Sun Times: Aldermen: End Burge saga
Today's ST,
Aldermen demanded Tuesday that Mayor Daley "stop the bleeding" of tax dollars -- and "end the nightmare" of torture by former Chicago Police Lt. Jon Burge -- by honoring a settlement with three alleged victims and reaching agreement with two others.That IL GOP Website should be taking a position here. And who knows where the Greens have gone.
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On Tuesday, Aldermen Bob Fioretti (2nd), Pat Dowell (3rd), Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Howard Brookins (21st), Ed Smith (28th) and Joe Moore (49th) again demanded that the Burge cases be settled.
They were armed with a study, disclosed Sunday by the Chicago Sun-Times, that shows taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $195 million if the city insists on defending Burge in civil suits filed by Orange, Howard, Hobley and two others alleging torture -- Aaron Patterson and Darrell Cannon.
To the aldermen, it's not simply a matter of saving money when Chicago is struggling to close a $217 million budget gap. It's about justice and healing for African Americans.
Update Sep 27: More...Cop charged in plot to kill former officer On Sunday, Finnigan dropped by Herrera's house.
On a piece of paper, he wrote the initials of the ex-officer and three other cops, correctly speculating they were cooperating with authorities, said an affidavit by FBI agent Tom Simon.For the sake of the cops, hope the Mayor is right. What did Reagan used to say? Trust but verify? CPD overdue for some verification.
Finnigan allegedly told Herrera that "they might as well take care of all the witnesses against them," the affidavit said.
"He's happy that it was uncovered," said a lawyer for one of the witnesses.
Mayor Daley said the explosive new charges against Finnigan are "a good thing," but refused to condemn the Special Operations Section. "It doesn't reflect the entire police department," he said.
3 comments:
The problem, as I painfully see it, is that Mayor Daley will continue to fight the matter for as long as possible. He is more than willing to waste every tax dollar he can in his vain attempt to prop up his pathetic record as State's Attorney of Cook County in the 1980s.
It is long past time for the City of Chicago to settle these cases. Allowing them to continue only adds to the final bill the taxpayers must shell out, delays justice to the victims of burge's torture tactics and gives a half dozen cities all the ammunition they need to derail Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. (If the Mayor doesn't think this unresolved case won't cripple the city's image and its Olypic chances, he has another guess coming.)
These case need to be looked at individually. Mobley did it he may have been tortured But he sure looks guilty thats why the feds are going after him now. Anyone that is innocent needs to be justly compensated. But there should not be a blanket settlement. Alderman in the Ryan Harris case accepted campaign donations from lawyers suing the city and then forced the city to settle for much more money than was neccasary
Burge is sick and should be indicted.
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