Wrong. Don't focus on fixing "the review process." That's a distraction. The process is as good as the people who run it. First focus on firing the mayor, DA, and police officials who suppressed evidence. THEN look at the review process. The easiest thing in the world is to monkey with organization charts. The hardest thing is to create personal accountability. That hasn't happened in any of the police shooting episodes in recent years, and until it does nothing will change. Is Blow backing away from holding Emanuel accountable? Don't take the focus off that or it won't happen.
38
The feds or state should take over the police dept.
21
Given that immediately after the shooting of McDonald, cops showed up at the nearby Burger King to delete the security camera footage, clearly there is a well-established process for covering up police shootings in Chicago. That culture has to be in place in the whole department.
72
The police review process in Chicago is not broken. It is working as intended by the officials who created it.
106
One of the rare times I completely agree with Blow. The Ferguson shooting of Michael brown appears to have been justified and yet we had a full Department of Justice investigation and nationwide scrutiny. The shooting in Chicago cannot be justified by any stretch of the imagination and Chicago's corrupt policing policies are wide spread and well known. Time for the Justice Department to step up and get to work.
38
Anonymous reported that when officers were required to wear body cameras, and it was an enforced policy, complaints about police dropped 88% and reported violence 60%. That town is Rialto, California. Chicago does not enforce body camera use and has one of the lowest reported statistic (Though, I can't find the number: 7% from google.) in the country.
Now, of course, Rahm is expanding the use of body cameras by officers. No one is suggesting who will regulate use or monitor use. And, yet, Chicago does not permit citizens to record the police: yes, this is very much against the law, just like owning a firearm. And, for the same reason: it might be used against the police.
Now, of course, Rahm is expanding the use of body cameras by officers. No one is suggesting who will regulate use or monitor use. And, yet, Chicago does not permit citizens to record the police: yes, this is very much against the law, just like owning a firearm. And, for the same reason: it might be used against the police.
19
But wait. Chicago is a Democrat controlled city. It has been for decades and decades. Yet is has more crime, murders and gang violence each weekend than most cities experience in a year. I guess Democrat social policies are not the panacea Democrats always claim them to be.
19
Chicago has strict gun laws and has been a democrat city for decades........easy to see why they fail................Rahm and his family are off to Cuba for a holiday while the city burns
37
If there is police corruption from top to bottom in Chicago when it comes to covering up police murders of civilians, it follows that this corruption could answer a key question: Why haven't the police been able to stop the flow of drugs pipelined into designated Chicago communities resulting in gangs fighting over the millions to be made from the sale of those drugs?
How easy it has been, it seems, to explain away, what were unjustified killings of blacks by police with impunity because too many believe that blacks are inherently criminal.
Is it too much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that perhaps the police have not worked very hard in making these now feared and fearful communities livable again by stemming the gang violence and preventing Mexican Drug cartels from making a home there because of the endless supply of money, and the convenient stereotype of the inherently predation of Black youths?
The exposure of the "chicanery" now exposed because of the shooting of LeQuan, perhaps, is just the first layer of a very deep and squalid mud hole.
How easy it has been, it seems, to explain away, what were unjustified killings of blacks by police with impunity because too many believe that blacks are inherently criminal.
Is it too much of a stretch of the imagination to believe that perhaps the police have not worked very hard in making these now feared and fearful communities livable again by stemming the gang violence and preventing Mexican Drug cartels from making a home there because of the endless supply of money, and the convenient stereotype of the inherently predation of Black youths?
The exposure of the "chicanery" now exposed because of the shooting of LeQuan, perhaps, is just the first layer of a very deep and squalid mud hole.
8
And how much is the life of 9 year old Tyshawn Lee worth? Oh, he was a black boy killed by a black gang member, so Charles is silent about that murder in Chicago. Maybe all black lives don't matter to Charles, only those murdered by white policemen. But kudos to Charles for going after Rahm Emanuel, the progressive light shining on a corrupt city.
25
"Something is a amiss in the Windy City." Yes, a bold understatement.
What interests me is that it is now clear that a significant number of officers witnessed the murder, did nothing to prevent it, did nothing to assist the victim, and then went back to their desks and falsified their official reports with convenient narratives of a lunging, threatening attacker. Where are the reports of the 6 or 8 officer suspensions? Is the situation so "amiss" in Chicago that lying on your official reports to protect your felonious "brother" is consider standard procedure?
What interests me is that it is now clear that a significant number of officers witnessed the murder, did nothing to prevent it, did nothing to assist the victim, and then went back to their desks and falsified their official reports with convenient narratives of a lunging, threatening attacker. Where are the reports of the 6 or 8 officer suspensions? Is the situation so "amiss" in Chicago that lying on your official reports to protect your felonious "brother" is consider standard procedure?
34
One would think this story would get top billing in Chicago. One would be wrong. The Chicago media is doing everything in its power to diffuse this cover-up issue. The Chicago Tribune has broken it up into bite-sized chunks of 4 (ostensibly unrelated) ledes:
"Emanuel objects to federal probe of police, but may not be able to stop it"
"Emanuel: 'I don't appreciate' family vacation question"
"Cop in Laquan McDonald video tied to another police shooting death"
"Chicago's violent crime changed little during McCarthy's time"
I don't believe for a minute the Trib is incapable of tying their "loose ends" together, and I also have little doubt the cover-up has infected our fourth estate.
Shame on you, Chicago Tribune, and shame on you WGN (Tribune Broadcasting) and CLTV (also Tribune Broadcasting) for giving the Rahmmeister and his corrupt cronies breathing room.
Time was a major newspaper was by law prevented from owning a broadcast outlet in the same town. Now you know why (if you didn't before).
"Emanuel objects to federal probe of police, but may not be able to stop it"
"Emanuel: 'I don't appreciate' family vacation question"
"Cop in Laquan McDonald video tied to another police shooting death"
"Chicago's violent crime changed little during McCarthy's time"
I don't believe for a minute the Trib is incapable of tying their "loose ends" together, and I also have little doubt the cover-up has infected our fourth estate.
Shame on you, Chicago Tribune, and shame on you WGN (Tribune Broadcasting) and CLTV (also Tribune Broadcasting) for giving the Rahmmeister and his corrupt cronies breathing room.
Time was a major newspaper was by law prevented from owning a broadcast outlet in the same town. Now you know why (if you didn't before).
19
Police officers by and large serve honorably. However, the blue code of honor creates a false sense of loyalty to protect a colleague, "no matter what." That is a rather short term view, because in the long run, trying to protect the bad apple creates a rot in the whole basket. Police officers are not above the law- honest police officers who risk their lives everyday know this. Why do they let a rotten and corrupt colleague take the whole department down with them is more a reflection of the leadership. Anytime a police complaint results in a settlement, supervisors should lose their bonuses and promotions. It should be considered as a failure of leadership and supervise. Afterall, the work culture is a part of job description of the leader of the department. Peer pressure to behave honorably is the only way the department will discipline itself.
20
It's not unlike the thinking of Bill Clinton, when he was asked the why of the affair with Monica Lewinsky - He answered something like, "I guess it's because I could", the implication being that those in high places are immune and safe from prosecution, no matter the crime.
And so it is in Chicago; the life of this boy meant nothing to the murderer who shot him 16 times, and it is clear to the nation that the cover-up was orchestrated and condoned from the Mayors office
This mentality exists in the ranks of public officials throughout our government, from the White House down to the state and local levels.
Young men, and women, generally African Americans and other minorities, beaten, maimed, and murdered, on videotape, yet prosecutors and grand juries rarely secure indictments.
And heaped on top of this is inequality, the likes we have never seen.
People are waking up, and if government continues to keep the people in what amounts to a state of subjugation, the anger will explode violently.
We are standing at the edge of an abyss.
And so it is in Chicago; the life of this boy meant nothing to the murderer who shot him 16 times, and it is clear to the nation that the cover-up was orchestrated and condoned from the Mayors office
This mentality exists in the ranks of public officials throughout our government, from the White House down to the state and local levels.
Young men, and women, generally African Americans and other minorities, beaten, maimed, and murdered, on videotape, yet prosecutors and grand juries rarely secure indictments.
And heaped on top of this is inequality, the likes we have never seen.
People are waking up, and if government continues to keep the people in what amounts to a state of subjugation, the anger will explode violently.
We are standing at the edge of an abyss.
16
Could Rahm have released the video? Did releasing the video finally provide the cover Rahm needed?
3
The Democrats have run Illinois (in general) and Chicago (in particular) for the better part of a century, and this is their chickens come home to roost on their political machine. Faced with this unpleasantness, Mr. Blow tries having his Democratic cake and eating it, too. After a perfunctory drive-by shaming of the usual political suspects, Mr. Blow saves his real pique for the yes-men of the Chicago PD's civilian review board. The asinine conceit being that the whole municipal hierarchy - politicians, prosecutors and police - aren't Democratic apparatchiks.
Speaking of Democratic machine politics, has the union representing the Chicago PD approved the Times' editorial stance - i.e., greater scrutiny (& legal jeopardy) for their membership? As the union's president might phrase it: "It would be a darn shame if this negatively impacted union donations to Democratic candidates in the next election."
Speaking of Democratic machine politics, has the union representing the Chicago PD approved the Times' editorial stance - i.e., greater scrutiny (& legal jeopardy) for their membership? As the union's president might phrase it: "It would be a darn shame if this negatively impacted union donations to Democratic candidates in the next election."
17
So you think this mess in Chicago is Obama's fault? Did Rahm have an office in the White House while this cover-up happened? Did Obama help Rahm lay out his plans for reelection?
Dick Cheney did have an office in the White House when we invaded Iraq? Did George Bush take his advice (and lies), then order Shock and Awe? Wasn't Bush (with Dick Cheney still on the ticket) reelected even though Iraq was sinking into a quagmire? Is Chicago as troublesome as Iraq?
Sometimes a little context goes a long way when seeking to find the motives people use to justify their ideology.
Dick Cheney did have an office in the White House when we invaded Iraq? Did George Bush take his advice (and lies), then order Shock and Awe? Wasn't Bush (with Dick Cheney still on the ticket) reelected even though Iraq was sinking into a quagmire? Is Chicago as troublesome as Iraq?
Sometimes a little context goes a long way when seeking to find the motives people use to justify their ideology.
44
Chicago police are free to do whatever they want to do, with the exception of criticizing the police.
22
Chicago is the model.
Fauxgressives love the Benevolent State, and there isn't a better example of the dream of the left than Chicago; the city built and run by the left.
Fauxgressives love the Benevolent State, and there isn't a better example of the dream of the left than Chicago; the city built and run by the left.
18
Yet, Mr. Blow, this is the same Rahn Emanuel who Obama picked for his Chief Of Staff and right-hand man. Can't imagine how much he covered up there.
33
Chicago is what you get when you elect democrats to run a city. Corruption runs deep in those bones. Chicago hosts some of the dirtiest politics ever and Rahm Emanuel should resign. In fact, if you don't look at a DIM from Illinois with some suspicion about their integrity or competence, or both, you get what you deserve.
Although this story started with a police action, which certainly was wrong, but the coverup went straight to city hall. And if the DOJ doesn't investigate Emanuel, let's just say Chicago corruption may also infect the WH.
But, as to CB's main point, the police are bad, yes -- in this instance it does not look like a justified shooting. But let's not use a single incident to hammer all police. Who took the risks yesterday in San Bernadino to get the shooters? The police. That's the way it works and CB and other haters and baiters never credit the police for the good works they do.
And in this instance, while the video seems clear that this shooting was not justified, let's not forget that Laquan McDonald was high on PCP, slashing police tires, brandishing a knife that he refused to put down and resisting arrest. The police didn't make that up. While I would agree that it doesn't appear that any of the police were in imminent danger, there is also little question that Laquan would not be dead now if he had not behaved the way he did.
Although this story started with a police action, which certainly was wrong, but the coverup went straight to city hall. And if the DOJ doesn't investigate Emanuel, let's just say Chicago corruption may also infect the WH.
But, as to CB's main point, the police are bad, yes -- in this instance it does not look like a justified shooting. But let's not use a single incident to hammer all police. Who took the risks yesterday in San Bernadino to get the shooters? The police. That's the way it works and CB and other haters and baiters never credit the police for the good works they do.
And in this instance, while the video seems clear that this shooting was not justified, let's not forget that Laquan McDonald was high on PCP, slashing police tires, brandishing a knife that he refused to put down and resisting arrest. The police didn't make that up. While I would agree that it doesn't appear that any of the police were in imminent danger, there is also little question that Laquan would not be dead now if he had not behaved the way he did.
29
"It all makes one ask: How much is the life of a teenager worth? To what length would officials go to bury visual evidence that he had been shot down in the street like a dog? "
You have every right to be disturbed, Charles, I know I am. First the killings themselves: shot down like a dog. I don't think the life of a teenager in Chicago is worth very much at all.
The cover up for job preservation or re-election comes in a close second to the actual cold-blooded murder itself. Are these "pesky" deaths such a pain to officer and city official advancement. Boy, I don't think I'll be moving to Chicago soon.
Other cities with entrenched systems of corruption when it comes to bad policing and firing truth-tellers have been subject to federal takeovers. Ideally the feds will come in to see what can be made of the Chicago cesspool.
In the meantime, I agree: Emmanuel must go and we are all left wondering, how many other Macdonalds are there who were never taped, never subject to a coverup, who lay bleeding in the streets with no dashcam evidence, shot down like dogs?
You have every right to be disturbed, Charles, I know I am. First the killings themselves: shot down like a dog. I don't think the life of a teenager in Chicago is worth very much at all.
The cover up for job preservation or re-election comes in a close second to the actual cold-blooded murder itself. Are these "pesky" deaths such a pain to officer and city official advancement. Boy, I don't think I'll be moving to Chicago soon.
Other cities with entrenched systems of corruption when it comes to bad policing and firing truth-tellers have been subject to federal takeovers. Ideally the feds will come in to see what can be made of the Chicago cesspool.
In the meantime, I agree: Emmanuel must go and we are all left wondering, how many other Macdonalds are there who were never taped, never subject to a coverup, who lay bleeding in the streets with no dashcam evidence, shot down like dogs?
89
The corruption is not surprising, the city is controlled by Democrats
12
I'm beginning to miss Eric Holder at the helm of Justice! Rahm Emanuel shoul immediately resign, no question about it!
17
In 1968 I visited Chicago to participate in the Democratic convention. When we arrived the city was under police lock-down, and I remember thinking this is what a totalitarian state feels like. It was terrifying. Nothing moved without the approval of Chicago police under the direction of the Democratic Mayor William Daley. Why the Democrats didn't pick up and leave is beyond me, but they bought the idea that the police were protecting THEM from demonstrators in the street. I suppose today people rationalize that Chicago police protect them from lawless black teenagers, but the truth is that they are captives of another corrupt mayor and police system that has grown even more lawless. This is one problem Democrats can't blame on Republicans.
23
the boy would have been white there would be details all over the place.
3
Funny, Rahm Emanuel wasn't a White supremacist, or corrupt sleaze when he was helping Obama become President, or serving as Obama's Chief of Staff.
Now suddenly Obama supporters and apologists like Mr. Blow are fitting him for a red and white robe.
This is one of the reasons I am a registered Republican. I simply have to have sanity, logic and decency to function, which is why I wouldn't vote Barack Obama dogcatcher or wallow with the liberal flees who flock to him at all costs.
Now suddenly Obama supporters and apologists like Mr. Blow are fitting him for a red and white robe.
This is one of the reasons I am a registered Republican. I simply have to have sanity, logic and decency to function, which is why I wouldn't vote Barack Obama dogcatcher or wallow with the liberal flees who flock to him at all costs.
13
Cops lie. Cops cover up. Cops are corrupt. Cops teach each other all these things from day one. Cops and the legal system must be held accountable.
24
It's fun watching Democrats attack their own. Chicago is a progressive city run by a progressive mayor. So if the cops are racist, whose fault is that?
In truth, Anita Alvarez has been getting a bad rap. She was quietly gathering the evidence despite the blue code of silence. There is something called the 21-foot rule when dealing with a potential attacker with a knife. That's how much space the person with a knife can cover before someone with a gun can respond. I'm not saying it would prevail in this case, but if the State's Attorney had rushed an indictment then it would have been more likely.
In truth, Anita Alvarez has been getting a bad rap. She was quietly gathering the evidence despite the blue code of silence. There is something called the 21-foot rule when dealing with a potential attacker with a knife. That's how much space the person with a knife can cover before someone with a gun can respond. I'm not saying it would prevail in this case, but if the State's Attorney had rushed an indictment then it would have been more likely.
5
Mayor Emanuel was fully supportive of Superintendent McCarthy until his aides explained that if he didn't sacrifice Mr. McCarthy the mayor himself would likely be forced to resign. That was when the mayor realized his hand was forced and he would have to do the right thing and make a somewhat bold move.
Rahm Emanuel ran for mayor of Chicago because it appeared to be the most reasonable and accessible first step to assuaging his aspiration for great power. Being mayor was merely a stop along the way to what he imagined would be a long trek to much bigger conquests - perhaps even president. Mr. Emanuel reminds me quite a bit of our own homegrown megalomaniac, Rudy Giuliani, and we know what happened to him.
I'd like to see Mayor Emanuel suffer consequences for his actions but, if nothing else, there is at least a modicum of satisfaction in knowing -- like Rudy Giuliani before him -- his political career has ended!
Rahm Emanuel ran for mayor of Chicago because it appeared to be the most reasonable and accessible first step to assuaging his aspiration for great power. Being mayor was merely a stop along the way to what he imagined would be a long trek to much bigger conquests - perhaps even president. Mr. Emanuel reminds me quite a bit of our own homegrown megalomaniac, Rudy Giuliani, and we know what happened to him.
I'd like to see Mayor Emanuel suffer consequences for his actions but, if nothing else, there is at least a modicum of satisfaction in knowing -- like Rudy Giuliani before him -- his political career has ended!
95
The unfortunate issue is that upon review of the video the police officers had a legal right to use deadly force when the teenager disregarded the order to drop the knife. The police officer that shot his weapon probably shot too many times, which is typical in these scenarios due to adrenaline and lack of practice. If the Police Dept leaders were honest and open since the beginning, then there could have been a teachable lesson for all involved.
2
>Something is amiss in the Windy City. Police officers “doing whatever they wanted to do” with no worry about repercussions or accountability?
***Seems to be no change from when the police beat up demonstrators outside the Chicago Democratic Party convention in 1968.
***Seems to be no change from when the police beat up demonstrators outside the Chicago Democratic Party convention in 1968.
6
The mayor should resign. The bigger question is why the Justice Department has not investigated abuses of power by those in authority in Chicago. This to me is a clear failure of President Obama, who surely was apprised of this hideous killing before last week, to demand a Justice Department investigation.
Police must earn the respect of the public whom they are sworn to serve and protect. Unfortunately, too many sworn officers seem to have forgotten their oath. This makes it very difficult for those who take that oath very seriously and conduct themselves with discipline and honor in what is a very difficult job. Why then, do the good ones look the other way when one goes bad?
Police must earn the respect of the public whom they are sworn to serve and protect. Unfortunately, too many sworn officers seem to have forgotten their oath. This makes it very difficult for those who take that oath very seriously and conduct themselves with discipline and honor in what is a very difficult job. Why then, do the good ones look the other way when one goes bad?
6
Emanuel claims that the electoral process itself will do the work of holding him accountable but there are other means to hold elected officials as well, including criminal charges and impeachment. We can only hope these latter processes are put to use and that justice reaches the very top of Chicago's political establishment.
2
It would probably be more efficient - strictly from the perspective of statistical probability - to examine political corruption in major cities run by Democrats.
Perhaps Mr. Blow is too politically correct to point this out - as the words "Democrat" or "Democratic" do not show up in his commentary.
Mr. Blow's sensitivity to the feelings of his cohorts in the Democratic Party, while commendable (at least to them), does not focus on the problem.
Perhaps Mr. Blow is too politically correct to point this out - as the words "Democrat" or "Democratic" do not show up in his commentary.
Mr. Blow's sensitivity to the feelings of his cohorts in the Democratic Party, while commendable (at least to them), does not focus on the problem.
5
Mr. Blow writes:
"Something is amiss in the Windy City. Police officers “doing whatever they wanted to do” with no worry about repercussions or accountability? That is the very nature of corruption and abuse of power. "
What he doesn't say is that Chicago has been governed by the Democratic Party since 1927. Why would he expect accountability when re-election and control is virtually guaranteed? What does he think the term "Chicago politics" means? It means loyalty to the party and punishment of opponents. Or, as President Obama said in 2010 in an interview with Univision: "...We’re going to punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends..."
By focusing on the Chicago police department Mr. Blow is looking at the trees and missing the forest.
"Something is amiss in the Windy City. Police officers “doing whatever they wanted to do” with no worry about repercussions or accountability? That is the very nature of corruption and abuse of power. "
What he doesn't say is that Chicago has been governed by the Democratic Party since 1927. Why would he expect accountability when re-election and control is virtually guaranteed? What does he think the term "Chicago politics" means? It means loyalty to the party and punishment of opponents. Or, as President Obama said in 2010 in an interview with Univision: "...We’re going to punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends..."
By focusing on the Chicago police department Mr. Blow is looking at the trees and missing the forest.
8
George Bush had Dick Cheney, Obama had Rahm Emanuel. The people of Chicago deserve better. At some point, we could hope for some politicians with integrity and principles other than their own self interest. Emanuel must go. Now and Obama should condemn the behavior like Bush never did.
8
Federal investigators have been examining this killing since shortly after it occurred. Oddly, we don't hear much about their nearly one year of involvement.
President Obama has, likewise, been quiet about what happened in his home city where his friend and former chief of staff is the mayor.
Mr. Emanuel, refusing to resign, denies prior knowledge of the details of the video showing the killing. In addition to questions about the police department, which Mr. Blow raises, there are questions about the Emanuel-Obama-Justice Department relationships and how, perhaps, that has affected justice in this case.
President Obama has, likewise, been quiet about what happened in his home city where his friend and former chief of staff is the mayor.
Mr. Emanuel, refusing to resign, denies prior knowledge of the details of the video showing the killing. In addition to questions about the police department, which Mr. Blow raises, there are questions about the Emanuel-Obama-Justice Department relationships and how, perhaps, that has affected justice in this case.
6
The problem is significant, no doubt. The solution must also be significant, but it cannot erradicate the problem at its best policy alone. There is a culture justified by interpretations of gun rights in the U.S. constitution.
It would take a constitutional amendment to change things, and that won't happen due the size and power of the opposition.
Allieviation of the damage is the best we can do. Background checks don't account for under the counter sales and theft of guns. In fact, I would imagine gun theft would increase if there were significant background checks.
It would take a constitutional amendment to change things, and that won't happen due the size and power of the opposition.
Allieviation of the damage is the best we can do. Background checks don't account for under the counter sales and theft of guns. In fact, I would imagine gun theft would increase if there were significant background checks.
1
It's not a stretch to suggest that all of them should go and a Justice Department review should take place to seek possible indictments.
Now when is Mr. Blow going to turn his scorn to the 360+ African-Americans who have also been murdered in Chicago, largely at the hands of other African-Americans?
Now when is Mr. Blow going to turn his scorn to the 360+ African-Americans who have also been murdered in Chicago, largely at the hands of other African-Americans?
14
All true. This is what happens when one political party has a monopoly on power. In this case it's the Democrats but it could have just as easily been Republicans as both are devoid of statesmen.
Chicago is a mess. Crook County is worse. Illinois is a corrupt and incompetent basket case. As for Congress - See Illinois.
I've voted in every election since I was 18 but understand why so many don't.
This situation is prime for a Hitler type of character.
Chicago is a mess. Crook County is worse. Illinois is a corrupt and incompetent basket case. As for Congress - See Illinois.
I've voted in every election since I was 18 but understand why so many don't.
This situation is prime for a Hitler type of character.
5
Thank you Charles Blow. This column needed to be written.
As a former prosecutor for 10 years, it is clear to me that this type of misconduct would not be going on with such frequency if it weren’t for the “Blue Wall” and prosecutors looking the other way when police misconduct occurs.
Such closing of ranks is not uncommon. When I did report a police detective for misconduct I was told by many of my colleagues that I was putting my career on the line because so much of my work depended on the cooperation of police officers, including as witnesses. My supervisor, God bless him, backed me up. In any case, both the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the Civilian Complaint Review Board whitewashed the whole matter.
I know of another prosecutor who was very tough on police misconduct, but he was a rarity. Why should that be so? Who else is in the best position to police the police? There are reasons for prosecutorial immunity, but unless prosecutors can be disciplined and punished for looking the other way when there is police misconduct, it will continue unabated. The time for real reform has come.
As a former prosecutor for 10 years, it is clear to me that this type of misconduct would not be going on with such frequency if it weren’t for the “Blue Wall” and prosecutors looking the other way when police misconduct occurs.
Such closing of ranks is not uncommon. When I did report a police detective for misconduct I was told by many of my colleagues that I was putting my career on the line because so much of my work depended on the cooperation of police officers, including as witnesses. My supervisor, God bless him, backed me up. In any case, both the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the Civilian Complaint Review Board whitewashed the whole matter.
I know of another prosecutor who was very tough on police misconduct, but he was a rarity. Why should that be so? Who else is in the best position to police the police? There are reasons for prosecutorial immunity, but unless prosecutors can be disciplined and punished for looking the other way when there is police misconduct, it will continue unabated. The time for real reform has come.
13
Yet another fire-breathing rant from Charles Blow full of the same pointless rhetorical questions which he regularly doles out for any situation and then conveniently ignores when the actual facts turn out different than his knee jerk assumptions.
The cop has been indicted for murder. Read that again and few times Mr. Blow and let it sink in. The cop has been indicted for murder.
Who is "Bernard Harcourt" and why in the world would a quote from him (in the NY Times, for crying out loud) carry any particular weight.
For the egotistical demagogues like Charles Blow, it seems the new game in town is "off with their heads!" no matter what situation.
When the Trumps, Cruz-es, Pauls, Santorums and their ilk take charge, we can turn to people like Mr. Blow and ask "what were you doing?" We know. He was popping off about toppling some city mayor to satisfy his own out-of-control ego.
The cop has been indicted for murder. Read that again and few times Mr. Blow and let it sink in. The cop has been indicted for murder.
Who is "Bernard Harcourt" and why in the world would a quote from him (in the NY Times, for crying out loud) carry any particular weight.
For the egotistical demagogues like Charles Blow, it seems the new game in town is "off with their heads!" no matter what situation.
When the Trumps, Cruz-es, Pauls, Santorums and their ilk take charge, we can turn to people like Mr. Blow and ask "what were you doing?" We know. He was popping off about toppling some city mayor to satisfy his own out-of-control ego.
7
How can the president prosecute Rahm for withholding information and for keeping the truth from coming out during an election year? These are the precise acts in which the president has engaged. They appear to be acting from the same playbook.
After Ferguson, the president rushed right in. His silence about Chicago's handling of the tape is typical. He's "disturbed" by the tape's contents, not its coverup. This is the kind of response he gives when Hillary Clinton is found to have done something wrong. It's actually a political response worthy of Hillary Clinton.
After Ferguson, the president rushed right in. His silence about Chicago's handling of the tape is typical. He's "disturbed" by the tape's contents, not its coverup. This is the kind of response he gives when Hillary Clinton is found to have done something wrong. It's actually a political response worthy of Hillary Clinton.
13
What must you already have accepted in life to allow you to watch the execution of a young teen by a police officer and your response is to pay off the family and sit on the knowledge until you have safely secured your job? Rahm Emanuel fought for a job that not many believe that he is doing well. Whatever career ambitions he might have had, he must now acknowledge that he is no longer good for Chicago. He must everyday look in the mirror and tell himself that he concealed a murder of a teen by an officer of the law to save his job. What he sees looking back cannot be good.
25
This is a wonderful piece. Thank you. It is way past time for justice to be done in Chicago. What is wrong with us?
39
Yes, by all appearances something smells fishy in Chicago. Folks can protest all they want, but the family chose money over justice.
3
Fascinating, the juxtaposition of events in Chicago surrounding the murder of Laquan McDonald with the NYT special report on the influx of right wing money into the state. Could be this a preview of what's to come in the rest of the country . . . Illinois, clean up your act once and for all. I agree Emanuel is toast.
3
The forces of darkness always return.
2
I agree with Charles Blow on this one. Chicago is corrupt from top to bottom and it is time for the Feds to step in and clean house starting with the police department. Also, Obama needs to whisper in his buddy the mayors ear that it is time to go! Obviously the tape was held back until Rahm could get elected!
3
On the surface, there appears to have been a concerted effort to suppress evidence and avoid prosecuting the officer. That deserves a Federal investigation. Who knew what, and what decisions were made and why?
A belated indictment does not absolve those who conspired to keep the officer free and unpunished (with pay) for over a year.
Murder is murder, Mr. Emanuel. And now you're responsible for working to get this officer off to protect your own political ambitions.
A belated indictment does not absolve those who conspired to keep the officer free and unpunished (with pay) for over a year.
Murder is murder, Mr. Emanuel. And now you're responsible for working to get this officer off to protect your own political ambitions.
5
Chicago, another city the Democrats have ruined.
5
Mr. Emanuel needs to step down. He is shameful, as is the CPD. This cover-up for over a year is despicable and HE is responsible for it.
We have lost our way in America. Our pols only care about themselves and covering their own derrieres and making sure they get re-elected and that's exactly what Emanuel was doing. He is responsible and he has to go. The sooner the better for the sake of Chicago - and America.
We have lost our way in America. Our pols only care about themselves and covering their own derrieres and making sure they get re-elected and that's exactly what Emanuel was doing. He is responsible and he has to go. The sooner the better for the sake of Chicago - and America.
7
Why is Rahm Emanuel not yet indicted for obstruction of justice?
5
Chris Christie had no idea there were incredible traffic jams in his state for three years. Rahm Emanuel never saw the video of the police murder until a year after it happened. And I have an original Van Gogh in my attic I can sell you at a very reasonable price.
4
"Are officials so desperately afraid of losing their jobs that they would conceal details about the loss of a boy’s life?"
Strictly a rhetorical question, right? Nothing is more important to the American politician than re-election.
Strictly a rhetorical question, right? Nothing is more important to the American politician than re-election.
3
ANYONE who for an instant thought, in this day and age, that any video evidence of this most heinous crime could (or even worse SHOULD) be "covered up" is a DISGRACE to their office, whatever it may be, and pretty damned low on the "human" level too and should absolutely forfeit any public position they might hold. Governing is a matter of TRUST - it should be understood that a contract is established between the electorate and the elected and it has been most egregiously broken in Chicago. Police should be disseminating evidence and never obstructing it! The foul stench of "cover-up" is being carried by "the windy city" across the country and it's a real shame because it's otherwise a nice place. Emanuel fired an utterly disgraced police superintendent and now it should be HIS TURN TO GO. "Chicanery" describes the DESPICABLE goings-on in Chicago far too mildly.
1
President Obama...please move the site of your Presidential Library to Hawaii!
Chicago and Rahm Emmanuel is a disgrace!
Chicago and Rahm Emmanuel is a disgrace!
2
This behavior only started when Rahm became mayor of Chicago? People need to step back at look at the massive interconnections of disgusting politicians (Clintons-Obama-Emmanuel-Pelosi-Reid) and those who enable them. They ALL need to be blocked from any elective office or employment by a publicly funded entity. They all are disgusting.
3
In theory, Justice is blind. In practice, people of color, the homeless, and the mentally ill get the heel of the boot while law enforcement and Wall Street get lily white gloves.
Unequal justice is injustice.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." MLK
Unequal justice is injustice.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." MLK
1
As societies' moral fabric unravels, as "public service" turns into "self service," as the money allows those who have it to have the volume control of freedom of speech, as small groups like the NRA keep wagging the dog, as the Republican party remains focused mainly on taking down President Obama, this kind of behavior will become the "new normal." These should be important moments for reflection and seeking the right path. Alas, all are talking why we cannot have the right path and confusing the issues.
Time to grow up, altogether, as a nation, as all nations, as humanity. How many more must be killed for us to unite and, at least try to eradicate this malaise of constant killing. Even if we cannot eliminate it, maybe, just maybe we will succeed in reducing the number of people killed every day, senselessly.
Time to grow up, altogether, as a nation, as all nations, as humanity. How many more must be killed for us to unite and, at least try to eradicate this malaise of constant killing. Even if we cannot eliminate it, maybe, just maybe we will succeed in reducing the number of people killed every day, senselessly.
3
I almost never agree with Mr. Blow. Primarily because I refuse to condemn the police in a vacuum; the high level of violence among young black males is a major part of the problem. That said, Mr. Blow is correct, this incident in Chicago was a political cover up.
5
Welcome, as Mr. Kass would tell you, to the Chicago Way, where voters otherwise known as chumbolones toe the party line and do as they are told.
The game plan is to let this all blow over with some window dressing. AG Lisa Madigan's "investigation" will find a few mid level fall guys to take the blame, and the blue ribbon panel convened by Deval Patrick (no enemy of Rahm, he) will make all kinds of glittering recommendations in a lengthy and expensive report.
And a year from now, all will be largely forgotten. Because that's the Chicgao Way. The chumbolones will be placated.
As for Mayor Emanuel? I fully expect him to be sharing a jail cell with Jon Corzine. Oops, never mind....
The game plan is to let this all blow over with some window dressing. AG Lisa Madigan's "investigation" will find a few mid level fall guys to take the blame, and the blue ribbon panel convened by Deval Patrick (no enemy of Rahm, he) will make all kinds of glittering recommendations in a lengthy and expensive report.
And a year from now, all will be largely forgotten. Because that's the Chicgao Way. The chumbolones will be placated.
As for Mayor Emanuel? I fully expect him to be sharing a jail cell with Jon Corzine. Oops, never mind....
6
Something is very wrong with our culture. The winning not matter the cost has permeated every strata in America and it shows no sign of getting better.
2
This is the Chicago mentality. Hide, delay, slow walk information or just plain lie about it. Anything to get a political victory regardless of the truth or facts. Rahm has learned well from his mentors and in his mind he has done nothing wrong, only what was necessary to win.
13
Sadly, as someone who has lived in Chicago and its suburbs for about 15 years, I do not find this surprising.
18
This story has legs. The rot can now be exposed at every level of the Chicago city government. Political opportunists turning a blind eye to the cold blooded murder of a black youth by a bad cop. How ironic that Obama's right hand man in his first term would display such naked ambition ahead of justice for the black community. If one wonders why people have such contempt for politicians all one has to do is watch this story as it unfolds.
19
The fish stinks from it's head down!!
John Kass of the Chicago Tribune has it all wrong.... it is very personal. When Emanuel, McCarty, and Alvarez compromise their sworn obligations to keep
John Kass of the Chicago Tribune has it all wrong.... it is very personal. When Emanuel, McCarty, and Alvarez compromise their sworn obligations to keep
12
Forget 'Black Lives Matter' in Rahm Emanuel's political world.
As far as Rahm Emanual was concerned when Laquan McDonald was killed by Chicago police one year ago, "Rahm's Re-Election Matters".... end of story.
President Nixon's audio tapes had a 'mysterious' 18-minute gap in them in the Watergate saga.
Rahm Emanuel's police force plumbers are closely connected with an 86-minute gap in the Chicago Burger King video footage that likely showed evidence of the police manslaughter of Laquan McDonald.
President Nixon and his staff fought furiously against release of the audiotapes that would indict him.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his staff fought furiously against release of the police videotapes that would indict him until freelance journalist Brandon Smith successfully sued for the public release of the dashboard camera videotape showing the police murder of Laquan McDonald.
At least Watergate wasn't trying to hide a homicide.
You can't say the same for Rahmgate.
Re-election season repeatedly causes grown and intelligent men to flush all good judgment and ethics down the political toilet.
Political power corrupts...again and again and again.
As far as Rahm Emanual was concerned when Laquan McDonald was killed by Chicago police one year ago, "Rahm's Re-Election Matters".... end of story.
President Nixon's audio tapes had a 'mysterious' 18-minute gap in them in the Watergate saga.
Rahm Emanuel's police force plumbers are closely connected with an 86-minute gap in the Chicago Burger King video footage that likely showed evidence of the police manslaughter of Laquan McDonald.
President Nixon and his staff fought furiously against release of the audiotapes that would indict him.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his staff fought furiously against release of the police videotapes that would indict him until freelance journalist Brandon Smith successfully sued for the public release of the dashboard camera videotape showing the police murder of Laquan McDonald.
At least Watergate wasn't trying to hide a homicide.
You can't say the same for Rahmgate.
Re-election season repeatedly causes grown and intelligent men to flush all good judgment and ethics down the political toilet.
Political power corrupts...again and again and again.
149
Chicago's Lorenzo Davis appears to be a modern day Serpico. How to end it?
12
One of the things missing in Chicago is a free press. Why weren't the newspapers in Chicago filing FOIA requests? When the press in the third largest city is either unwilling or incapable of probing into the apparent misdeeds of elected officials and their appointed leaders democracy is in peril.
11
The modern adage, "The Cover-Up Is worse than the crime," applies here.
There was no reason in the world for Chicago officials not to tell the truth and not to release the video right after the shooting happened. Since Mayor Emanuel and his cohorts deliberately covered up the truth, they need to be brought up on dereliction of duty charges and removed from office and/or sent to prison.
As bad as the Eric Garner case was, the New York City officials did do the right thing and sent the case to a grand jury. The outcome was not necessarily what the public hoped, but at least no officials could be blamed for sitting on the case for months.
There was no reason in the world for Chicago officials not to tell the truth and not to release the video right after the shooting happened. Since Mayor Emanuel and his cohorts deliberately covered up the truth, they need to be brought up on dereliction of duty charges and removed from office and/or sent to prison.
As bad as the Eric Garner case was, the New York City officials did do the right thing and sent the case to a grand jury. The outcome was not necessarily what the public hoped, but at least no officials could be blamed for sitting on the case for months.
9
This kid was indeed, shot down like a dog. Not even the finest, most creative legal council on earth can mount a credible defense of this murder.
But the unwritten part of this story concerns the role of public unions in state and municipal politics. Not only have public unions used their influence and political power to squeeze outsized pay and benefit packages from the taxpayers--and in the process bankrupting many of our cities--they also are seen, at least in this case, as standing in the way of justice.
It appears that 3 politicians were all moved to inaction--by fear of what the police union would do--had this injustice been expeditiously prosecuted, as it should have been. And that leads to a question of morality. Has union solidarity become such an absolute that it trumps right and wrong? It's easy to argue here that it has.
The McDonald slaying--and subsequent cover-up, are pure examples of political corruption. Many people should be charged here, in addition to the officer who shredded this young boy. The police commissioner, the prosecutor, the mayor--and every officer who kept silent about this execution should go to jail.
A powerful message needs to be sent around the nation--that the corrupting power of the Union vote cannot be allowed to shield injustice.
But the unwritten part of this story concerns the role of public unions in state and municipal politics. Not only have public unions used their influence and political power to squeeze outsized pay and benefit packages from the taxpayers--and in the process bankrupting many of our cities--they also are seen, at least in this case, as standing in the way of justice.
It appears that 3 politicians were all moved to inaction--by fear of what the police union would do--had this injustice been expeditiously prosecuted, as it should have been. And that leads to a question of morality. Has union solidarity become such an absolute that it trumps right and wrong? It's easy to argue here that it has.
The McDonald slaying--and subsequent cover-up, are pure examples of political corruption. Many people should be charged here, in addition to the officer who shredded this young boy. The police commissioner, the prosecutor, the mayor--and every officer who kept silent about this execution should go to jail.
A powerful message needs to be sent around the nation--that the corrupting power of the Union vote cannot be allowed to shield injustice.
6
As despicable as the cover up of this event is, lets not forget the family essentially signed a gag order when they took the five million handout and as a result, are also complicit in the cover up. Had they turned the money down, they could have screamed to the world about the death and justice might have been served much sooner.
10
Watergate Redux--Chicago Style
Eerie similarities to Watergate with the terrible exception that this involving the murder of a teenager.
Still, an election that had to be won, hush money, an elaborate cover-up, etc.
The cast for the drama is largely set:
The judge who ordered the tape to be released as John Sirica
McCarthy as Erlichman
Alvarez as Haldeman
Emmanuel as "I am not a crook"
The only question is who will play John Dean?
Eerie similarities to Watergate with the terrible exception that this involving the murder of a teenager.
Still, an election that had to be won, hush money, an elaborate cover-up, etc.
The cast for the drama is largely set:
The judge who ordered the tape to be released as John Sirica
McCarthy as Erlichman
Alvarez as Haldeman
Emmanuel as "I am not a crook"
The only question is who will play John Dean?
10
"Are officials so desperately afraid of losing their jobs that they would conceal details about the loss of a boy’s life?" Is that question asked with serious intent? Is there any possible answer except "of course"?
The real question is, what do you expect Obama and the Justice Department to do about it? Or is the answer to that, "nothing", also too obvious?
The real question is, what do you expect Obama and the Justice Department to do about it? Or is the answer to that, "nothing", also too obvious?
7
Always nice to see a bunch of smug New Yorkers, from columnists to law professors, telling those west of the Hudson what is wrong with them and how to fix it, that they have to resign because they say so. They hold elections in Chicago and people can vote the mayor out. Whether or not they decided to try and keep this from coming out in order to avoid the backlash and protests and other things we are now seeing, can be debated as smart or dumb. But blaming the actions of one bad/crazy/vicious person on every elected official in that city is beneath contempt.
2
The country needs no more fomenting hate...Mr. Bruni....
and
I wish you will start taking the attitude of Martin Luther King....
Fomenting more anger ...Mr. Bruni...is not following the example of MLK
and
I wish you will start taking the attitude of Martin Luther King....
Fomenting more anger ...Mr. Bruni...is not following the example of MLK
Good piece, Mr. Blow. But you forgot the punchline. If black lives matter to President Obama then he will appoint a Federal prosecutor to uncover the rot in the Chicago political system. Democrats have run Chicago for over half a century and what we see is a result of one party rule. The tragic death of an innocent teenager assassinated on a street in one of our great cities by a law enforcement officer should outrage every one of us. I am not holding my breath waiting for leadership from this President when it comes to investigating a former top aid, a Democrat mayor in his hometown. Shame. Shame on all of us.
17
The McDonald case in Chicago, all caught on video tape and then suppressed by the authorities until they were literally forced by a judge to release it to the public, is a disgrace of huge proportions and a travesty of justice.
Chicago... hometown of the President of the United States, run by the former Chief of Staff to the President & murder capital of the Nation.... is the poster child for everything that is wrong with our Criminal Justice System.
After Ferguson, it took exactly 48 hours for the heavy hand of the DOJ to come swooping down on that jurisdiction. Why not in Chicago of all places? Could it be that powerful people have even more powerful friends in very high places?
We will know the answer to that question when & if the DOJ finally does its job and criminal indictments are handed out for Obstruction of Justice to those who concealed this evidence for oh so long.
Then and only then we will truly see how much Black Lives actually do matter to those in charge.
Chicago... hometown of the President of the United States, run by the former Chief of Staff to the President & murder capital of the Nation.... is the poster child for everything that is wrong with our Criminal Justice System.
After Ferguson, it took exactly 48 hours for the heavy hand of the DOJ to come swooping down on that jurisdiction. Why not in Chicago of all places? Could it be that powerful people have even more powerful friends in very high places?
We will know the answer to that question when & if the DOJ finally does its job and criminal indictments are handed out for Obstruction of Justice to those who concealed this evidence for oh so long.
Then and only then we will truly see how much Black Lives actually do matter to those in charge.
97
The mayor, the police chief and the state prosecutor had to see the video showing a cop murdering a teenager soon after it happened but yet they did nothing until the video was shown to the public thanks to a court order.
They are obviously corrupt to the core and all have to go. Time for massive protests until they do.
They are obviously corrupt to the core and all have to go. Time for massive protests until they do.
5
The rotten stench of political expediency and administrative cover up in Chicago's handling of the murder of Laquan McDonald has permeated every corner of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office. The Mayor's fatuous attempts to justify the 13 month delay in the release of the shooting tape, the dismissal of Superintendent McCarthy, and the $5 million dollar settlement, have been pathetic fabrications, and an insult to the intelligence of every Chicago citizen.It was about the Mayoral politics period.If Emanuel was told the tape was "trouble"how, as the mayor of Chicago, a city of with a long history of police misconduct, could he not demand to view it?. If Rahm Emanuel has any sense of decency ,he should resign immediately.
5
Today Douthat asks, 'Is Donald Trump a Fascist?' And history tells us that fear and insecurity set the stage for that kind of insanity.
In Chicago, many will side with Rahm because of, not in spite of, his callousness and cynical behavior as he is perceived as protecting 'us' from 'them'.
The pursuit of a perceived 'Security' above all has, and will continue to, produce a deterioration of principles.
'How much do young black lives matter?' you ask?. Well that depends on how over-hyped the threats are made to seem by our bought and sold 'leadership'.
The demagogues are lined up and waiting to lead us to the hell of our fears and ignorance.
In Chicago, many will side with Rahm because of, not in spite of, his callousness and cynical behavior as he is perceived as protecting 'us' from 'them'.
The pursuit of a perceived 'Security' above all has, and will continue to, produce a deterioration of principles.
'How much do young black lives matter?' you ask?. Well that depends on how over-hyped the threats are made to seem by our bought and sold 'leadership'.
The demagogues are lined up and waiting to lead us to the hell of our fears and ignorance.
4
Blow fails to mention that the Chicago snakes nest is comprised of and run by liberal Democrats. As are Baltimore, LA etc.. The corruption, stranglehold and bankrupt policies and ideology of the Democrats is never mentioned as a source of most problems in our big cities. When Obama was a "community organizer" who ran Chicago's run down communities? Democrats. Blow, like all left wingers, is not interested in the results of more then half a century of Democrat rule. They simply and mindlessly just want more of the same for personal, political and ideological gain. Thinking outside the radical left wing straight jacket is too hard and a source of serious cognitive dissonance. That young Black people in Chicago, under generations of Democrat rule, would be safer in Kabul does not effect his thinking. He doesn't even ask the question.
What was Einstein's definition of insanity?
What was Einstein's definition of insanity?
7
Do you think that if Rahm and company were Republicans that their party affiliation would be a prominent feature of stories about the mess that Chicago is in a presidential election cycle? But somehow it's never mentioned in our corporate media.
5
All this and yet Charles can't call for the Mayor to resign? IF this is really "chicanery" the Mayor knew or should have known about it.
Either way, he must resign. So sad (and telling) that Charles and the NY Times Editorial Board can't bring themselves to ask for his resignation.
I'm only left to wonder why.........?
Either way, he must resign. So sad (and telling) that Charles and the NY Times Editorial Board can't bring themselves to ask for his resignation.
I'm only left to wonder why.........?
3
It's not just Chicago. I once read that in the USSR you looked away from the police, afraid that if they noticed you they would harm you. That's what it is like in the USA these days. We were so afraid of "communists" that we have become the USSR - no jobs, a huge war machine and a repressive police force.
8
So when Rahm Emanuel pulls these stunts to get elected, Mr. Blow sees a manipulative, wrongful crisis of epic proportions. But when Benghazi occurs, then hiding information damning the President for his incopetence is an appropriate action to take because the reelection of Obama is a moral imperative. I'm sorry, but select morals show no morals at all and all we seem to see with politicians, and especially with journalists who have a strong preference for a certain party, is this moral relativism indicating a complete absence of real morals and ethics within their character. Congratulations Mr. Blow, you fail. You fail ugly.
7
The RICO law should be applied to the hierarchy of the City of Chicago. The corruption caused by the easy flow of government money down to and through the leaders of the city is amazing even to those that have watched it the last 50 years or more. Black aldermen went along with the cover up so they could keep getting their share. Black "civic leaders" went along so each of their non profits could still get their grants to fund the salaries that go along with "administering" the flow of cash. The automatic funding year after year of these non profits would be an interesting story for the Times to delve into. (It would also be interesting to know just how much money we are talking about in total.) No wonder our African American citizens can't get ahead when this "bleeding" of government funds is happening in most metropolitan areas of the United States. If you aren't going to have any social progress within a culture, you need a police force sitting on it to keep the natives quiet. No wonder blacks resent the heavy handed police that are ordered by the city administrators to control them.
9
Are we to believe that the Mayor knew nothing about what was going on in his administration? That would be preposterous. The Mayor has to go and should be prosecuted as an accessory to the crime. How anyone in their right mind could have stood by and aloud this kind of injustice to occur is simply beyond belief and an injustice to mankind.
6
Justice is dead in the City of Big Shoulders, Chi-Town. Rahm Emanuel deserves to be sent directly to jail and not allowed to pass GO or pick up a "get out of jail free" card on the way. Notwithstanding Rahm Emanuel's warm friendship with President Obama, he's abused justice in the Windy City and is sitting on an unexploded IED and saved his neck for the moment by dispatching his Police Superintendent to Ultima Thule over the massacre of Laquan McDonald - kept secret for the past 400+ days. Meanwhile guns are literally running amok, blazing, with mass shootings occuring in the US every day now. Chicanery not just in Chicago but from coast to coast and all because of the Second Amendment to the Constitution which has wreaked havoc with our American culture, whether in Chicago or Ferguson or San Bernardino.
4
One of the problems is that the IPRA is appointed and not elected, which allows the mayor to place his people on this board. They are predominantly people that have worked in law enforcement, so they are not "independent".
No one appears to be interested in the total lack of sound from these videos. We are watching old silent movies, where no one speaks. There are several dash cam videos now that have no sound.
No one appears to be interested in the total lack of sound from these videos. We are watching old silent movies, where no one speaks. There are several dash cam videos now that have no sound.
3
Emanuel must step down and the justice dept. must investigate him and his administration for possible cover up and negligence. This is disgraceful. Were he a Republican this would, of course, already have happened.
9
I think Rahm should remain - let the people decide next election.
5
This is what happens with 100+ years of Democrat mayors and Democrat City Councils
12
The crazy part is this cop had a 5 million plus value to the police department. How do these departments set the value of an officer? Personally my work value is less than an illegal immigrant's. I should have aspired to wear a badge.
3
So many commenters are just soooo cute when they speculate the the President will actually do anything or that Rahm will actually suffer anything of real consequence because of this. It matters little what party, R or D, a politician belongs to. More and more, they are part of the party of O. Oligarchy. F. Scott Fitzgerald had it right when he wrote "The rich are different..." Too big to fail; to rich to jail. I'll contend that S. Silver is a rare exception and Rham is safe.
12
The best way to handle this situation is with one simple arrest: Rahm Emanuel. Arrest him for obstructing justice. I know the charge would never stick, but the visual of him being frog marched into a police precinct with his hands cuffed is precisely what Chicago needs...
9
Please don't use the expression "shot down like a dog."
You're a good writer. Find a better way to say what you mean.
You're a good writer. Find a better way to say what you mean.
3
Let's see, so apparently information that is potentially damaging to a politician's reelection prospects has been distorted or suppressed. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Does anyone remember Benghazi?
3
Chicago is crooked from top to bottom. The mayor is closely tied to the Obama administration. He could do a lot of damage to Obama if he chose to talk frankly about what he knows.
Therefore, nothing will happen. Nobody can make Rahm Emanuel resign, so he simply won't.
Therefore, nothing will happen. Nobody can make Rahm Emanuel resign, so he simply won't.
27
I think you're mixing apples and oranges.
To the three readers of the Times who do not know, the outrage expressed in Mister Blow's piece will be weighed by the corrupt Mayor of Chicgo very carefully and then he will go to lunch.
65
You are wrong, he is soon to become lunch.
1
Spot on. His comments could not be more heartless.
1
And does that make the outrage more or less correct?
Every state has laws prohibiting the obstruction of justice. The corrupt police officials who tried to cover up Laquan's murder should be fired, sure--but I'll really be impressed when they are indicted and prosecuted.
Not likely to happen with Rahm "Rightist" Emanuael in there, but that's what justice requires.
Not likely to happen with Rahm "Rightist" Emanuael in there, but that's what justice requires.
16
"Something is amiss in the Windy City. Police officers 'doing whatever they wanted to do' with no worry about repercussions or accountability? That is the very nature of corruption and abuse of power."
The problem is not just in the Windy City. The problem is also in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Louisiana, Alabama...you get the picture.
The problem is not just in the Windy City. The problem is also in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Louisiana, Alabama...you get the picture.
43
We need the Justice Department to step in. Unfortunately, owing to Mr. Emanuel's close connection to both Ms. Clinton and President Obama, it isn't clear that will happen, because this is an election year.
If Ms. Alvarez doesn't resign (or be pushed to resign by Mr. Emanuel), she will be defeated handily next March. Mr. Emanuel should likewise resign. It is impossible to believe that he wasn't part of this cover-up. A five million dollar settlement to the McDonald family a week after the last election, without a court case? An indictment, thirteen months later, the day before the tape was released? As Phil Ponce, a local newsman on Chicago's PBS station WBEZ told Anita Alvarez, "This doesn't pass the smell test." The GOP will wave him like a bloody flag next year, and this Democrat wouldn't really blame them for doing so.
If Ms. Alvarez doesn't resign (or be pushed to resign by Mr. Emanuel), she will be defeated handily next March. Mr. Emanuel should likewise resign. It is impossible to believe that he wasn't part of this cover-up. A five million dollar settlement to the McDonald family a week after the last election, without a court case? An indictment, thirteen months later, the day before the tape was released? As Phil Ponce, a local newsman on Chicago's PBS station WBEZ told Anita Alvarez, "This doesn't pass the smell test." The GOP will wave him like a bloody flag next year, and this Democrat wouldn't really blame them for doing so.
57
I lived in Milwaukee in the late 70s and obtained most of my news by listening to Chicago radio stations. The political culture fostered by Mayor Daly, Sr, emitted an aroma of corruption fully as rank as that associated with Emanuel. As for the police department, its reputation for abusive behavior dates at least from its actions during the 1968 Democratic convention.
Thus, the local government's problems obviously transcend the behavior of any administration. Emanuel's resignation would help only if his departure signaled a local determination to change the culture that dominates both city hall and the precinct stations. Independence for IPRA would serve as a start, but the voters must change their expectations of elected officials. Corruption on the Chicago scale could not endure in the absence of a pattern of benefits showered on important interest groups in the city.
Federal oversight can help, but ultimately the onus rests on the people of Chicago. If outrage over the murder of this black teenager acts as a catalyst to start the reform process, then perhaps something of value will emerge from the tragedy.
Thus, the local government's problems obviously transcend the behavior of any administration. Emanuel's resignation would help only if his departure signaled a local determination to change the culture that dominates both city hall and the precinct stations. Independence for IPRA would serve as a start, but the voters must change their expectations of elected officials. Corruption on the Chicago scale could not endure in the absence of a pattern of benefits showered on important interest groups in the city.
Federal oversight can help, but ultimately the onus rests on the people of Chicago. If outrage over the murder of this black teenager acts as a catalyst to start the reform process, then perhaps something of value will emerge from the tragedy.
18
It won't.
In police departments the world over the overriding ethic is to never rat on a fellow officer. In Mumbai the euphemism for police murder of a suspect is "Shot while trying to escape." In the USA it's "Shot while attacking or advancing on an officer"
22
Chicago takes a perverse and undeniable pride in its long-held reputation for gun violence, a residue of the Prohibition years and the beginnings of its organized crime Outfit. Such childish delectation of violence as we enjoy watching depictions of Al Capone and his crew in entertainments like "Boardwalk Empire" should be contrasted against the daily body count, as I remind everyone in my own Federal law enforcement office. The confusing layers of city, county, state and Federal officers merely serve to obscure miscarriages of justice whenever they occur, rather than to provide a safe environment for the average law-abiding person to live in and enjoy the resources of an otherwise great American city.
9
Well, duh. Why does the city who elected governors and senators so corrupt that there were imprisoned, not to mention a certain community organizer-in-chief surprise us?
Mr. Blow, when will you have the courage to lay this at the President's feet instead of blaming Republicans? Oh look! There's a pig flying!
Mr. Blow, when will you have the courage to lay this at the President's feet instead of blaming Republicans? Oh look! There's a pig flying!
11
Nice try to get your digs in at President Obama - please explain how this is in any way President Obama's fault.
On the other hand, I, as a lifelong Democrat, think Mayor Rahm and Anita Alvarez who are both Democrats, should resign.
Wait a minute, maybe it's W's fault ….
On the other hand, I, as a lifelong Democrat, think Mayor Rahm and Anita Alvarez who are both Democrats, should resign.
Wait a minute, maybe it's W's fault ….
1
Mr. Blow isn't blaming any Republicans, as far as I can tell. Emanuel is a Democrat.
Emmanuel is indeed a mess, Chicago too, but you're self-righteously commenting from Houston, Texas - Texas? Really? Home of Rick Perry and how many other elected officials who have been indicted and and... ? "Not to mention" a former president "from Midland" whose administration was chock full of some of the most corrupt Republicans since the notorious Reagan administration/rogue's gallery. When will you have the courage to see the GOP Jumbo elephant flying in the sky? Never.
We need a new system that polices the police. Local law should never be responsible for policing itself. A better approach would be a standing federal team that immediately investigates ever incident of police shooting, whether that shooting seems justified or not.
11
The system of internal review of police action is not really broken, it has probably never worked. How disfunctional it is is coming to light only with the proliferation of video cameras. The system needs to be reformed everywhere - review has to be external to police departments and prosecutors, and maybe even mayors.
31
Whoever participated in the suppression of the tape, and especially those who also benefited from its suppression, ought to have to face justice.
What do any of the careers of the people involved really mean, what do they stand for, if they would participate in this?
That such corruption and such indefensible exercise of judgment and responsibility are widespread and occur systemically may provide context for understanding the MacDonald case, but our understanding of the breadth and depth of the corruption should not discourage us from insisting that it be rooted out and that justice be reinstated as the goal in investigations.
I had a teacher in high school whose family was part of organized crime and she used to marvel how these same relatives bounced children on their knees by weekend and committed crimes on other days; my question is similar: how do these people who commit the murder (such as MacDonald's), witness the murder, make up stories about the murder, and suppress evidence about the murder go home to their families and act as if they are normal people doing a respectable job?
What do any of the careers of the people involved really mean, what do they stand for, if they would participate in this?
That such corruption and such indefensible exercise of judgment and responsibility are widespread and occur systemically may provide context for understanding the MacDonald case, but our understanding of the breadth and depth of the corruption should not discourage us from insisting that it be rooted out and that justice be reinstated as the goal in investigations.
I had a teacher in high school whose family was part of organized crime and she used to marvel how these same relatives bounced children on their knees by weekend and committed crimes on other days; my question is similar: how do these people who commit the murder (such as MacDonald's), witness the murder, make up stories about the murder, and suppress evidence about the murder go home to their families and act as if they are normal people doing a respectable job?
142
Liberal Democrats did it. Liberal Democrats made the messes in Chicago and Baltimore. Let's talk about that.
The "Other:" There is research showing that if you dehumanize someone, or a group of someones, it is not difficult to demonize them, to injure them, to kill them. We all know of the horrid examples of such behavior. Chicago's police department, as an institution, has blood on its hands, as does the Office of the Mayor and the County Prosecutor.
"What is the worth of the life of a teenager," Blow asks. Easy. In such communities, very little, to nothing. This young man was shot by a poacher, who then had the city taxpayers pay the family off for his trophy. Yes, it is that cold-blooded. Watch Emanuel at the pressed. The superintendent was traumatized. Emanuel was weirdly stoic, defensive, and wooden.
Bad schools, bad homes, bad lives, no jobs,no chances.
Chicago.
"What is the worth of the life of a teenager," Blow asks. Easy. In such communities, very little, to nothing. This young man was shot by a poacher, who then had the city taxpayers pay the family off for his trophy. Yes, it is that cold-blooded. Watch Emanuel at the pressed. The superintendent was traumatized. Emanuel was weirdly stoic, defensive, and wooden.
Bad schools, bad homes, bad lives, no jobs,no chances.
Chicago.
1
They obviously are immoral people. I don't use that term lightly. But anyone who is so venal as to cover up an incident like this to save their career is immoral.
Chicago is sickening, and infected with a sickness more deadly than Ebola. It is moral death; the moral bankruptcy of its leadership. When the series of delays, lies, and denials that surrounded the suppressed facts of young master MacDonald's case is seen against the other work of a man who destroyed one of Chicago's largest revenue streams for money now gone--he gave away parking meter collections: the city pays a private overseas partnership for the right to prohibit parking to use its streets for parades!
Nothing we have seen from Chicago at any level of municipal service or engagement or process, from education to justice, shows Rahm Emanuel to be fit for office--that would drop the standard to the ability to take a breath and refuse to resign.
Nothing we have seen from Chicago at any level of municipal service or engagement or process, from education to justice, shows Rahm Emanuel to be fit for office--that would drop the standard to the ability to take a breath and refuse to resign.
68
Daley didn't give away the parking meters. He sold it for 75 years to fill a budget hole one year. It's the typical progressive way. Now Rahm is left to raise everyone's taxes to pay for police pensions.
Chicago has had mayors from the progressive party since the 1930s. Even the last Republican mayor in the 1920s was a progressive.
Chicago has had mayors from the progressive party since the 1930s. Even the last Republican mayor in the 1920s was a progressive.
1
Having lived in Chicago, I can say with authority that you are correct in calling this city morally bankrupt. This lack of morality is not just in the government, it permeates every aspect of life in Chicago... from the way businesses are run to social services to how people drive their cars.
Chicago's deep and well-nourished roots are fed by the mobs and gangs who are ultimately in control of everything. Despite its outward appearance, these influences continue to run the city, its businesses and its neighborhoods.
I left Chicago many years ago and have never even returned to visit, not even once. Living on Chicago's south side was a horrible lesson in what it's like to have your neighborhood controlled by gangs. The police were completely indifferent to the plight of children and families in our neighborhood. Never could they be bothered to gather up toddlers with no adult supervision in the park, or to remove thugs from the doorstep of an older neighbor. The gangs in our neighborhood demonstrated a careless disregard for life and the Chicago police were complicit in their turning a blind eye to this daily violence.
Chicago is a cold place to live and Rahm Emanuel has discovered how easy it is to hide one's sins amongst Chicago's deep forest of them.
Chicago's deep and well-nourished roots are fed by the mobs and gangs who are ultimately in control of everything. Despite its outward appearance, these influences continue to run the city, its businesses and its neighborhoods.
I left Chicago many years ago and have never even returned to visit, not even once. Living on Chicago's south side was a horrible lesson in what it's like to have your neighborhood controlled by gangs. The police were completely indifferent to the plight of children and families in our neighborhood. Never could they be bothered to gather up toddlers with no adult supervision in the park, or to remove thugs from the doorstep of an older neighbor. The gangs in our neighborhood demonstrated a careless disregard for life and the Chicago police were complicit in their turning a blind eye to this daily violence.
Chicago is a cold place to live and Rahm Emanuel has discovered how easy it is to hide one's sins amongst Chicago's deep forest of them.
1
This is President Obama's Sistah Soljah moment, to stand up for justice against his former chief of staff and the crooked police dept. he runs, or to be a namby-pamby excuser of homicidal police misconduct. If the latter course is chosen, I would feel far better about seeing violent street justice than no justice at all. At this point, I am more ashamed than proud of America.
56
"I would feel far better about seeing violent street justice than no justice at all."
What if that "street justice" takes place on your street? That won't likely happen, so you can vent your anger while innocent people are injured or killed in street violence.
I'm proud of America, as the truth has come out thanks to a system of laws and a courageous journalist. Let's let the system play this out and leave justice to the courts.
My saying "I'm proud of America" will likely keep my comment from being posted, but it feels good to say it.
What if that "street justice" takes place on your street? That won't likely happen, so you can vent your anger while innocent people are injured or killed in street violence.
I'm proud of America, as the truth has come out thanks to a system of laws and a courageous journalist. Let's let the system play this out and leave justice to the courts.
My saying "I'm proud of America" will likely keep my comment from being posted, but it feels good to say it.
Really? I'm still waiting for white people to stand against racism, white supremacy, and privilege. But that Sister Souljah moment just keeps on passing.
2
We the voters have gotten exactly the America we deserve, either through our active support of corruption with our voting patterns, or through the idiotic Boomer mantra omission of bored, lazy, narcissistic neglect: "Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff." Right. Just ask Chicago.
Rahm should go.... directly to jail.
If all the reports are true -- and the evidence is piling up by the day -- the mayor and his minions are accessories after the fact to murder. Whether the Justice Department has the guts to actually prosecute this gang of crooks is another story. DOJ's track record, which includes ignoring the worst financial fraud in American history and failing to prosecute Bush-era torture and war crimes, does leave a lot to be desired. The widespread acceptance of corruption at the very highest levels has too many dirty politicians feeling too confident that yet another task force run by their own cronies will actually fly with the public.
Rahm should give that other ultra-confident pol, Sheldon Silver, a call. Maybe they can book the penthouse suite at a Club Fed somewhere in order to write their Mistakes Were Made memoirs without all those pesky "distractions" that come with the abuse of public office in the service of the plutocracy.
If all the reports are true -- and the evidence is piling up by the day -- the mayor and his minions are accessories after the fact to murder. Whether the Justice Department has the guts to actually prosecute this gang of crooks is another story. DOJ's track record, which includes ignoring the worst financial fraud in American history and failing to prosecute Bush-era torture and war crimes, does leave a lot to be desired. The widespread acceptance of corruption at the very highest levels has too many dirty politicians feeling too confident that yet another task force run by their own cronies will actually fly with the public.
Rahm should give that other ultra-confident pol, Sheldon Silver, a call. Maybe they can book the penthouse suite at a Club Fed somewhere in order to write their Mistakes Were Made memoirs without all those pesky "distractions" that come with the abuse of public office in the service of the plutocracy.
280
Well said Karen. We may not agree on a lot of things, but the corruption of many of our politicians, regardless of which side of the aisle they reside, is a big one.
4
What do Rahm and Shel Silver have in common? They are both progressives.
Chicago is a corrupt volcano waiting to blow. From the outrageous behavior of the police to the idiotic prancings of the teachers' unions to the unbelievablly extortionate pensions of all public employees in Illinois. Murdering a defenseless teenager is the worst thing, but Chicago is corrupt from top to bottom. To paraphrase Barry Goldwater, it should be sawed off and allowed to drift down the Illinois River to the Gulf.
38
I wouldn't bash the teachers and professors of the city and state much. They got pension promises and a promise is to keep. The problem seems to be that the upper crust of the state isn't willing to pony up. I know about this because my sister is a retired professor there. She, a Tea Party Republican, was having fantasies (just fantasies) about taking up arms against the governor when he proposed welching on pensions about a year ago. She earned it, counted on it, and by God they better fork it over.
21
Good read. Is all this part of what keeps the murder by gangs of young children every week under wraps?
1
Ah, Mike Royko. Where are you when we need you?
1
An excellent example of the necessity of knowing something about the person you vote into office. Rahm Emanuel is a Goldman Sachs banker and this transgression, although despicable and should be cause for his resignation, is small by comparison to the real damage to unions and the public in general, by privatizations etc. that a man with his pedigree is capable of, count yourself lucky if he goes away before his buddies at Goldman and their ilk who got him elected get their claws into the public coffers or on public owned assets; in particular, if they aren't already, don't let investment bankers near your pension funds just ask Calpers or Greece for that matter who they led down the primrose path to ruin. Chicagoans would do well at this moment to also remember Sam Zell and how quickly he was able to destroy a venerable old newspaper, that's what your dealing with when you let a Rahm Emmanuel into the hen house.
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No wonder Obama kept the USDOJ from prosecuting the big boys on Wall Street. Obama will be rewarded with gold from the coffers of Goldman Sachs, etc. when he enters private life in 2017. What a flim-flam man, and I voted for him twice. The alternative was much worse!
1
Rahm Emmanuel can fire everyone and anyone but at the end of the day he is responsible and accountable for what happened. Make no mistake about it, this was a political cover up that obstructed justice and makes Richard Nixon and his cast of plumbers look like Rotor Rooter men out on a house call. Mayor Emmanuel needs to be indicted and arrested as do the other co conspirators. To think a slick former political operative and hatchet man knew nothing of what was going on and in fact did not aid and abet in the furtherance of the conspiracy is an insult. Failure to arrest and or indict him means there can never be any justice or belief in the police or the prosecuting attorney's office in Chicago!
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It's the "Chicago way", Charles. Corrupt Democrats beget corrupt Democrats year in, year out.
Name one large American city not destroyed by 50 years of Democrat, one-party rule.
Name one large American city not destroyed by 50 years of Democrat, one-party rule.
30
There are many cities in California that are not "destroyed by Democrat one-party rule".
2
New York City, San Francisco, and more.
It is too easy to criticize than to participate and make things great. That sickness is called the Ted Cruz syndrome.
It is too easy to criticize than to participate and make things great. That sickness is called the Ted Cruz syndrome.
3
Boston.:)
The federal government will have no choice but to step in if it cares at all about public confidence in the local officials in America’s third largest city.
--------------------------
Rahm Emanuel's friends are President and Mrs. Obama.
His brother is a doctor who is always contributing advice in the NYT.
Is that you, speaking truth to power, Charles Blow?
How long do you have it in you?
This is Chicago, remember.
--------------------------
Rahm Emanuel's friends are President and Mrs. Obama.
His brother is a doctor who is always contributing advice in the NYT.
Is that you, speaking truth to power, Charles Blow?
How long do you have it in you?
This is Chicago, remember.
37
There is one person uniquely positioned to influence Chicago in a way no other person can for any other city: President Obama.
Rahm was Obama's Chief of Staff. Obama picked Chicago as the site of his future Foundation and Presidential Library. The Foundation plans to invest no less than $500 million in the South Side. His Foundation is to be transformative for the lives of black men, Obama has publicly vowed. Obama is deeply admired, to say the least, in Chicago.
By any measure then, Obama has a financial, economic, moral, political clout over the city that is simply unparalleled.
I urge Obama to use that clout, fully, forcefully, and unabashedly: call up Rahm, it's time for a reckoning; tell the city in no uncertain terms you will move your Presidential Library to another city (Manhattan and Hawaii await with open arms) if Chicago does not transform itself to be worthy of your Library; mobilize your constituents; do everything that is within your power and right to demand.
If Obama can't change Chicago, how does he expect to change the world?
Rahm was Obama's Chief of Staff. Obama picked Chicago as the site of his future Foundation and Presidential Library. The Foundation plans to invest no less than $500 million in the South Side. His Foundation is to be transformative for the lives of black men, Obama has publicly vowed. Obama is deeply admired, to say the least, in Chicago.
By any measure then, Obama has a financial, economic, moral, political clout over the city that is simply unparalleled.
I urge Obama to use that clout, fully, forcefully, and unabashedly: call up Rahm, it's time for a reckoning; tell the city in no uncertain terms you will move your Presidential Library to another city (Manhattan and Hawaii await with open arms) if Chicago does not transform itself to be worthy of your Library; mobilize your constituents; do everything that is within your power and right to demand.
If Obama can't change Chicago, how does he expect to change the world?
307
Even as a long term supporter of Pres. Obama, I heartily agree with you.
Despite everything he has accomplished, If Obama wants a legacy that moves and inspires future generations, he must take action on Emanuel and the horror that Chicago has become.
Despite everything he has accomplished, If Obama wants a legacy that moves and inspires future generations, he must take action on Emanuel and the horror that Chicago has become.
1
Somehow, Obama can be worked in to the blame for everything. Waiting to see how the recent shootings in CA become his fault as well. People do what they will do. Let's quit looking for someone else to blame or someone else to fix. You don't like our President? Fine. He will be out in a few months. But please don't subject us to, "It's Obama's fault that..." for the next 20 years when something in the country or the world goes wrong.
2
I find this comment to be nonsensical. The POTUS can use the bully pulpit to condemn. He can move behind the scenes and talk to his old friend. He can achieve the same results without injecting more polarization into the situation. You think all the right wing money, exposed recently in these pages, will stay out of the fray?
Such a slimy mess. The mayor should go. The big Chicago Democratic machine did whatever it could to hide the truth. I wonder what is going through Obama's head, as he reflects upon his sleazy former chief and the Chicago machine?
143
As Wallace says, Obama needs to use his clout NOW and do the right thing. Tell them he's moving his library. Tell his former Chief of Staff to vamoose. It's the right thing to do. But will he do it? Obama confuses me all the time so I have no idea. Be he could. And he should. And so should Michelle. Stand up and do the right thing.
2
"Something is amiss in the windy city" Really? Ya think? I think something is amiss in the United States.
151
What is amiss is the American people, the voters who are responsible for the whole mess. They CHOSE it, didn't they?
13
Slithering and stinks---well deserved vocabulary for this topic.
Chicago's paid out hundreds of millions over years for criminal justice abuse. The police forces are costing the taxpayers plenty. All over the country. The rw Gop doesn't mind these taxes somehow, and likes police unions but not other unions.
Chicago's paid out hundreds of millions over years for criminal justice abuse. The police forces are costing the taxpayers plenty. All over the country. The rw Gop doesn't mind these taxes somehow, and likes police unions but not other unions.
25
There are scant Republicans in Chicago.
Ironically, this scandalous issue came to light just one day after my conversation with a couple of colleagues about how we loved Chicago. We talked about how there seemed to be no news headlines about the city, and that seemed to us to be a good thing. We all expressed our desire to visit Chicago again and we talked about its excellent restaurants and its relative cleanliness compared with NYC.
Like is often the case, we spoke too soon, and succeeded in thoroughly jinxing the city.... the very next day we woke to headlines in the NYT breaking the story on this sordid and deplorable saga.
Rahm Emmanuel's days in office are numbered; my prediction is that he will step down. He needs to, and I think the Obama administration is working on it. His involvement in this stinks to high heaven....
Like is often the case, we spoke too soon, and succeeded in thoroughly jinxing the city.... the very next day we woke to headlines in the NYT breaking the story on this sordid and deplorable saga.
Rahm Emmanuel's days in office are numbered; my prediction is that he will step down. He needs to, and I think the Obama administration is working on it. His involvement in this stinks to high heaven....
26
Thank you Mr.Blow for your nice commentary about the workings of the Chicago police department.
Actually its the workings' of all the departments in the country that has to be reviewed by the independent commissions comprised of outside inspectors not affiliated with the departments they're handling or working.
This country needs a total overhaul as per as Race relations is concerned. Just saying 'the system is not prejudiced' is not going to help in the long run.
The affirmative action has to be thoroughly implemented to uplift the minorities from the bottom of the pit where they're for more than three hundred years .
It's really not a joke that 'Black Lives Matter.'
Yes,it's also true that all lives matter.
But we've to pay more attention to the Black bodies right now because those were mostly riddled with bullets by the authorities.
We cannot allow anybody who's not armed and not posing a direct threat to the policemen, to be slaughtered in our cities .
A policeman gets extensive training to tackle a situation without using the firearms to restrain a person. But as we've seen again and again, the minorities always sees the end of the barrel in most of the police encounters.
This is not what the framers of the constitution had in mind when they wrote freedom of life and in pursuit of happiness.
There is no happiness for a mother or father of a citizen when their children die for no apparent reason .
So what is the reason why we're not stopping all the killings ?..tkb
Actually its the workings' of all the departments in the country that has to be reviewed by the independent commissions comprised of outside inspectors not affiliated with the departments they're handling or working.
This country needs a total overhaul as per as Race relations is concerned. Just saying 'the system is not prejudiced' is not going to help in the long run.
The affirmative action has to be thoroughly implemented to uplift the minorities from the bottom of the pit where they're for more than three hundred years .
It's really not a joke that 'Black Lives Matter.'
Yes,it's also true that all lives matter.
But we've to pay more attention to the Black bodies right now because those were mostly riddled with bullets by the authorities.
We cannot allow anybody who's not armed and not posing a direct threat to the policemen, to be slaughtered in our cities .
A policeman gets extensive training to tackle a situation without using the firearms to restrain a person. But as we've seen again and again, the minorities always sees the end of the barrel in most of the police encounters.
This is not what the framers of the constitution had in mind when they wrote freedom of life and in pursuit of happiness.
There is no happiness for a mother or father of a citizen when their children die for no apparent reason .
So what is the reason why we're not stopping all the killings ?..tkb
127
Can you imagine if Jefferson kept Locke's original, "pursuit of property"? It seems that is the direction our country has gone, where everything "mine" takes precedence.
1
They all knew - that is why they fought so hard to keep that video hidden.
There was no threat to the police. They lied to cover their misdeeds.
The fish stinks from the head - Rahm Emmanuel needs to go.
There was no threat to the police. They lied to cover their misdeeds.
The fish stinks from the head - Rahm Emmanuel needs to go.
217
If Rahm Emanuel and his unindicted co-conspirators conspired to suppress evidence of a murder, are they not accomplices after the fact to that murder? Why does Mr. Blow pivot quickly away from the Godfather’s personal responsibility to discuss systemic failures? Why hasn’t President Obama condemned his former Chief of Staff? If Rahm were a humble police officer doing his job in Cambridge, Massachusetts we know the president would jumped at the chance to prematurely condemn his actions.
58
This situation (the cover-up) didn’t have a lot to do with race: it’s your typical tawdry political nonsense that nobody would have been surprised to see come out of Chicago for almost a century.
Just as Nixon made throwing aides under a bus in an attempt to save one’s own skin normal, Rahmbo proves, yet again, that if you’re really guilty of an outrage you probably can’t save yourself with this gambit.
This is, after all, Chicago; and this is, after all, Rahm Emanuel, the guy who for a time seriously tried to teach Barack Obama how to pull wings off flies (he failed). But it’s kinda hard to imagine a scenario in which he hasn’t pulled off his own wings. Yet with Charles, just as with the Times editors, we still await an unambiguous call for Rahm Emanuel to resign his office as Mayor of Chicago. How is what everyone did, including Rahmbo, NOT obstruction of justice? How long should we give the U.S. Justice Dept. to come to that conclusion?
Publishing Columbia Prof. Harcourt’s op-ed in which he asserted that everyone involved with this farce should resign isn’t the same as the editors calling for Emanuel’s resignation. Time to butch up.
Just as Nixon made throwing aides under a bus in an attempt to save one’s own skin normal, Rahmbo proves, yet again, that if you’re really guilty of an outrage you probably can’t save yourself with this gambit.
This is, after all, Chicago; and this is, after all, Rahm Emanuel, the guy who for a time seriously tried to teach Barack Obama how to pull wings off flies (he failed). But it’s kinda hard to imagine a scenario in which he hasn’t pulled off his own wings. Yet with Charles, just as with the Times editors, we still await an unambiguous call for Rahm Emanuel to resign his office as Mayor of Chicago. How is what everyone did, including Rahmbo, NOT obstruction of justice? How long should we give the U.S. Justice Dept. to come to that conclusion?
Publishing Columbia Prof. Harcourt’s op-ed in which he asserted that everyone involved with this farce should resign isn’t the same as the editors calling for Emanuel’s resignation. Time to butch up.
73
A very accurate assessment of the situation in Chicago, and one of Mr. Blow's best columns. No hyperbole here.
111
It is refreshing to see Mr. Blow actually call out a fellow democrat! I remember Rahm Emanuel being described as a bully when he served under President Obama and I imagine he did not turn over a new leaf as mayor.
This column does provide some insight into Mr. Blow's biases in that he cares more about the young black man killed in Chicago and race issues than a democratic power player, Rahm Emanuel. May justice prevail in both cases as the police officer is tried in a court of law and Rahm Emanuel in the court of public opinion.
This column does provide some insight into Mr. Blow's biases in that he cares more about the young black man killed in Chicago and race issues than a democratic power player, Rahm Emanuel. May justice prevail in both cases as the police officer is tried in a court of law and Rahm Emanuel in the court of public opinion.
Chicago police has been torturing black suspects for decades. And there are other tapes of other killings of unarmed black men. Maybe Mr. Blow can file FOIA requests in those cases.
26
He's a good friend of Obama's. I'm proud of you for writing this.
17
With friends like that....
3
The police in Chicago and their sham of IRPA are all about one thing: protecting the culture of permissive violence. They don't have the first allegiance to Mayor Rahm Emanuel; if he gives up his post (which he won't, it says here) the police will continue their reign of terror in the city. They will resist any and all efforts at reform, window-dressing or genuine. The union's lawyers are in place to block any extra-legal or political oversight that citizens or the courts or the federales may bring to bear on this untenable situation. The cops will threaten a job action first, willing to jeopardize the safety of Chicagoans to stop any attempt at ripping the scab from this wound. Chicago cops will hold the people hostage and they will not go quietly. The world will finally be given a free home demonstration of a city in the grip of a police state. African-American and Latino communities are not strangers to profiling and harassment. The cops' cover is the cancerous gang activities in these neighborhoods as justification for their repressive, authoritarian culture. And no Chicago Mayor since Richard J. Daley died in 1976 (first elected in 1955) has been able to keep the jumping lid on this boiling cauldron. This revolution will be televised.
31
Some folks may remember Garry McCarthy's predecessor, Jodi Wiess. He was effective in several ways under Mayor Daley, but was 1) disliked by the rank and file of the CPD because he was never a uniformed officer and 2) he was replaced by Mayor Emanuel as soon as he took office. How much does that tell you?
1
Things like this have been going on in Chicago for decades. If firing Emanuel will help change this, then he should go. If Emanuel takes real steps to change this in order to save his job, then he should stay. His behavior is not unusual for a Chicago mayor, and if the factors that reward such behavior remain untouched then firing him will have little lasting effect. The whole situation is ugly and will probably remain so whether Emanuel survives or not.
46
Correct, it's the Chicago ethic.
They all need to go. The cover up is outrageous. Emanuel is a coward.
231
Emanuel ought to resign,
The role he played was not benign,
"Mea Culpa" is needed,
Justice ought be heeded,
An act to be toasted in wine!
The role he played was not benign,
"Mea Culpa" is needed,
Justice ought be heeded,
An act to be toasted in wine!
119