It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy
January 4, 2016 11:40 AM Subscribe
The Sudden But Well-Deserved Fall of Rahm Emanuel. By Rick Perlstein, New Yorker. Puts the rising number of calls for Emanuel to resign as mayor of Chicago in context.
But honestly Chicago democratic politics have seemed inexplicably strange for ages.
Chicago has always seemed like a city that succeeds despite itself.
For the moment, at least. You can only keep the plates spinning for so long.
posted by Etrigan at 12:22 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Chicago has always seemed like a city that succeeds despite itself.
For the moment, at least. You can only keep the plates spinning for so long.
posted by Etrigan at 12:22 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Define "succeeds." I love Chicago, but it's a huge mess in significant ways.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:26 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:26 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
DEAD!
posted by davebush at 12:28 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by davebush at 12:28 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The New Yorker article seems to imply that the mayor has direct control over the school district and the transit system. Is that really how it works in Chicago? That seems like a lot of central power.
posted by octothorpe at 12:29 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 12:29 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Of almost four hundred police shootings of civilians investigated by the city’s Independent Police Review Authority since 2007, only one was found to be unjustified.
Buried in the link in this sentence is the following:
posted by Existential Dread at 12:32 PM on January 4, 2016 [60 favorites]
Buried in the link in this sentence is the following:
A Chicago investigator who determined that several civilian shootings by police officers were unjustified was fired after resisting orders to reverse those findings, according to internal records of his agency obtained by WBEZ.Combine that with Chicago PD's known black sites, and you've basically got an authoritarian police state existing in the middle of the country. Terrifying.
posted by Existential Dread at 12:32 PM on January 4, 2016 [60 favorites]
Define "succeeds."
Third-largest city and metropolitan area in the country, for one notable definition. Yeah, it used to be second, but Detroit used to be fourth and then lost half its population, so Chicago managed to avoid that.
I love Chicago, but it's a huge mess in significant ways.
Hence the "despite itself" part.
posted by Etrigan at 12:32 PM on January 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
Third-largest city and metropolitan area in the country, for one notable definition. Yeah, it used to be second, but Detroit used to be fourth and then lost half its population, so Chicago managed to avoid that.
I love Chicago, but it's a huge mess in significant ways.
Hence the "despite itself" part.
posted by Etrigan at 12:32 PM on January 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
Can we... can we just have Chuy now? xxoo, Chicago
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:34 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:34 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
Combine that with Chicago PD's known black sites, and you've basically got an authoritarian police state existing in the middle of the country.
CPD is much like the Chinese PLA: Theoretically under civilian control, as long as the civilians don't tell them what to do.
posted by PMdixon at 12:35 PM on January 4, 2016 [15 favorites]
CPD is much like the Chinese PLA: Theoretically under civilian control, as long as the civilians don't tell them what to do.
posted by PMdixon at 12:35 PM on January 4, 2016 [15 favorites]
Well, OK, compared to Detroit, Chicago is a success. I'm not sure that would be my standard, though. Population growth is basically stagnant and is much lower than most other American cities, for instance.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:42 PM on January 4, 2016
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 12:42 PM on January 4, 2016
Population growth is not a desirable quality unless you're collecting rents; population stability is.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 1:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by I-Write-Essays at 1:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
You can only keep the plates spinning for so long.
Makes you wonder why Daley decided to retire so early, doesn't it?
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:19 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Makes you wonder why Daley decided to retire so early, doesn't it?
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:19 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
"Population growth is not a desirable quality unless you're collecting rents; population stability is."
Population growth usually tends to follow economic growth.. people like jobs. And Chicago's unemployment rate is 6/10ths of a percent better than the rest of the state, on average.
posted by markkraft at 1:20 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Population growth usually tends to follow economic growth.. people like jobs. And Chicago's unemployment rate is 6/10ths of a percent better than the rest of the state, on average.
posted by markkraft at 1:20 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The New Yorker article seems to imply that the mayor has direct control over the school district and the transit system. Is that really how it works in Chicago? That seems like a lot of central power.
The mayor appoints the school board (uniquely in the state—all other school boards are elected). An elected school board was a central piece in Chuy Garcia's platform and polls show overwhelming public support, but people keep voting for Rahm (and Daley before him) so there is no reason for him to give up that control.
A majority of the Chicago Transit Authority board is also appointed by the mayor (4 out of the 7 members).
Yes, it's a ridiculous amount of central power.
posted by enn at 1:38 PM on January 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
The mayor appoints the school board (uniquely in the state—all other school boards are elected). An elected school board was a central piece in Chuy Garcia's platform and polls show overwhelming public support, but people keep voting for Rahm (and Daley before him) so there is no reason for him to give up that control.
A majority of the Chicago Transit Authority board is also appointed by the mayor (4 out of the 7 members).
Yes, it's a ridiculous amount of central power.
posted by enn at 1:38 PM on January 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
Rahm Emanuel's failure makes me happy and sad for Obama.
Happy, in that Obama succeeded in spite of everyone failing all around him. None of the people in the early cabinet parked some home runs.
Sad, in that, well, Obama appointed them in the first place, didn't he?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:00 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Happy, in that Obama succeeded in spite of everyone failing all around him. None of the people in the early cabinet parked some home runs.
Sad, in that, well, Obama appointed them in the first place, didn't he?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:00 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Speaking of Obama, I have a pet theory that he's angling to run for mayor in 2019 and the whole POTUS thing was just resume-building.
posted by theodolite at 2:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [43 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 2:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [43 favorites]
Holy crap, I feel in need of some balance... Does anybody have a link to some unreasonable puff piece about the guy? A sycophantic ghost-written biography maybe? He can't really be that fucked up, right? ...Right??
I've always kind of enjoyed the random little Rahm Emanuel anecdotes... Like Obama saying the loss of part of his middle finger "rendered him practically mute" ... Or his apparent habit of accosting people butt-ass naked in the shower at the congressional gym...
Now that I think of it, those stories make him seem like an asshole too... Oh well.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:11 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
I've always kind of enjoyed the random little Rahm Emanuel anecdotes... Like Obama saying the loss of part of his middle finger "rendered him practically mute" ... Or his apparent habit of accosting people butt-ass naked in the shower at the congressional gym...
Now that I think of it, those stories make him seem like an asshole too... Oh well.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:11 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
He is that fucked up. Hoping he is ousted.
posted by agregoli at 2:17 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by agregoli at 2:17 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Rahm will not resign. This is Chicago.
The shooting thing is not the reason he sucks as mayor. He no more controls the individual actions of a single CPD officer than you or I. Nor is his alleged "failure" to release the key piece of evidence in a murder investigation to the press before charging why he sucks as mayor. Indeed, the press thinks it should have had this video because it drives eyeballs to their websites, bringing up ad revenues. Certainly its release will be Exhibit A in the defendant's motion to dismiss the charges based on a tainted jury pool.
He sucks as mayor for one single reason. His absolutely asinine, completely boneheaded move to close dozens of schools in neighborhoods that were unsafe, forcing the kids to go though territories controlled by rival gangs, causing a huge spike in violence. That's a legacy that will last forever.
It is a shame that people will forget this because he did not release a video that should not have been released while the investigation had not been completed anyway. And it is a shame nobody went for his resignation back then and only when one person got shot in the midst of a media firestorm. Because we will forget why he should have not run again.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:18 PM on January 4, 2016 [17 favorites]
The shooting thing is not the reason he sucks as mayor. He no more controls the individual actions of a single CPD officer than you or I. Nor is his alleged "failure" to release the key piece of evidence in a murder investigation to the press before charging why he sucks as mayor. Indeed, the press thinks it should have had this video because it drives eyeballs to their websites, bringing up ad revenues. Certainly its release will be Exhibit A in the defendant's motion to dismiss the charges based on a tainted jury pool.
He sucks as mayor for one single reason. His absolutely asinine, completely boneheaded move to close dozens of schools in neighborhoods that were unsafe, forcing the kids to go though territories controlled by rival gangs, causing a huge spike in violence. That's a legacy that will last forever.
It is a shame that people will forget this because he did not release a video that should not have been released while the investigation had not been completed anyway. And it is a shame nobody went for his resignation back then and only when one person got shot in the midst of a media firestorm. Because we will forget why he should have not run again.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:18 PM on January 4, 2016 [17 favorites]
Is that really how it works in Chicago? That seems like a lot of central power.
Yup. As far as I can tell from the 7 years I've lived here, it's basically an elective dictatorship -- and while in theory the City Council has the power of the purse, in practice they are a rubber-stamp for the executive. (Uh, except for that time that a black guy got elected Mayor....)
There is a Progressive Caucus now which made some gains in the last aldermanic elections (alderman = councillor), and they're pretty solidly against the neo-liberal / business-as-usual policies that have usually got passed unanimously. I think they make up around 25% of the council. But yeah. In terms of structures that aren't under the mayor's direct or indirect control -- the Chicago Teacher's Union is the biggest entity that comes to mind. And they will probably be going back on strike in a couple months. That'll be another pivotal moment for Emmanuel, he is considered to have lost the last strike two years ago.
An eye should also be kept on the popular Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners (so basically the county executive). She could probably have defeated Emmanuel if she'd jumped into the mayoral race last winter but she closed that door pretty hard, so if there is any indication of her quietly urging his resignation that would be a signal, I think, that the default position in the political class is shifting to a pro-resignation stance.
It's nice that a slim majority of Chicagoans supposedly want Rahm to resign but I'm a bit eye-roll-ish about that given the abysmal turnout when people ACTUALLY GOT A VOICE in the polls. I'm sure if you polled people now on how they voted, 75% would say they voted and 75% of those would say they didn't vote for Emmanuel. Well, that's not what happened.
posted by tivalasvegas at 2:26 PM on January 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Yup. As far as I can tell from the 7 years I've lived here, it's basically an elective dictatorship -- and while in theory the City Council has the power of the purse, in practice they are a rubber-stamp for the executive. (Uh, except for that time that a black guy got elected Mayor....)
There is a Progressive Caucus now which made some gains in the last aldermanic elections (alderman = councillor), and they're pretty solidly against the neo-liberal / business-as-usual policies that have usually got passed unanimously. I think they make up around 25% of the council. But yeah. In terms of structures that aren't under the mayor's direct or indirect control -- the Chicago Teacher's Union is the biggest entity that comes to mind. And they will probably be going back on strike in a couple months. That'll be another pivotal moment for Emmanuel, he is considered to have lost the last strike two years ago.
An eye should also be kept on the popular Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners (so basically the county executive). She could probably have defeated Emmanuel if she'd jumped into the mayoral race last winter but she closed that door pretty hard, so if there is any indication of her quietly urging his resignation that would be a signal, I think, that the default position in the political class is shifting to a pro-resignation stance.
It's nice that a slim majority of Chicagoans supposedly want Rahm to resign but I'm a bit eye-roll-ish about that given the abysmal turnout when people ACTUALLY GOT A VOICE in the polls. I'm sure if you polled people now on how they voted, 75% would say they voted and 75% of those would say they didn't vote for Emmanuel. Well, that's not what happened.
posted by tivalasvegas at 2:26 PM on January 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Holy crap, I feel in need of some balance... Does anybody have a link to some unreasonable puff piece about the guy? A sycophantic ghost-written biography maybe? He can't really be that fucked up, right? ...Right??
... a brief comment on Rahm during this 2014 radio interview with progressive political scientist Adolph Reed Jr. (Soundcloud link, start at 4:28):
posted by Auden at 2:26 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
... a brief comment on Rahm during this 2014 radio interview with progressive political scientist Adolph Reed Jr. (Soundcloud link, start at 4:28):
posted by Auden at 2:26 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Of almost four hundred police shootings of civilians investigated by the city’s Independent Police Review Authority since 2007, only one was found to be unjustified.
Let us be clear, the IPRA is truly independent and is not a part of the CPD in any way. It is modeled after the Citizen Complaint Review Board in NYC. MeFi's own anotherpanacea worked as an investigator for the CCRB in NYC and can give a detailed explanation of how such agencies work. They are designed to provide a completely independent and separate investigation of police misconduct complaints outside of the Internal Affairs or Force Investigation Team investigations of these incidents. They have no police officers staffing them and answer to no one but themselves.
Here is a listing of the reports by the IPRA.
Here is an example, (PDF) from the September 2015 Reports which include detail you do not see often in public releases:
Notification Date: March 21, 2012
Location: 10th District
Complaint: Firearm Discharge
Summary: In an incident involving an off-duty CPD Detective and two Complainants (Complainant 1 and 2), it was alleged that the Detective was on public property and fired a weapon that he failed to qualify with pursuant to CPD directives, violated CPD directives when he discharged his firearm at Complainant 1, violated CPD directives when he fired his firearm into a crowd striking Complainant 2. It was further alleged that the Detective provided inconsistent accounts of this event in his deposition, detective interview, and to the State’s Attorney’s Office. Finally, it was alleged that the Detective’s conduct brought discredit upon the Chicago Police Department.
Finding: Based on statements to IPRA from the accused, Complainant 1 and witnesses; court documents, photographs, a video, in-car camera footage, medical records and department
reports/records; IPRA recommended the following: Detective: A finding of “SUSTAINED” for all allegations and a penalty of Separation.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:30 PM on January 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Let us be clear, the IPRA is truly independent and is not a part of the CPD in any way. It is modeled after the Citizen Complaint Review Board in NYC. MeFi's own anotherpanacea worked as an investigator for the CCRB in NYC and can give a detailed explanation of how such agencies work. They are designed to provide a completely independent and separate investigation of police misconduct complaints outside of the Internal Affairs or Force Investigation Team investigations of these incidents. They have no police officers staffing them and answer to no one but themselves.
Here is a listing of the reports by the IPRA.
Here is an example, (PDF) from the September 2015 Reports which include detail you do not see often in public releases:
Notification Date: March 21, 2012
Location: 10th District
Complaint: Firearm Discharge
Summary: In an incident involving an off-duty CPD Detective and two Complainants (Complainant 1 and 2), it was alleged that the Detective was on public property and fired a weapon that he failed to qualify with pursuant to CPD directives, violated CPD directives when he discharged his firearm at Complainant 1, violated CPD directives when he fired his firearm into a crowd striking Complainant 2. It was further alleged that the Detective provided inconsistent accounts of this event in his deposition, detective interview, and to the State’s Attorney’s Office. Finally, it was alleged that the Detective’s conduct brought discredit upon the Chicago Police Department.
Finding: Based on statements to IPRA from the accused, Complainant 1 and witnesses; court documents, photographs, a video, in-car camera footage, medical records and department
reports/records; IPRA recommended the following: Detective: A finding of “SUSTAINED” for all allegations and a penalty of Separation.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:30 PM on January 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
An eye should also be kept on the popular Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners (so basically the county executive). She could probably have defeated Emmanuel if she'd jumped into the mayoral race last winter but she closed that door pretty hard, so if there is any indication of her quietly urging his resignation that would be a signal, I think, that the default position in the political class is shifting to a pro-resignation stance.
She could have walked into the Mayor's office, but chose not to run. Given the situation the City is in, it doesn't surprise me at all.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:31 PM on January 4, 2016
She could have walked into the Mayor's office, but chose not to run. Given the situation the City is in, it doesn't surprise me at all.
posted by Ironmouth at 2:31 PM on January 4, 2016
The thing about the "resign Rahm" campaign (which I absolutely support) is that very few of us actually feel like it will ever happen. But it's a lot sexier story that actually gets media coverage in a way that "stop privatizing everything and s shutting down schools and blindly supporting cops who murder people in the street" hasn't and won't.
"Resign Rahm" is a pretty nifty catch phrase which continues reminds voters that there's a reason to get rid of that guy, a way that the most passionate voters felt last year but most people just didn't care or felt that the other option wasn't strong enough to outweigh their negative feeling about Emanuel.
There are those on the ground who are screaming for him to resign. But there needs to be those a lot closer to the halls of power who are prepping to take the reigns whenever he gets out, by hook or by crook or by action of the state general assembly or whatever. As somebody who is somewhere in the middle of these two poles and cares a lot about the condition of this city I love and its citizens, it's a struggle to figure out what I can do that will actually make any sort of difference.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:34 PM on January 4, 2016 [10 favorites]
"Resign Rahm" is a pretty nifty catch phrase which continues reminds voters that there's a reason to get rid of that guy, a way that the most passionate voters felt last year but most people just didn't care or felt that the other option wasn't strong enough to outweigh their negative feeling about Emanuel.
There are those on the ground who are screaming for him to resign. But there needs to be those a lot closer to the halls of power who are prepping to take the reigns whenever he gets out, by hook or by crook or by action of the state general assembly or whatever. As somebody who is somewhere in the middle of these two poles and cares a lot about the condition of this city I love and its citizens, it's a struggle to figure out what I can do that will actually make any sort of difference.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:34 PM on January 4, 2016 [10 favorites]
Given the situation the City is in, it doesn't surprise me at all.
From what I've heard she's pretty happy implementing reforms at the county level and is doing a pretty good job of it there.
As somebody who is somewhere in the middle of these two poles and cares a lot about the condition of this city I love and its citizens, it's a struggle to figure out what I can do that will actually make any sort of difference.
Right. Ultimately democracy in this city is going to require a movement that takes a long view. The unions are part of it, the actually progressive elected officials, activists on the ground, ordinary citizens deciding that center-right corporatism is not good enough for our city. Changing the signs on the Skyway isn't going to, on its own, fix things any more than having a black family at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue did.
posted by tivalasvegas at 2:43 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
From what I've heard she's pretty happy implementing reforms at the county level and is doing a pretty good job of it there.
As somebody who is somewhere in the middle of these two poles and cares a lot about the condition of this city I love and its citizens, it's a struggle to figure out what I can do that will actually make any sort of difference.
Right. Ultimately democracy in this city is going to require a movement that takes a long view. The unions are part of it, the actually progressive elected officials, activists on the ground, ordinary citizens deciding that center-right corporatism is not good enough for our city. Changing the signs on the Skyway isn't going to, on its own, fix things any more than having a black family at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue did.
posted by tivalasvegas at 2:43 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
> Let us be clear, the IPRA is truly independent and is not a part of the CPD in any way.
Dec 5, 2014: Who polices the police? In Chicago, it's increasingly ex-cops
Not being formally part of the CPD does not at all make the IPRA "truly independent."
posted by Westringia F. at 2:50 PM on January 4, 2016 [40 favorites]
Dec 5, 2014: Who polices the police? In Chicago, it's increasingly ex-cops
Public officials around the country are grappling with how to handle police officers accused of using deadly force without justification. In New York City, it’s an officer whose chokehold led to the death of a 43-year-old man in July. In Cleveland, it’s a cop who fatally shot a 12-year-old last month. In Ferguson, Missouri, tempers are still hot about the August shooting death of an unarmed 18-year-old.More WBEZ coverage of the IPRA, including today's story Emails Show Chicago Mayor’s Office, Police and Investigators Coordinated After Shooting.
Then there’s Chicago. Since 2007, according to city records, police gunfire has killed at least 116 people and injured another 258. The city’s Independent Police Review Authority, the agency in charge of investigating those shootings, has not found a single one to be unjustified.
Now a WBEZ investigation raises questions about just how independent the agency is. City records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that IPRA’s management now includes six former cops — officials who have spent most of their career in sworn law enforcement. Those include the agency’s top three leaders.
...
[IPRA Chief Administrator Scott Ando, a former high-ranking U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent] said he had hired former cops because of their expertise in everything from management to investigation to police procedures. Plus, he pointed out, those former cops are part of a 90-member staff.
“We also have 11 attorneys,” Ando said, including several with a background in criminal defense. “When you get to the investigative ranks, the vast majority have come from inspector-general offices, corporate-security firms [and] background investigations.”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who tapped Ando to head IPRA last year, did not answer WBEZ when we asked whether the agency’s management shift conflicted with its oversight mission. He referred our questions to IPRA, whose spokesman sent a statement praising the agency’s “balanced workforce” and listing recent community outreach efforts, including a new brochure and the creation of a satellite office and an advisory board.
Not being formally part of the CPD does not at all make the IPRA "truly independent."
posted by Westringia F. at 2:50 PM on January 4, 2016 [40 favorites]
Almost makes you wish Uncle Richie was still here doling out favors through the ward system to the Democratic machine alderman. But therein lies part of Rahm's problem. He is considered and outsider being from the north suburbs or from washington. He did not build a base of support coming up through the usual way in Chicago. He bullied his way into the job and now he has no solid foundation of support on which to rely. When you make decisions that are seemingly either random or mean spirited, when things go wrong, there is no one there to watch your back. Rather than build relationships with the local community leaders and the Alderman, he cultured relationships with donors. Now he lives with his bad political choices.
And, of course he has no control over the actions of any one cop, but he did seemingly manipulate and control the actions regarding releasing the video of the incident. The coverup is almost as bad as the crime itself. He lost the trust of the community.
posted by AugustWest at 2:55 PM on January 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
And, of course he has no control over the actions of any one cop, but he did seemingly manipulate and control the actions regarding releasing the video of the incident. The coverup is almost as bad as the crime itself. He lost the trust of the community.
posted by AugustWest at 2:55 PM on January 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
My position on this has been evolving as this unfolds.
I think Rahm should probably go but in some ways I find him less culpable than he initially seemed. There are lots of reports leaking out of other earlier "Laquans" many preceding Rahm's tenure as mayor showing that the CPD rot is deep and entrenched. As Mayor Rahm ostensibly controls the police but as we saw in NY when there was on open cop revolt against the mayor they really just kind of "ride" the police and if they are lucky they get to nudge them in some direction.
As an immigrant in Chicago I was gobsmacked when I saw that the police union makes political endorsements. I have been furthered stunned to see that the FOP spokesperson repeatedly makes demonstrably false assertions in the press regarding details of ongoing investigation with complete impunity (including a bizarrely privileged position as a source in both major papers). There were even bogus press releases about a CPD officer's motorcycle accident death where they spun a heroism story that later fell apart when it turned out to be a simple single vehicle accident.
My new position on this is there are almost no good cops in Chicago. There are lots of bad cops and lots of slightly bad cops who let them be bad and a vanishingly small number of cops who have stood up to the bad cops and faced severe retaliation for it including job loss and being targets of murder plots.
Cops want to be hailed as heroes? Then start standing up for what's right. Everyday, everywhere and for everyone. Not just in selected North side enclaves.
With the overtime pay they get cops in Chicago are well into the top 10% of income earners in America.
posted by srboisvert at 3:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
I think Rahm should probably go but in some ways I find him less culpable than he initially seemed. There are lots of reports leaking out of other earlier "Laquans" many preceding Rahm's tenure as mayor showing that the CPD rot is deep and entrenched. As Mayor Rahm ostensibly controls the police but as we saw in NY when there was on open cop revolt against the mayor they really just kind of "ride" the police and if they are lucky they get to nudge them in some direction.
As an immigrant in Chicago I was gobsmacked when I saw that the police union makes political endorsements. I have been furthered stunned to see that the FOP spokesperson repeatedly makes demonstrably false assertions in the press regarding details of ongoing investigation with complete impunity (including a bizarrely privileged position as a source in both major papers). There were even bogus press releases about a CPD officer's motorcycle accident death where they spun a heroism story that later fell apart when it turned out to be a simple single vehicle accident.
My new position on this is there are almost no good cops in Chicago. There are lots of bad cops and lots of slightly bad cops who let them be bad and a vanishingly small number of cops who have stood up to the bad cops and faced severe retaliation for it including job loss and being targets of murder plots.
Cops want to be hailed as heroes? Then start standing up for what's right. Everyday, everywhere and for everyone. Not just in selected North side enclaves.
With the overtime pay they get cops in Chicago are well into the top 10% of income earners in America.
posted by srboisvert at 3:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
Not so deep thoughts:
His brother, Ari Emanuel, was the inspiration for Ari Gold's character in Entourage. I assume Rahm has similar characteristics, I mean, beyond being an asshole.
Not a lot of love for him from Progressive/Liberal types. He has to have been a big factor in Obama's decisions to abandon his base and try to "work with the Republicans" during his first term. I never liked him, and think he poisoned Democratic politics. Slimy, dickish and self-serving in almost every way. Also a bit of a hippie puncher.
I think he's typical of Type A jerkwads who succeed because they're Type A jerkwads. He probably fucked over too many people and is now reaping the rewards of his hard work. You really do need allies, and very few, if any, Progressives support the guy. This is partially why Bernie is big and Hillary needs to do some damage control...
Obama lost Congress to the Teabaggers, in part because he (I suspect Rahm had a lot to do with it) flipped the bird to his base on the issues. He's done a lot, but that first couple of years were clearly poorly played.
posted by Chuffy at 3:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
His brother, Ari Emanuel, was the inspiration for Ari Gold's character in Entourage. I assume Rahm has similar characteristics, I mean, beyond being an asshole.
Not a lot of love for him from Progressive/Liberal types. He has to have been a big factor in Obama's decisions to abandon his base and try to "work with the Republicans" during his first term. I never liked him, and think he poisoned Democratic politics. Slimy, dickish and self-serving in almost every way. Also a bit of a hippie puncher.
I think he's typical of Type A jerkwads who succeed because they're Type A jerkwads. He probably fucked over too many people and is now reaping the rewards of his hard work. You really do need allies, and very few, if any, Progressives support the guy. This is partially why Bernie is big and Hillary needs to do some damage control...
Obama lost Congress to the Teabaggers, in part because he (I suspect Rahm had a lot to do with it) flipped the bird to his base on the issues. He's done a lot, but that first couple of years were clearly poorly played.
posted by Chuffy at 3:04 PM on January 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
To follow up on Chuffy's post, I also wonder how much Rahm Emmanuel had to do with the poisonous relationship between Obama and DC Republicans. It was ugly before the tea party came along, with even moderate Republicans refusing to support his bills.
posted by kanewai at 3:15 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kanewai at 3:15 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
>Let us be clear, the IPRA is truly independent
Let us be clear, the IPRA is not independent at all. Rahm hires and fires its leadership, and controls it.
According to a Chicago Sun-Times story, the former IPRA head, whom Rahm fired last month, reported that City Hall controlled all of IPRA's interactions with the media: “We were generally asked to clear every messaging or release to the press."
posted by JohnKarlWilson at 3:24 PM on January 4, 2016 [19 favorites]
Let us be clear, the IPRA is not independent at all. Rahm hires and fires its leadership, and controls it.
According to a Chicago Sun-Times story, the former IPRA head, whom Rahm fired last month, reported that City Hall controlled all of IPRA's interactions with the media: “We were generally asked to clear every messaging or release to the press."
posted by JohnKarlWilson at 3:24 PM on January 4, 2016 [19 favorites]
Ironmouth: “... his alleged "failure" to release the key piece of evidence in a murder investigation to the press before charging why he sucks as mayor. Indeed, the press thinks it should have had this video because it drives eyeballs to their websites, bringing up ad revenues. Certainly its release will be Exhibit A in the defendant's motion to dismiss the charges based on a tainted jury pool.”
Ha. Well – normally I'd agree with you that the prosecutors (a scummy, obnoxious lot) and well-placed cops love to collude to taint jury pools. But good lord, is that likely here? Has a jury pool ever actually been really and truly tainted against a cop?
The other side of the coin – you must realize – is that the City of Chicago has a long history of covering up solid evidence that cops have committed crimes. I'm not even saying "oh, it seems like it might have happened" – we know that it happened, maybe more in Chicago than in any other city. In the face of that, isn't there just a tiny bit of reason for the public to actually be allowed to know what exactly happened that night, since the government isn't likely ever to tell them?
posted by koeselitz at 3:36 PM on January 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
Ha. Well – normally I'd agree with you that the prosecutors (a scummy, obnoxious lot) and well-placed cops love to collude to taint jury pools. But good lord, is that likely here? Has a jury pool ever actually been really and truly tainted against a cop?
The other side of the coin – you must realize – is that the City of Chicago has a long history of covering up solid evidence that cops have committed crimes. I'm not even saying "oh, it seems like it might have happened" – we know that it happened, maybe more in Chicago than in any other city. In the face of that, isn't there just a tiny bit of reason for the public to actually be allowed to know what exactly happened that night, since the government isn't likely ever to tell them?
posted by koeselitz at 3:36 PM on January 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
I voted for Chuy. I knew Rahm would win because Chicagoans are lazy will either not bother to vote or vote for the machine candidate. I don't see this ever changing. Daly was just as bad and the next mayor will be more of the same. There's a weird thuggishness to Chicago politics (and policing) that Emanuel exemplified with his nasty demeanor even if he was an outsider. You can feel that if you ever walk into an alderman's office. I pretty much despair for this city and definitely for anyone poor in it. The Democratic party should be ashamed of Chicago.
posted by Jess the Mess at 3:44 PM on January 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Jess the Mess at 3:44 PM on January 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Has a jury pool ever actually been really and truly tainted against a cop?
Juries are inherently tainted in the other direction as they have to live in the community the cop's armed colleagues patrol.
posted by srboisvert at 3:57 PM on January 4, 2016
Juries are inherently tainted in the other direction as they have to live in the community the cop's armed colleagues patrol.
posted by srboisvert at 3:57 PM on January 4, 2016
Auden: radio interview with progressive political scientist Adolph Reed Jr...
So I guess what you're saying is, that that's the best anyone has to say about the guy...? Jeebus.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 4:01 PM on January 4, 2016
So I guess what you're saying is, that that's the best anyone has to say about the guy...? Jeebus.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 4:01 PM on January 4, 2016
I'll be taking everything Ironmouth says on this subject with a giant truckload of salt, given his still unsubstantiated assertions that the police did not in fact delete evidence from the Burger King cameras in the last Laquan McDonald thread. If the IPRA is the "independent body" we're supposed to trust here, where exactly is that proof?
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:22 PM on January 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 4:22 PM on January 4, 2016 [13 favorites]
I'm not even saying "oh, it seems like it might have happened" – we know that it happened, maybe more in Chicago than in any other city.
God, this. Any pissant backwater police force can cover up an unjustified shooting here or there. In Chicago we have, by the authorities' own admission, secret detention facilities and police captain torturers. And that's what came out before everyone had a videorecording pocket internet. I have no doubt that there is much, much more to come.
posted by tivalasvegas at 4:33 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
God, this. Any pissant backwater police force can cover up an unjustified shooting here or there. In Chicago we have, by the authorities' own admission, secret detention facilities and police captain torturers. And that's what came out before everyone had a videorecording pocket internet. I have no doubt that there is much, much more to come.
posted by tivalasvegas at 4:33 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
"Let us be clear, the IPRA is truly independent and is not a part of the CPD in any way."
Let us be clear: This is a statement of opinion appropriate for an advocate, but not one that is a convincing statement of informed fact.
The IPRA is not part of the CPD; it is, however, part of the city administration, with its head administrator appointed by the mayor. It replaced the old review system — whose unwavering support for officers contributed to an officer beating a bartender — in 2007, but until 2010 handled all investigations through a "roundtable" procedure, in which an officer, their commander and an IPRA investigator would convene and discuss the evidence. The criminal records of shooting victims were considered germane and introduced; the complaint records of the officers were considered non-germane and were held back from IPRA investigators. The interviews with the officers were routinely held up to four years after the shootings occurred, and a former IPRA investigator described the process as collaborative.
The first administrator, brought in by Daley from LA, felt constrained by the process and also instituted a force review board to examine policy recommendations that could reduce the number of what she termed "awful but justified" shootings, those where officers shot unarmed civilians unnecessarily but without raising to the legal level of unjustifiable. That review board met with resistance from the CPD; the board was dissolved after she left and current IPRA spokespeople were unable to confirm why — only that it no longer exists.
The initial staffing largely came from ex-police officers working as investigators under the old CPD system; many of them remain with the IPRA.
Recent former employees allege that Rahm's previous appointee routinely pressured them to change findings to make them more sympathetic to police; one wrongful termination suit still pending alleges that the investigator was fired because of an unwillingness to change conclusions. In any event, because the conclusions can be overturned through the police board appeals system, the independence of the IPRA to find cops responsible in unjustified shootings is dubious.
I know that Annotherpanacea worked at the NY review board that the IPRA is based on (and I believe both of them are based on the Canadian review system), but a reasonably diligent review of IPRA policies and staffing should make it clear that at best it is an institution with significant flaws that distinguish it. Don't let your zeal as an advocate overtake your ability to recognize the flaws in Chicago's system of reviewing police shootings.
posted by klangklangston at 4:34 PM on January 4, 2016 [23 favorites]
Let us be clear: This is a statement of opinion appropriate for an advocate, but not one that is a convincing statement of informed fact.
The IPRA is not part of the CPD; it is, however, part of the city administration, with its head administrator appointed by the mayor. It replaced the old review system — whose unwavering support for officers contributed to an officer beating a bartender — in 2007, but until 2010 handled all investigations through a "roundtable" procedure, in which an officer, their commander and an IPRA investigator would convene and discuss the evidence. The criminal records of shooting victims were considered germane and introduced; the complaint records of the officers were considered non-germane and were held back from IPRA investigators. The interviews with the officers were routinely held up to four years after the shootings occurred, and a former IPRA investigator described the process as collaborative.
The first administrator, brought in by Daley from LA, felt constrained by the process and also instituted a force review board to examine policy recommendations that could reduce the number of what she termed "awful but justified" shootings, those where officers shot unarmed civilians unnecessarily but without raising to the legal level of unjustifiable. That review board met with resistance from the CPD; the board was dissolved after she left and current IPRA spokespeople were unable to confirm why — only that it no longer exists.
The initial staffing largely came from ex-police officers working as investigators under the old CPD system; many of them remain with the IPRA.
Recent former employees allege that Rahm's previous appointee routinely pressured them to change findings to make them more sympathetic to police; one wrongful termination suit still pending alleges that the investigator was fired because of an unwillingness to change conclusions. In any event, because the conclusions can be overturned through the police board appeals system, the independence of the IPRA to find cops responsible in unjustified shootings is dubious.
I know that Annotherpanacea worked at the NY review board that the IPRA is based on (and I believe both of them are based on the Canadian review system), but a reasonably diligent review of IPRA policies and staffing should make it clear that at best it is an institution with significant flaws that distinguish it. Don't let your zeal as an advocate overtake your ability to recognize the flaws in Chicago's system of reviewing police shootings.
posted by klangklangston at 4:34 PM on January 4, 2016 [23 favorites]
Chicagoan here. I cannot believe how many people told me they wouldn't vote for Chuy Garcia because "he might be worse"
Emanuel is a sleaze.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 6:02 PM on January 4, 2016
Emanuel is a sleaze.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 6:02 PM on January 4, 2016
I used to pester Toni Preckwinkle about running against Rahm when I'd see her out walking her dog. Finally she said "why on earth would I want his job? I have a great job with lots of the perks but none of the spotlight."
posted by goatdog at 6:19 PM on January 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by goatdog at 6:19 PM on January 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
One of the most disappointing aspects of this whole scandal is that I finally realized it wasn't Tone Periwinkle.
posted by srboisvert at 7:00 PM on January 4, 2016
posted by srboisvert at 7:00 PM on January 4, 2016
Guys! Guys! Why is everyone hating on Rahm? He is doing incredible things for the city. Here are just a few of his wonderful projects.
$100 million dollar riverwalk expansion (the lakefront is okay but Chicagoans desperately need another body of water that we can jog or bike next to)
$41 million dollar loop link project (which gives downtown a bunch of cool looking bus stops)
$61 million Navy Pier Flyover (yeah, there is like nowhere to run or bike along the lakefront)
Rahm wanted to use $70 million of TIF funds for the new DePaul basketball stadium, but a bunch of crybaby alderman thought this might be "problematic." Now only $55 million of TIF funds is going to develop the Marriot Marquis.
Rahm can't fix all the city's problems. He is focusing on building up our lakefront and downtown. The progress will eventually trickle over to the south and west side. Most of the city isn't affected by police shootings or underfunded public schools. Everyone needs to chill out!
posted by blairsyprofane at 7:29 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
$100 million dollar riverwalk expansion (the lakefront is okay but Chicagoans desperately need another body of water that we can jog or bike next to)
$41 million dollar loop link project (which gives downtown a bunch of cool looking bus stops)
$61 million Navy Pier Flyover (yeah, there is like nowhere to run or bike along the lakefront)
Rahm wanted to use $70 million of TIF funds for the new DePaul basketball stadium, but a bunch of crybaby alderman thought this might be "problematic." Now only $55 million of TIF funds is going to develop the Marriot Marquis.
Rahm can't fix all the city's problems. He is focusing on building up our lakefront and downtown. The progress will eventually trickle over to the south and west side. Most of the city isn't affected by police shootings or underfunded public schools. Everyone needs to chill out!
posted by blairsyprofane at 7:29 PM on January 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'm from Chicago and am back there at least twice a year. Chicago has lots of problems. But it has done a lot better than most non-coastal US cities since the 1980s.
posted by persona au gratin at 7:29 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by persona au gratin at 7:29 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I could never stand his aggro macho "asshole with a heart of gold" posturing, but I think it's part of why he's been able to get by in politics for so long despite his complete and utter failure on substance. I'm sure he makes a fun drinking buddy or distant acquaintance, but imagine what it must be like to have to work for this jerk. Not everything in life has to be a dick-measuring contest and there are ways to compete other than cage fighting.
posted by sallybrown at 7:42 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 7:42 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Anyone who cites New York City's CCRB as some kind of model for independent and meaningful oversight of the police can't be taken seriously. Everyone (who pays attention to police brutality in NYC) knows CCRB is a toothless joke.
posted by Mavri at 8:32 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Mavri at 8:32 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
(Apologies to anotherpanacea. I don't doubt there are people who work at CCRB who take their jobs very seriously but I can't remember a police brutality case where the board did anything. Not to mention the decades of stop and frisk abuse of people of color.)
posted by Mavri at 8:41 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Mavri at 8:41 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
A top lawyer for the city of Chicago stepped down Monday after a federal judge accused him of hiding evidence in a fatal police shooting. This is the latest allegation of wrongdoing against the city of Chicago in such cases.
posted by futz at 10:24 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by futz at 10:24 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I want someone to pop up for Rahm like the "Ted Cruz' college roomate" guy.
posted by rhizome at 11:54 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 11:54 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Here's what I said about civilian review in the NYPD the last time.
I think in Chicago there's a bigger problem of police officers doing "civilian" review when they retire. That pretty much completely undermines the system, especially if you remember that there's already a lot of procedural preference for police officers built into the evidentiary evaluations.
posted by anotherpanacea at 2:09 AM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
I think in Chicago there's a bigger problem of police officers doing "civilian" review when they retire. That pretty much completely undermines the system, especially if you remember that there's already a lot of procedural preference for police officers built into the evidentiary evaluations.
posted by anotherpanacea at 2:09 AM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
I can't remember a police brutality case where the board did anything.
I can. I keep a stack of my substantiated cases, because a. they were really rare and really difficult to pull off, and b. it's some of my best technical writing. Those cases were a mess of testimony and physical evidence and making sense of jumbled timelines, and everything had to be perfect to get a substantiation.
The problem is that we often didn't come to different conclusions than the prosecutors. We always had to wait until criminal investigation concluded, so if an officer was found not guilty we were supposed to show up afterwards and decide whether he was guilty under a lower standard of review (preponderance v. reasonable doubt.)
What we ought to have been doing was enforcing different RULES. Perhaps it's not a crime, but a lot of the troublesome police behavior that has led to innocent death and protest is BAD POLICING. Failing to de-escalate a violent encounter is the sort of thing that probably shouldn't be a crime, in my view. But an officer should at least have to show his bosses (the city!) that he TRIED to de-escalate rather than just going for the kill shot. There ought to be a gap between what can get you jail time and what gets you fired, but in US law I can't seem to find it any more. If you do what the reasonable officer would do, then you're neither criminally culpable nor fireable. And yet the officer who choked Eric Garner, in clear violation of NYPD procedure, was not fired!
What job in the world lets you break the rules, kill someone, and face no sanction?
posted by anotherpanacea at 2:33 AM on January 5, 2016 [27 favorites]
I can. I keep a stack of my substantiated cases, because a. they were really rare and really difficult to pull off, and b. it's some of my best technical writing. Those cases were a mess of testimony and physical evidence and making sense of jumbled timelines, and everything had to be perfect to get a substantiation.
The problem is that we often didn't come to different conclusions than the prosecutors. We always had to wait until criminal investigation concluded, so if an officer was found not guilty we were supposed to show up afterwards and decide whether he was guilty under a lower standard of review (preponderance v. reasonable doubt.)
What we ought to have been doing was enforcing different RULES. Perhaps it's not a crime, but a lot of the troublesome police behavior that has led to innocent death and protest is BAD POLICING. Failing to de-escalate a violent encounter is the sort of thing that probably shouldn't be a crime, in my view. But an officer should at least have to show his bosses (the city!) that he TRIED to de-escalate rather than just going for the kill shot. There ought to be a gap between what can get you jail time and what gets you fired, but in US law I can't seem to find it any more. If you do what the reasonable officer would do, then you're neither criminally culpable nor fireable. And yet the officer who choked Eric Garner, in clear violation of NYPD procedure, was not fired!
What job in the world lets you break the rules, kill someone, and face no sanction?
posted by anotherpanacea at 2:33 AM on January 5, 2016 [27 favorites]
But honestly Chicago democratic politics have seemed inexplicably strange for ages.
Chicago has always seemed like a city that succeeds despite itself.
This may be true now, but when I lived in Chicago in the late 70s/early 80s it was always called "The City That Works." At that time it was true especially in contrast to New York, where I grew up and which seemed to be on its last legs.
posted by maggiemaggie at 4:17 AM on January 5, 2016
Chicago has always seemed like a city that succeeds despite itself.
This may be true now, but when I lived in Chicago in the late 70s/early 80s it was always called "The City That Works." At that time it was true especially in contrast to New York, where I grew up and which seemed to be on its last legs.
posted by maggiemaggie at 4:17 AM on January 5, 2016
It never seems like a bad time to post Rahm and Ari Emanuel Beat Me Up.
posted by Ralston McTodd at 4:32 AM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Ralston McTodd at 4:32 AM on January 5, 2016 [4 favorites]
So, maybe appealing to another mefite as authority without asking their actual opinion is not so great.
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:32 AM on January 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by T.D. Strange at 5:32 AM on January 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
$41 million dollar loop link project (which gives downtown a bunch of cool looking bus stops)
That bullshit cost $41 million? What would it cost to build the mile and a half of track connecting the end of the brown line to the blue?
posted by PMdixon at 6:46 AM on January 5, 2016
That bullshit cost $41 million? What would it cost to build the mile and a half of track connecting the end of the brown line to the blue?
posted by PMdixon at 6:46 AM on January 5, 2016
I have lived in Chicago and NYC (or suburbs) for my adult life. Chicago was/is the City that Works for two reasons in my opinion. One, it was founded on a blue collar ethic with the stockyards and other blue collar industries there. Two, and this is one of the things that I marveled at when I first moved to Chicago after NYC (I am back in the NYC area), was that even with the Council Wars, you could get things done in your ward through your Alderman precisely because you knew who to pay off. If the Alderman asked for a donation or if he asked you to do business with his buddy, you did and you got what you asked for. In NY, it is impossible to know exactly who to pay off. Too many people or not enough or something. Chicago works because there is a clear line of payoff. To be clear, this is not an endorsement of the politics of Chicago, but if you cannot change it, you can maximize living within it.
The Chicago cops are part of this. They are just another shakedown group looking for tribute for doing their jobs. They have been doing this since before Al Capone. If you cannot afford to pay, they take the view that you get the least amount of benefit of the doubt that the law can offer. You got a bat in your hand and you are not a white north sider? Boom. Shoot first to protect themselves and sort it out later. It is a bunch of crap, but until the Alderman and the Mayor put the pressure on them to change, it won't. What Rahm did was not only not pressure them to change, he facilitated the cover up.
posted by AugustWest at 10:11 AM on January 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
The Chicago cops are part of this. They are just another shakedown group looking for tribute for doing their jobs. They have been doing this since before Al Capone. If you cannot afford to pay, they take the view that you get the least amount of benefit of the doubt that the law can offer. You got a bat in your hand and you are not a white north sider? Boom. Shoot first to protect themselves and sort it out later. It is a bunch of crap, but until the Alderman and the Mayor put the pressure on them to change, it won't. What Rahm did was not only not pressure them to change, he facilitated the cover up.
posted by AugustWest at 10:11 AM on January 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
maggiemaggie: "This may be true now, but when I lived in Chicago in the late 70s/early 80s it was always called 'The City That Works.' At that time it was true especially in contrast to New York, where I grew up and which seemed to be on its last legs."
Indeed - it's not terribly surprising what has happened between the two. New York is now a sparkling city on a hill, a shining example of successfuly convincing voters that they have lowered the crime rate, while Chicago lags far behind. Chicago police leaders seem to struggle with locating the heart of successful modern policing; they know it has something to do with being racist, but they don't seem to have caught on to the trick the NYPD pulled off: it's not about killing brown people openly; it's not even about beating brown people secretly; it's about arresting as many of them as you can, using whatever excuse you can find, and harassing the rest with petty stops and searches until they're afraid to walk the street. Then, and only then, will people declare that you have a successful police force, and ignore all evidence to the contrary. I pity Chicago and their police department that they haven't figured out a way to rise up to New York's level of success on this.
But I have high hopes that the example of Baltimore, which has done so much with so little in this effort, will provide an education for Chicagoans looking to go the same way and arrest their way to good polling figures and national aplomb.
posted by koeselitz at 4:01 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Indeed - it's not terribly surprising what has happened between the two. New York is now a sparkling city on a hill, a shining example of successfuly convincing voters that they have lowered the crime rate, while Chicago lags far behind. Chicago police leaders seem to struggle with locating the heart of successful modern policing; they know it has something to do with being racist, but they don't seem to have caught on to the trick the NYPD pulled off: it's not about killing brown people openly; it's not even about beating brown people secretly; it's about arresting as many of them as you can, using whatever excuse you can find, and harassing the rest with petty stops and searches until they're afraid to walk the street. Then, and only then, will people declare that you have a successful police force, and ignore all evidence to the contrary. I pity Chicago and their police department that they haven't figured out a way to rise up to New York's level of success on this.
But I have high hopes that the example of Baltimore, which has done so much with so little in this effort, will provide an education for Chicagoans looking to go the same way and arrest their way to good polling figures and national aplomb.
posted by koeselitz at 4:01 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Exclusive: Lawyers Went to Rahm Emanuel, Then Quashed the Laquan McDonald Video
And about that "independent" IPRA:
"A day after the settlement was approved, Emanuel’s deputy communications director complained to his staff that an IPRA spokesperson did not report to him before speaking to a New York Times reporter.
“I found out a bit ago that IPRA’s PIO talked to Monica [Davey] about the structure of IPRA and how they operate without checking in with me (and despite the fact I had already reached out to coordinate earlier in the day),” Collins wrote on April 15.
The email is important because it shows that Emanuel’s office was not just suppressing information about McDonald’s death, but also controlling how the agency responsible for investigating police killings speaks to the press about its own processes."
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:51 AM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
And about that "independent" IPRA:
"A day after the settlement was approved, Emanuel’s deputy communications director complained to his staff that an IPRA spokesperson did not report to him before speaking to a New York Times reporter.
“I found out a bit ago that IPRA’s PIO talked to Monica [Davey] about the structure of IPRA and how they operate without checking in with me (and despite the fact I had already reached out to coordinate earlier in the day),” Collins wrote on April 15.
The email is important because it shows that Emanuel’s office was not just suppressing information about McDonald’s death, but also controlling how the agency responsible for investigating police killings speaks to the press about its own processes."
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:51 AM on January 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
For what it's worth, that's in no way an exclusive. The Tribune had it on December 31.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:42 AM on January 7, 2016
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:42 AM on January 7, 2016
"This may be true now, but when I lived in Chicago in the late 70s/early 80s it was always called "The City That Works." At that time it was true especially in contrast to New York, where I grew up and which seemed to be on its last legs."
Yeah, that was a Mayor Daley aphorism with the clear subtext that yeah, the Machine is corrupt as fuck, but it "works." I mean, ostensibly about the Blackhawks, but it was about the Machine. And why, after Daley died and the Blizzard of '79 happened, the Machine broke down for over a decade — if it couldn't keep the streets plowed, what was all the graft for?
posted by klangklangston at 7:59 PM on January 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that was a Mayor Daley aphorism with the clear subtext that yeah, the Machine is corrupt as fuck, but it "works." I mean, ostensibly about the Blackhawks, but it was about the Machine. And why, after Daley died and the Blizzard of '79 happened, the Machine broke down for over a decade — if it couldn't keep the streets plowed, what was all the graft for?
posted by klangklangston at 7:59 PM on January 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
At This Point, Rahm Emanuel Is Basically a David Simon Character. And Rick Snyder, too.
posted by homunculus at 5:43 PM on January 8, 2016
posted by homunculus at 5:43 PM on January 8, 2016
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posted by vuron at 12:05 PM on January 4, 2016 [5 favorites]