IL lawmaker aims to unseat Chicago mayor

For years, watchdogs, lawyers and journalists have documented instances of police misconduct, including violent episodes caught on video and then subjected to the same silent treatment that almost buried the death of black teenager Laquan McDonald, who was shot to death by a white Chicago police officer in October 2014.

In Wednesday’s 40-minute address before a special City Council session, Emanuel said the police force needs “complete and total reform” and vowed to win back the public’s trust.

The McDonald case, in which a white police officer shot the black teen 16 times, including as he lay motionless, became the most well known example after dash-cam footage was released 13 months after the fact on November 24. “I take issue with a powered official valuing black lives enough to use them as pawns for the goal of re-election, but not valuing them enough to be honest with them about the violence that happens in their own communities”.

Emanuel touted recent actions to address the unrest following the release of the video showing Van Dyke shooting McDonald.

Unlike other cities where the combustable pairing of police brutality and systemic racism sparked nights of rage, Obama’s ties to Chicago – where he maintains a residence and where he’ll build his presidential library – run deep.

Cook County’s chief prosecutor, Anita Alvarez, admits the timing of the charges against the officer involved are to make the shooting less of a scandal.

More than 1,800 people RSVP’d to a Facebook event for Wednesday’s demonstrations, NBC Chicago reported. But interim police superintendent John Escalante said Monday that the matter is under investigation and that the department would be “doing our own review of our policies and practices surrounding the response to mental health crises”.

The video shows six officers – several of whom appear to be black – entering Coleman’s cell.

Emanuel has been embroiled in the controversy since before the police dashcam video of McDonald’s shooting was released to the public ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. A year ago the CPD ended their internal investigation clearing the guards of any wrongdoing, and were supported by the Chicago Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA). The guards claimed that they only Tasered Coleman after he attacked them, and refused to release the video evidence showing that this was a lie. In the glare of another officer’s flashlight, Williams said that Evans threw him to the ground and put a knee in his side, a pistol in his mouth and a stun gun to his groin while demanding, “Tell me where the gun’s at!” “How can you not say something?” she said.

“We have not seen the tip of the iceberg yet”, Rep. La Shawn Ford said on Thursday, saying voters had lost “trust and confidence” in the mayor.

In an emotional speech with his voice occasionally breaking, the mayor of the nation’s third-largest city reiterated reform steps he has already promised. And Chicago has no process for a mayor to be recalled.

Locals clearly aren’t satiated by the mayor’s words: a new poll by Ogden & Fry found that just over half of Chicago natives think Emanuel should resign.

It’s been nearly two weeks of protesting for some Chicagoans.

On the latter, he told the City Council, “We welcome it. We will be a better city for it”.

There are also several protests planned Wednesday at City Hall and downtown.

At least four different groups are planning protests throughout the day in and around Chicago’s City Hall to draw attention to cases of alleged abuse by police officers.

Wednesday morning’s speech will come two days after U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced a Justice Department civil rights investigation to determine if there are patterns of racial disparity in the police department’s use of force.