Anthony Porter (December 14, 1954 - July 25, 2021) was a Chicago resident known for having been exonerated in 1999 of the murder in 1982 of two teenagers on the South Side of the city. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1983, and served 17 years on death row . He was exonerated following introduction of new evidence by Northwestern University professors and students from the Medill School of Journalism as part of their investigation for the school's Innocence Project . Porter's appeals had been repeatedly rejected, including by the US Supreme Court, and he was once 50 hours away from execution .
91-706: Porter was exonerated after another suspect was identified and confessed, in a process since considered highly controversial. Alstory Simon, who was living in Chicago in the 1980s but had returned to Milwaukee , was identified in 1999 by the Medill Innocence Project as the perpetrator of the murders. Simon confessed to the crime on videotape. He pleaded guilty, was convicted in 1999, and sentenced to 37 + 1 ⁄ 2 years in prison. But Simon later recanted his confession, saying that he had been duped and it had been coerced by private investigator Paul Ciolino, who posed as
182-495: A city as high numbers of immigrants, mainly German , made their way to Wisconsin during the 1840s and 1850s. Scholars classify German immigration to the United States in three major waves, and Wisconsin received a significant number of immigrants from all three. The first wave from 1845 to 1855 consisted mainly of people from Southwestern Germany , the second wave from 1865 to 1873 concerned primarily Northwestern Germany , while
273-599: A city police officer while working with the Innocence Project. David Protess, one of two professors involved with the Innocence Project, was suspended by Northwestern University in 2011 as a result of the controversy. Two witnesses also recanted their statements. After a yearlong investigation, the charges against Simon were vacated by the Cook County State's Attorney's office and he was freed in 2014, after having served 15 years in prison. The Chicago double-murder case
364-469: A complaint against a police officer for groping her, and secretly recorded an interview with investigators on her smartphone, on the grounds that they were trying to intimidate her. Alvarez charged her with a Class 1 felony eavesdropping. Moore was acquitted in 2011, with one juror saying that the trial had been "a waste of time". Both defendants faced a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Judge Stanley Sacks dismissed Drew's case on March 2, 2012, stating
455-410: A false statement by Ciolino and another man. They posed as city police officers, and they showed him a videotape of an actor pretending to be a witness who implicated him in the crime. They promised him a short prison sentence and a movie deal if he confessed. Protess and Ciolino vigorously denied any wrongdoing; they said that a number of Simon's claims are false, and they believed that he was guilty of
546-459: A large Serbian population, who have developed Serbian restaurants, a Serbian K–8 School , and Serbian churches, along with an American Serb Hall. The American Serb Hall in Milwaukee is known for its Friday fish fries and popular events. Many U.S. presidents have visited Milwaukee's Serb Hall in the past. The Bosnian population is growing in Milwaukee as well due to late-20th-century immigration after
637-607: A large music festival. Milwaukee is home to the Fortune 500 companies of Northwestern Mutual , Fiserv , WEC Energy Group , Rockwell Automation , and Harley-Davidson . It is also home to several colleges, including Marquette University , the Medical College of Wisconsin , Milwaukee School of Engineering , and University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee . The city is represented in two of the four major professional sports leagues —the Bucks of
728-567: A lasting influence on the American school system. Kindergarten was created as a pre-school for children, and sports programs of all levels, as well as music and art, were incorporated as elements of the regular school curriculum. These ideas were first introduced by radical-democratic German groups, such as the Turner Societies, known today as the American Turners . Specifically in Milwaukee,
819-688: A line by Alice Cooper in the 1992 comedy film Wayne's World . The name of the future city was spelled in many ways prior to 1844. People living west of the Milwaukee River preferred the modern-day spelling, while those east of the river often called it Milwaukie . Other spellings included Melleokii (1679), Millioki (1679), Meleki (1684), Milwarik (1699), Milwacky (1761), Milwakie (1779), Millewackie (1817), Milwahkie (1820), and Milwalky (1821). The Milwaukee Sentinel used Milwaukie in its headline until it switched to Milwaukee on November 30, 1844. Indigenous cultures lived along
910-464: A man who had already served 23 years for murder, should never have been charged. In 2013, Alvarez's office charged Dante Servin, the police officer who shot Rekia Boyd , with involuntary manslaughter. In 2015, Servin was cleared of all charges by the presiding judge, who pointed to the inconsistent charges as the reason for his decision. Alavarez was heavily criticized for undercharging Servin, and his consequent acquittal, which some critics alleged
1001-560: A new investigation into the Porter case. Two days later, Porter was released from prison on bail, after having spent 17 years on death row. The state dropped the charges against him the next month. In 1999 Alstory Simon was formally charged with the two murders. In September 1999, Simon pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 37 ½ years in prison. In 2005, Inez Jackson and her nephew, Walter Jackson, both recanted their statements that implicated Simon in
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#17328559070441092-633: A result, Simon said he was denied due process and did not have adequate defense counsel. After Simon was finally exonerated, in 2014 he filed a civil federal civil rights suit against the Northwestern University Innocence Project, saying people associated with it had deceived and coerced him into a false confession to the murders of Hilliard and Green, which resulted in his being convicted of murder and serving 15 years in prison. In November 2018, he received an undisclosed settlement. State officials initially denied any wrongdoing in
1183-490: A swimming pool in Washington Park on the south side of Chicago . Anthony Porter, a 27-year-old gang member, was identified by several witnesses as being involved with the crime or near the crime scene. William Taylor, who had been swimming in the pool at the time of the shooting, initially said that he had not seen the shooting but had seen Porter run past shortly after the shots. He later said that he had seen Porter firing
1274-442: A variety of occupations: grocers, blacksmiths, tavernkeepers, coopers, butchers, broommakers, shoemakers, draymen, laborers, and farmers. Three distinct Polish communities evolved in Milwaukee, with the majority settling in the area south of Greenfield Avenue. Milwaukee County's Polish population of 30,000 in 1890 rose to 100,000 by 1915. Poles historically have had a strong national cultural and social identity, often maintained through
1365-583: Is along the Menomonee River (east of Hawley Road) and Fairview Avenue/Golfview Parkway (west of Hawley Road), with the east–west numbering line defined along 1st Street (north of Oklahoma Avenue) and Chase/Howell Avenue (south of Oklahoma Avenue). This numbering system is also used to the north by Mequon in Ozaukee County , and by some Waukesha County communities. Milwaukee is crossed by Interstate 43 and Interstate 94 , which come together downtown at
1456-457: Is believed that at least three of the shots struck McDonald's body as he lay motionless on the ground, conflicting with police reports of the incident. Alvarez refused to resign, but on March 15, 2016, lost her re-election bid in the Democratic primary. Another controversial case was a Wicker Park shooting of a homeless man, Sammy Tate, involving two falsely accused black minors. Alvarez approved
1547-624: Is offered for children in grades K–5 . Although the German presence in Milwaukee after the Civil War remained strong and their largest wave of immigrants had yet to land, other groups also made their way to the city. Foremost among these were Polish immigrants. The Poles had many reasons for leaving their homeland, mainly poverty and political oppression. Because Milwaukee offered the Polish immigrants an abundance of low-paying entry-level jobs, it became one of
1638-546: Is still unsolved. Anthony Porter filed a civil suit against the city, but a jury trial in 2005 found in favor of the city, the original police investigation, and prosecution. Alstory Simon filed suit in 2015 against Northwestern University's Innocence Project, and was awarded an undisclosed settlement in June 2018. Porter died on June 25, 2021, of a likely drug overdose. About 1 a.m. on August 15, 1982, two teenagers, Marilyn Green and her fiance Jerry Hillard, were shot and killed near
1729-550: Is the 31st-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous city in the Midwest . It is the central city of the Milwaukee metropolitan area , the 40th-most populous metro area in the U.S. with 1.57 million residents. Milwaukee is an ethnically and culturally diverse city. However, it continues to be one of the most racially segregated cities, largely as a result of early-20th-century redlining . Its history
1820-627: The Battle of Fort Dearborn on August 15, 1812, the only known armed conflict in Chicago. This battle convinced the American government to remove these groups of Native Americans from their indigenous land. After being attacked in the Black Hawk War in 1832, the Native Americans in Milwaukee signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago with the United States. In exchange for ceding their lands in the area, they were to receive monetary payments and lands west of
1911-460: The Catholic Church . A view of Milwaukee's South Side skyline is replete with the steeples of the many churches these immigrants built that are still vital centers of the community. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church and the surrounding neighborhood was the center of Polish life in Milwaukee. As the Polish community surrounding St. Stanislaus continued to grow, Mitchell Street became known as
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#17328559070442002-452: The East Side , and more recently Walker's Point and Bay View , along with attracting new businesses to its downtown area. These efforts have substantially slowed the population decline and have stabilized many parts of Milwaukee. Milwaukee's European history is evident today. Largely through its efforts to preserve its history, Milwaukee was named one of the "Dozen Distinctive Destinations" by
2093-626: The First Amendment of the United States Constitution when used as a method to prevent the open recording of law enforcement's audible communications in public places while performing official duties, or the communications of others that are incidentally captured. It was ruled that Cook County would have to pay the ACLU's legal fees, which amounted to $ 645,549. In 2013, during a routine review of his case, she concluded that Lathierial Boyd ,
2184-627: The Marquette Interchange . The Interstate 894 bypass (which as of May 2015 also contains Interstate 41 ) runs through portions of the city's southwest side, and Interstate 794 comes out of the Marquette interchange eastbound, bends south along the lakefront and crosses the harbor over the Hoan Bridge , then ends near the Bay View neighborhood and becomes the "Lake Parkway" ( WIS-794 ). One of
2275-548: The Milwaukee . Smaller rivers, such as the Root River and Lincoln Creek, also flow through the city. Milwaukee's terrain is sculpted by the glacier path and includes steep bluffs along Lake Michigan that begin about a mile (1.6 km) north of downtown. In addition, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Milwaukee is the Kettle Moraine and lake country that provides an industrial landscape combined with inland lakes. According to
2366-726: The Milwaukee Art Museum , Milwaukee Repertory Theater , the Bradley Symphony Center , and Discovery World , as well as major renovations to the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena . Fiserv Forum opened in late 2018, and hosts sporting events and concerts. Milwaukee is categorized as a "Gamma minus" city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network , with a regional GDP of over $ 102 billion in 2020. Since 1968, Milwaukee has been home to Summerfest ,
2457-580: The NBA and the Brewers of MLB . The etymological origin of the name Milwaukee is disputed. Wisconsin academic Virgil J. Vogel has said, "the name [...] Milwaukee is not difficult to explain, yet there are a number of conflicting claims made concerning it. One theory says it comes from the Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwe word mino-akking , meaning "good land", or words in closely related languages that mean
2548-625: The National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2006. Historic Milwaukee walking tours provide a guided tour of Milwaukee's historic districts, including topics on Milwaukee's architectural heritage, its glass skywalk system, and the Milwaukee Riverwalk . Milwaukee lies along the shores and bluffs of Lake Michigan at the confluence of three rivers: the Menomonee , the Kinnickinnic , and
2639-671: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 96.80 square miles (250.71 km ), of which, 96.12 square miles (248.95 km ) is land and 0.68 square miles (1.76 km ) is water. The city is overwhelmingly (99.89% of its area) in Milwaukee County , but there are two tiny unpopulated portions that extend into neighboring counties. North–south streets are numbered, and east–west streets are named. However, north–south streets east of 1st Street are named, like east–west streets. The north–south numbering line
2730-530: The " Forty-Eighters ", immigrated to the U.S. to avoid imprisonment and persecution by German authorities. One of the most famous "liberal revolutionaries" of 1848 was Carl Schurz . He later explained in 1854 why he came to Milwaukee, "It is true, similar things [cultural events and societies] were done in other cities where the Forty-eighters [ sic ] had congregated. But so far as I know, nowhere did their influence so quickly impress itself upon
2821-632: The "Polish Grand Avenue". As Mitchell Street grew more dense, the Polish population started moving south to the Lincoln Village neighborhood , home to the Basilica of St. Josaphat and Kosciuszko Park . Other Polish communities started on the East Side of Milwaukee . Jones Island was a major commercial fishing center settled mostly by Kashubians and other Poles from around the Baltic Sea . Milwaukee has
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2912-400: The 1930s the city was severely segregated via "redlining". In 1960, African-American residents made up 15 percent of the Milwaukee's population, yet the city was still among the most segregated of that time. As of 2019, at least three out of four black residents in Milwaukee would have to move in order to create "racially integrated" neighborhoods. By 1960, Milwaukee had grown to become one of
3003-458: The 1950s, the Hispanic community was beginning to emerge. They arrived for jobs, filling positions in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. During this time there were labor shortages due to the immigration laws that had reduced immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe. Additionally, strikes contributed to the labor shortages. In the mid-20th century, African-Americans from Chicago moved to
3094-490: The 1983 rape and murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico . They were exonerated after having been sentenced to death. Given these cases, in which several innocent men were found to have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, there was intense pressure from the public and the media to make a change. After ordering a review of the state's cases, in 2000 Governor Ryan initiated a moratorium on executions in Illinois. In 2011
3185-654: The American Turners established its own Normal College for teachers of physical education and the German-English Academy . Milwaukee's German element is still strongly present today. The city celebrates its German culture by annually hosting a German Fest in July and an Oktoberfest in October. Milwaukee boasts a number of German restaurants, as well as a traditional German beer hall. A German language immersion school
3276-457: The City of Chicago for $ 24 million. The City refused settlement and the case went to trial in 2005. After additional investigation, the City's attorney argued that Porter had in fact committed the killings. The jury found in favor of the City, thus the City was not liable for any damages, and Porter did not receive any settlement. Based on information revealed in Porter's suit, which detailed the work of
3367-468: The City of Milwaukee began in 1835, following removal of the tribes in the Council of Three Fires. Early that year it became known that Juneau and Kilbourn intended to lay out competing town-sites. By the year's end both had purchased their lands from the government and made their first sales. There were perhaps 100 new settlers in this year, mostly from New England and other Eastern states. On September 17, 1835,
3458-550: The German lands between 1835 and 1910, 90 percent went to the United States, most of them traveling to the Mid-Atlantic states and the Midwest. By 1900, 34 percent of Milwaukee's population was of German background. The largest number of German immigrants to Milwaukee came from Prussia , followed by Bavaria , Saxony , Hanover , and Hesse-Darmstadt . Milwaukee gained its reputation as the most German of American cities not just from
3549-462: The Green Party's Thomas O'Brien. Alvarez was reelected to a second term as Cook County State's Attorney in 2012 after defeating Republican challenger Lori Yokoyama. Alvarez won 77% of the vote. Alvarez ran for reelection in 2016. Her opponents in the Democratic primary included former Cook County assistant state's attorney Kim Foxx and former federal and state prosecutor Donna More. On January 14,
3640-419: The Innocence Project in gaining new material, Alstory Simon filed a post-conviction petition for relief January 2006 in his case. He noted that Ciolino and others had deceived him when they contacted him, including having an actor pretend to be a witness against him in the case. Furthermore, Ciolino had recommended a defense counsel who was a professional colleague and associate, in a clear conflict of interest. As
3731-575: The Mississippi in Indian Territory . Europeans arrived in the Milwaukee area before the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Alexis Laframboise, coming from Michilimackinac (now in Michigan), settled a trading post in 1785 and is considered the first resident of European descent in the Milwaukee region. One story on
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3822-673: The Native Americans around Milwaukee were some of the few groups to ally with the rebel Continentals. After the American Revolutionary War , the Native Americans fought the United States in the Northwest Indian War as part of the Council of Three Fires . During the War of 1812 , they held a council in Milwaukee in June 1812, which resulted in their decision to attack Chicago in retaliation against American expansion. This resulted in
3913-570: The North side of Milwaukee. Milwaukee's East Side has attracted a population of Russians and other Eastern Europeans who began migrating in the 1990s, after the end of the Cold War . Many Hispanics of mostly Puerto Rican and Mexican heritage live on the south side of Milwaukee. During the first sixty years of the 20th century, Milwaukee was the major city in which the Socialist Party of America earned
4004-606: The Porter case. Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley , who had been Illinois State Attorney during the prosecution of Porter, asserted that "It was a thorough case, it was reviewed. No one railroads anyone." Illinois Governor George Ryan suggested that the exoneration of Porter was evidence that the system worked. The Northwestern University Innocence Project had earlier assisted in the exoneration of four men on death row. More recently, Rolando Cruz and Alejandro Hernandez were found to have been wrongfully convicted after having been prosecuted by Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan for
4095-601: The Public Integrity Unit in 1996, where she was responsible for prosecuting city, county, and state employees who committed felonies and violated the public trust. She claimed to have tried police officers on corruption charges. In 1999, she was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Bureau where she supervised the prosecution of drug cases as well as long-term narcotics investigations in conjunction with Chicago and suburban police departments. In 2001, Alvarez tried
4186-541: The area prized land ownership, this solution, which was prominent in their areas of settlement within the city, came to be associated with them. Anita Alvarez Anita M. Alvarez (born January 16, 1960) is the former State's Attorney for Cook County, Illinois , United States. Alvarez was the first Hispanic woman elected to this position, after being the first Latina to win the Democratic nomination for state's attorney of Cook County. A Chicago native, Alvarez
4277-506: The area which only showed Kilbourntown, implying Juneautown did not exist or the river's east side was uninhabited and thus undesirable. The third prominent developer was George H. Walker. He claimed land to the south of the Milwaukee River, along with Juneautown, where he built a log house in 1834. This area grew and became known as Walker's Point. The first large wave of settlement to the areas that would later become Milwaukee County and
4368-558: The case of the People of the State of Illinois v. Patrick Sykes , which was referred to in the media as the "Girl X Case". Alvarez's successful prosecution of Sykes resulted in his conviction for the predatory criminal sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl who was left paralyzed, blind, without speech and confined to a wheelchair after the brutal attack in the Cabrini Green housing project. Alvarez
4459-520: The charges against him and ended his 37-year sentence in October 2014, ordering his release from prison. He had served for 15 years. The question of who committed the double murders is unanswered. Alvarez said the investigation by the Medill Innocence Project "involved a series of alarming tactics that were not only coercive and absolutely unacceptable by law enforcement standards, they were potentially in violation of Mr. Simon's constitutionally protected rights." After his release, in 2003 Anthony Porter sued
4550-586: The city's total population of 373,857. Milwaukee has a strong Greek Orthodox Community, many of whom attend the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on Milwaukee's northwest side, designed by Wisconsin-born architect Frank Lloyd Wright . Milwaukee has a sizable Croatian population, with Croatian churches and their own historic and successful soccer club The Croatian Eagles at the 30-acre Croatian Park in Franklin, Wisconsin. Milwaukee also has
4641-496: The city, but in Milwaukee County, they number at 38,286. The largest Italian-American festival in the area, Festa Italiana , is held in the city, while Irishfest is the largest Irish-American festival in southeast Wisconsin. By 1910, Milwaukee shared the distinction with New York City of having the largest percentage of foreign-born residents in the United States. In 1910, European descendants ("Whites") represented 99.7% of
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#17328559070444732-610: The court granted another stay. At that time, students in a journalism course taught by Northwestern University professor David Protess investigated the Anthony Porter case as part of a class assignment for the Innocence Project of the Medill School of Journalism (it is now called the Medill Justice Project.) The students assigned to the Porter case gathered evidence through their investigation that exposed serious flaws in
4823-460: The crime. Inez Jackson was extremely ill and on her deathbed. They admitted that they had fabricated their stories in order to obtain money and help from professor David Protess in order to free Inez's son, Sonny Jackson, and her nephew, Walter Jackson, from prison. When Walter Jackson had first become involved in the case, he was incarcerated for first-degree murder. Alstory Simon recanted his confession. He said that he had been pressured into making
4914-403: The distinctive traits of Milwaukee's residential areas are the neighborhoods full of so-called Polish flats . These are two- family homes with separate entrances, but with the units stacked one on top of another instead of side-by-side. This arrangement enables a family of limited means to purchase both a home and a modestly priced rental apartment unit. Since Polish-American immigrants to
5005-473: The early 20th century, West Allis (1902), and West Milwaukee (1906) were added, which completed the first generation of "inner-ring" suburbs. In the 1920s, Chicago gangster activity came north to Milwaukee during the Prohibition era . Al Capone , noted Chicago mobster, owned a home in the Milwaukee suburb Brookfield , where moonshine was made. The house still stands on a street named after Capone. In
5096-506: The eavesdropping law was unconstitutional and that it was too broad and criminalized innocent behavior. Alvarez announced she would appeal the ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois successfully sued Alvarez and she was ordered to cease prosecuting ACLU employees and their agents under the Illinois Eavesdropping Act. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled that the Illinois Eavesdropping Act, 720 ILCS 5/14, violated
5187-413: The estranged wife of Alstory Simon, then living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , where he was from, came forward to testify against him. He had lived in Chicago in the 1980s. She claimed that she had been with Simon when he killed Hilliard in retaliation for "skimming money from drug deals." She also said that she had never met or seen Porter. Her nephew Walter Jackson, whose apartment Simon allegedly fled to after
5278-517: The ex-Cook County State's Attorney for not knowing how many minors were kept in solitary confinement during her term in office. Anita Alvarez was elected as Cook County State's Attorney in November 2008. Alvarez faced two challengers from both the Republican and Green Party in November 2008's general election. The two challengers were Cook County Commissioner for the 16th district Tony Peraica , and
5369-587: The fifth-largest Polish population in the U.S. at 45,467, ranking behind New York City (211,203), Chicago (165,784), Los Angeles (60,316) and Philadelphia (52,648). The city holds Polish Fest , an annual celebration of Polish culture and cuisine . In addition to the Germans and Poles, Milwaukee received a large influx of other European immigrants from Lithuania , Italy , Ireland , France , Russia , Bohemia , and Sweden , who included Jews , Lutherans , and Catholics . Italian Americans total 16,992 in
5460-593: The first election was held in Milwaukee; the number of votes cast was 39. By 1840, the three towns had grown, along with their rivalries. There were intense battles between the towns, mainly Juneautown and Kilbourntown, which culminated with the Milwaukee Bridge War of 1845. Following the Bridge War, on January 31, 1846, the towns were combined to incorporate as the City of Milwaukee, and elected Solomon Juneau as Milwaukee's first mayor. Milwaukee began to grow as
5551-663: The highest votes. Milwaukee elected three mayors who ran on the ticket of the Socialist Party: Emil Seidel (1910–1912), Daniel Hoan (1916–1940), and Frank Zeidler (1948–1960). Often referred to as " Sewer Socialists ", the Milwaukee Socialists were characterized by their practical approach to government and labor. In 1892, Whitefish Bay , South Milwaukee , and Wauwatosa were incorporated. They were followed by Cudahy (1895), North Milwaukee (1897) and East Milwaukee, later known as Shorewood , in 1900. In
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#17328559070445642-431: The keeping of a 15-year-old minor (Deandre Washington) in solitary confinement in Cook County Jail for 4 years pending trial. The trial lasted 45 minutes in 2003 where both defendants were acquitted. Alvarez also refused to resign when asked, yet settled suit against the city in 2012 for malicious prosecution by local Cochran offices for $ 1 million. At a 2018 Chicago City Club event, Alvarez's then-press agent still defended
5733-447: The large number of German immigrants it received, but for the sense of community which the immigrants established here. Most German immigrants came to Wisconsin in search of inexpensive farmland. However, immigration began to change in character and size in the late 1840s and early 1850s, due to the 1848 revolutionary movements in Europe . After 1848, hopes for a united Germany had failed, and revolutionary and radical Germans, known as
5824-406: The largest Polish settlements in the USA . For many residents, Milwaukee's South Side is synonymous with the Polish community that developed here. The group maintained a high profile here for decades, and it was not until the 1950s and 1960s that families began to disperse to the southern suburbs. By 1850, there were seventy-five Poles in Milwaukee County and the US Census shows they had
5915-411: The largest cities in the United States. Its population peaked at 741,324. In 1960, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 91.1% white and 8.4% black. By the late 1960s, Milwaukee's population had started to decline as people moved to suburbs, aided by ease of highways and offering the advantages of less crime, new housing, and lower taxation. Milwaukee had a population of 594,833 by 2010, while
6006-434: The murders. In 2011, Northwestern University placed Protess on leave after finding that he had deliberately falsified evidence related to a subpoena issued by Cook County for his records in a different wrongful conviction case. He resigned from the university and by 2014 had become head of the Chicago Innocence Project. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez conducted a year-long investigation of Simon's case. She vacated
6097-507: The new law face a mandatory prison sentence and are no longer eligible for parole. She created a Human Trafficking Initiative that works closely with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to crack down on individuals and human trafficking groups. Alvarez also authored the Illinois Safe Children Act, a sweeping new law that enhanced protections for juveniles caught in the sex trade and provides new legal tools for police and prosecutors to target those who prostitute children. Alvarez
6188-468: The origin of Milwaukee's name says, [O]ne day during the thirties of the last century [1800s] a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee it has remained until this day. The spelling "Milwaukie" lives on in Milwaukie , Oregon , named after the Wisconsin city in 1847, before the current spelling was universally accepted. Milwaukee has three " founding fathers ": Solomon Juneau , Byron Kilbourn , and George H. Walker . Solomon Juneau
6279-414: The population of the overall metropolitan area increased. Given its large immigrant population and historic neighborhoods, Milwaukee avoided the severe declines of some of its fellow " Rust Belt " cities. Since the 1980s, the city has begun to make strides in improving its economy, neighborhoods, and image, resulting in the revitalization of neighborhoods such as the Historic Third Ward , Lincoln Village ,
6370-424: The prosecution. Student Tom McCann and Private Investigator Paul J. Ciolino spoke to William Taylor who, in December 1998, recanted his original statements. He said that Chicago police had "threatened, harassed and intimidated" him into accusing Porter. But McCann and Ciolino did not speak to any other of the original six witnesses, nor to the detectives who investigated the case. On January 29, 1999, Inez Jackson,
6461-401: The race for Cook County State's Attorney, she served as Chief Deputy State's Attorney; Chief of Staff to the Cook County State's Attorney; Chief of the Special Prosecutions Bureau; Deputy Chief of the Narcotics Bureau, and Supervisor of the Public Integrity Unit. She also spent 3½ years in the Gang Crimes Unit where she prosecuted gang-related homicides. Alvarez was promoted to the Supervisor of
6552-548: The rape cases, they did not find any of the boys' DNA on the victim or in the basement of the house where the crime occurred. In the other case, that of the Dixmoor 5 , the DNA found was matched to a convicted rapist. Peter Neufeld , of The Innocence Project says prosecutors rejected the new evidence and suggested necrophilia (having sex with a dead person) as a possible explanation for why a convicted rapist's DNA may have come in contact with
6643-476: The same. These included Menominee and Potawatomi. Another theory is that it stems from the Meskwaki or Algonquian languages, whose term for "gathering place" is mahn-a-waukee . The city of Milwaukee itself claims that the name is derived from mahn-ah-wauk , a Potawatomi word for "council grounds". Some sources have claimed that Milwaukee stems from an Algonquian word meaning "the good land", popularized by
6734-605: The second half of the 18th century, the Native Americans living near Milwaukee played a role in all the major European wars on the American continent. During the French and Indian War , a group of "Ojibwas and Pottawattamies from the far [Lake] Michigan" (i.e., the area from Milwaukee to Green Bay) joined the French-Canadian Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu at the Battle of the Monongahela . In the American Revolutionary War ,
6825-431: The shooting, corroborated her story. Simon was contacted at his home in Milwaukee by Ciolino and others associated with the Innocence Project. Four days later, on February 3, 1999, Simon went to the police and confessed to the crime in a videotaped session. Protess and the students introduced information from their investigation. After representatives of the Cook County State's Attorney office saw Simon's tape, it launched
6916-418: The shots. He was among six witnesses who identified Porter in the areas of the shooting, including one who said he had been robbed by Porter at gunpoint a short time earlier in the park. Police were given leads pointing toward other suspects. They appeared to pursue only Porter. Upon hearing that he was under suspicion, Porter went to the police and turned himself in. He was immediately arrested and charged with
7007-405: The state legislature passed a law abolishing use of the death penalty in the state and Governor Pat Quinn signed it into law. Milwaukee Milwaukee ( / m ɪ l ˈ w ɔː k i / mil- WAW -kee ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County . With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census , Milwaukee
7098-542: The subpoena, claiming that the County Inspector General had no authority over him. While in office, Alvarez more than once prosecuted citizens with felony eavesdropping for recording encounters with police. In 2009, Chris Drew recorded his non-violent arrest for street peddling of art. The peddling charge was dropped and Alvarez pursued the much harsher charge of recording police officers' voices without their permission. In 2010, Tiawanda Moore sought to file
7189-404: The third wave from 1880 to 1893 came from Northeastern Germany . In the 1840s, the number of people who left German-speaking lands was 385,434, in the 1850s it reached 976,072, and an all-time high of 1.4 million immigrated in the 1880s. In 1890, the 2.78 million first-generation German Americans represented the second-largest foreign-born group in the United States. Of all those who left
7280-638: The two murders, one count of armed robbery, one count of unlawful restraint, and two counts of unlawful use of weapons. After a short trial, Porter was convicted of the murders. Judge Robert L. Sklodowski sentenced Porter to death, calling him a "perverse shark." An appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court was denied in February 1986, and an appeal to the United States Supreme Court was denied the following year. Porter continued to file appeals in
7371-484: The victim, to which Alvarez replied, "It's possible. We have seen cases like that." Alvarez defended Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios in a suit against Berrios filed in 2001 by Cook County Inspector General Patrick Blanchard. Blanchard was seeking a response from Berrios to a subpoena requesting documents related to a manager in Berrios' office obtaining two exemptions intended for a primary residence. Berrios ignored
7462-674: The war in Bosnia-Herzegovina . During this time, a small community of African Americans migrated from the South in the Great Migration . They settled near each other, forming a community that came to be known as Bronzeville . As industry boomed, more migrants came, and African-American influence grew in Milwaukee. By 1925, around 9,000 Mexicans lived in Milwaukee, but the Great Depression forced many of them to move back south. In
7553-514: The waterways for thousands of years. The first recorded inhabitants of the Milwaukee area were various Native American tribes: the Menominee , Fox , Mascouten , Sauk , Potawatomi , and Ojibwe (all Algic/Algonquian peoples), and the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago, a Siouan people). Many of these people had lived around Green Bay before migrating to the Milwaukee area about the time of European contact. In
7644-516: The whole social atmosphere as in 'German Athens of America' as Milwaukee was called at the time." Schurz was referring to the various clubs and societies Germans developed in Milwaukee. The pattern of German immigrants settling near each other encouraged the continuation of the German lifestyle and customs. This resulted in German language organizations that encompassed all aspects of life; for example, singing societies and gymnastics clubs. Germans also had
7735-416: The years that followed, delaying the execution. In 1995 Porter's defense counsel arranged testing of his client's mental capacity. He was found to have an IQ of 51, characterizing him as intellectually disabled . His counsel filed a new appeal on the grounds that Porter was incapable of understanding his punishment by the death penalty. In late 1998, forty-eight hours before he was scheduled to be executed,
7826-409: Was an attempt by Alvarez to curry favor with the police department. In the wake of the release of video of the murder of Laquan McDonald , protestors and Chicago politicians called on Alvarez to resign for having waited 13 months to prosecute police officer Jason Van Dyke. The video shows officer Jason Van Dyke shooting a black teenager 16 times as the teenager walks away. Based on the video, it
7917-531: Was born and raised in the Pilsen neighborhood. She attended Maria High School and received her undergraduate degree from Loyola University of Chicago in 1982. She earned her J.D. degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1986. Alvarez began her career as an Assistant State's Attorney in 1986. She has argued before the Illinois Appellate Court and tried more than 50 felony jury trials. Prior to entering
8008-500: Was elected Cook County State's Attorney in 2008. She was the first female, first Hispanic and first career prosecutor ever elected to this position. Alvarez was elected Cook County State's Attorney in 2008 . She won reelection in 2012 . She ran for reelection again in 2016 , but was defeated in the primary election by Kim Foxx . During her first five years in office, Alvarez drafted a law that increased criminal penalties for gang members arrested with guns. Gang members convicted under
8099-483: Was heavily influenced by German immigrants in the 19th century, and it continues to be a center for German-American culture, specifically becoming well known for its brewing industry . In recent years, Milwaukee has undergone several development projects. Major additions to the city since the turn of the 21st century include the Wisconsin Center , American Family Field , The Hop streetcar system , an expansion to
8190-580: Was interviewed in a 2012 60 Minutes segment "Chicago: The False Confession Capital", in which she defended police conduct in two cases involving false confessions which were vacated by the courts which issued certificates of innocence to the defendants. Despite the courts' actions and the lack of DNA evidence, Alvarez said in the interview, "I don't know whether he committed the crime or not. There are still unanswered questions in both of these cases that I couldn't sit here and tell you today that they're all guilty or they're all innocent." She admits that in one of
8281-464: Was the first of the three to come to the area, in 1818. He founded a town called Juneau's Side, or Juneautown, that began attracting more settlers. In competition with Juneau, Byron Kilbourn established Kilbourntown west of the Milwaukee River . He ensured the roads running toward the river did not join with those on the east side. This accounts for the large number of angled bridges that still exist in Milwaukee today. Further, Kilbourn distributed maps of
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