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Aldermen Call For Special Prosecutor in Laquan McDonald Case

By Ted Cox | December 10, 2015 12:20pm
 Ald. Scott Waguespack wants a special prosecutor in the Laquan McDonald case.
Ald. Scott Waguespack wants a special prosecutor in the Laquan McDonald case.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

CITY HALL — A leading progressive alderman is calling for a special prosecutor in the Laquan McDonald case, as his City Council allies seek an expanded federal probe of city and county law enforcement.

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) submitted a resolution at Wednesday's City Council meeting calling for a special prosecutor in the case of officer Jason Van Dyke, charged with murder after shooting the 17-year-old McDonald 16 times in October 2014.

Dashcam video footage of the shooting has thrown the city into turmoil.

"I think we need a special prosecutor on this, to look at it independently, so that none of the players that have been involved in any way or touched this system in any way are involved," Waguespack said. "So it's got to be somebody completely new."

Yet the measure was sent to the Rules Committee, commonly called "where good legislation goes to die."

Waguespack said it was up to Mayor Rahm Emanuel to free it, adding, "I'd like to have a hearing, but you know how things are, unless they get a directive from the fifth floor."

Progressive Reform Caucus aldermen were even more pointed in sending a letter Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. It asked that Lynch expand the recently announced civil-rights investigation of the Chicago Police Department to "include all City of Chicago and Cook County offices with regard to the culture of abuse, secrecy and deceit in matters of law enforcement."

It asked that the federal probe comprise the offices of Emanuel and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, as well as the City Council itself.

The letter was signed by 10 members of the Progressive Caucus, including Waguespack and aldermen Leslie Hairston (5th), Roderick Sawyer (6th), Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th), Toni Foulkes (16th), David Moore (17th), Ricardo Munoz (22nd), Christopher Taliaferro (29th), Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) and John Arena (45th).

Alvarez's office and the Mayor's Press Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.