Dec. 11--The National Football League might want to reconsider staging its player draft and fan festival in Chicago at the end of April until the city gets its act together.
Chicago and its unrest probably is not front of mind right now for the league. The NFL may not yet sense what's happening here.
Much like this city's leaders, top NFL officials can be slow to view disturbing videos that demand swift action.
Besides, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is likely preoccupied trying to get St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Diego and Oakland to sit up and beg for a franchise as he grits his teeth waiting for Will Smith's head-trauma drama "Concussion" to pass through theaters.
But the gorgeous cityscape that so pleased the league and its business partners as well as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who welcomed them with open arms and carte blanche, may not be quite so idyllic this time around.
Parkland was turned over to the NFL with streets shut down for the league's convenience. That was one of the concessions made to convince the league to stage its annual selection of college players in Chicago and not Los Angeles after more than 50 years in New York.
In recent days, however, it has been marchers taking streets to press for reforms, some decades overdue.
The long-delayed release of video showing African-American teenager Laquan McDonald being fatally shot by a police officer in a scenario that appears far different than what's detailed in the official incident report has brought long-simmering tensions to a boil.
Emanuel, whose tight control and ability to get things done were a selling point in Chicago's bid to impress the NFL, is taking all kinds of heat, not only for the incident itself but also how he and the city responded.
The mayor sacrificed his police commissioner. The Justice Department is investigating the police department. And Emanuel has offered a mea culpa.
This has not appeased those who want him gone.
Those are some pretty dark clouds that could throw shade on the NFL and its showcase event, which drew thousands of fans.
The league may be reluctant to insert itself into the situation, but it likely will want to protect its own interests. The NFL has to know that, even if it didn't have to pick up the tab, it wasn't necessarily cheap and easy keeping things under control this year under far calmer conditions.
