Dec. 10--Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.
Topspin
It's Thursday, Dec. 10, the day after Mayor Rahm Emanuel apologized for the Laquan McDonald shooting that happened on his watch.
A few hours after Emanuel's speech, the Chicago City Council Black Caucus put out a list of demands on police accountability. Topping that list: "CPD must stop shooting people in the back." That was a reference to the Ronald Johnson shooting, which is the subject of a lawsuit.
The group also wants "full and serious consideration" of an African-American as the city's new police superintendent.
The aldermen, who spoke along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, assigned some blame to themselves as well.
"We as a Black Caucus stand today to acknowledge that we also must bear responsibility for being less vigilant in review of this case and other complaints of police misconduct that unfortunately occur all too often in the city of Chicago," said Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, the caucus chairman.
Sawyer also said that the caucus secured an agreement with Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton, the city's top attorney, to change the handling of proposed legal settlements in cases involving a police shooting.
From now on, lawyers for both the city and the people suing the city will explain their case to aldermen, he said. If a video was taken, it will be shown to aldermen during briefings not open to the public, Sawyer said.
In the McDonald case, aldermen likely would have started pushing for prosecution of the officers involved after seeing the video, Sawyer said. He also pointed out that Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, the former Black Caucus chairman who's now running for Congress, had pushed for the McDonald video to be made public without having seen it.
Other demands included prosecution of cops who file false reports, putting "community members" on the task force looking into police misconduct and discipline, and having special prosecutors handle cases of shootings by police officers.
"We have no faith in State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's office to handle these cases appropriately at this point," Sawyer said. (Hal Dardick)
What's on tap
*Mayor Emanuel has no public schedule.
*Gov. Bruce Rauner has no public events on his schedule.
*Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is in town for a closed-door meeting with ministers and then a short media availability.
From the notebook
*Pot decriminalization: A state lawmaker from Chicago is renewing efforts to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, introducing legislation Thursday that would levy fines for those caught with pot instead of jail time.
Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a North Side Democrat, said the new measure will mirror changes suggested by Gov. Bruce Rauner, who used his amendatory veto powers to rewrite an earlier proposal. That bill died after lawmakers did not act on the veto.
Under the old proposal, people caught with up to 15 grams of marijuana -- about the equivalent of 25 cigarette-size joints -- would not go to court but instead receive fines ranging from $55 to $125. Rauner said those standards were too lax and the threshold should be lowered to 10 grams and fines should range from $100 to $200.
The governor also took issue with a provision that would loosen the state's zero-tolerance policy for driving under the influence of cannabis. Currently a driver can be charged if any trace of marijuana is detected, even if it was ingested days or weeks before and a driver showed no signs of impairment.
The previous legislation called for new limits of 15 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. Rauner said the limit should be 5 nanograms per milliliter.
Cassidy said she hoped the legislation could be approved shortly after lawmakers return to the Capitol in January.
"This has been very well debated, I see no reason why we can't do it," Cassidy said. (Monique Garcia)
*Recall Rahm? State Reps. La Shawn Ford and Mary Flowers, both Chicago Democrats, filed legislation Wednesday that would create a recall mechanism for Chicago mayor.
The legislation would require at least two aldermen to sign an affidavit for a recall election, setting into motion a six-month process in which backers would have to get petition signatures equal to at least 15 percent of the total votes cast in the last mayoral election. At least 50 signatures would have to come from each of the city's 50 wards.
In the April mayoral runoff election, 590,733 votes were cast between Emanuel and challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia. Fifteen percent of that total is 88,610.
It's questionable how far the legislation will get and even if it could affect Emanuel since he was elected in April to a four-year term. It is an indication, though, of how some African-American lawmakers facing voters next year are taking steps to back away from Emanuel.
Both Ford and Flowers currently have challengers in the March 15 Democratic primary, though objections have been filed against them. (Rick Pearson)
*Down with the ship? After Emanuel's speech to aldermen about the Laquan McDonald shooting and Police Department reforms, council members took turns weighing in on what needs to be done to repair the relationship between officers and residents.
Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, the council's longest-serving member, historian and orator, wrapped up the lengthy discussion by making an interesting analogy while referring to the mayor's apology and shouldering of responsibility for the handling of the McDonald case.
"I know what you're saying, Mr. President, and I know your remarks are true, that you own this," Burke said (Emanuel is Mr. President in this case). "You're the man that's in charge, and just like the captain of the Titanic when it hit the iceberg, even if the captain was in his bunk, he owns it."
Capt. Edward Smith, of course, died when the Titanic sank and is reported to have gone down with the ship. (John Byrne)
*Aldermen send Lynch letter: Ten aldermen who are members of the Progressive Reform Caucus on Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, asking that the federal probe into Chicago police tactics also look at the Emanuel administration and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
"Accountability for the actions of Chicago police officers does not rest solely with the Chicago Police Department," they wrote.
Many of those same aldermen backed resolutions calling for the City Council Public Safety Committee to hear from the public, law enforcers and religious leaders on the issue of police misconduct to ensure Emanuel's task force's examination and recommendations "meaningfully represent the values of the people of the city of Chicago and address their needs."
And they are backing a resolution calling for a special prosecutor to handle the Officer Jason Van Dyke case and all other police misconduct cases. (Hal Dardick)
*Reps invite Lynch to Chicago: Democratic U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly and Luis Gutierrez have asked Attorney General Lynch to come to Chicago as part of the Department of Justice's patterns and practices investigation into the Chicago Police Department.
"The AG ought to visit personally and see the neighborhoods and talk with people in all of Chicago's diverse communities because we all interact with police and need to know they can be trusted," Gutierrez said in a statement.
"A visit from the attorney general to meet with key stakeholders and constituents will signal to Chicagoans that the Department of Justice is making progress," Kelly said. "People on the streets need to see that something is being done to help rebuild trust in law enforcement."
Kelly and Gutierrez noted that when Eric Holder was attorney general, he visited Ferguson, Mo., as part of the department's inquiry in the death of Michael Brown by local police. (Rick Pearson)
*Ace in the hole: It would appear that Ald. Burke and state Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke gave out for the holidays a pack of playing cards featuring the faces of city politicians instead of jokers, kings, queens and the like, judging by Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno's tweet.
*Democrats to raise money for refugees: A group of Chicago public affairs consultants, backed by Democratic federal, state and city lawmakers, is hosting a fundraising event Thursday evening to raise money for refugee services.
Among the elected officials supporting the event at the Filini Restaurant and Bar at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, 221 N. Columbus Drive in Chicago, are U.S. Reps. Tammy Duckworth, Mike Quigley and Jan Schakowksy, state Treasurer Michael Frerichs, state Reps. Sara Feigenholtz and Greg Harris, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and 10 Chicago aldermen.
The event was spawned by efforts nationally and in Illinois to block support services for Syrian refugees. Republican Gov. Rauner and GOP U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk each have called for a pause in accepting Syrian refugees until the Obama administration can certify that terrorists have not infiltrated groups of refugees from the war-torn country.
Money raised at the event will go locally to Asian Human Services and internationally through Heartland Alliance International. (Rick Pearson)
What we're writing
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel, at defining juncture of his tenure, apologizes for Laquan McDonald shooting in speech to aldermen.
*Madigan talks income tax hike.
*Emanuel lawyers seek to keep another police shooting video private.
*Protests spill across Loop, River North after Emanuel speech.
*State pulls in $57,000 in taxes on medical marijuana sales in first month.
*Liquor control commission skeptical about planned overhaul.
What we're reading
*U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia questions place of some black students at elite colleges.
*What is the deal with this "Hamilton" musical, anyway?
Follow the money
*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash
Beyond Chicago
*Presidential race, Republican side: Trump talks Muslim plan as Cruz tries to make friends.
*Presidential race, Democratic side: Biden: Whew, glad I didn't run for president.
*Planned Parenthood shooting suspect says he's guilty, "warrior for the babies."
