Jan. 13--Cook County commissioners on Tuesday called for an outside prosecutor in the murder case against the police officer who shot Laquan McDonald, saying State's Attorney Anita Alvarez has a conflict despite her assertions to the contrary.
In a vote that broke down along the lines of race and political allegiances, the County Board Criminal Justice Committee voted 6-4 in favor of a special prosecutor. On Wednesday the full board is expected to approve the resolution, which has no force of law but reveals political divisions leading up to the March Democratic primary in which Alvarez seeks a third term.
"We have a crisis of confidence in our criminal justice system in Cook County," said sponsoring Commissioner Richard Boykin, D-Oak Park, who represents a large portion of the West Side. "In this case we have facts that at the very least raise very strong concerns about a conflict of interest.
"We have a 13-month period between the shooting death of an ... African-American teenager by a Chicago police officer and the filing of criminal charges just hours before the release of police-involved shooting video," added Boykin, who noted that Alvarez's office works closely with police in other cases and relies on officers as witnesses.
Alvarez has said she was working with federal prosecutors and agents on the Officer Jason Van Dyke case for months and noted that it's often difficult to bring charges against cops and make them stick. At Tuesday's county hearing, Alvarez chief of staff Garvin Ambrose said his boss opposed the resolution.
"We don't see this as necessary," Ambrose said. "We see it ... as the county injecting itself in a legal proceeding that it should not be at this point. ... We are fully competent, ready to take this case on and able to take this case on."
In criminal cases, an "interested party" like the victim, his family or defendant can ask a judge to appoint a special prosecutor, and the state's attorney also can declare a conflict, according to state law.
The resolution states that Alvarez's office "has a clear conflict of interest" in the case, but the county has no say in the legal proceedings. That was brought up by Commissioner Peter Silvestri, R-Elmwood Park, who voted against the resolution while noting governmental "separation of powers."
Also opposing the resolution was Commissioner John Daley, D-Chicago, who runs the 11th Ward Democratic Organization that his family made famous. Daley is a backer of Alvarez but said his motivation was not political.
