Senator Obama wants to stand out. How about standing up against torture, not in Gitmo -- but in Chicago?

Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and officers serving under him stand accused of torturing some 200 mostly African-American men in custody in the '70s and '80s. In 2002, after a criminal investigation, four who had been sentenced to death and spent over a total of 70 years behind bars on false confessions extracted through torture were pardoned, Governor Ryan issued a moratorium on executions and a package of reforms was passed.

Running for US Senate, Obama was rightly proud of SB15, his piece of that package: "I sent twenty-five pieces of legislation to the Governor's desk, including landmark videotaping legislation of interrogations and confessions, the first in the nation."

By then, the electric-shocks to-the-genitals, bags-over-head treatment had stopped, but justice hadn't been served. Burge and the others have never been prosecuted. Recently, a four-year, multi-million dollar investigation confirmed the allegations but declared it too late to act. Now Mayor Richard M. Daley stands accused of running out the clock on the statute of limitations.

Daley – who abandoned his tradition of primary-neutrality to back Obama – was Cook County's top prosecutor in '82, when evidence linking Burge to torture was first brought to him. For eight years he collaborated in prosecutions of Burge's victims without taking action. Now he's Mayor, his former assistant, Richard Devine, is Cook County state's attorney, and his brother, Bill Daley, is a senior adviser to Obama.

The UN Committee against Torture wants action. Patrick Fitzgerald has announced a federal investigation. This October 17, Bobby Rush (D-Il) wrote to John Conyers requesting a Judiciary Committee hearing.

Want to show courage? Obama knows what's right. A Senate investigation anyone?

Next: tackle homophobia.

Comments (12)

1. ((Hmm...okay, let's try this again))

   "Patrick Fitzgerald has announced a federal investigation."

   Well, that's a bad sign, given his track record.

   Second, sorry Ms Flanders, Obama is only SLIGHTLY moving left of Her Nibs. Try Edwards.

   He's not going to go up against Daley and risk Illinois become "dicey Dem" as opposed to "locked-in Blue", if he gets the nomination. Obama is not Stokely Carmichael, nor likely to go back 20-30 years, AND piss off Daley by attacking him (and his dad) as fascist swine.

   Posted by Mask at 10/29/2007 @ 12:02pm

2. yeah - look

   this is exactly the same story on the notion.

   hey, lets cut and paste everything posted in the blog response pits from the other entry over here!

   or not...lol

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/29/2007 @ 12:23pm

3. Posted by IBBLEBLIBBLE 10/29/2007 @ 12:23pm

   I figured Ms Flanders was going to dump "The Notion" version for the "Campaign '08" version.

   Is she getting to keep BOTH?!!??!

   Posted by Mask at 10/29/2007 @ 12:29pm

4. Posted by MASK 10/29/2007 @ 12:29pm

   maybe she misunderstood the rules...or being the radionation host give her special privs...

   who knows?

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/29/2007 @ 1:06pm

5. oh - its gone!

   all's well that ends well!

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/29/2007 @ 1:07pm

6. Interesting tidbit about Ms Flanders, I didn't know...

   Alexander Cockburn is her uncle.

   Wonder what she thinks of "Al Gore: A User's Manual"?

   Posted by Mask at 10/29/2007 @ 1:21pm

7. Posted by MASK 10/29/2007 @ 1:21pm

   really? hmm...i dont know what to make of that...

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/29/2007 @ 1:36pm

8. From Time.com December 17, 1984

   '...But the teachers want a real pay hike, and at one negotiating session last week they outlined possible cuts in student services that would pay for the raises. "Enough! No more! That's it!" cried Board Member Betty Bonow. "I won't make any more cuts." The union negotiators were exasperated too. "God," sighed one as she left Wednesday night's session, "if only Daley were alive." During Mayor Richard Daley's highhanded 21-year reign, when Chicago was calling itself "The City That Works," teachers went out on strike several times, but he personally intervened each time and forced a settlement. ...

   One infamous gang zone is the huge Cabrini-Green public housing project, a cluster of decaying high-rises on the near west side. Says an elderly woman who lives at the project: "They've all got guns or knives, and they act like they own the place." Not far away, at Crane High School, a large majority of the boys are said to be gang members or affiliates. "I'm scared all the time," says one girl, a junior at Crane. "Last year a boy standing right next to me in the hall was shot by another boy. And I saw a stabbing down the hall last week." ...

   Earlier this fall Mayor Washington proposed laying off 500 of the city's 12,000-member police force as a budget-cutting measure. With Wilson's murder and the continued gang violence, however, the mayor's opponents turned the planned cuts into a hot political issue. They called instead for 500 additional police. Last week Washington backed down on the layoffs and announced a planned crackdown on five notorious gang fiefs. ...'

   Posted by HonestLiberal at 10/29/2007 @ 4:54pm

9. Posted by HONESTLIBERAL 10/29/2007 @ 4:54pm |

   hmmm...200 alledged...20-30 years ago...daley was prosecutor in 82...????

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 10/29/2007 @ 6:03pm

10. Well, if jumping on Hillary is not bold enough for Mr. Obama, then you just don't know what "bold" means. Of course the guy now acts like a turncoat: one day he would pride himself on being Dick Cheney's relative, on other occasion Mr. Obama would embrass Rudy Giuliani's other "bold" initiative to attack Iran. Anyway, good patriotic turncoat.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 10/29/2007 @ 9:38pm

11. The answers for this piece are largely unintelligible, but I will go on....

    To begin with, Richie Daley has lied for a long time about the situation when he was Cook County State's Attorney in which many black men were tortured by the Chicago Police (mainly under the command of Jon Burge--who is now receiving a pension from the City of Chicago and living in Florida). This started immediately when he refused to seriously investigate the first incident that was reported. He recently was coached by the corporate counsel to claim he didn't remember getting a letter from Police Superintendent Brzeczek saying that he was concerned about the allegations and thought the State's Attorney should follow up. As the evidence mounted and newspapers and college journalism and law classes continued to push for an investigation, Daley continued to refuse. Laura is perfectly right to call for Obama to distance himself from Daley. I would get as far from Bill Daley as I can.

    Secondly, Bill Daley is the brains behind Al Gore's campaign calling for recounts in precincts in Miami and other metropolitan areas to find a few thousand votes when a complete recount of the state would have found many more votes.

    Third, Carl Bernstein seems to think that Hillary is a closet "progressive" whose real problem has to do with her disinclination to act 'like her real self.' While I am for Kucinich and really don't think that Obama has shown a real understanding of Labor issues, I think that otherwise Obama would demonstrate his progressive self if he would only "get real." He has to get out from under not only the Daleys, but David Axelrod and his other "advisors" as well. One can only challenge Hillary from the left.

    Posted by Dennis Dixon at 10/29/2007 @ 10:13pm

12. 'When I die, I want to be buried in Chicago, so I can continue to be politically active.' - Mort Sahl.

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 10/30/2007 @ 09:46am