Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Better than people watching at annual Serafin & Assoc. Party: Alvarez on Cable and soon Streaming

State's Attorney Candidate Anita Alvarez (D-River Forest): Actually, I would favor a law that no one could ever buy a gun.

Jeff Berkowitz: So, you would take the guns away from people who own them legally now?

Anita Alvarez: I think we would be a safer society if people didn’t own guns.

Jeff Berkowitz: Do you think the 2nd Amendment [to the U. S. Constitution] has anything to say about that? I mean, should we follow the 2nd Amendment?

Anita Alvarez: I think—we have put more danger in the street with people owning guns and the cases that I have seen and the children that I have seen get killed because of guns. It’s just too dangerous. I would favor—
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This week's Chicago Metro suburban edition of Public Affairs features Cook County, IL State's Attorney Candidate Anita Alvarez. Alvarez is Dick Devine's (the current State's Attorney) Chief Deputy, meaning Alvarez is the No.3 attorney in the office, behind State's Attorney Devine and his First Assistant, Bob Milan. Alvarez has (1) oversight responsibilities, along with Milan, for the almost 900 attorneys and about six hundred support staff in the office, (2) responsibilities for such matters as budget and diversity and (3) other leadership and administrative responsibilities.

Anita Alvarez is running in a tough six candidate Democratic Primary for State's Attorney of Cook County.

The show with Alvarez airs tonight in 25 suburbs in its regular, weekly, Tuesday night slot at 8:30 pm on either Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or 35. In 10 suburbs, the show aired last night and it will air again Wednesday and Friday night this week on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 at 8:30 pm. See, below, for further details as to the specific airing schedule and channel for "Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz," for your Chicago suburban location.
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Chief Deputy and candidate for State's Attorney Anita Alvarez debates and discusses with show host and Executive Legal Recruiter Jeff Berkowitz a broad range of State's Attorney public policy issues (listed, below).
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The show with Anita Alvarez also airs through-out the City of Chicago this coming Monday Night [Dec. 17] at 8:30 pm on Cable Ch. 21 [CANTV] and at 7:30 pm this coming Monday evening [Dec. 17] on Aurora Community Television, on Comcast Cable Ch. 10 in Aurora and some surrounding areas. That is, the Aurora station reaches all of Aurora, Bristol, Big Rock and parts of Oswego, Sandwich, Sugar Grove and Montgomery.
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You may also soon watch the show with State's Attorney Democratic Primary candidate Alvarez, along with other recently posted shows, including State's Attorney Candidates Ald. Allen, Comm. Suffredin, First Ass't Bob Milan and Ald. Brookins; 14th CD Republican Primary candidates Jim Oberweis, Chris Lauzen and Kevin Burns; Rep. Hamos (D-Evanston), 14th CD Democratic Primary Candidates Jotham Stein and John Laesch on your computer at PublicAffairsTV.com. [For all of the shows on the Public Affairs podcast page, other than Oberweis and Milan, please click the Archives icon to bring up those shows].

In addition to those shows, prior shows on the "Public Affairs," podcast page feature Presidential candidates Obama, Giuliani, Richardson, McCain and Cox, and many other pols, including Obama-Bean in April, 2006, Congresswoman Bean in January, 2006 and Congresswoman Schakowsky in October, 2005 and opinion makers. You may also watch these "Public Affairs," shows and others at www.itunes.com
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Having trouble watching the 14th CD Democratic and Republican Primary candidates listed above and the Milan, Brookins, Suffredin and Allen quartet on the Public Affairs podcast page or at Itunes.com? Not to worry, you can now go here to watch them all on YouTube.com as well other Public Affairs shows, e.g., our extended interview with Presidential candidate Gov. Bill Richardson. This TV show host has been told that almost anybody who has a computer should be able to access Youtube, so no longer will you have a technical excuse for not watching Public Affairs, as all of our shows, going forward, and many prior ones, will be posted on YouTube.com.

Next week's Chicago suburban edition of "Public Affairs," features 8th CD Republican Primary Candidate Kirk Morris, and that show is likely to be placed on YouTube in the next week, along with other Public Affairs shows. go here to watch them all on YouTube.com
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Cook County, IL State’s Attorney election contest:

State’s Attorney Chief Deputy Anita Alvarez is one of six candidates in the Democratic Primary for State's Attorney of Cook County. She is joined in the race by Chicago Ald. Allen, Chicago Ald. Brookins, Comm. Suffredin, State’s Attorney First Ass't Bob Milan and attorney Tommie Brewer.

The victor in the Democratic Primary will face the winner of the Republican Primary between Cook County Comm. and attorney Tony Peraica and attorney Ed Barron.

Meet Anita Alvarez:

Alvarez has been associated with the State's Attorney of Cook County office for the last 21 years (her entire legal career). She has worked in the Gang Crimes Unit; was a supervisor in the Public Integrity Unit; Deputy Chief, Narcotics Bureau; Chief, Special Prosecutions Bureau; Chief of Staff to Devine and currently is the Chief Deputy to the retiring State's Attorney, Dick Devine. Her educational background includes Maria High School in Pilsen, Loyola University of Chicago and Chicago Kent Law School.

For more about Anita Alvarez, Go here.

Topics discussed in the show with candidate Anita Alvarez:

Cook County State's Attorney candidate and Chief Deputy Anita Alvarez (D-River Forest) debates and discusses with show host and Executive Legal Recruiter Jeff Berkowitz a broad range of public policy issues relating to leadership and administration of the State's Attorney office, including whether State's Attorney Devine did what he should have done to investigate allegations of confessions resulting from torture, whether the moratorium on capital punishment in Illinois should be lifted, whether the Mayor's office should release to the City Council the names of police officers who are the subject of ten or more complaints from individuals, how well is the State's Attorney office performing in terms of diversity hires, should individuals be allowed to own guns; do more guns result in less crime; are crack cocaine drug laws fair to all; have Chicago cops gone wild; are Milan and Alvarez connected at the hip to Devine; what major changes would Alvarez makein the State Attorney's office; should we have concealed carry; and much, much more.
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A partial transcript of this week's show with candidate Alvarez is included directly, below.
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More Guns, Less Crime?

Jeff Berkowitz: You’ve heard the saying, “More guns, Less crime.”

Anita Alvarez, Chief Deputy to State’s Attorney Dick Devine: Um-um.

Jeff Berkowitz: Make sense to you?

Anita Alvarez, Candidate for State’s Attorney, Democratic Primary: More guns, less crime?

Jeff Berkowitz: Yes, [the book with that title by] John Lott. Criminals…if they are in an area like Chicago where it is illegal to what, own a handgun?

Anita Alvarez (D-River Forest): Yes, it is.

Bad Guy (w/ a gun) meets a good guy (w/o a gun):

Jeff Berkowitz: A bad guy goes up to a good guy and if the good guy is following the law, the bad guy knows the good guy doesn’t have a gun, and the bad guy has kind of an advantage. If [on the other hand], the bad guy thinks the good guy does own a gun, he is going to be more careful. Do you think that makes sense?

Anita Alvarez: No, I think—I believe in gun control. I believe less guns is better.

Illegal to possess a handgun in Chicago:

Jeff Berkowitz: And, you believe…people in Chicago not being allowed to own a handgun is fine.

Anita Alvarez: Yes.

Jeff Berkowitz: And, if somebody is in a home that is in an area that is somewhat crime ridden, and he would like to own a gun to protect himself (or herself) in his house, you say, “Nope, you don’t get to.”

Anita Alvarez: No, not at all [he should not own a gun].

Will the police get there in time?

Jeff Berkowitz: Call the police, they’ll get there in time, right?

Anita Alvarez: Well, that’s right. I don’t believe that people should be able to---

Jeff Berkowitz: But, you know that police often won’t get there in time.

Anita Alvarez: Well, it happens, sometimes. But, I believe in stricter gun control.

Can a battered woman use a gun as an equalizer? A woman's issue?

Jeff Berkowitz: And, in these cases for women who are being battered by their husbands, they can’t own a gun; they sometimes can’t get a protective order, they can’t get the police there in time—your answer is? Tough?

Anita Alvarez: I still would not—

Jeff Berkowitz: Because you just told me as a female, you can identify with women and so forth—would you identify with a female in that kind of situation?

Anita Alvarez: No, I don’t think that anybody should own guns.

Concealed Carry as an equalizer?

Jeff Berkowitz: So, no concealed carry?

Anita Alvarez: No, absolutely not.

Jeff Berkowitz: If a woman is going down a street in a tough area and she would like to have a gun in her purse, just in case [a bad guy tries to assault her]-- it’s a felony [for her to have a gun in her purse], right?

Anita Alvarez: That’s right. I believe in gun control and I don’t believe that—and you are pointing out very specific cases that again if in fact a woman is murdered, I understand that. However, I think we are all safer in our society without guns.
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Jeff Berkowitz: Should we have more gun control? Some people say we should have an assault weapon ban. We had it on the federal level and it lapsed. Should the state of Illinois

Anita Alvarez: I think we should

One gun purchase per year?

Jeff Berkowitz: Have an assault weapon ban? Some people say we should restrict the number of guns people can purchase. Some say restrict it to one a month, maybe one a year. Does either sound good to you?

Anita Alvarez: I agree with that.

Jeff Berkowitz: One a year? You would favor a law that said you could only buy one gun a year?

Take guns away from the good guys?

Anita Alvarez: Actually, I would favor a law that no one could ever buy a gun.

Jeff Berkowitz: So, you would take the guns away from people who own them legally now?

Anita Alvarez: I think we would be a safer society if people didn’t own guns.

Does 2nd Amendment give Americans the right to own a gun?

Jeff Berkowitz: Do you think the 2nd Amendment [to the U. S. Constitution] has anything to say about that? I mean, should we follow the 2nd Amendment?

Anita Alvarez: I think—we have put more danger in the street with people owning guns and the cases that I have seen and the children that I have seen get killed because of guns. It’s just too dangerous. I would favor—

Jeff Berkowitz: But, do individuals have a right to own a gun from the 2nd Amendment [to the U. S. Constitution]?. You have read the 2nd Amendment?

Anita Alvarez: I have read the 2nd Amendment.

Jeff Berkowitz: You believe in the 2nd Amendment?

Anita Alvarez: People do interpret that way. I don’t believe I do. I don’t think people should own guns. I really don’t.

Crack Cocaine and the African-American community:

Jeff Berkowitz: Crack Cocaine. Do you know the controversy there about the enforcement. Is it unequal? Is it disproportionately putting African-Americans in jail? Enforcement of crack cocaine laws? What do you think?

Anita Alvarez: No, I don’t think that there is a disproportionate amount of minorities [in jail] because of crack cocaine. Drugs are a problem—

Jeff Berkowitz: But, some kinds of drugs that are taken in suburbs- less enforcement. Down in the tougher areas—they go right to jail.
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The "Public Affairs," show with Anita Alvarez was recorded on Dec. 9, 2007
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The airing schedule for the Chicago Metro suburban edition of "Public Affairs," is included, directly, below.
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In twenty-five North Shore, North and Northwest suburbs, the "Public Affairs," show airs every Tuesday night in the regular weekly Public Affairs slot, 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19 or 35, as indicated, below.

In ten North Shore suburbs, the Public Affairs show airs three times each week in its regular slots at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Ch. 19, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as indicated, below. ********************************************************
The suburban episode of Public Affairs with guest State's Attorney candidate Anita Alvarez(D-River Forest) airs:

tonight at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette

And tonight at 8:30 pm on Comcast Cable Channel 35 in Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.

and this week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8:30 pm airing on Comcast Cable Channel 19 in Bannockburn, Deerfield, Ft. Sheridan, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Winnetka.
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Jeff Berkowitz, Show Host/Producer of "Public Affairs," and Executive Legal Recruiter doing legal search can be reached at JBCG@aol.com. You may watch "Public Affairs," shows with Presidential Candidates Richardson, Obama, McCain, Giuliani and Cox and many other pols at www.PublicAffairsTv.com
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