Office of the City Clerk - Record #: O2014-7069

• Record #: O2014-7069
• Type: Ordinance
• Status: Failed to Pass
• Intro date: 9/10/2014
• Current Controlling Legislative Body: Committee on Finance
• Final action: 5/20/2015
• Title: Call for reparations for victims and family members affected by law enforcement torture and abuse
• Sponsors: Brookins, Jr., Howard, Moreno, Proco Joe, Moore, Joseph, Sawyer, Roderick T., Munoz, Ricardo, Hairston, Leslie A., Pawar, Ameya, Foulkes, Toni, Lane, Lona, Dowell, Pat, Maldonado, Roberto, Sposato, Nicholas, Cappleman, James, Colón, Rey, Burnett, Jr., Walter, Burns, William D., Willie B. Cochran, Reilly, Brendan, Smith, Michele, Chandler, Michael D., Solis, Daniel, Arena, John, Mell, Deborah, Mitts, Emma
• Topic: CITY COUNCIL - Miscellaneous
• Related files: R2015-407

Date	Journal Page Number	Action By	Action	Result
5/20/2015		City Council	Failed to Pass	Fail
4/14/2015		Committee on Finance	Recommended to Pass	Pass
9/10/2014	88908	City Council	Referred

ORDINANCE

REPARATIONS FOR THE CHICAGO POLICE TORTURE
SURVIVORS

WHEREAS, the City of Chicago acknowledges that former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and detecdves under his command systematically engaged in acts of totture, physical abuse and coercion of African American men and women at Area 2 and 3 Police Headquarters from 1972 through 1991; and

WHEREAS, the acts of torture committed by Burge and detectives under his command included electrically shocking individuals on their genitals, bps and ears with an electric shock box or catde prod; suffocating individuals with plastic bags; subjecting individuals to mock execution with guns; physical beatings with telephone books and rubber hoses; and other forms of physical and psychological abuse; and

WHEREAS, Burge and his men committed these acts of torture and abuse to extract confessions from the victims which were subsequently admitted against them in their criminal prosecutions resulting in their wrongful convictions; and

WHEREAS, these acts of tortuic, physical abuse and coercion violate state, federaL and international law and such acts are universally condemned worldwide; and

WHEREAS, the trauma and damage caused by these heinous acts continue to deteteriously effect the torture survivors, their family members, African American communities and the City of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, the trauma and damage caused by these heinous acts will continue to cause egregious harm to those affected unless the City of Chicago and other municipal bodies enact reparations to mitigate the harm; and

WHERAS, the City of Chicago has been complicit in the torture practices and tacitly supported those acts by expending more than $20 million of taxpayers funds to defend Burge and other implicated detectives implicated in civil litigation brought by the torture survivors, and

WHEREAS, Mayor Emanuel has recendy acknowledged that the torture scandal was a dark chapter in the history of the City of Chicago that stained its reputa...