Page 15 - November 2017 Magazine

Judge Hooks follies continue
It appears as though the Judge Hooks saga is far from over; he seems to have made it a personal mission to work his way onto the “worst judges” list at the Leighton Criminal Courts building. In fact, when it comes to the race to the top of the worst judges list, Hooks has left his competition in the dust thanks to his continued judgments to allow dan- gerous, convicted felons to roam the streets
with little impunity. How ironic that this is the same judge known for lambasting Police Officers that appear in front of him on the bench. Newsflash Judge Hooks, the Police aren’t the ones putting
news crew at the attorney’s office. Several of our astute members recognized Greer as the named subject on a murder warrant for a homicide that occurred on May 27. The victim of this homicide was certainly no saint, but where is the accountability? Hooks (or any other member of the bench) is rarely required to answer for any ruling, and the system of retention for judicial can- didates bolsters the fraudulent system.
THOMAS
THOMAS
McDONAGH
MCDONAGH
the citizens of Chicago in harm’s way; you are. One such example of Hooks’ questionable
judgment is a convicted felon named Dominiq Greer. Greer has been arrested 24 times as an adult and yet he has still managed to find a friend at 26th and Cal in Judge Hooks. On July 4, 2014, Greer was ar- rested after firing a gun at one of our members in the 7th District. Greer was shot during this exchange of gunfire and a handgun was recovered. Greer was given a $150,000 bond and the case was assigned to Hooks. On June 3, 2015, the case was presented to Hooks who reduced the bond on Greer to a $15,000 D-bond. Four days later on Aug. 7, 2015, Greer was arrested for do- mestic battery after beating up his stepfather. Follow- ing the domestic battery arrest, a petition for a violation of bond was entered on Aug. 24, 2015. Greer was held until his case was transferred to...drumroll please... Judge Hooks. Hooks decided to give Greer another bite of the (non-poisonous) apple and gave him a $10,000 I-bond on Oct. 16, 2015.
Here is an example of an individual who has shown a propensity to commit violence. He is a known men- ace to society in every sense of the word. How is it that Hooks felt it was in the best interest of all involved to release this criminal and allow him to prey some more?
Hooks’ reckless decision-making isn’t my only moti- vation for this rant. The press conference held by Greer on June 8 regarding the lawsuit he filed against the Chi- cago Police Department really got me going. The inci- dent in question is the episode in which Greer fired at a uniformed Chicago Police Officer and was shot during the exchange. Greer finally found some bottom-feed- ing lawyer to take the case. I hope that it was a very slow news day because every station had a camera and
This made me laugh as I opened a sample ballot from the Cook County Democratic Party about the list of judges seeking retention. The sample ballot sim- ply stated, “Vote ‘Yes’ on All Retention Judges.” Directly under that proclamation it declared, “fair, ethical and experienced judges make a difference.” I wonder if the Police Officers ac- cused of being untruthful by Hooks believe that he was fair in his opinion of them. I wonder if the family of the individual murdered by Greer thinks that Hooks was ethical in allowing a career criminal to go free on bond after shooting at a uniformed Chicago Po- lice Officer. Has experience led Hooks to believe that after two chances, a convicted felon would turn over a
new leaf the third time around?
R.I.P. Use of Force
As many of you have read, the Department is at- tempting to circumvent Illinois State law by changing the Use of Force policy that is currently in place. It is the opinion of many, myself included, that this new policy is going to get someone hurt or, God forbid, killed. As of now, the new policy is only a draft, but the writing is on the wall.
These new draft policies are mindboggling and claim to provide clear direction for Officers about when the use of force is deemed necessary. I want to highlight a few of the most disturbing changes. Most alarming to me is that there are no clear guidelines regarding when an Officer has to use force. Advocates of the new proposal state that the new policy will include import- ant guidance on avoiding situations in which tactics or strategies limit response options. Furthermore, the announcement goes on to state that these new policies were drafted to clarify response options that can be used while making split-second decisions. So we have a checklist that needs to be fulfilled in a split second. Many of these situations involve life or death. Is it not a slap in the face to our members when the first question
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Field Representative
REPORT
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2016 15