March 21--Laquan McDonald left Chicago a gift.
It's not a gift that we asked for. And certainly, we would rather have gone without it if the teenager, who was shot to death by police, could have been saved. But, in spite of how we came upon it, this is a gift that we desperately needed.
Laquan has given Chicago the chance for a do-over.
Because of him, we have the rare opportunity to make a fresh start. We get to look back at the things that have gone wrong in our Police Department, our prosecutor's office and our city government and try to fix them. We have a chance to explore fresh ideas and form new alliances. And in the process, maybe we can figure out what it means to be a city that holds all its residents in equal standing.
What we choose to do with this gift ultimately will become not only Laquan's legacy but also Chicago's. From what I've seen so far, we're off to a good start.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez is on her way out. Voters bid her a striking farewell last Tuesday.
That said a lot, coming from one of the nation's most racially divided cities. But despite our differences, residents from the North Side, the South Side and the West Side spoke in one voice, shouting #ByeAnita.
Alvarez lost in every predominantly African-American ward in Chicago. But blacks alone couldn't have kicked her out of office. That took a multiracial coalition of voters from all over the city and county. It proved what could be accomplished when we become allies rather than foes.
In coming together, Chicagoans sent a message to America that Laquan's life mattered.
Some have called Alvarez's ouster a victory for the Black Lives Matter movement. But it is also a victory for all Chicagoans.
Chicago has long been known as one of America's most segregated cities. There are whites on the North Side who have never explored the South Side, just as there are African-Americans on the South and West sides who would never venture north of 35th Street.
And when paths don't cross, it is hard to get to know each other and understand the issues that each neighborhood faces.
Laquan's death is helping us bridge the gap. It would be difficult for most people to watch the video of the shooting and not see something terribly unjust.
Laquan, a 17-year-old African-American, was shot 16 times as he walked away from police. Officer Jason Van Dyke has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting that was captured on a police cruiser's dashboard camera.
It is hard to find people who don't believe that Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy and Alvarez were wrong to hold onto the video for 13 months before being forced by a judge to release it to the public. Emanuel fired McCarthy, but the mayor, though severely damaged, will try to hold on at least through his term.
