patera llegada a Alicante." La Razón, 30 Jun. 2025, Europa Press. "Ascienden a 189 los migrantes llegados en patera en las últimas 24 horas a las costas de Balears." 30 Jun. 2025, Flightradar24. "Flight History for Aircraft - 06-6163." Flightradar24, Accessed 1 Jul. 2025. "Holiday Horror as Five Bodies with Shackled Hands and Feet Wash up on Beach at Tourist Hotspot." LBC, Accessed 1 Jul. 2025. McDonald-Gibson, Charlotte. "Migrants Put in Shackles for Trump Deportation Flights." The Times, 24 Jan. 2025, Miroff, Nick. "The Retired J.P. Morgan Executive Tracking Trump's Deportation Flights." The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2025, Redacción Digital. "La Patera En La Que Viajaban Los Migrantes Atados de Pies y Manos Llegó a Alicante." Diario de Mallorca, 30 Jun. 2025, Santesteban, Nuria. "Investigan la aparición de cadáveres de migrantes atados de pies y manos en el mar balear - EFE." EFE Noticias, 24 Jun. 2025, Situation Europe Sea Arrivals. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025. Sun, Albert, and Ashley Wu. "Deportations Haven't Surged Under Trump. But Here's How They've Changed." New York Times, 22 Mar. 2025, Xavier Peris. "Aparecen En El Mar Varios Cadáveres de Migrantes Atados de Pies y Manos." Diario de Mallorca, 23 Jun. 2025,
Chicago Tribune
20 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Clarendon Hills plaza plan generates pushback from residents
Some Clarendon Hills residents are speaking out against the proposed addition of a downtown plaza on Prospect Avenue, an idea being considered by village officials. The plaza would be between Railroad and Park Avenues and would include the elimination of the right-turn lane, or slip lane, from southbound Prospect onto Park. That turn lane now is part of what the village calls the Sloan Triangle, an area that would become a large part of the plaza and used for gatherings. Resident Angie Sartori has been extremely outspoken against the plaza and has created an online petition at Stop the Plaza Plan in Clarendon Hills, IL, seeking signatures from others against the project. As of Monday morning, the petition had 540 verified signatures. She also has had signs printed, reading 'No Plaza — Commerce & Safety First.' Sartori, stated her case against the downtown plaza in the petition, stating it 'threatens to close the efficient traffic triangle roundabout — a vital feature of our beloved village.' 'This roundabout currently provides much-needed and proven traffic relief, allowing for smoother vehicular movement and reducing congestion in our main commerce district. Removing it, along with its essential turn-off lane, could lead to nightmarish traffic jams, putting residents, commuters, and the 176 daily train services at risk. Residents who must cross the tracks in vehicles and on foot for work and school will find their daily routines severely disrupted,' the petition reads. Sartori spoke out strongly against Village President Eric Tech, who has expressed support for the downtown plaza. 'The village leader refuses to listen to residents, but residents are at the top of the (organizational) chart in Illinois villages, not presidents, not trustees,' she said. Sartori said residents who are strongly opposed to the plaza must be heard. 'The leader of Clarendon Hills has chosen to start a civil war about a plaza,' she said. 'He is willing to trade safety for a plaza that will largely go empty, like the ones in Burr Ridge, Westmont, and the other two plazas that Clarendon Hills already has, one near Tierra (Distilling Co. at 211 Burlington Ave.) and the other in front of Village Hall. And the new Sparrow Coffee (100 Park Ave.) will now have more public space, so that is essentially a Sparrow Coffee plaza. How many plazas can one town have?' Tech said he was aware of the petition. 'I understand that the petition circulating is a privately led initiative,' he said. 'According to the website, 66% of the signatures come from just three zip codes—not exclusively from Clarendon Hills. Nonetheless, I welcome input from all our residents.' Sartori said she has been reviewing petition signatures as they come in, and added they are from Clarendon Hills residents. She said some signatures show up as not coming from residents because those people set up their Facebook accounts before moving to the village. 'If this is the only thing (Tech) can say about the opposition, that our petition is not valid, he is wrong,' she said. 'He is insulting residents who have signed this petition and who are vehemently opposed to any downtown plaza cementing over our safe and proven traffic and pedestrian passages.' Sartori said Tech and the Village Board were elected to represent residents. 'They do not represent developers or real estate agents,' she said. 'They represent residents, and they must do what is in the best interest of residents.' Tech said while he is aware of opposition to the plaza, the Village Board has heard from many young families that support the idea. 'Transparency and community input are essential, but it's equally important that public discourse remains respectful, so that everyone feels heard,' he said. 'Since taking office, the Village Board and I have prioritized pedestrian safety and improving the walkability of our town. We are drawing from existing plans with the goal of creating a public space that serves the entire community. This is a thorough and thoughtful process. We've already held a public listening session and remain open to suggestions and questions.' Tech said the vision for the downtown plaza includes an attractive, small-scale, pedestrian-oriented shopping district with pocket parks and plazas, expanded streetscape amenities, and new housing, shops and restaurants. 'I believe this change will significantly improve safety, accessibility, and flexibility for hosting community events,' he said. 'I've spoken with many local business owners and residents. While there's been healthy debate, the majority of feedback has been positive, and I truly believe the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.' Resident Margo Jablonski said she would love to see a plaza downtown, but not at the expense of the slip lane. 'The slip lane filters traffic to the south west of town and provides needed space for delivery trucks and Ubers,' she said. 'With three new developments in the works, the slip lane is even more vital now.' Jablonski mentioned the coming opening of Sparrow Coffee, Prospect Tavern — a restaurant planned for 27 and 29 S. Prospect, and Parkside Place, a four-story mixed-use building across from Just LiftFitness, along with new diagonal parking on Walker Avenue. 'It seems shortsighted to think these projects won't impact traffic flow, especially given the density of Parkside Place,' she said. 'The traffic study also ignored the effects of inclement weather. The conditions observed were ideal, and it's concerning how traffic would be handled during storms.' Another resident, Lori Thompson, said the essential concern is about safety, with the proposed plaza being so close to the railroad tracks. 'We only have one set of tracks within Clarendon Hills, and based on an understanding from past Village Boards, there is no way to find appropriate land to put in an additional crossing,' she said. 'This is our one crossing for the foreseeable future. If we lose the slip lane, traffic will back up. We must maintain any current safety we now have in place. I am not opposed to progress in our town or the notion of a plaza somewhere else for neighbors to gather. I am in opposition of the proposed plaza location next to the train tracks. The Clarendon Hills Chamber of Commerce issued a statement that it supports the concept of a permanent plaza on Prospect Avenue, recognizing its potential to significantly enhance the vitality, safety, and functionality of the downtown district. 'At this time, there is no timeline for a decision,' Tech said. Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
