January, 13 2017, 02:00pm EDT
Statement on Release of Department of Justice Findings on Chicago Police Department
CHICAGO
The following is the statement of ACLU of Illinois Police Practice Project Director Karen Sheley regarding the release of the Department of Justice findings on the Chicago Police Department:
"The report issued today by the U. S. Department of Justice confirms what many residents of Chicago have known for years -- the system for policing in our city is broken. There can be no debate that it is past time for fundamental reform within Chicago Police Department.
"The report is an indictment of policing in Chicago, from how police behave on the streets of the city to how police are managed. Segregation in Chicago magnifies the impact of these policies on communities of color. Black and Latino Chicagoans face the worst of police misconduct, disproportionately experiencing unconstitutional behavior like excessive use of force. Out-of-date polices and lack of training result in harm for people with disabilities, especially related to mental health, and transgender people.
"These findings are not new. The ACLU and other advocates have pointed out bad policing practices for decades, only to see calls for reform neglected and problems become ingrained after decades of acceptance. The department does not sufficiently train and or supervise officers. It also fails to discipline or terminate officers who violate basic norms. And too often, officers who violate the constitution are protected by a code of silence, indicating the police department values protecting their own more than the lives and rights of Chicago residents. These bad practices sabotage good police-community relations and undermine good officers who want to work in a functioning police department.
"Today must be a wake-up call to change how Chicago is policed. There can be no more tinkering around the edges. It is time for fundamental reform, grounded in ongoing court oversight and independent monitoring. To date, the city has failed to sign a consent decree with the Department of Justice. Such a decree would ensure that a federal judge would oversee the reform that the report shows is critical. Given the Trump administration's announced resistance to police reform, we call on the city to enter an agreement with the Department of Justice now."
For information about the ACLU of Illinois, visit:
https://www.aclu-il.org/
This statement is available online here:
https://www.aclu-il.org/statement-on-release-of-department-of-justice-findings-on-chicago-police-department/
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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'Make Polio Great Again': Alarm Over RFK Jr. Lawyer Who Targeted Vaccine
"So if you're wondering if Donald Trump is trying to kill your kids, yes, yes he is," said one critic.
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Public health advocates, federal lawmakers, and other critics responded with alarm to The New York Timesreporting on Friday that an attorney helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. select officials for the next Trump administration tried to get the U.S. regulators to revoke approval of the polio vaccine in 2022.
"The United States has been a leader in the global fight to eradicate polio, which is poised to become only the second disease in history to be eliminated from the face of the earth after smallpox," said Liza Barrie, Public Citizen's campaign director for global vaccines access. "Undermining polio vaccination efforts now risks reversing decades of progress and unraveling one of the greatest public health achievements of all time."
Public Citizen is among various organizations that have criticized President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, with the watchdog's co-president, Robert Weissman, saying that "he shouldn't be allowed in the building... let alone be placed in charge of the nation's public health agency."
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According to the newspaper:
Mr. Siri is also representing ICAN in petitioning the FDA to "pause distribution" of 13 other vaccines, including combination products that cover tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and hepatitis A, until their makers disclose details about aluminum, an ingredient researchers have associated with a small increase in asthma cases.
Mr. Siri declined to be interviewed, but said all of his petitions were filed on behalf of clients. Katie Miller, a spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy, said Mr. Siri has been advising Mr. Kennedy but has not discussed his petitions with any of the health nominees. She added, "Mr. Kennedy has long said that he wants transparency in vaccines and to give people choice."
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Ayman Chit, head of vaccines for North America at Sanofi, told the newspaper that development of the vaccine began in 1977, over 280 million people worldwide have received it, and there have been more than 300 studies, some with up to six months of follow-up.
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Asked about RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine record during a Time "Person of the Year" interview published Thursday, the president-elect said that "we're going to be able to do very serious testing" and certain vaccines could be made unavailable "if I think it's dangerous."
Trump toldNBC News last weekend: "Hey, look, I'm not against vaccines. The polio vaccine is the greatest thing. If somebody told me to get rid of the polio vaccine, they're going to have to work real hard to convince me. I think vaccines are—certain vaccines—are incredible. But maybe some aren't. And if they aren't, we have to find out."
Both comments generated concern—like the Friday reporting in the Times, which University of Alabama law professor and MSNBC columnist Joyce White Vance called "absolutely terrifying."
She was far from alone. HuffPost senior front page editor Philip Lewis said that "this is just so dangerous and ridiculous" while Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan declared, "We are so—and I use this word advisedly—fucked."
Ryan Cooper, managing editor at The American Prospect, warned that "they want your kids dead."
Author and musician Mikel Jollett similarly said, "So if you're wondering if Donald Trump is trying to kill your kids, yes, yes he is."
Multiple critics altered Trump's campaign slogan to "Make Polio Great Again."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) responded with a video on social media:
Without naming anyone, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a polio survivor, put out a lengthy statement on Friday.
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Sandy Fonzo, whose son killed himself after being sentenced to juvenile detention, said in a statement: "I am shocked and I am hurt. Conahan's actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son's death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power."
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Others have called on Biden—who earlier this month pardoned his son Hunter Biden after promising he wouldn't—to grant clemency to people including Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier and environmental lawyer Steven Donziger.
"There's never going to be any closure for us."
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