On Friday, Chicago police released the July 28 video of officers firing on a fleeing vehicle driven by Paul O'Neal, who was killed that day. That same day, embattled Republican Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk held a meeting of his law enforcement advisory board—"representatives from 16 police departments and state's attorney's offices"—to "talk about key law enforcement issues facing us here in Chicagoland." Apparently, Kirk doesn't believe that community relations is one of those key issues.
The issues discussed during a closed-door meeting at the Union League Club included homeland security, gun violence and heroin addiction, Kirk said. When asked by reporters afterward if the issue of trust between communities and law enforcement had come up, Kirk said it really hadn't.
"I laid out the subjects that were our main focus, focus where my Senate office could really deliver for these 16 police departments. And on making sure there's good community relations between these 16 police departments is probably beyond my Senate office capability," he said. […]
Asked if the Chicago police video of last month's shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Paul O'Neal had come up for discussion, Kirk said the question was "too cutting-edge" because the footage had just been released.
That's helpful. Some members of Congress, including Republicans, are using their capacity as elected officials to bring community and law enforcement together, but that apparently isn't something Kirk is interested in doing. Given that he's only meeting with law enforcement, that probably shouldn't come as a surprise.
Please donate $3 to help Tammy Duckworth turn the Senate blue.