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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CALLING ON THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO EXPAND ITS PATTERNS AND PRACTICES INVESTIGATION OF THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT TO INCLUDE THE CHICAGO POLICE DETENTION FACILITY KNOWN AS HOMAN SQUARE
WHEREAS, Cook County is responsible for the administration of the Cook County Circuit Court, the Cook County Jail, and, as a unit of government, bears a share of responsibility for protecting the health, welfare and safety of the general public; and,
WHEREAS, the action undertaken by the City of Chicago this past November to make public the dashboard camera video depicting the police shooting of Laquan McDonald, and the subsequent public outcry has resulted in the United States Department of Justice moving swiftly to initiate a "patterns and practices" investigation into the Chicago Police Department; and,
WHEREAS, stakeholders throughout Chicagoland, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, have stated that the current Justice Department investigation provides a clear opportunity to comprehensively reform police-community relations; and,
WHEREAS, in the interests of comprehensive reform of police-community relations, the aforementioned Justice Department investigation should be as wide-ranging as possible; and,
WHEREAS, throughout 2015, and into 2016, questions have arisen in the community, and in the local, national and international media, around the Chicago Police Department detention facility known as Homan Square; and,
WHEREAS, the tactics and practices allegedly employed by special units of the Chicago Police Department at Homan Square include failing to enter arrestees into official police databases; physical abuse of detainees, resulting in serious injury and abuse to detainees; prolonged, uninterrupted shackling of detainees; denial of attorney access to detainees; and, holding detainees for up to 24 hours without access to a lawyer; and,
WHEREAS, the alleged tactics and practices at Homan Square, if true, pose serious concerns with...
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