Craig Futterman cited in the Chicago Tribune on Rahm Emmanuel's reforms to the Chicago Police Dept.

AG Madigan sues to enforce Chicago police reform; Emanuel pledges cooperation

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on Tuesday sued the city of Chicago, contending Mayor Rahm Emanuel's reforms are not sufficient to prevent the Chicago Police Department from continuing a pattern of deadly and excessive force that disproportionately hurts African-Americans and Latinos.

***

Emanuel said multiple times that he would work alongside the Illinois attorney general to institute lasting reforms. But the Emanuel administration has argued in a separate suit against some of the very points Madigan sought to make Tuesday.

City attorneys are asking a judge to dismiss a case brought by civil rights organizations and police misconduct victims. The city argued the group's calls for a consent decree were now "moot" because the Emanuel administration already had instituted the necessary police reforms. In that case, the mayor's office also argued well-known, decades-old police abuses were not relevant, while Madigan's office cited some of that very same police misconduct in arguing the city needs a consent decree.

University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman, who is part of the legal team representing the civil rights groups, said the Emanuel administration's motion raises questions about whether the mayor truly wants court oversight.

"Do I think (Madigan) is forcing his hand? Yes," Futterman said. "He — even after we filed suit and up until today — was fighting tooth and nail: We don't need a consent decree."

Read more at Chicago Tribune

Policing