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Police Torture in Chicago

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Citizens Alert Involvement

Since 1982 Citizens Alert has maintained a sharp focus on police torture. We convened the Coalition to End Police Torture and Brutality and recruited community observers to attend civil trials and hearings involving allegations of torture by former commander of detectives, Jon Burge and officers under his command. We launched a public education campaign and exerted continuos pressure on the superintendent and Chicago Police Board at monthly meetings. We spearheaded the successful campaign to have Jon Burge fired from the Chicago Police Department in 1993.

"Albert Maule, president of the Chicago Police Board, on the Burge case... admits that 'for better or worse' Citizens Alert has kept the issue [police torture] hot for several years. Other observers contend that if it were not for CA pressure, [former Superintendent] Martin would not have reopened the investigation, sending it to the board."*
--Robert J. McClory, Chicago READER July 17, 1992

^*The Chicago Police Board fired Jon Burge for torture in 1993.

When community efforts seeking his criminal prosecution were ignored, two Citizens Alert board members, Maryl Johnson and Mary Powers, and a longtime supporter, Larry Kennon, petitioned the court to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate complaints of torture. Thousands of Chicago residents signed our petition in support of this effort. Retired Judge Edward J. Egan was appointed in April 2002. Since that time the number of persons claiming to have been tortured has risen to over 190, but no recommendations have been forthcoming from the Special Prosecutor's office. For general information see Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Chicago Law School

CURRENT FOCUS In October 2005, frustrated by the inaction of local authorities, legal and community groups petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States to undertake an investigation of police torture in Chicago. Representatives of the Peoples Law Office, National Conference of Black Lawyers, MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Chicago Law School, Northwestern Law School and a torture victim, David Bates, presented testimony at an October 14th hearing in Washington, DC, to which Citizens Alert sent a representative.
Citizens Alert is promoting community involvement in this effort through a letter writing campaign. To participate, call 312-663-5392, or write directly to:

The Executive Secretariat
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 1889 "F" Street NW
Washington, DC 20006

In your letter, urge the commission to send representatives to Chicago to undertake an investigation.

LATEST DEVELOPMENT

Release of Report

On May 12, 2006, the Special Prosecutor appeared in court to request permission to make public the results of his four-year investigation. Lawyers for some of the police officers accused are trying to block release of the report. In approving release, Chief Justice of the Criminal Courts, Paul Biebel, described the case as "an open sore on the civic body of Chicago that has festered for many years." He ruled that "the public's right to be informed of the results of this exhaustive investigation outweighs the privacy rights of individual officers."
Locke Bowman, MacArthur Center for Justice attorney representing the petitioners, stated "The time has come for people to be held accountable criminally." He contends that the report will be a prelude to indictments if not by the county, by federal prosecutors, if not by federal prosecutors, on the international level.

The report will become public - probably early in June. Even without specific indictments, this will be a significant victory for the thousands of persons who signed petitions circulated by Citizens Alert seeking appointment of the Special Prosecutor. Power to the People!

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION

Two weeks before Judge Biebel's ruling, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (in charge of monitoring compliance with the U.N. Convention Against Torture) held four days of hearings in Geneva Switzerland. Joey Mogul from the Peoples Law Office presented powerful testimony regarding torture of over 190 prisoners in Chicago police facilities. Joey represented the concerns of all of us - victims, their families, activists and outraged Chicago area residents who have fought so long in the struggle for justice for Burge victims. The U.N. panel released a statement the same morning as Judge Biebel, expressing its concern with what it called a "limited investigation" and "lack of prosecution" in the alleged torture cases in Chicago and requesting continuing reports from the U.S. on the ongoing investigation.
Prior to the UN hearings, attorney Jean Maclean Snyder, a Citizens Alert board member, helped write a "shadow" report on torture in U.S., presented in Geneva as a supplement to the official US report.

In this content, Joey's presentation to the Committee exemplified the actual abuses taking place in the U.S., which of course, are not reported by the offical U.S. delegates. Citizens Alert signed on to the Midwest Human Rights Coalition (of which CA is a member) endorsement of the "shadow" report, which Jean had spent many hours helping compose.

Thank you and kudos to Joey, Jean, and her fellow authors, Tonya McClary and Andrea Ritchie!

BACK TO COURT

In a desperation move, lawyers for the police went to the Illinois Supreme Court which denied a motion to prevent public release of the report. Justice Mary Ann McMorrow also denied a motion asking that future pleadings be under seals.
Disappointed with her ruling, the lawyers are now seeking a ruling from the entire court, which is not scheduled to meet in June. The next status hearing is scheduled for June 30, 2006.