A pair of males who had been on parole and probation are behind bars after allegedly committing the same crimes that got them in trouble with law enforcement previously.

First up is 21-year-old Anthony Cheeks, who was charged with robbing passengers on a Chicago train line — after he had completed parole for robbing a passenger on that same train line, CWB Chicago reported.

‘You know, I shoot m***********s!’

The outlet said Cheeks was accused of robbing a 38-year-old man’s backpack on a Red Line train Sept. 5.

Then, just six days later, Cheeks and accomplices approached a 47-year-old man aboard a Red Line train at the 47th Street station, CWB Chicago noted, citing prosecutors.

Cheeks allegedly demanded the victim’s bottle of Tito’s vodka, and when the victim refused, Cheeks allegedly put his hand in his pants to suggest he had a gun, the outlet said.

“You know, I shoot m***********s!” he allegedly warned before taking the vodka bottle and punching the victim in the face, chest, and head, CWB Chicago reported.

Transit video cameras recorded both incidents, and both victims identified Cheeks in a photo lineup, the outlet said.

As it happens, court records show Cheeks got a four-year prison sentence in 2024 for mugging a 66-year-old man the year prior — again, aboard a Red Line train — and Cheeks recently completed parole in that case, CWB Chicago said.

But Judge Antara Rivera ordered Cheeks detained on robbery and aggravated battery charges for last month’s incidents, the outlet noted. Cook County Jail records indicate Cheeks was booked on Sept. 16, and he remained behind bars Friday on no bond; his next court date is listed in jail records as Tuesday.

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Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune

Next up is 22-year-old Kyir Walker, who’s accused of taking a phone at gunpoint and then transferring nearly $1,200 to himself — while on probation for stealing phones and transferring money to himself, CWB Chicago reported in a separate story.

Prosecutors said Walker and an accomplice took victims’ phones and banking apps to drain their accounts outside the Nike Store in the 600 block of North Michigan Avenue in 2024, the outlet said.

In one case, a 20-year-old lost $500 through his Chase app, CWB Chicago reported, adding that in another case, a 37-year-old lost $2,000 through Bank of America after Walker allegedly grabbed the victim’s phone under the pretense of a donation request. That victim later received taunting text messages from the offenders, prosecutors said, according to the outlet.

Both victims identified Walker in photo lineups, CWB Chicago said, and officers took Walker into custody last year after recognizing him while working a Cubs game.

Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer last November sentenced Walker to a two-year “second chance probation” after he pleaded guilty to two counts of theft from person, the outlet said, adding that Walker was required to complete 40 hours of community service and earn his GED; if successful, his convictions would be wiped from his record.

But prosecutors said Walker around 4 a.m. May 11 of this year approached a 23-year-old man from Crown Point, Indiana, in the 600 block of North Clark and allegedly displayed a gun, ordered the victim to unlock his phone, and used it to Zelle $1,190 to an account identified as “BBOYS,” CWB Chicago said.

Once again, the victim later picked Walker out of a photo lineup, the outlet said, citing police reports. Officers took Walker into custody near Wrigley Field on the evening of Oct. 2 when they recognized that he was wanted in connection with the May armed robbery, CWB Chicago added. Judge John Hock ordered Walker detained on Oct. 3.

Walker remained Friday in Cook County on no bond; his next court date is Oct. 17, jail records indicate.

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​Chicago, Parole, Probation, Repeat offender, Same crimes, Arrests, Jail, Cook county sheriff’s office, Broken system, Crime 

Allie Beth Stuckey, BlazeTV host of “Relatable,” recently debated 20 liberal Christians on the newest installment of Jubilee’s popular “Surrounded” series.

The format is simple: Stuckey sits at a small table in the middle of 20 self-identified “progressive Christians” and makes four claims. Then, one by one, her debate opponents rush to a chair opposite Stuckey and debate her until a majority of the debate participants vote that person out. The process repeats for each of Stuckey’s claims.

Here are the topics that Stuckey debated:

The Bible says that marriage is only between one man and one woman.Abortion is a grave moral evil.Empathy can be toxic and lead to sin.Progressivism and Christianity are at odds.

Before the debate, Stuckey revealed that Charlie Kirk — the greatest debater of our time — offered her sage advice on how to win this Jubilee debate.

“I wanted to cancel this debate, because it was right after Charlie died and the day before his memorial. But then I remembered that this was the last real conversation CK and I had. He was such a good friend,” Stuckey wrote on X. “I took your advice, Charlie. Thanks for everything.”

In text messages, Kirk advised Stuckey that “it’s very important every time they make a claim” to question “is that biblical?” and “by what standard [do] you believe that?”

“You have them up against a wall — they will TRY and get you on a major difference of something prescriptive vs. descriptive — MOST of the ugly stuff of the Old Testament is DESCRIBING not PRESCRIBING to us. Very important difference,” Kirk wrote in one text message.

Kirk, who participated in a Jubilee debate himself, also advised Stuckey of the “best two questions to ALWAYS ask.”

“What do you mean by that exactly?”What biblical evidence do you have to support that?”

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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While Microsoft just scrapped plans for a massive data center in Caledonia, Wisconsin, due to local pushback regarding environmental concerns, a multitude of other data center construction projects riding the general push to terraform the modern human environment in the U.S., and abroad, are proceeding apace.

“Based on the community feedback we heard,” Microsoft said in a statement reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “we have chosen not to move forward with this site.” The community feedback, however accurate, was filtered through several layers of local and regional government zoning bodies including Caledonia Plan Commission, which is advising Microsoft go ahead with a separate data center nearby. The second site occupies 244 acres and would see the compound situated near a local power plant.

The push toward more and more power is one of several critical environment components in the seemingly endless project to expand data centers everywhere. Increasingly, we’re seeing tech giants like Microsoft and Google locate projects near existing power plants or just opting to build their own on site. The strain on the grid is reflected in surging electrical rates around the U.S.

People can still have some sway … if they can get informed and insert themselves into local discussions.

If we take Oregon as an example, we see some interesting and contradictory trends. On the one hand, Oregon has long prided itself at the citizen and local-government level on “doing the work” to ensure some reasonable environmental protection. It hasn’t been a total success; citizens and small businesses have bent over backwards since the 1970s to make accommodations. Isn’t it curious, then, with respect to the question of who pulls the strings in the state, to observe that electrical rates for most citizens have gone up 50% in the last few years? That price hike will continue. Estimates vary, but it appears that Oregon is devoting approximately 11% of its power generation to big tech data centers.

RELATED: Taliban accused of shutting off internet to ‘prevent immorality’: ‘An alternative will be built’

Photo by Mohsen Karimi/Getty Images

We’ve written about terrifying water consumption surrounding data centers. The numbers are difficult to pin down, but even moderate estimates show the centers running through enormous amounts of fresh water. What goes a bit undiscussed are the chemical residues inherent to data center operations, and here again, the push to more tech and more cash leaves little chance for scientists to get a handle on the various impacts — human, animal, and long-term environmental, including life cycle.

The search, such as it is, for a balance between industrial processes and environmental regulations has never quite worked. We probably shouldn’t hold much hope regarding the particularly disturbing chemical output of so-called PFAS that’s native to data center operations. These are the so-called forever chemicals: “Pfas are a class of about 16,000 chemicals most frequently used to make products water-, stain-, and grease-resistant,” the Guardian recently noted. “The compounds have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease, and a range of other serious health problems.”

PFAS are present in data centers. No one agrees just how much. We know the water and gaseous outputs of the operations will go somewhere, for good or for ill. And politicians know that, just as with previous industrial-environmental disasters, they’ll likely be moved on through the revolving gov-corp-media door by the time the real bill comes due.

Invisible PFAS didn’t quite make the cut in “Eddington,” Ari Aster’s stinging satire of the local politics of big data centers, but they’re the icing on a disturbing cake served up to towns all over America: Colossal flows of fiat cash swamp the interests and voices of citizens so divided in ideology that they can’t mount a coordinated pushback. If you throw enough money at local officials, they’re going to give in. The AI boom has seen capitalization like never before, so there’s plenty to paper over pesky environmental regs. As shown in Caledonia, however, people can still have some sway … if they can get informed and insert themselves into local zoning, impact, building, and resource discussions.

​Tech 

History is not indoctrination — or is it?

How many people know that the scriptures were cited by our founders more than Locke, Montesquieu, and Blackstone combined? Students learn that James Madison is the father of the Constitution, but do they know that he would likely have failed unless he had promised a bill of rights to Pastor John Leland?

My frustration with the lack of education boiled over with the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Does today’s generation realized that the pilgrims were literally a church plant and that the Mayflower Compact was modeled after a church covenant?

It’s more likely they believe that America was formed under secular influences with just a tiny tip of the hat to a generic god for good measure.

The doctrine of the separation of church and state, they assume, is to purge religion from the civic arena at the behest of Jefferson and the Constitution. Most are shocked to learn that this doctrine originated with a politically engaged pastor, Roger Williams. He had been banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his religious beliefs and threatened with deportation back to England, where he would certainly be imprisoned. Instead, he fled north with the assistance of the Native Americans, where he founded Providence. Williams derived this concept from Isaiah 5, likening the vineyard to the church, the wild grapes to the world, and the hedge to the wall of separation.

As a pastor in the Ohio legislature, hardly a day goes by that the uninformed do not criticize my engagement in the political sphere without any awareness that the top signature on the Bill of Rights was a pastor who also happened to be the first speaker of the House.

My frustration with the lack of education boiled over with the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

I met Charlie at the National Association of Christian Lawmakers conference last December. He was grateful for the work that I had done in Ohio on the SAFE Act and Save Women’s Sports and emphasized the power of pastors being engaged. He understood our American heritage and preached the power of God’s people being engaged.

My colleagues observed that he was a unique blend of Rush Limbaugh and Billy Graham. But in a nation increasingly unaware of its own heritage, his bold proclamations elicited hate, anger, and violence from the uninformed.

This is the fruit of deconstruction and post-structuralism in America. When one generation stops teaching our history and the next generation starts rewriting it, we shouldn’t be left wondering why our youth are disconnected and disaffected.

The Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act is my response to ensure that each generation can enjoy the benefits of learning the source of liberty as told by our founding fathers.

America’s educators who understand these truths know that hate groups like the Freedom from Religion Foundation lurk in the shadows ready to prey on them with lawsuits designed to silence and intimidate them. One superintendent informed me that it was, in fact, a violation of the First Amendment to teach the impact of religion on America. It’s not, of course, but I couldn’t convince him of the truth.

RELATED: Bring God back to schools — before it’s too late

imagedepotpro/iStock/Getty Images Plus

During our first committee hearing on the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, opponents asked why we only mention Christianity in the bill. The answer is simple: All faiths are equally free — but not all faiths contributed equally to ensure that freedom.

One Democrat retorted that our founding fathers used generic monikers for deity so that all could interpret God to be who they imagined Him to be. He was insulted that I wrote, “If we were to remove Christianity from American history, we would have no American history.”

Rather than taking my word for it, I suggested that he consult the founding fathers.

John Adams wrote to Thomas Jefferson on June 28, 1813, “The general Principles, on which the Fathers Achieved Independence, were the only Principles in which, that beautiful Assembly of young Gentlemen could Unite, and these Principles only could be intended by them in their Address, or by me in my Answer. And what were these general Principles? I answer, the general Principles of Christianity, in which all those Sects were United.”

The Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act simply affirms that teaching the positive impact of Christianity on American history is consistent with the First Amendment and is not a violation of the doctrine of the separation of church and state.

Teachers should be free to teach the truth. My hope is that Charlie is smiling down on this legislation and realizes that the impact he made will outlive him for generations to come.

​Charlie kirk, Ohio, God in schools, Christian education, American history, Founding fathers, Charlie kirk american heritage act, Faith 

The fragrance of revival has been drifting like incense across the nation ever since the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, . This feeling took physical form yesterday when 6,500 women from all over the country gathered in Allen, Texas, for Allie Beth Stuckey’s Share the Arrows conference.

After a day filled with worship led by Francesca Battistelli and lots of encouraging talks from some of the most prominent voices in conservative evangelicalism, including Alisa Childers, Jinger Vuolo, and Katy Faust, Allie took the stage to close out the event with a speech on something we desperately need if we want to keep this revival burning: bravery.

“Whether we die surrounded by our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren or whether we die young as a martyr, like Charlie, may it be said of us: she was brave for the Gospel until her final breath,” Allie declared.

While bravery is certainly a difficult road, we have “seven reasons” to be brave, she said.

1. Jesus was brave.

Although Jesus was fully God, he was also fully man, which means he needed bravery, Allie explained. He faced persecution, loss, grief, and pain, but because of his unparalleled love for humanity, He faced a criminal’s brutal death with courage.

Allie emphasized, “Jesus modeled godly bravery for us when he went willingly to the cross, even though he dreaded the pain that he would have to endure.”

In Matthew 16:33, Jesus encourages believers to face their own inevitable tribulation with bravery: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

How do we take heart in today’s modern world? We do what Christ followers have always done in the face of trial: “We do what God calls us to do, even when it’s painful, even when it’s unpopular, even when it’s scary, even when it requires sacrifice, even when we lose friends and we lose family and we lose jobs,” Allie affirmed.

2. The Holy Spirit empowers us to be brave

For Christians who fear they don’t have the courage to be brave, Allie reminded them that bravery comes not from our own strength but from the power of the Holy Spirit.

She noted, “When Jesus leaves this Earth, when he ascends to be at the right hand of the Father, he says, ‘I’m not leaving you alone. I’m leaving you with a Helper.’”

We were given the Holy Spirit because God, who created us, knows our limitations. “God made you not enough. He made you fallible. He made you finite so that you depend on Him,” Allie stated. This dependence isn’t just for salvation; it’s for the trials we face every day. But through the power of the Spirit, we can face our giants with courage.

3. God commands us to be brave.

God’s call for our bravery echoes in Scripture’s most repeated command: “Do not fear.”

In Isaiah 41:10, God tells us why we can be brave: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

In Matthew 10:28, He reminds us that while our bodies can be killed, our souls are His: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

Whether facing literal death or the loss of human approval, Christians stride in bravery, anchored by God’s eternal strength.

Allie asserted, “The fear of the Lord is how we live, not the fear of man.”

4. God, not man, determines our day of death

To Christians who fear death, Allie reminded them that God numbers our days before we’re even born. To step out in bravery doesn’t change this.

God “is never looking down and wondering, ‘how did that happen?’” she said. “The tragic day that Charlie was assassinated – God had already pre-ordained that day to be the day that Charlie went to glory before Charlie was born.”

Quoting Scottish Presbyterian evangelist John Gibson Paton, who brought the Gospel to pagan tribes on islands in the Indian Ocean despite extreme hostility, Allie read: “I realized that I was immortal until my master’s work with me was done. The assurance came to me, as if a voice out of Heaven had spoken, that not a musket would be fired to wound us, not a club prevail to break our bones, not a spear leave the hand in which it was held vibrating to be thrown, not an arrow leave the bow, or be made ready to be loosed against us, without the permission of our Father in Heaven.”

“The day of your death is determined by God, so be bold,” Allie urged.

5. The day of victory is determined by God

Isaiah 25:8-9 tells us that “[God] will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth…It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.’”

We can be brave because this is the future we look forward to, Allie encouraged.

6. Bravery is the Christian heritage

For millennia, brave Christians have carried the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth, fearlessly facing persecution, martyrdom, and cultural hostility.

Allie gave the example of Sabina Wurmbrand – a Jewish-born Christian missionary, evangelist, and human rights advocate, who boldly preached the gospel during the brutal Stalinist era in Romania. The wife of a pastor, Sabina helped run her husband’s underground ministry amid communist persecution. Even though she faced imprisonment, slave labor, and surveillance for her evangelism, she continued sharing the message of Jesus Christ with oppressed believers, Soviet soldiers, and even prison guards – many of whom came to faith through her witness. After Sabini and her husband fled to America, they founded Voice of the Martyrs, an organization dedicated to supporting persecuted Christians worldwide by providing Bibles, aid, and advocacy.

Sabini’s story is one of many Christians whose bravery emboldened them to preach the gospel fearlessly despite persecution, imprisonment, and the shadow of death. In her memoir, she wrote, “Courage is not the absence of fear but the will to do what is right in spite of it.”

“That is our heritage as Christians,” Allie proclaimed.

7. The Gospel is worth it

“All of us are called to take risks for the gospel,” Allie stressed.

It doesn’t always look like starting a podcast or running for office. Standing up for Jesus is the work of stay at home moms and CEOs alike.

“The body of Christ and the kingdom of God is built on the unseen and unsung radiant obedience of Christians who believe with everything in them that the Gospel is worth it,” Allie concluded.

In a world craving courage, Allie’s charge at Share the Arrows ignited a spark, urging every woman present to embrace the fearless legacy of Christian bravery and carry the gospel’s light, no matter the cost.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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