{"id":350,"date":"2019-03-29T00:35:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-29T00:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/defendant378.com\/home\/?page_id=350"},"modified":"2023-08-12T12:45:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T17:45:59","slug":"the-defendant","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/defendant378.com\/home\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Home of The Defendant<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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ACCOUNTABILITY<\/span> in Policing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REPEAL<\/span>“Crime-Free” Housing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESTORE<\/span> Renter’s Rights<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LATEST NEWS: CLASS ACTION OPENED AGAINST GRANITE CITY – CLICK HERE<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Many of the citizens of Madison County are in dire straights: citizens of Madison and Granite city are facing an epidemic of corruption, systematic racism, and police misconduct<\/strong> that has left many families devastated and homeless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renters are among the worst effected. Through the “Crime-free” housing ordinances, the city coerces landlords to throw out entire families if for any reason police decide they don’t want the family in Granite city. Of course in practice these ordinances unequally target minority groups, and can have devastating consequences on families who were just barely scraping by as it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kevin Link, “The Defendant<\/span>” (middle)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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My name is Kevin Link and I refused to play along with Granite city’s agenda. I am protesting these ordinances by refusing to purchase “Crime-free” business licenses or evict innocent customers. Other Landlord’s and I regularly rally for this cause hoping to build awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I served over 80hours of community service due to refusing to purchase licenses, and I will gladly take community service again before I pay a fine into this corrupt system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took these business licenses to the Appellate Court of Illinois, who sided with me stating “\u201cFurther, Granite City submitted no evidence showing that defendant was required to have the requisite license for any of the four properties,\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read all about my Appellate victory here: https:\/\/madisonrecord.com\/stories\/628910613-without-a-lawyer-granite-city-man-wins-ordinance-violation-case-at-fifth-district <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dive Deeper into the problems and consequences of “Crime-Free” Law WITH THESE NEWS ARTICLES:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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‘Crime-Free’ Housing Ordinances, Explained<\/a><\/strong> – Professor of Law Deborah Archer explains how the ‘Crime-Free’ ordinances are abused by municipalities and serve as an extension of “Jim Crow” laws promoting racial segregation in housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities are Pressuring Landlords to evict people under ‘Crime-Free’ Housing Laws<\/a> <\/strong>– This article by Cinnamon Janzer describes how these laws allow the city to pressure landlords to throw out their customers when they do not wish to evict. Features interview with Yours Truly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities Should Repeal “Crime-Free” Housing Laws <\/strong><\/a>– This article by Molly Greene details how under the Crime-Free housing ordinances, families can be thrown out simply for having the police called too many times: which cause some citizens to be afraid to call for police assistance when they really need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also check out this Channel 4 News Report on Crime-Free Housing<\/strong> from 2020:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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