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Who watches the watchdogs?

Posted in:

• Illinois

* Hmm…

* The BGA story’s headline is: “Police Shooting Bill On Fast-track Because It Changes Little”…

After passing the Senate last month 49-0, the Raoul bill is expected to speed through the House without opposition from a powerful police lobby well-known for pushing back hard on new mandates from Springfield.

A likely reason for the restraint is that the bill does not demand independent or civilian oversight, sets forth no parameters for what should be included in the policy reviews, provides no funding to conduct the investigations and leaves it to local police chiefs to decide how to conduct them. […]

“Everything that I have done in law enforcement and criminal justice reform, I’ve done incrementally,” [Sen. Kwame Raoul] said. “I’m open to seeing what would happen with it in whatever capacity I will be serving in the future. I anticipate having a voice in this, and using it.” […]

“If those critics have the revenue source to fund the investigative agency that could police every police department, I’m all ears,” he said. “Things aren’t as easy as flipping a switch.”

* Only one witness slip has so far been filed on this bill and it was from a proponent…

The fact that the Better Government Association was actively lobbying in favor of Raoul’s bill was never mentioned in the BGA’s story about Raoul’s bill.

Odd.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, May 11, 18 @ 1:23 pm

Comments

1. I’d hate to see what they would write about a bill they were actually against.

   Comment by Ron Burgundy Friday, May 11, 18 @ 1:28 pm

2. Danish is a silent mover and shaker in Springfield, expect this bill to pass!

   Comment by Chicago Living Friday, May 11, 18 @ 1:29 pm

3. Off to a shaky start David. New dog, same tricks.

   Comment by WashingMachineGuy Friday, May 11, 18 @ 1:37 pm

4. BGA really needs to clean this up and reveal their conflict on this bill. I don’t care that they’re slipping the bill, but they need to hold themselves to the same standards they hold others to.

   Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Friday, May 11, 18 @ 1:39 pm

5. You can be a reporter or you can be a lobbyist….there’s not a journalism school in the anywhere in the world that will teach you it’s okay to do both.

   Comment by Fitz Friday, May 11, 18 @ 1:45 pm

6. “If those critics have the revenue source to fund the investigative agency that could police every police department, I’m all ears,” he said. “Things aren’t as easy as flipping a switch.”

   I may be taking this the wrong way, but aren’t they burying the lead. Is a major party candidate for Attorney General in the State of Illinois saying that there are so many police related shootings occurring in the State of Illinois on an annual that it would take a full-time, small to mid-sized agency to handle the volume of investigations necessary figure it all out?

   Comment by benniefly2 Friday, May 11, 18 @ 2:13 pm

7. –The fact that the Better Government Association was actively lobbying in favor of Raoul’s bill was never mentioned in the BGA’s story about Raoul’s bill.–

   Did Proft replace Shaw at BGA? Why are they lobbying for a bill they say doesn’t do anything?

   WBEZ should at least know to disclose.

   Comment by wordslinger Friday, May 11, 18 @ 2:46 pm

8. BGA isn’t fair and balanced, and hasn’t been since its inception. They do a lot of bidding for the Mayor and the council, who feed them crumbs for scandals that they can manage.

   A lot of people bashed Project 6 because its financiers were from the right. Even though I’m a Dem, corruption is corruption and needs to be rooted out, no matter what side it’s coming from.

   Also find it ironic that the one person who the Mayor and Council agreed to hire to investigate any corruption was shown the door when he did too good of a job. His name was Faisal Khan and he was the watchdog of P6.

   Move along, nothing to see here, folks!

   Comment by Anon35 Friday, May 11, 18 @ 3:05 pm

9. As much as I’m bothered by the BGA’s journalist/lobbyist conflict, it’s good someone is paying attention.

   Part of the problem is there is little outside scrutiny of the suburban towns where these shooting incidents occur. The downtown media focuses on the Chicago Police Department. So does the plaintiff’s bar and the ACLU types — they go where the deep municipal pockets are and where the lucrative consent decree work is.

   Comment by Roman Friday, May 11, 18 @ 3:26 pm

10. The problem with Project Six isn’t that it’s right wing: it’s that it lied about it. And Khan was shown the door for incompetence.

    Comment by Anonymous Friday, May 11, 18 @ 4:04 pm

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