The abuse and torture scandal surrounding former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge and those who worked under him has cast a shadow over the department that will only be lifted after their federal indictment and prosecution, a group of Chicago City Council members said Thursday.
Led by Ald. Ed Smith (28th), the group, including Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd), Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) and Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th), delivered a letter to U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald’s office urging him to take action against Burge and other investigators accused of torturing suspects in their custody from the 1970s to the early 1990s.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Smith said. “If we allow this to stand still and don’t move on it, then other police officers might feel it’s OK to do this kind of thing.”
The alderman said they would not be deterred by a report released last year by Cook County prosecutors concluding that, despite evidence of torture, Burge and Area 2 detectives who worked under him could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had expired.
“We must put an end to the nightmare that has been afflicting us for so long,” Fioretti said.
Flint Taylor, an attorney with the People’s Law Office, which represents several of the accusers, said Fitzgerald could prosecute the former officers on several charges, including perjury, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
Randall Samborn, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, declined to comment.
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mcgarcia@tribune.com
