'Policing the Police'

VOLUME 41 NUMBER 3 MAY/JUNE 2012 $5 ‘Policing the police’ The city’s effort to stem police misconduct is falling short, leaving abusive officers to operate with near impunity. page 8 CHICAGOREPORTER.COM INSIDE May/June Founded in 1972, the Reporter is an investigative bimonthly that identifies, analyzes and reports on the social, eco- nomic and political issues of metropolitan Chicago with a focus on race and poverty. It is supported by grants and contracts from Open Society Foundations, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Challenge Fund for Journalism, Woods Fund of Chicago, The Chicago Community Trust, The Field Foundation of Illinois, One Economy Corporation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, Chicago Tribune Foundation, The Fund for Investigative Journalism, Inc., and by subscriptions and individual contributions. 332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 500 Chicago, Illinois 60604 (312) 427-4830 Fax: (312) 427-6130 [email protected] www.chicagoreporter.com FOUNDER John A. McDermott EDITOR/INTERIM PUBLISHER Cordell Simmons, a community college student with a long rap sheet of marijuana-related arrests, Kimbriell Kelly filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he was attacked with a Taser gun by Chicago police Lt. Glenn Evans following an arrest near the corner of Loomis and 79th streets in early June 2007. This corner MANAGING EDITOR of Chicago’s 6th Police District has more than its fair share of crime. Photo by Marc Monaghan. Rui Kaneya PRESENTATION EDITOR Christine Wachter On the cover REPORTERS Angela Caputo 8 Abusing the badge María Inés Zamudio A small group of officers who have cost Celebrating 40 years BLOGGER/REPORTERS the City of Chicago millions in police Megan Cottrell misconduct lawsuits remain on the force The Chicago Reporter is Steven Ross Johnson with few signs of discipline. celebrating its 40th anniversary Yana Kunichoff this year. The Reporter will be Nick Moroni 12 Rogue section hosting several social events COPY EDITOR The police department’s failure to rein in and forums to commemorate James Tehrani the occasion. Make sure to former members of a now-disbanded police INTERNS task force has cost the city millions. subscribe to our weekly e-blast Yisrael Shapiro at www.chicagoreporter.com to Christie Thompson 14 Veteran watchdog ensure that you’re up to date on all the ways we’re celebrating. EDITORS & PUBLISHERS EMERITI Citizens Alert celebrates 45 years of Alden K. Loury pressing for more transparency. Alysia Tate Laura S. Washington Roy Larson Departments Got a news tip? THE REPORTER READERS BUREAU Publisher’s Note/News................. 3 The Chicago Reporter brings Hiranmayi Bhatt Terri Johnson injustice to the forefront in the Barbara Bolsen Keith Kelleher Spinoffs............................................. 4 areas of criminal justice, labor, Kristen Cox David Mussatt Q&A.................................................. 6 housing, health, immigration and Matthew Nicol Turner-Lee government. If you have a tip, Hendrickson Bob Yovovich Parting Shot.................................... 16 call (312) 427-4830 ext. 4040 Bob Honesty or send an email to editor@ Rev. Calvin S. Morris, executive director ON THE COVER: chicagoreporter.com. ISSN 0300-6921. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JOE GALLO © 2012 Community Renewal Society. 2 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | May/June 2012 PUBLISHER’S NOTE Reporter News Tarnished trust Letter to the Editor From Mary Magdalene Missionary Baptist Church, a Kimbriell Kelly, small congregation in Roseland, I see a series of enormous Editor and Interim Publisher tasks that our community faces, including the need to save Opinions expressed by the our youth from the violence that plagues our streets. A editor/publisher are her own. recent Chicago Reporter headline said it all: “More young people are killed in Chicago than any other American city” We welcome letters. Send them [March/April 2012]. The sad truth is that too many of to [email protected] those young people are from Roseland. or 332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite My congregation and I believe that change is possible, 500, Chicago, IL, 60604. Please and that it will come one youth at a time. To that end, include name, address and a day- we host two youth programs at Mary Magdalene that are time phone number. Letters may open to our entire community. Through D.I.V.A., a group be edited for space and clarity. for teen girls, and SAINTS, a youth basketball program for adolescent boys, our goal is to help combat the negative lorida’s Trayvon Martin these police misconduct cas- images that our teenagers face today, to help them grow case taught us a lot of es instead. in their personal relationships and to learn Biblical truths. Fthings. But among the In this month’s cover in- We believe that each child whom we reach will affect an- lessons learned is that police vestigation “Abusing the other youth and progress will be made by influencing both accountability is not only a badge,” Angela Caputo un- their home and community life. Changing their outlook Windy City issue. covers the hidden costs and will change their character and morale. In Chicago, I would argue flawed accountability mecha- Part of changing their outlook is giving our children that the lack of accountabil- nisms that keep chronically opportunity to grow. For the boys in the SAINTS program, ity with rogue officers has abusive officers employed. the next step is moving out of the local gym space that we left residents of high-crime She points to a system in rent and into a competitive league. Our barrier is uniforms neighborhoods distrustful of which thousands of civilian that cost $35 a player. the police accountability sys- complaints are filed against I grew up in Roseland, and when I was a kid, there was al- tem, which allows abusive of- officers that often go unre- ways a local business that would sponsor our Little League ficers to keep their jobs with solved or unfounded. Rarely team. I have walked up and down the commercial stretches little discipline. are officers disciplined for of the neighborhood and failed to find a single business Distrustful residents their bad behavior. And in that will support our youth by sponsoring the SAINTS. won’t help police solve cases, the end, it costs millions. I wish that these business owners would recognize that and it’s difficult for police to The police department and our efforts are not exclusive. The church is only a part of solve cases without helpful various review boards need to the solution. For our attempt to remain viable as a com- residents. In the end, high- be more aggressive in disci- munity, local merchants are needed. We encourage them, crime neighborhoods remain plining rogue officers, firing and the rest of the city, to rally around our youth. It’s up to dangerous, and the millions repeat offenders and making us to teach them that change is possible. And that it will of dollars that could have it a high priority to regain come one youth at a time. been spent to quell crime are trust between residents and The Rev. Stephen Henry, Senior Pastor used as damage payments in the police department. n Mary Magdalene Missionary Baptist Church in 2010—had nothing to do with the Lisagor nominations the Reporter has Reporter News primary leaseholder. received. The staff has been nominated The Chicago Reporter has won the Winners were chosen from more for best investigation, business report- Society of Professional Journalists’ 2011 than 1,700 entries. The awards rec- ing, in-depth news, blog, multimedia, Sigma Delta Chi Awards for journalism, ognize outstanding work produced photography, design and graphics. a long-standing and prestigious national last year in print, radio, television and This is the first year that the Re- award, for its work that revealed the online. Other winners include The New porter has been nominated in public af- way public housing residents are being York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall fairs for TV and radio. The Barber Shop kicked out by the Chicago Housing Au- Street Journal and Los Angeles Times. Show—a collaboration between the thority’s One Strike policy. Named for The Reporter also received 14 nomi- Reporter and Chicago Public Media’s the award are Reporter Angela Caputo nations in the Chicago Headline Club’s Vocalo station—earned a nomination and Editor Kimbriell Kelly. Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary for best public affairs radio for a seg- The story, “One and Done” [Sep- Journalism, given in honor of Peter Lis- ment on the CHA’s One Strike policy. tember/October 2011], found that agor, who earned a national reputation The Reporter also won the Lisagor out- from 2005 to 2010, the CHA opened in reporting as the Washington bureau right in best TV public affairs program- 1,390 eviction cases based on a single chief of the Chicago Daily News from ming for the show “Living with ADHD,” arrest—even when the crime was 1959 to 1976, and for appearances on produced on the weekly public affairs committed by their children, anyone “Meet the Press,” “Face the Nation” and show Perspective on WPWR. else living in the unit or even a guest. “Washington Week in Review.” Winners will be announced at an The vast majority of them—86 percent This is the highest number of awards ceremony May 4. WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 3 SPINOFFS Digging Deeper LGBT youth Contraception used lack support The news: less by minority youth A March study in the Ameri- can Journal of Preventive Medi- cine, based on experiences of 246 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth around Chicago, found that low social support and victimization among LGBT youth contribute to the higher risk of suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

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