Ohio Capital Journal Staff

Northeast Ohio state Rep. Elliot Forhan has been stripped of nearly all lawmaker privileges by Democratic Party leaders for “abusive” and “violent” behavior detailed in a 19-page memorandum sent to party leadership by House Democratic Leader Allison Russo.

In another document, a letter to Forhan obtained by News 5, Russo kicked the Cleveland-area lawmaker out of the Democratic caucus due to his “pattern of harassment, hostility, and intimidation of colleagues and staff.”

Forhan (D-South Euclid) has been stripped of all committee assignments and is instructed not to contact all Democratic caucus staff members. ...

“Ohio shouldn’t have to bear the tremendous financial burden of Norfolk Southern’s glaring negligence,” Yost said. “The fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and there’s still so much we don’t know about the long-term effects on our air, water and soil.”

The state’s lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio, and cites the company’s escalating accident rate, which has risen 80% in the past 10 years, the release said. At least 20 Norfolk Southern derailments since 2015 have involved chemical discharges, it added.

“The derailment was entirely avoidable and the direct result of Norfolk Southern’s practice of putting its own profits above the health, safety and welfare of the communities in which Norfolk Southern operates,” the lawsuit says. ...

The request followed the Thursday federal jury convictions of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former lobbyist and Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges for felony racketeering in the state’s billion-dollar utility bailout and political bribery scandal.

Both men face maximum sentences of 20 years in what prosecutors said was likely biggest bribery and money laundering scandal in Ohio history. U.S. District Judge Timothy Black will schedule a sentencing hearing coming sometime in the next few months.

As part of the racketeering scheme, Akron-based FirstEnergy and other utilities paid tens of millions into an effort to elect friendly lawmakers in 2018 who would vote to make Householder speaker the following year. Immediately after taking the speaker’s gavel, Householder worked furiously to pass a $1.3 billion bailout, the vast majority of which benefited FirstEnergy subsidiary FirstEnergy Services. ...

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Wednesday that the criminal charges filed against NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert after he was arrested during a news conference in East Palestine have been dismissed.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Section was appointed by the Columbiana County Prosecuting Attorney to handle the charges filed in Columbiana County Municipal Court, a news release from Yost said.

“My office has reviewed the relevant video and documentary evidence, and is dismissing the charges against Evan Lambert as unsupported by sufficient evidence,” Yost said in a statement in the release. ...

Democratic state Rep. Jeff Crossman announced Thursday his filing of a criminal complaint asking the Ohio State Highway Patrol to investigate Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission for dereliction of duty.

Crossman, the Democratic nominee for attorney general this November, said the GOP commissioners had “recklessly failed to perform a duty expressly imposed by law with respect to the public servant’s office” and alleged “interference with civil rights.”

The language of his allegation is reflective of Ohio Revised Code Section 2921.44, dereliction of duty, subsection (E)....