George Floyd protests and ongoing pandemic push attorneys to provide free counsel
By Sidnee King and Emine Yücel Medill Reports As hundreds of protesters wait in jails across the country after a weekend of raucous demonstrations, lawyers from Chicago to Los Angeles are taking to social media, offering free counsel. Legal professionals say pro bono work is especially important given that the pandemic is still ravaging the […]
CPD’s ongoing battle with mental health calls
By Emine Yücel Medill Reports CHICAGO — In September 1987, answering a 911 call, Memphis police officers found a man stabbing himself more than 100 times with a butcher knife at LeMoyne Gardens, a public housing project. When police approached, they said, the man swung the knife towards them and they shot and killed him. […]
Jews have been the target of most hate crimes this year, Chicago police data shows
By Caroline Tanner Medill Reports There have been 50 reported hate crimes in Chicago during the first nine months of 2017, according to data released by the Chicago Police Department in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. This follows a 20 percent rise in hate crimes in Chicago from 2015 to 2016, from […]
Police recruitment numbers down
By Iacopo Luzi In East Side, on a cold night with no one on the streets, the lights of Taylor Elementary School are turned on to welcome aspiring police officers. But almost no one shows up. Taylor is open to host a Chicago Police Department recruitment fair, organized by Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th Ward). […]
Recruiting minorities is not the solution to police reform, say community groups
By Meggie Morris Community-based organizations demanding police reform say recruiting more minorities to better reflect Chicago’s demographics is not enough to improve police-community relations. The recruitment campaign, which is to end this week, will be ineffective unless the city first addresses the policing system as a whole, the groups say. “It certainly is a prerequisite […]
Proposed law aims to take sting out of police spy-tech
By Thomas Vogel State lawmakers are working to prevent local law enforcement agencies conducting investigations from violating the privacy of Chicagoans. Any resident using a phone to place a call, send a text message or browse the web may be at risk. “Stingrays,” refer to a broad category of so-called cell site simulator devices, which, […]
Police superintendent selection process gets underway
By Iacopo Luzi Fewer candidates have applied to become Chicago’s next police superintendent than in 2011, the last time the city got a new top cop. By last Friday’s deadline, 39 people had submitted their application to the Chicago Police Board, the independent body that will select finalists for the job and submit those names […]
