Lightfoot Flip Flop on Burge Torture
Despite the fact that President of the Police Accountability Task Force Lightfoot and Candidate Lightfoot acknowledging the crimes committed by former Police Commander Jon Burge and his colleagues within the Chicago Police Department, Mayor Lightfoot’s Department of Law is arguing that many of his crimes never occurred. This of course flies in the face of […]
FOP Watch: Taking Responsibility Not a FOP Thing
Taking responsibility for their actions is obviously something the FOP leadership and their memberships are not very good at doing. Although at the same time they are very good at making sure other are taking responsibility for their actions. Even today the FOP still argues that: Jon Burge never tortured anyone let along the more […]
FOP Watch: Examining Anti-Police Rhetoric in Managing Police Culture
Chicago Police’s distrust with the public is higher now than it ever has been as their culture continues to be a problem. The distrust is growing exponentially since the early 90s after the revealed misconducts of Jon Burge’s and his “Midnight Crew” officers who used methods of torture including beating, suffocation, burning, and electrical […]
Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, Better as a Truth Commission?
Last week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation creating the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, Public Act 096-0223. The creation of this commission, sponsored by Illinois State Senator Kwame Raoul, came about as a direct response to the twenty-year period of police torture of African American men under Commander Jon Burge. Any attempt to […]
To Evaluate an Agency within the System You Must Examine all the Agencies
There is a presumption by the citizens of Chicago that when the Chicago Police arrest an individual and the complainant follows through with their role that charges, prosecution, and hopefully convictions are soon to follow. The reality is this impression is nothing more than an impression and that access to data that could be used […]
CPD, Burge, & Current Interrogation Practices
The news this week that former Police Commander Jon Burge has been indicted on federal charges nearly thirty years after the alleged crimes is very important. This long overdue prosecution exposes the striking, continuous, and deliberate refusal by the accountability departments within the agencies, policy makers, the media, and the courts, to focus their attention […]
Cover-up or true separation of power?
The Special Counsel, appointed by Presiding Criminal Court Judge Paul Biebel, authored a letter to the Criminal Justice Committee of the Cook County Board. Edward Egan and Robert Boyle, the lawyers appointed by Judge Biebel to investigate the 20 years of allegations of torture at the hands of Chicago Police Detectives, authored this letter. You […]
Special Prosecutors Report to be Released
So, it seems that we will be able to read all the gory details of the investigation into the years of torture that occurred in rooms within Area 2 and Area 3 Chicago Police Headquarters. This seems to be a victory for the activists that have been pushing for the reports release. But, is it […]