Logan Foster

South Bend Common Council (Official Photo) If a law exists, it either applies or it does not. Mayor James Mueller described the City’s view of compliance in a televised WSBT interview when asked whether South Bend would follow federal immigration law. “We’re a nation of laws. We’re a city of laws and a county of laws. And we abide by all state, federal laws.”“We may not agree with every law that’s on the books, but if you don’t agree with it, you got to change it through the legislature. You...

South Bend Police Department (Photo: https://police.southbendin.gov/ ) Logan Foster | Redress South Bend Feb 02, 2026 On January 23, 2026, South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski announced his candidacy for St. Joseph County sheriff. When asked whether transparency would be a priority if elected, he was unequivocal. “Absolutely,”  Ruszkowski said. “That would be one of the things that I tend to carry over, the transparency component. They’re paying for this. They need to see what’s going on...

Aerial view of downtown South Bend. Photo by Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock Logan Foster | Redress South Bend Jan 29, 2026 The most revealing thing an elected official can do is show which places they no longer believe are worth the effort. That realization rarely comes from a council vote or a policy disagreement. More often, it comes from language, from the way an official explains what deserves attention and what does not. That moment came during a conversation my wife and I had with St....

By Logan Foster | Redress South Bend Jan. 26, 2026 On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, South Bend Councilwoman Karen L. White posted a professionally designed graphic honoring Dr. King’s legacy. The image featured iconic photographs of King, quotations about justice and courage and, conspicuously, her own portrait, name and official title. If the graphic was meant as a tribute to Dr. King, it landed as something else. Karen White’s MLK Day 2026 social media graphic featuring her portrait...

By Logan Foster | Redress South Bend Jan. 25, 2026 South Bend City Hall (Photo: Logan Foster/Redress South Bend) The South Bend Common Council will take up a sweeping overhaul of its Rules Committee powers that would eliminate the public process for filing complaints against council members at its regular meeting Monday evening. The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. at City Hall and will also offer public access via Microsoft Teams. Among the resolutions on the agenda are Bill No. 25-44...

By Logan Foster | Redress South Bend Jan. 25, 2026 Mishawaka City Hall (Logan Foster/Redress South Bend) The Mishawaka Common Council will consider two annexation petitions, a sewage works bond ordinance and a property tax abatement at its regular meeting Monday. The council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. at City Hall, following committee sessions at 5:45 p.m. The meeting will be livestreamed on the city’s website and social media channels. Among the items on the agenda are Petition No....

By Logan Foster | Redress South Ben d January 25, 2026 Email screenshot showing the subject line “ICE murders another U.S. citizen,” sent by Don Westerhausen at 5:07 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 24, 2026. Seven hours after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis, Don Westerhausen sent an email to his supporters. The subject line read: “ICE murders another U.S. citizen.” At the time the message was sent, the shooting was under active investigation and no official...

By Logan Foster | Redress South Bend Jan. 23, 2026 South Bend City Hall is shown in downtown South Bend, Ind. Indiana’s Public Access Counselor found the city violated state public records law in handling requests for city attorney invoices. (Photo: Logan Foster) SOUTH BEND, Ind.  — Indiana’s Public Access Counselor has found that the City of South Bend violated state public records law by taking an unreasonable amount of time to release city attorney invoices requested under the state’s...

Photo courtesy of Brian Collier. Pictured: South Bend Common Council members and Mayor Mueller's senior executive staff seated together at Manny’s Sports Bar on January 5, 2026, minutes after the council’s organizational meeting. By Logan Foster | Redress South Bend January 21, 2026 South Bend’s elected officials are not even pretending anymore. At 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5th, 2026, the South Bend Common Council held its annual organizational meeting. The published agenda scheduled the...

By Logan Foster | Redress South Ben d January 16, 2026 Public records reviewed by Redress South Bend  show that the City of South Bend  and the South Bend Community School Corporation  have paid at least $293,000 since 2022  to Gladys Muhammad and entities she leads, based on contracts and invoices obtained to date. Redress South Bend previously reported on consulting contracts between the City of South Bend and Muhammad that authorized payments of up to $60,000 per year. Newly obtained...

By Logan Foster | Redress South Ben d January 15, 2026 Karen L. White. (Photo: City of South Bend) South Bend Common Council member Karen L. White received nearly $100,000 in payments from the South Bend Community School Corporation over several years, but the school district says it has no contracts or written agreements documenting the services tied to those payments. According to school district payment records, the payments were made to White and to an entity identified as Reaching Higher...

Sheila Niezgodski and Canneth Lee at the 2025 State of the City By Logan Foster | Redress South Ben d January 7, 2026 When the South Bend Common Council selects its vice president, it is not making a routine procedural choice. It is signaling what conduct it is willing to tolerate, what standards it enforces internally, and how seriously it takes public trust. That is why the Council’s decision to again elevate Sheila Niezgodski to Vice President deserves scrutiny. On May 13, 2024,...