* Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and others have called for a Department of Justice civil rights investigation into the Chicago Police Department. Mayor Emanuel didn’t like the idea, but he came around to it today. From a press release…

“Many things must happen to restore trust in the Chicago Police Department and I welcome efforts and ideas that can help us achieve that important goal. I want to clarify my comments from yesterday and I want to be clear that the City welcomes engagement by the Department of Justice when it comes to looking at the systemic issues embedded in CPD.

First and foremost, we need answers as to what happened in the Laquan McDonald case, which is why the United States Attorney should swiftly conclude his year-long investigation and shed light on what happened that night, and the actions of everyone involved.

As it relates to a longer-term review of our police department and efforts to improve police accountability, I am open to anything that will help give us answers and restore the trust that is critical to our public safety efforts. I trust the Department of Justice to make the right decision based on the facts and the law. Like every Chicagoan, I want to get to a place where we’re permanently addressing the entrenched issues in our police department. Our residents deserve that, as do our police officers. Adherence to civil rights and effective crime fighting go hand in hand.”

Background:

* On Tuesday, Mayor Emanuel announced that a six-member Police Accountability Task Force would immediately begin a top-to-bottom review of the system of oversight and accountability training and transparency that is currently in place at CPD.

* In his speech, Mayor Emanuel said: “Every day, we must ensure the checks and balances are in place to keep the confidence of Chicagoans … There are systemic challenges that will require sustained reform. It is a work in progress as we continue to build confidence in our police force.”

* Additionally, on Wednesday during a discussion with Politico, Mayor Emanuel was asked a question of whether CPD violated the constitution and federal laws. He responded to that question in the context of the Laquan McDonald case. See the exchange below:

Q: Yesterday, the Illinois Attorney General requested the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division investigation whether practices by the Chicago Police Department violate the constitution and federal laws. Do you worry that’s the case?

A: No. I want everybody to remember this. First, the city had a civil – there’s kind of three legal tracks and three kinds of oversights. On February 27, the family came and approached the city. We reached a settlement in and around the civil case and then took it to the City Council. If you go and look back at what Steve Patton said in front of City Council, a lot of that was there and in public domain. Immediately after the incident, back in February 2014 – so 14 months ago, within weeks, I think two weeks — the U.S. attorney and the State’s Attorney both opened up investigations with the FBI as an investigatory body. They had all materials, all the tapes, all the background. We settled – as I said – in April. But started in the discussions end of February when the family approached. As you now know, the State’s attorney concluded her investigation. There’s an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office here in Chicago with the FBI. My view is that given the period of time they’ve had the information, like everybody else, I await their conclusion. They are looking into this situation and all the aspects around it. I think an additional layer prior to the completion of this, in my view, would be misguided. And if you notice, they are doing a thorough job, given that they had the information two weeks after, just immediately after the incident. They are doing a thorough job, and hitting the restart button on a whole new investigation does not get you to the conclusion in an expedited fashion.

Q: But those are two different things. What she’s looking at is a civil rights investigation. It would look at pattern and practice at the police department. It would be a more sweeping view. Other cities have done it – would you welcome that?

A: Well, what I would first welcome is the conclusion of the existing investigation by the U.S. Attorneys right now that’s present. I think that one of the reasons I asked the former head of the Civil Rights Division, Deval Patrick, to be an outside adviser and senior adviser to this working commission is because it’s exactly the question he is familiar with and he has a different set of eye — I think is essential. Before the U.S. Justice Department would ask the local U.S. Attorney and FBI to take on additional work, I would them to complete the work – I understand these are very hard cases. And so they are taking on and look at all the perspectives around this case.

* Randall Samborn, who was the US Attorney’s press spokesman for years, explains what’s at stake…

What is needed is a full-scale Justice Department “pattern-and-practice” investigation of civil rights abuses within the Chicago Police Department — the type of sweeping, outside investigation that Chicago, seemingly alone among large American cities, has mysteriously evaded over the last several decades.

From Newark to New York, Cleveland, Miami, New Orleans, Albuquerque and Los Angeles, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which exercises sole authority to launch and conduct such inquiries, has scoured dozens of large police departments, leaving Chicago’s omission head-scratching.

The Justice Department may act if it finds a pattern or practice by a local law enforcement agency that systemically violates people’s rights. These investigations have resulted in settlements and court orders requiring increased transparency and data collection, steps to prevent discriminatory policing, independent oversight, improved investigation and review of uses of force, and more effective training and supervision of officers — all measures that the Chicago Police Department urgently needs.

*** UPDATE *** I meant to post this earlier and forgot…

The Chicago police officer charged with murder in the shooting of a black teen also played a role in the alleged cover-up of another fatal police shooting 10 years ago, according to court records in an ongoing civil lawsuit against the city.

Officer Jason Van Dyke admitted as part of that civil case that he copied the work of other officers on the scene, which made his official report match theirs, without conducting his own interviews of witnesses to the controversial 2005 shooting of Emmanuel Lopez.

While his role in that case was relatively minor, it looms larger now as the Lopez family lawsuit heads to trial in February over allegations that Chicago police shot the 23-year-old janitor 16 times without justification and then concocted a story that they were acting in self-defense because Lopez tried to run over an officer with his car.