>> Hello and thanks for joining us on Chicago tonight.

I'm Brandis Friedman.

Here's what we're looking at.

>> With in >> Conflict with Venezuela escalates as the U.S.

sees as an oil tanker off the coast.

>> A by the trust you placed in me.

>> And Cook County has a new chief judge for the first time in more than 2 decades.

Charles Beach joins us to talk about his new role electronic monitoring system and more.

>> First off tonight, millions of Americans may be seeing a steep rise in health care costs in the new year.

That's after senators today rejected a pair of competing healthcare related bills.

The Democratic led effort would have extended the existing Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to end this month for 3 years.

Senators also rejected a Republican alternative that would have created new health savings accounts, giving money directly to consumers instead of insurance companies.

But both bills needed 60 votes to advance.

Both failed.

51 to 48.

The move could signal major consequences for some lawmakers in next year's midterms.

And speaking of midterms, Indiana is breaking from the Trump administration and opting out of the growing national fight over redistricting.

The Hoosier State Senate today rejected a plan to redraw the state's congressional districts in favor of Republicans.

31 senators, including 21 Republicans voted down the plan.

comes after Indiana's lawmakers faced mounting pressure by the White House to give Republicans an advantage in the midterm elections with some being targeted with violent threats.

The family of a Chicago police officer killed in the line of duty earlier this year says there's much more to the story of how she died and they're suing the police department and her former partner.

>> Was she never?

Should have had to fear.

Was her own partner.

That beat rail cars crystals life.

one, though, protecting the public.

But I can say that.

Cp, the failed to protect Crystal.

>> Attorneys for Crystal Rivera's family say she and her partner Officer Carlos Baker were in an on and off romantic relationship or a couple of years.

They say she had broken off the relationship but had concerns about what might be baker's quote, adverse reaction the night of the shooting.

Attorneys say after Baker quote, accidentally discharged his weapon striking and killing Rivera.

He didn't render aid or call for an ambulance.

And that Rivera herself called in the police department has declined to comment on the case.

Baker's attorneys have yet to respond.

For more on this story, please visit our website.

The Trump administration is launching its so-called Gold card visa immigration pathway allowing would-be immigrants to pay a million dollars to expedite their visa applications.

Meanwhile, refugee and immigrant advocates in Chicago are speaking out against a flurry of other new immigration restrictions under the administration.

>> As of the ongoing kidnapping and separation of families were not enough.

The federal government, our federal government continues to find new ways terrorize our communities.

>> After the shooting of 2 National Guard members deployed to Washington, D.C., Late last month by a suspect who's an Afghan national.

The Trump administration announced new immigration restrictions.

include pausing asylum applications for all nationalities reexamining green card applications for nationals from a list of 19 countries and conducting a comprehensive re review of immigrants.

From that same list who are approved since the start of the Biden administration through the first month of the Trump administration.

Critics are calling the policies racist, arbitrary and wasteful.

Up next, we meet Cook County's first new chief judge in more than 2 decades.

That's right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexander and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support of these donors.

>> Cook County has a new chief judge for the first time in nearly 25 years.

Judge Charles Beach inherits the nation's second largest unified court system.

And it comes with a little bit of baggage.

The office now manages the pretrial electronic monitoring system, which has come under scrutiny after some high-profile cases and court houses have been a focus of recent immigration enforcement efforts.

Joining us now is circuit court of Cook County Chief Judge Charles Beach.

Congrats and welcome to Chicago in bank.

You club to be So you stepped into this role.

It has not changed hands since 2001.

What to do with this position >> I left private practice to get on the bench because they believed in the judiciary.

And I believe in the positive things that can do and as I worked my way through and had various supervisor roles.

I just thought being in leadership is the way you can further effectuate those positive things in the judiciary.

So that's a long road towards trying to make this a better county.

>> What was it about or what do you think it was about your sort of campaign the that might have resonated with the judges who elected you >> transparency, honesty, modernization.

I met with every judge that was once it out and talk to me and that several 100.

Yeah, absolutely.

It was.

It was a busy couple months.

A busy 90 days.

But of personal connection getting their thoughts and feelings on what we could do better, how we could be better sharing my vision of how we could be and that was the process.

And I think people.

Embrace that.

So.

>> You've said that you're concerned about immigrants being rested outside of courthouse is, of course, that is something Governor Pritzker is also concerned with having signed a law just this week against that very thing.

How do you plan to address safety interest for the immigrant communities who are interacting with the justice system here?

We currently have an order that was put in place by my predecessor, Chief Evans.

It's going to stay in place.

It's important that >> litigants, whether they be victims, witnesses, the accused.

know that they can come court.

The law is going to be there to support them.

And that this is a safe space for them to for the judiciary to work for our system.

A lot of work.

They need to be able to get to and from court and be active in court.

>> A couple of recent cases, of course, as we mentioned, involving defendants who've been on electronic who've either been kill, killed her killed or harm someone having drawn attention to the use of electronic monitoring.

What improvements do you think need to be made to the system?

>> So we're looking at electronic monitoring system that's currently under the office of Chief Judge.

We're going to analyze it you some data to take a look at what's working, what's not working and definitely try to tighten up our protocols like everything it can be improved.

And that's what we're looking to do.

>> Your office has suggested reinstating the practice of reporting escalated em alerts to the state's attorneys off.

It had previously recently been turned off because that office was concerned about the volume of alerts that they were receiving.

How do you plan on working with states attorney Eileen overcome this?

>> First we'll state's Trey Burke, I think is a great partner I'm looking forward to working with I was not part of those conversations.

I can speak to what happened there.

Didn't happen there.

What I can tell you is this is that we're going to look internally what we need to do to report better and work out a system with the state attorney to make sure that it's a factual for everybody.

Okay.

Been on the job for 6 days.

So it's early start, but we start working literally the day after the election.

My team and everybody else.

And we're going to continue to work full full speed ahead.

Can do everything right away.

although by tomorrow I expect you'll have everything done.

Done Do you think electronic monitoring, though, should it remain under the chief judge's per view?

Is that something that you've considered in in your pursuit of this job?

>> It is something I looked There is currently a statewide system run by the office of statewide Pretrial Services that services about.

>> 82 of the 102 counties in the state and operates their electronic monitoring program.

Certainly my committee as they review what we're doing here in Cook County.

We'll consider what the statewide division could do as well and whether it's better placed here are with them.

>> Okay.

And it used to be with the sheriff's Department.

Of course, it sounds like that's not necessarily an option.

>> No, I mean, the sheriff and absolutely the right to not continue that program.

Chief Evans took that program on and in evaluating as it currently and then make a determination whether states will also weather SPs can take it.

>> The Safety Act and the elimination of cash bail on also been in place for a few years.

Now.

What is your view on how that legislation impacts public safety?

So I was in the pretrial division when the Safety Act was implemented.

And I sat in that courtroom and I made those tough decisions every day for.

>> Almost 6 years, a few of those years under the safety Act it is a good piece of legislation.

I'm not in the policy business so I don't write legislation.

That's that's another branch of government that does that.

I know that this that my judges look at that legislation, they apply the facts to that legislation.

That law make the best decisions they can as far as changes are implementation or changes in the way it operates.

That's up to the legislature.

>> Judge, obviously there's many divisions in the Cook County courts, everything from traffic violations to child custody battles and obviously the criminal issues that we've already been talking about.

Are there any divisions that you think need the or have the most urgent need for modernization?

So juvenile, particularly the June all temporary detention center was a initial focus of ours immediately.

So we've dug in and started looking at that.

>> Also, the domestic relations in domestic violence.

>> Domestic violence court house in particular when I was a practicing attorney was a sleepy kind of courthouse.

There wasn't ton going on today.

You walk into the courthouse and there's people sitting in folding chairs in the hallways.

There's a lot going on in that building.

And so I think we need to look at that.

See what we can do to make it more efficient, perhaps take some load off the judges over there so that they can focus on, you know, the seriousness of what happens in that building.

And you mentioned juvenile as well.

What kind of changes do you think might be needed there or what it would you feel like you need your attention right away while gdc in it's been a hot >> point for a while we've been looking at it and the committee formed to look at it made recommendations which just adopted the other day.

We're going to implement was considered best practice is a scene across the country previously.

We had not been doing that, but we are going to do that going forward and that will involve new A new organizational structure and some moderate.

>> There's also, of within our quality in the court system.

Black and Brown residents disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system.

How are you working with other offices?

Cpd, again, states attorney to ensure fairness and equity >> first of I'm fortunate to have the stakeholders that I have to work with public defender.

Mitchell is a fantastic and I enjoy working with him very much 6 or of known for a very long time.

And her and I have a very open policy communication as I have with Mr.

Mitchell we're all working together make this a better place for everybody.

No matter where you come from, what are your station of life might be?

Our objective is make this the first judicial system of the country.

So it's an ongoing battle that something that you constantly have to monitor and improve and pay attention to.

But we're all doing that.

I think we're doing that together quite well.

>> It's a massive system as What do you think the challenges might be in sort of giving getting your arms around something like that to manage?

Well, yeah, there's approximately 2600 employees, not including the judges.

So it's >> major corporation for lack of a better term, just understanding where people are, what they're doing, getting your arms around You know, the chief Evans had been there for 24 years and he did a great job was there.

I'll have a different approach how things are managed and just because I'm a different person.

But that approach involves getting down, meaning the individuals.

I've actually so far, then almost every courthouse and that not only with the judges but the support staff, the social service workers, the probation workers.

My intention is to be seen by them to hear them and to try to improve the way they work more efficiently make them more efficient.

So they serve the county better.

All right.

Chief Judge Charles Beach, congrats.

Best of luck to you.

Thank the big job you've you've just taken on.

look forward to having you back.

I'm looking forward to Thank you.

>> And we're back with more right after this.

Since summer, the Trump administration has ordered strikes on boats of alleged drug traffickers.

87 people have been killed, including a controversial so-called double tap strike that killed 2 survivors of the initial bombing this week.

The U.S.

military also seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast of the Caribbean Sea.

President Trump has threatened to ground invasion calling Venezuelan President Nicolas Nicolas Maduro, narco terrorist.

He's made similar claims about Colombian President, Gustavo, Petro, as well.

Joining us now are Juan Gonzalez, a senior fellow with the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

He's also the co-host of Democracy.

Now it's a weekday news program that airs on TV radio and YouTube.

And on zoom, we have Alberto Cole, director of global engagement and law professor at DePaul University and Lena Brito and associate professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Northwestern University.

Thanks to the 3 of you for joining us.

So as we mentioned, the U.S.

has seized oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, taking over its resources.

The White House says that they plan to go through the legal process of forfeiture to have that tanker turn into a U.S.

port to seize that oil.

Us senator from Illinois, Durbin has called for a public briefing following the seizure of that tanker.

Here he is.

>> Hoping the bridge into the whole Senate hoping making public.

We edging toward war Venezuela.

The American people have a right know what's going >> Juan Gonzalez, do you agree with Senator Durbin that we're inching towards a war with Venezuela?

>> Oh, well, there's no doubt there are 15,000 troops and the largest aircraft carrier in the world and not in that Caribbean Sea on vacation.

There's a clear there's been escalating threats by the U.S.

government.

Not only with the attacks on the small boats allegedly carrying Karen drugs, but also the declaration by President Trump last year closing the air space over Venezuela.

Something that's illegal for the U.S.

government to 2.

It's a country can only close in airspace over another country.

involved in an armed conflict or if the United Nations has so approved.

So the mere fact of of claiming to close the airspace is another escalation by the Trump administration.

Another of the tanker is is further proof that the administration is inching toward a military conflict with Venezuela.

>> We had a Trump has called both the Venezuelan and Colombian president Narcoterrorists.

Is he manufacturing consent for an invasion for the conflict that Juan Gonzalez just referring to?

>> Oh, yes, definitely.

He's not only manufacturing consent.

Well, he's also doing with these are deployment of these type of discourse is also closing ranks with the right wing forces within each country.

Let's not forget that gloomy on right-wing politicians had traveling to Washington, D.C., scenes.

Trump was inaugurated area this year to talk to different people in his administration to show that they support whatever decision they made about the neighboring country Venezuela in yesterday.

actually last 2 or 3 days.

We so in Oslo in Norway, but it could mean a do they need know that peace prize winner also you know, complimenting Trump and talking about these, the print to see acts of war aggression on the part of the Trump administration against been us as the sciences more weeks.

So it's not just about manufacturing consent in the public sphere of the United States is also about closing ranks with those in those countries that are supporting these type of aggression on the part of the Trump administration.

>> Vertical.

Same question to you.

Is Trump manufacturing consent here?

>> I would look at it that way.

First of all, I think that Venezuela, Colombia, 2 separate cases, Venezuela is a dictatorship.

It also is responsible for facilitating a state actor, the export of huge amounts of cocaine, 2 United States and now to Europe through Africa.

Venezuela drug trafficking organizations are working with African.

You had groups to export massive quantities to Europe under international law.

The states are free to take countermeasures in response to the state's illegal acts.

The fact that Venezuela government is.

Up to a tent in working with these transnational criminal organizations provides a legal justification for the United States to threaten if necessary the removal of them under a regime, which, by the way, is an illegitimate He stole the election and a vast majority of Venezuelans, including our fellow Venezuelans who are in this country today with approval of a move to overthrow But the key point is that this is that the seizure of the Tigers, Leo, as a countermeasure in response to back as well as an international legal responsibility under international, not told report to All right.

So Alberto, additionally, senators have been shown video of the so-called double tap that we're referring an alleged drug boat also near Venezuela.

Now, the president has defended the order that was made under U.S.

Admiral Frank Bradley claiming that those who were killed were responsible.

>> For killing Americans by the millions by trafficking in illicit drugs.

Critics, though, have raised concerns that that second strike might have broken international law.

What are your thoughts?

>> Yeah, this is a separate issue if indeed we killed people who defenses on the see that would be a war crime.

And this is a totally separate issue.

And on that issue, I do agree with the president's critics that this is unacceptable.

I want sink a boat and you have a couple of survivors out and see.

Our obligation is to rescue And, you know, if take them into the legal system for processing.

>> Well, fighting one, especially disagree, Professor Cole, not only the double tap strike, all of the strikes an justifiable under international law because first of there's been proof that these that these folks were of transporting drugs and even if they were, it's not a basis to kill them.

It's a basis to arrest them and bring them to trial into a due process.

And also this whole issue of Venezuela being a key transporter of drugs, even U.S.

intelligence services say that Venezuela has played a minor role compared to Colombia, which has always been the main trafficker of cocaine into the United States, Mexico, which has been the main trafficker of fentanyl into the United States.

Even Ecuador and the Dominican Republic are are transporting or trend shipping more drugs in Venezuela is so there's no a justifiable reason to pick up Venezuela, holding other countries Latin America that supplied drugs to the United States to target them in this Lana breach of the White House says that this Go right ahead.

One one of those solid just said.

>> And argue, my colleague, Professor Cole 2 counts the first one.

This is not a war crimes.

And this is not just my opinion.

This is the opinion of human rights lawyers like my purpose of Priyanka mode.

A party with Peaches had their Western law school.

They called these extra judicial killings is traditional assassinations.

These are no war crimes because there's no more legally the clear here.

So therefore, this is just simple.

Extrajudicial executions.

And the other thing that I with, Professor Cole, but I agree with Juan Gonzalez is Actually this super highway for cocaine trafficking to the U.S.

into Europe is now it put to work and nobody in the Trump administration is talking about because President put the word is not right-wing ally of the Trump administration so we can see does write year they put Chris and the worst case scenario all the time to gear it in the best case scenario of the Trump administration policies and actions in South America.

>> When of the White House has said that this is all about maintaining security in the Western Hemisphere.

How does this conflict mirror?

What we may have seen in past instances of U.S.

intervention in the region.

>> received Trump actually resuscitating a very full he story called Potter.

That goes back to the early 19 sentry.

The gunboat diplomacy we're the Ulysses, the use military, a Grecian the threat of military occupation and innovation to bend the will of those governments that they disagree with over those countries with strategic resources such as the case of Ennis.

we oil and today we did with this easing of this oil time Kerr that contradiction in on big area Legis shown a kid because they've been talking about drones and that this is about rocks and then these happened.

So it's not about Trump's is about controlling a strategic resource.

So interesting thing Trump knows that the war on drugs very flexible in malleable Hackett of his strategy is resources.

In the end, these courses to use a stay by a list for the front purposes is those particular the purpose most We're almost out of time.

I want to play a quick clip from Venezuelan President Maduro.

Here's what he said.

It's to be up to the U.S.

>> A little our message to the people, United States remains the same peace above all No decreasing no to bloodshed for no to war for oil.

The recipe for eternal.

>> Alberto Colin, come to you on this first.

Just a couple of seconds.

What do you make of the president's comment there?

>> Well, he's a liar.

He cheated on the agreement that he made with President Biden.

The agreement was that he would allow free and fair elections exchange for that.

President Biden agreed to lead.

Chevron operate in Venezuela for the first time in many years, my door broke his promises and he will do anything.

He will cheat lie and to do anything and kill lots of people, including imprisoning and torturing and killing political opponents.

For the sake of staying power.

So his promises are worthless.

I think that we need to keep this in mind.

I that's the unfortunate that we're going to have to leave Professor, we're actually out of time.

>> Always a conversation that that requires a lot of digging in.

But my thanks to the 3 of you later, Brito Alberto calling Juan Gonzalez, thanks to all of Thank you.

Thank you.

>> And that's our show for this Thursday night.

Stay connected with our reporters and what they're working on by following us on Instagram at W T Tw Chicago and join us tomorrow night at 5.37, for the week in review.

Now for all of us here Chicago tonight, I'm Brandis Friedman.

Thanks for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good day.