Attorney General Lisa Madigan today requested the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to initiate an investigation to determine whether practices by the Chicago Police Department violate the Constitution and federal law.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Madigan asked for an investigation into the Chicago Police Department’s use of force, including deadly force; the adequacy of its review and investigation of officers’ use of force and investigation of allegations of misconduct; its provision of training, equipment and supervision of officers to allow them to do their job safely and effectively; and whether there exists a pattern or practice of discriminatory policing.
Madigan said an investigation by the U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division is necessary and appropriate, given its experience investigating the practices of police departments across the country and based on its experience prosecuting former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. An investigation by the DOJ Civil Rights Division also ensures there is an outside, independent review of CPD practices.
Madigan issued the following statement regarding her letter:
“The shocking death of Laquan McDonald is the latest tragedy in our city that highlights serious questions about the use of unlawful and excessive force by Chicago police officers and the lack of accountability for such abuse. Trust in the Chicago Police Department is broken. Chicago cannot move ahead and rebuild trust between the police and the community without an outside, independent investigation into its police department to improve policing practices. I know the vast majority of officers in the Chicago Police Department serve with bravery, honor and integrity. The children in all of Chicago’s communities deserve to grow up in a city in which they are protected and served by the police.”
The mother of a man shot and killed by Chicago police last year said she has rejected the city’s proposed settlement and wants it to release dashcam footage of the slaying because it shows her son was unarmed when he was killed.
The mother of Ronald “Ronnieman” Johnson, Dorothy Holmes, told reporters during a press conference Tuesday that she has declined a proposed settlement by the city of Chicago in her federal civil lawsuit over her son’s death. Holmes said she will not take hush money from a city that has been doling it out in the millions to cover-up questionable police shootings, like the $5 million paid to Laquan McDonald’s family this past summer. […]
Her son was running through Washington Park on Oct. 12, 2014, on Chicago’s South Side when Officer George Hernandez shot him to death. Then, a familiar story was told to the press.
Johnson had a gun, Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden told the media. (Camden is the same de facto cop spokesman who claimed McDonald “lunged” at police with a knife, causing them to open fire.) Hernandez was not in uniform and driving an unmarked car when he responded to a call of shots fired. Johnson became an automatic suspect because he was running. Camden said Johnson was carrying a gun when at one point he turned toward Hernandez, causing the officer to shoot.
Holmes and her attorney said they’ve seen the dashcam video and it shows police are lying.
Johnson is seen sprinting through the park with nothing in his hands, they said.
“He’s running with palms up,” said William Calloway, an activist who speaks on behalf of Johnson’s family. “The video’s not blurry. It’s not grainy. It is clear as day.”
“They killed him and he was unarmed,” he told The Daily Beast.
Even worse, according to a stunning and volatile allegation by Holmes’s attorney, is that police framed Johnson after they killed him by planting a gun on his person.
Democrats across the city are running for the position of Republican ward committeeman in Chicago in an apparent bid to extend their influence within the party.
In the 23rd ward, which is within Mike Madigan’s state representative district, Robert Handzik has filed as a Republican. Handzik was among those who circulated petitions for Madigan’s fake Republican opponent two years ago. He does not attend county Republican meetings and does not respond to calls or inquiries from the Republican Party.
In the other ward within Madigan’s district, the 13th, an unknown candidate named “Gabriel Trejo” has filed. According to Board of Elections records, Mr. or Ms. Trejo has voted in the Democratic primary in the last four elections and has never voted in a Republican primary.
Of the 25 candidates who have filed as of 12:35 pm, 15 have Democratic voting histories. Nine have voted exclusively in Democratic primaries.
Even among those with recent Republican voting histories, a prior history of Democratic voting is evident.
The reason for this burst of activity is twofold.
First, as one of Pat Quinn’s last acts before leaving office, he and Mike Madigan passed a series of changes to Illinois election law. Among those changes is a new requirement that Republican ward committeeman sign off on election judges in their ward. Prior to the change, election judges could be placed by the Republican County Chairman.
Bruce Rauner used the older law to good effect in the 2014 cycle by funding an effort to put genuine Republican election judges in precincts across the city. The purpose was to control vote fraud in precincts that had previously been controlled exclusively by Democrats. With the new law, Rauner would now need to get the approval of each Republican ward committeeman to place judges in that ward — an impossible task, if the Democrats control the Republican ward committeman seat.
The second reason is that in 2014, the Chicago Republican Party ran candidates for office across the city, forcing Democrats to campaign in districts in which they had never had a challenge. The newly-active Republican Party caused Democrats to spend time and money in the city. Democrat-controlled Republican committeemen can impede that effort and even prevent it in some districts.
The Democrat-controlled Chicago Board of Elections recently made the process for Republican candidates in the city more difficult by quadrupling the signature requirements for Republican ward committeeman. While a Republican candidate in the 43rd ward, for example, only needed 99 signatures in the last cycle, the new requirement is 404 signatures. The rule of thumb is that a candidate should double or triple the minimum number, meaning that a simple ward committeeman slot can require 1,000 signatures. It’s much easier for a well-funded Democrat organization to get this number of signatures than a Republican one in the city.
“We’re fed up with Mike Madigan’s interference in our party,” said Chicago Republican Party Chairman Chris Cleveland. “There is no reason for him to do this, except to use election law to prevent Chicago Republicans from running for office, and to allow vote fraud to flourish.”
Republicans are currently contemplating a legal challenge.
The White House is proposing to offer governors individualized reports about refugees in their states.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said in letters to all 50 governors that upon receiving a governor’s request, the State Department would send back a “tailored report” on refugees resettled in the last month and throughout the year so far. […]
McDonough says the State Department would update the information monthly on a password-protected website. He says it would break down refugees by nationality, gender and age range.
White House Press Secretary Joshua Earnest said Wednesday that the White House “will provide more frequent updates on refugees resettled in their states and increase information-sharing on our extensive security precautions.”
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner was not placated. He still wants Illinois to temporarily halt acceptance of Syrian refugees in the aftermath of the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris. Likewise, more than half the nation’s governors say they are rolling up the welcome mat. […]
Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said the letter completely ignores the governor’s request that background vetting information be provided to state officials prior to refugee resettlement in Illinois.
The White House “wants to provide limited information after resettlement has already occurred,” she said.
“Given the close coordination that exists between state and federal officials on a range of issues related to homeland security, the White House’s continued refusal to provide vetting information to states prior to resettling refugees is truly puzzling,” she added.
The University of Illinois Flash Index reversed a three-month trend in November and climbed to 106.1. The index measures economic activity in Illinois and shows that the state continues to slowly recover from the Great Recession, which technically ended more than six years ago.
The increase to 106.1 reverses three straight months of decline, which saw the index fall from 106.6 in August to 105.8 last month. The decline indicated only a minor slowing of growth for those three months, as an index of 100 marks the division between growth and shrinkage in the economy.
The U. S. economy remains strong in comparison with rest of the world, said U of I economist J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the monthly index for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. While state and national unemployment remained stubbornly high for several years during the recovery, rates have come down the last couple of years to pre-recession levels. For instance, the Illinois rate was over 10 percent in 2011 and has fallen to 5.4 percent today. The hope now is that wages will also begin to respond, Giertz said.
“There is no definitive way to isolate the impact on the economy of the continuing state budget impasse,” Giertz said. “The growth of Illinois economy has not changed markedly since the situation began in July. At some point, however, deadlock will take its toll.”
* Today is December 1st, and that means it’s Golden Horseshoe Awards time. What started out as a tongue in cheek thing has grown to a coveted annual prize in some circles.
For you newbies, I judge these awards based more on intensity of the nominations than actual vote counts. If you just nominate somebody without explanation, I’m likely to ignore it. So explain your votes, please.
We’ll begin with after-hours entertainment. I’m doing three today because we are on a short schedule this year…
* Best Statehouse-area bartender/waiter/waitress
* Best Springfield political restaurant
* Best Springfield political bar
Please do your very best to nominate in all three categories. And, again, explanations matter more than raw vote totals.
City Hall sources, meanwhile, talked to POLITICO, working to dispel theories that the mayor controlled the release of the explosive police shooting video to protect his own political interests, saying it was attorneys representing McDonald who first approached the city with a settlement offer. City Hall sources say the team representing McDonald reached out to the city on Feb. 27 — three days after Emanuel failed to clinch reelection and was forced into a runoff — asking to settle before filing a lawsuit. ‘I can tell you the timing of this was driven by their reaching us, by their desire to settle,’ one of the sources said.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy admitted Tuesday on NBC Chicago that the initial press release sent out after 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was fatally shot 16 times by an officer last year was wrong.
“The initial press release was mistaken, no two ways about it,” he said. “I guess that’s my fault.”
Police initially said an officer shot McDonald in the chest when the teen refused to drop a knife and continued to walk toward officers. Authorities also said the boy lunged at officers with the knife.
But dash-cam video of the shooting shows an officer shooting the teen several times as he appeared to walk away from police.
McCarthy added that he didn’t see dash-cam video of the shooting until the day after the press release went out.
“At that point I was too involved in trying to learn the circumstances of this event and what I needed to do internally and externally and communication is a part of that, no two ways about it, but in this particular case my greatest concern was that information came from elsewhere that he had lunged at the officers, which we knew not be the case and that was what I was trying to fix behind the scenes with the FOP quite frankly,” he said.
Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy has been fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, sources said Tuesday.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The reporter who forced the city to release the LaQuan McDonald video says there’s more…
What did these officers do following the shooting? In the first video released, you don’t see them bending down to comfort or render aid to Laquan.
Instead, police moved around some of their vehicles. We know this because video from a car that arrived on scene five minutes after the shooting shows a different configuration of cars than were seen when Van Dyke fired. This is important because each of these cruisers records what happens in front of them thanks to dashcams. Police have said that the five videos they released are the only ones from the scene that night, but police did not release video from the police car that likely shows Laquan’s face—and thus likely shows the shooting from the clearest angle.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The problem with throwing him under the bus is there aren’t many more bodies left to jettison…
Rahm on his decision to push out McCarthy: "He has become an issue rather than dealing with the issue."
A primary battle could be shaping up in the 99th House District that covers much of the city of Springfield. Republican Kent Gray of Leland Grove filed nominating petitions Monday. Gray is a lawyer and member of the Lincoln Land Community College board. He has also been named campaign manager for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Republican Sara Wojcicki-Jimenez of Leland Grove has also filed. Jimenez was appointed to the seat two weeks ago to replace former Rep. Raymond Poe, R-Springfield, who was named state agriculture director. Jimenez, former chief of staff to first lady Diana Rauner, was backed by the governor for the appointment. […]
In the 50th Senate District, Bryce Benton of Springfield, a state trooper and member of the Prairie Capital Convention Center board, filed to run as a Republican against incumbent state Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview. Benton said McCann has alienated himself with Rauner and other Republicans because of positions he’s taken, such as voting to send state worker labor talks to an arbitrator. McCann, though, has been endorsed by the Sangamon County Republican Party organization. […]
A Republican primary could also be in store in the 95th House District represented by Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond. Republican Dennis Scobbie of Litchfield has filed to run against Bourne who was appointed to the seat when former Rep. Wayne Rosenthal, R-Morrisonville, was named director of the Department of Natural Resources. Scobbie is a retired teacher who is a member of the Litchfield School Board.
On Monday, Republican Christopher Hicks of Sawyerville also filed. Hicks works for Incremental Sales and Marketing, which handles sales for a beer distributorship. Hicks criticized Bourne for voting “present” on a bill to send state employee labor talks to arbitration.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** These Rauner guys are really quite good at getting people out of the way…
Sangamon County assistant state’s attorney Gray Noll will be nominated by Morgan County Republicans to replace Morgan County state’s attorney Robert Bonjean III, who has decided not to seek re-election.
Noll, 38, also is a member of the Springfield Park Board and recently was a candidate to replace State Rep. Raymond Poe after Poe was appointed director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture last month. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, who was First Lady Diana Rauner’s chief of staff, was instead appointed to that post.
Noll, a graduate of Illinois College and the Southern Illinois University School of Law, has been an assistant prosecutor in Sangamon County for 13 years. […]
He said if he receives the appointment, he and his wife, Lauren, will move to Morgan County and he will give up his Springfield Park Board seat.
Gov. Bruce Rauner will meet with four legislative leaders at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at the state capitol to continue budget negotiations as the state enters its sixth month without a formal budget in place.
The legislative leaders who will meet with the governor include House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago; Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago; House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs; and Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont.
The leaders haven’t met as a group since May.
The governor’s office announced Monday the first hour of the meeting will be streamed live online; each legislative leader will speak for 10 minutes, and then the governor will speak. The Southern previously reported that after the public portion, the meeting will continue in private.
Few expect any kind of breakthrough, with the meeting derided by politicians in both parties as more about show than substance. As Rauner himself said last month, “What human being likes to negotiate in front of a TV camera and make a compromise on TV? People don’t do that.”
Madigan has shown in recent weeks that he’s still more interested in playing political games and putting non-winning proposals up for votes rather than solving real problems.
At the same time, Rauner has placed too much emphasis on anti-union rhetoric and not enough on solving a long list of financial problems the state faces.
The result is the current gridlock, which is unlikely to be solved today.
However, the solution to the stalemate will only occur if the leaders start to communicate. So while expectations for today should be low, we agree with Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington: “A meeting is better than no meeting.’’
* Once again, the Tribune editorial board doesn’t explain what reforms it actually supports. They just back their guy against the other guy…
Rauner has said publicly that he’s willing to talk about a tax hike to bring in more money to balance the budget, but he wants fundamental changes in how Illinois operates. We stand firmly with him on this. An exercise that simply matches some spending cuts and some tax hikes will help Illinois limp through another year.
But that’s not good enough. Just look at that credit rating — the worst in the nation. Moody’s warns that the state’s credit could drop lower.
The five people who can do something about that will be in the same room Tuesday. Expectations are low. Ambitions have to be high.
Word is, if the governor and four leaders hope to save some face, it may be with an agreement to move a local aid funding bill — containing money for Illinois lottery payouts, roads and other items. It already passed the House, then stalled once House Speaker Mike Madigan’s lieutenants put a hold on it.
Subscribers know more about that particular topic. But keep an eye on it.
* From Emily Miller at Voices for Illinois Children…
If this meeting yields payouts for lottery winners and roads (both totally legitimate expenses in the context of an entire budget), but continues the budget stalemate when it comes to social services for children, care for people who suffer from mental illness, meals on wheels for homebound seniors and people with disabilities, infant mortality prevention, early childhood education, services for victims of domestic and sexual violence, breast and cervical cancer screenings, afterschool programs for kids, job training programs, and the entire higher education system, including MAP grants, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle need to start questioning their leaders about where their priorities lie.
It’s time for a new framework for budget talks– a framework built around talking about, wait for it, an actual fully funded year-long budget that invests in vital programs for children, families and communities.
We’ve got to remove non-budget policy agenda items from their current position as a precursor to making any responsible budget decisions.
* Comptroller Leslie Munger’s chief of staff just called to say his boss will be able to make the full state pension payment for December. The comptroller couldn’t make the November payment, but holiday sales tax receipts and quarterly income tax payments will help the office make the December payment.
The missed November payment will be made sometime in the spring, I’m told.
In the past, the comptroller made a single pension payment during the fiscal year, but Comptroller Topinka was able to make them every month after taxes were increased in 2011.
* I told subscribers about Gonzalez weeks ago. The other two candidates are new, however…
Those watching the Illinois election board’s web site closely saw a last-minute time-stamp for a widely-rumored Hispanic candidate to challenge [House Speaker Michael Madigan] in the 22nd district. That happened when Jason Gonzales filed.
So Madigan vs. Gonzales? Maybe this guy could actually give the much-maligned Madigan a run for his money in a Southwest Side race.
But wait. Not last-minute enough. In what insiders see as a Madigan play, two end-of-the-night filers then came online and filed their petitions as well: Joe Barboza and Graciela Rodriguez. So Madigan versus Barboza, Rodriguez and Gonzales. Listen as the air deflates.
The rule of thumb for incumbents with primaries is: The more, the merrier. So, yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if MJM put up those other two.
* Now, on to the caption contest. From Jason Gonzalez’s Twitter page…
The Kirk For Senate campaign launched its second television ad of the 2016 U.S. Senate race, titled “Trust”. The ad highlights the contrast on national security issues between Senator Mark Kirk and Rep. Tammy Duckworth. Since the Paris attacks, Rep. Duckworth has called on the United States to accept 200,000 Syrian refugees–20 times more than the President has requested–while simultaneously voting against the America SAFE Act that would require greater screening of refugees to ensure none are associated with ISIS. The statewide ad buy begins today.
Statement from Kirk For Senate Campaign Manager Kevin Artl:
“The facts remain that ISIS used the Syrian refugee crisis to smuggle its terrorists into France and carry out their tragic and deadly acts. Yet Rep. Duckworth continues to ignore the concerns of the Director of the FBI, Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center about our government’s flawed vetting process which cannot ensure that these refugees are not part of ISIS. Instead of listening to the experts, Rep. Duckworth is doubling down on a reckless plan to let in 200,000 Syrians - 20 times more than the amount the Obama Administration is requesting. Rep Duckworth’s plan demonstrates a complete lack of judgment and creates unnecessary security risks for American families.”
In 2009, the flawed vetting system allowed two al Qaeda terrorists disguised as Iraqi refugees to settle in Kentucky, according to an ABC News Investigation. This investigation resulted in the temporary halt of the refugee program by the Obama Administration.
Less than a month ago, Rep. Duckworth voted against the American SAFE Act. This bipartisan measure requires the FBI Director, DHS Secretary and Director of National Intelligence to certify that each refugee admitted to the United States from Syria or Iraq poses no national security risk.
· Mr. Valls Said Some Of The Paris Attackers Had Taken Advantage Of The Massive Influx Of Migrants Into Europe Fleeing Conflict. (”These Individuals Took Advantage Of The Refugee Crisis… Of The Chaos, Perhaps, For Some Of Them To Slip In” to France, He Told French TV. “Paris Killers Used Refugee Crisis To Slip In,” SKY News, 11/20/2015)
· Two Of The Terrorists Bought Ferry Tickets From Leros To Continue Through Europe With Syrian Refugees. (”Paris Attacks: BBC Names Stade De France Bombers As M Al-Mahmod,” BBC, 11/22/2015)
Amazingly, Tammy Duckworth still wants to bring 200,000 Syrian refugees to America, even though the FBI says they cannot be safely screened.
Citations:
· But U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Schaumburg, said at a separate event that the country needs to “have confidence in our intelligence services” and not put up walls. “Our nation is better than that,” Duckworth said, underlining her support for a measure to allow up to 200,000 refugees from the war-plagued country in the U.S. (Greg Hinz, “Stark Political Split Opens Up On Syrian Refugees,”Crain’s Chicago Business, 11/16/15)
· The Head of the FBI Said The Screening Process Is Not 100% Accurate. “I can’t sit here and offer anybody an absolute assurance that there’s no risk associated with this,” Comey said. (Jerry Markon, “Senior Obama Officials Have Warned of Challenges In Screening Refugees From Syria,” Washington Post, 11/17/2015)
Duckworth supports 20 times more refugees than the President.
Citation:
· Obama Said He Will Continue With His Plan To Allow 10,000 Syrian Refugees Over The Next Year. (Eric Lichtblau, “White House Affirms Syrian Refugee Pan Despite Paris Attacks,” New York Times, 11/18/15)
DUCKWORTH CLIP
“I signed on for 200,000 refugees.”
Citation:
· Duckworth Says Publicly She Wants 200,000 Refugees Allowed Into The U.S. (Fox Chicago News: “Reporter on Senator Mark Kirk and Rep. Tammy Duckworth addressing the Syrian refugee crisis” FOX Chicago, 11/15/2015)
ANNCR:
Mark Kirk opposes more Syrian refugees until it can be done safely.
Citation:
· Kirk Calls On Obama To Pause Intake of Syrian Refugees Until There Is 100% Guarantee With Vetting Process (Mark Kirk, “We’ve Already Let Terrorists In As Refugee,” Chicago Tribune, 11/24/215)
For your family’s safety: Who do you trust?
KIRK:
I’m Mark Kirk and I approve this message.
Rate it.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Response…
Good morning. In response to Sen. Mark Kirk’s new ad, please see the following statement, attributable to Matt McGrath, deputy campaign manager. Please also see the attached document, which goes point-by-point on Sen. Kirk’s uncertainty and dishonesty on this matter:
“We agree this is a crucial difference in this campaign. Tammy Duckworth believes leadership comes through strength, not fear. Mark Kirk’s worldview, on the other hand, is driven very much by fear and a willingness to compromise American values and to act how enemies like ISIS want us to act.
He has called for the mass incarceration of African Americans and suggested we just drive faster through African American neighborhoods. He suggested the President’s goal was to arm the Iranians with nukes, and compared the Iran peace agreement to Nazi appeasement. He wanted to place coffins outside the offices of his political opponents. Now, like Donald Trump, he’s appealing to base xenophobia, sowing fear of refugees in the midst of one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time. His ad is false, and he knows it, but worse yet it appeals exclusively to fear and the lowest common denominator. He should be ashamed. Illinois deserves better.”— Matt McGrath, campaign spokesman
