Stephen Scheele News Today

Four judges and one attorney based in Northwest Indiana are among the eight individuals who applied to fill a judicial vacancy on the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr., and the 91 other sheriffs across Indiana, answer to no one when it comes to contracts relating to the county jail and its inmates.

A Democratic at-large East Chicago City Council candidate successfully challenged his removal from the primary ballot in Lake Superior Court late last month after facing allegations he voted as a Republican in the 2020 primary.

The appellate court said the Indiana Constitution and state law unquestionably establish a duty that the sheriff take care of the jail and its prisoners.

Commissioners Attorney Matt Fech recommended that the three-member county executive board take no action on the tentative contracts due to litigation pending at the Indiana Court of Appeals.

A Phantom Fireworks store is unlikely to become part of Hammonds burgeoning retail district anchored by Cabelas and Wal-Mart on Indianapolis Boulevard.

Retention elections are the only opportunity for Indiana voters to have a say in who serves on the states appellate courts.

The appeals court said a 1981 Indiana law authorizing the council to take over the countys purchasing from the commissioners remains valid, even though the council waited nearly 40 years

Judge Sheeles one-page order denying the commissioners motion to stay pending appeal followed a telephonic hearing Monday afternoon.

"We still have the purse strings. So he has to come in front of us," said Lake County Councilman Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, who leads the councils jail spending subcommittee.