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Well, the big, bad police did it again. On March 8, a team of Area South detectives, in- cluding Danny Stover, Timothy Murphy and Michael Cummings, to name a few, hunted down the cold-blooded murderer that shot and killed a 9-year-old boy. These detectives and their team scoured through piles and piles of evidence to make this arrest happen. This was not some random bullet that snuffed the
life out of this child. This was an execution. This young boy was lured from a basketball court near 80th and Damen and murdered because someone did not
like his father. I am quite certain that there are sev-
the common law, to “institute, conduct and maintain all such suits and proceedings as he deems necessary for the enforcement of the laws of the state, the preservation of order and the protection of public rights.” Barrett v. Fin- negan, 378 Ill. 387 (Ill. 1941). The Police and Communi- ty Relations Improvement Act has very specific language about who can investigate officer-involved shootings. In referencing this language, it is clear that IPRA does not fit the criteria. Not even remotely.
What is worse is the fact that IPRA took two hours to ar- rive on scene during a recent police-involved shooting. When the weather gets warmer and people are out on the streets, hooting and hollering, is IPRA going to take two hours to arrive? I will update with any changes or news with the Attorney General’s of-
The good guys
THOMAS
THOMAS
MCDONAGH
MCDONAGH
eral individuals who harbor some disdain for me,
but would never consider taking it out on my son. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the world we dedicated our lives to serve and protect. The three cowards accused of this horrific crime are now await-
ing trial for murder. Sadly, as this case plays out, I antici- pate that we will hear how the police framed these three model citizens with this murder.
The irony of this incident is that 1.4 miles away from the murder scene sits St. Sabina parish. On March 6, Archbishop Cupich and the pastor of St. Sabina celebrat- ed Mass. The media stated it was a virtual love-fest be- tween the two religious leaders, and the theme of their message was police accountability. Police accountability lessons are not learned from a Christmas Mass celebra- tion at Division 9 at Cook County Jail or from angry hom- ilies at 78th and Throop. You want to know about police accountability Archbishop Cupich? I suggest you take a ride to 727 E. 111th Street and ask those detectives about their thoughts on police accountability. I also suggest you educate yourself on citizen accountability. I guaran- tee you will quickly realize that citizen accountability is nonexistent in many areas of your Diocese. Perhaps you should focus a lesson around that.
Considering there are fewer and fewer positive policing incidents being highlighted these days, I want to mention that I am proud of everyone who worked on this case. I feel especially proud to know many of those in this group personally. Great job, officers.
IPRA news
The Lodge sent a letter to the Illinois Attorney General regarding IPRA’s role in police officer-involved deaths and why we believe the current role does not follow the Police and Community Relations Act. Furthermore, the Lodge is concerned about the harm it can cause our members. The Police and Community Relations Improvement Act has no enforcement mechanism and because of this, the Lodge feels that the Illinois Attorney General’s office has the authority to enforce this act.
The Attorney General’s office responded and asked if the Lodge had any statutory basis for requesting the At- torney General’s involvement. The Lodge responded with several past rulings that have standing and the Illinois At- torney General has the constitutional authority, based on
14 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2016
Field Representative
REPORT
fice as soon as something becomes available.
Goings-on
Well, the “Democratic Machine” pulled a fast one on the good citizens of Cook County by anointing Kim Foxx as the Democratic candidate for State’s Attorney in the November election, an action that all but solidifies Foxx as the new Cook County State’s Attorney. This cam- paign was unique in that the issue at hand was not how to reduce crime or who would be best equipped to tackle that challenge. Instead, the main issue revolved around the politicos in Illinois jumping on the band wagon of the Cook County board president and giving her complete power over the judicial system of Cook County. This Cook County board president has stated on record that there are too many people of color in the Cook County jail, and now she has all the mechanisms in place to change that. Criminals go to jail; it does not matter what color they are. What a hurtful and discriminatory comment to all law-abiding Cook County residents.
Foxx is a sham candidate who has embellished her re- sume by claiming her experience in the State’s Attorney’s office consisted of numerous felony trials. This is a fact that was later proved to be false. Foxx repeatedly stated during her campaign that she would appoint a special prosecutor to handle all incidents involving police offi- cers. Why would she appoint a special prosecutor? One reason surely is the fact that she has no felony trial expe- rience and it’s an easy out to appoint special prosecutors. During much of her campaign, Foxx kept stating that she would defer to an independent prosecutor to handle po- lice-involved shooting incidents. Foxx isn’t doing this to get a fresh set of eyes or to look transparent to the resi- dents of Cook County. Foxx would outsource these types of cases because she has no trial experience and would not be able to handle any felony case. Does she really be- lieve that there are that many police officers committing crimes? Well, if you saw her commercials, the apparent answer is yes, she does. This woman has jumped head first into the anti-police movement sweeping the nation and will do anything she can to jam up a police officer.
The candidate also was found guilty of breaking cam-
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