To really understand just how bad things have gotten in Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago-based multiverse, we need a small history lesson.
Early this year, a tardy and relatively unknown Jesus Chewy Garcia decided to take on Chicago’s Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who was and is one of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s best friends, former Wall Street co-thief, and asshole extraordinaire (and who reportedly told liberals to get fucked when he controlled Obama’s White House). Rahm thought he had a cakewalk and a gold paved street to another four years as Chicago’s Mayor. But something happened on the way to the voting booth. Chewy not only brought out the vote, he forced a run-off — something unheard of in Chicago. Given the vast, Grand Canyon sized difference between the millions given to Rahm’s campaign, especially from Hollywood, and the $10-25 dollar donations sent to Chewy, the run-off took not only Chicago pundits by surprise, the voter count actually increased substantially. (34% turnout in the initial election, 41% in the run-off.) Despite the huge, and I mean YUUGE disparity in funding, Rahm only managed to eke out 55% of the vote, beating Chewy by a surprisingly small margin of 10%.
Rahm and his team were shocked. The amount of money spent in the initial election, followed by the run-off, was astounding. Even more astounding was the repeated “contrition based” performance art being staged by Rahm during that campaign.
To restate his “Contrite Rahm” Ver. 1.0 efforts earlier this year, “I learned my lesson, I really did. I will care about the people this time. Promise. I mean it. I Really REALLY mean it this time. No, seriously I have changed and I will be the people’s mayor. Seriously. Trust me. Honest.”
While that campaign was brewing, 16 year old Laquan McDonald was murdered by a Chicago cop, as he was walking away from the police. Not only was there a virtual gag order on all parties involved (Mayor’s office, State’s Attorney’s office, and the Chicago Police Department) the information that was leaked made it seem that Laquan was in the process of attacking the police, and the murderer only acted in self-defense.
Imagine the shock and surprise when soon after the 2014 shooting, the Rahm Administration made a devil’s deal for the parents’ silence, with a provision to keep a police video secret — $5,000,000 in hush money, which the CHicago City Council lapdogs approved without discussion or without seeing the video. Laqaun’s family HAD NOT EVEN FILED SUIT. Having had plenty of experience in fighting the city in court, from my personal experience, THAT. NEVER. HAPPENS. Except, perhaps, for a mayor in the middle of a hot and very tight campaign for his re-election.
The video came out two weeks ago, long after Rahm was guaranteed another four years as Boss.
The reaction was swift and appropriate. That kid may not have been a saint, but clearly he posed no danger to anyone. Being shot 16 times, mostly in the back as he lay dying on the ground offended anyone with a sense of justice and fairness.
Yesterday, while I drove, NPR played Rahm’s most recent speech yesterday. Rahm spent 40 minutes in front the City Council and tried even more performance art, this time with his new and improved “Contrite Rahm” Ver. 2.0. He almost was in tears several times, and frankly I thought I heard his teeth grind when he said, “I was the mayor, so I was responsible.” Sweet, poignant, contrite, and open-hearted apology. (cough, cough.)
Two weeks after a video was released of a Chicago policeman shooting a black teenager 16 times, the mayor of Chicago on Wednesday apologized for it and took some measure of responsibility.
"I'm sorry" for the shooting of Laquan McDonald, which "happened on my watch," Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) told the full Chicago City Council in a rare speech.
For the next 40 minutes, Emanuel delivered a "genuine" and "heartfelt" speech about police brutality and city violence that seemed "real," said critics and supporters alike who heard it, according to the Chicago Tribune.
WaPo - Emanuel in Deep Shit (with video of Rahm’s Contrite Apology 2.0)
A week ago, Rahm fired Garry McCarthy, his recently hired Chief of Police, in an effort to stop the protests, and shift the blame to someone else. That was a classic Rahm move, and if you ever had the misfortune of having rubbed elbows with him, trust me, his arrogance and typical aggressiveness came through loud and clear with that firing, no matter how he tried to tone it down.
There is an underlying story that has gone unreported, except in a few local, quite enterprising resources. The firing of McCarthy was and is a complete and utter sham. A sideshow, a planned distraction, plain and simply a deliberate fraud by the Rahm Administration.
The players:
Rahm Emanuel — an arrogant, nasty, venomous, back-stabbing millionaire who dines regularly with our TeaBuggered Governor. Barely re-elected in 2015 after a surprisingly close run-off from a virtual unknown, unfunded, and spunky short guy.
Garry McCarthy — a professional brought in to fix obvious problems that were endemic within the CPD, only to have his legs cut out from underneath repeatedly. His proposed solutions to many obvious problems in the CPD, which led directly to the mess we face today,
Steve Patton — a corporate litigator known for representing Big Tobacco, major polluters, and other vile multinational companies, who was hired to defend the indefensible closure by former Mayor Daley of Chicago’s Meigs Field (until a few years ago, our lakefront airport, when Patton simply and quite illegally, sent in heavy equipment to destroy the runway). He was personally chosen by Rahm to be Chicago's chief lawyer. A senior litigation partner in the Chicago based, international lawfirm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, his being chosen spoke volumes about how Rahm intended to operate the city.
Here is how the only local paper to cover their “relationship” described it:
CHICAGO — A yearslong rift between ousted police Supt. Garry McCarthy and city attorney Stephen Patton effectively derailed the former top cop’s efforts to make substantial reforms to the city’s police disciplinary system in 2013, top city sources told DNAinfo Chicago. The revelation of a behind-the-scenes battle between the city's top police officer and its top lawyer shines new light on the city's Police Department, which is under siege and under federal investigation in the wake of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.
A top Police Department source said that in early January of 2013, McCarthy asked the mayor to appoint a blue-ribbon panel of experts to recommend sweeping reforms to how the city investigates police misconduct and disciplines officers.
The source familiar with McCarthy’s pitch said the superintendent aimed to give the mayor justification to push for major changes to city laws and the police union contract, which was being renegotiated at that time, to make misconduct investigations more transparent. The changes also would have given McCarthy authority to discipline — and terminate — officers with sustained misconduct investigations.
DNAInfo - a quirky but accurate tiny local e-paper
McCarthy tried to do what he promised when first hired to clean up the CPD. But, despite working in good faith, Rahm, through the obstructive work and interference led by Patton, resulted in the proposed fix to be “disappeared” from existence. I strongly suspect that had the recommendations that McCarthy had hammered out with others, including police reps, Laquan would be alive today.
Here are the recommendations and a link to the actual report on CPD violence and misbehavior:
The 73-page report — which notes that the recommendations do not “consider the political prospects for these changes,” the city’s financial constraints, the city’s ability to change “statutes or ordinances” and alter collective-bargaining agreements — proposed specific reforms including:
• Firing any officer engaging in a “code of silence” with little room for flexibility. • Establishing formalized misconduct discipline guidelines, which currently do not exist in Chicago.
• Holding supervisors accountable for actions of their subordinates.
• Tracking and monitoring officer misconduct.
• Giving the police superintendent a “more meaningful role” in determining misconduct discipline. (Currently, the superintendent has no authority in misconduct cases which “undermines [the superintendent's] ability to implement reforms, effectuate constructive change and lead the Department effectively," the report states.)
• Enabling the Independent Police Review Authority, better known as IPRA, to close more cases … and take actions against complainants who file false complaints against police.
• Increasing transparency in the Police Department internal affairs office. • Limiting the Police Board’s jurisdiction to only serious allegations of police misconduct.
Today’s IPRA has been infamous for just how ineffective and toothless they have been. Despite several hundred shootings by police, in many cases involving questionable circumstances, only two police officers were ever taken up on misconduct charges. Given how two more videos were just released by CHicago, showing two more shooting deaths of citizens at the hands of the CPD, Patton’s and Rahm’s refusal to let McCarthy do his job becomes even more heinous and shocking.
When you hear about Rahm’s “Contrite” speech, Ver. 2.0, please keep in mind that these problems have been festering for years, which led to McCarthy’s appointment as head of the CPD. When you think about how those reasonable recommendations would have changed how the general public and the CPD interact, you begin to sense just how unacceptable Rahm Emanuel is as mayor of one of the finest cities in the world, much less assistant dog catcher in East Pekin, Illinois.
If you have the time, read the 73 page report and imagine what could have been, but for Rahm and Patton stonewalling any change in the CPD. If you have the time, apply Teh Google on the Rahm-Chey race and run-off, as well has Rahm’s “Contrite” Ver. 1.0 and Contrite Ver. 2.0 efforts. Then tell me if you think he should retain his office.
Please note that there is no mechanism to remove a sitting mayor from office. The weak tea efforts from two Illinois legislators are doomed to fail. Ex Post Facto laws are simply unconstitutional, both under Illinois and US law. For now, unless he resigns,which given his hubris, arrogance, and plain stubborn belief that he is smarter than all of us put together, means that we are stuck with this jerk for many more years.