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May 7, 2015

Chicago OKs $5.5M Reparations Fund for Police Torture Victims 
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The Chicago City Council has approved a $5.5 million dollar reparations
fund for victims of police torture. Under the rein of Chicago Police
Commander Jon Burge from 1972 to 1991, more than 200 people, most of
them African-American, were tortured with tactics including electric
shocks and suffocation. The reparations package includes free city
college tuition for victims and relatives, counseling services, a
memorial to victims, inclusion of Burge’s actions in school
curriculum, and a formal apology. A City councilmember and Mayor Rahm
Emanuel hailed the move.
bq. Unidentified: "Finally. Finally we have begin to acknowledge this
horrible wrong. First of all we finally settled the lawsuits that were
brought by the victims, or many of the victims. And now we did something
that no other city in the United States has ever done."
bq. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: "This is another step, but an essential
step in writing a wrong. Removing a stain on the reputation of this
great city and the people who make up this great city."
A number of torture victims attended Wednesday's Council session. Burge
served a short prison sentence for perjury and obstruction of justice
before his release last year.

 

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