Chicago Police Ready to Expand Hours in Wake of Van Dyke Verdict
Officials with the Chicago Police Department say they’re ready to cancel days off and expand hours when the trial of Jason Van Dyke concludes.
Van Dyke is charged with first degree murder, aggravated battery, and official misconduct in the death of teenager Laquan McDonald, who he shot 16 times in October of 2014, killing him. The prosecution wrapped its arguments last week, and the defense began making their case on Monday.
McDonald’s death at the hands of Van Dyke sparked widespread, sustained protests in Chicago and across the country that lasted for months, and calls for police accountability that still reverberate today.
Demonstrators march along the Magnificent Mile in October 2017 urging shoppers to boycott black Friday purchases to fight for police accountability. Photo by Aaron Cynic/File.
Officials with the department told the Chicago Tribune officers would have their regular 8.5 hour shifts increased to 12 hours, and that days off would be cancelled for others. They did not say when they would institute the changes.
"We'll monitor the court events, and as we get closer to the end of it, we'll make that decision," said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
Community activists have vowed to keep protests that could happen in the wake of the verdict peaceful, and Johnson said he’s not “expecting any unrest at all,” but that the measures would be in place in case the need arises.
"We have an ability to ramp up our deployments or take them back down as the need requires," Johnson told the Tribune. "But honestly speaking, you know, from what we're getting from people out on the street is that everyone understands this is our city. And we all have a responsibility to ensure that our city is safe.”
Lawmakers Say They’ll Override Rauner Veto on Salary History
Illinois lawmakers say they’re ready to override Governor Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of a bill that would’ve shorn up Illinois’ equal pay law.
On Friday, Rauner used his amendatory veto powers on House Bill 4163, a bill that prohibits employers from inquiring about prospective employees' previous salary and compensation packages. The bill’s intention is to help narrow the wage gap in the state between women and men, with women making only 79 cents for every dollar that a man earns. Rauner’s justification for the veto was that the bill was similar to another bill he vetoed last year.
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner speaks at an event in Springfield. Photo by Aaron Cynic.
“I am committed to eliminating the gender wage gap and I strongly support wage equality,” said Rauner in a statement last week. :I noted in my prior veto message that Massachusetts already has established a best-in-the-country approach to the issue of employers inquiring about salary history. I recommended that Illinois model its legal regime on Massachusetts’ model.”
Illinois lawmakers have since vowed to override the veto in November.
“Governor Rauner, in vetoing this bill a second time in two years, has shown who he really is: an out of touch and failed governor who cares very little about the economic welfare of women and families in Illinois," State Rep. Anna Moeller, one of the bill’s sponsors, told ABC7.
Rauner’s rival in the upcoming gubernatorial election, J.B. Pritzker, blasted him for the move.
“It is long past time women receive equal pay for equal work, but in 2018, Illinois has a governor who disagrees with that basic statement of equality,” Pritzker said in a statement. “By amendatory vetoing this critical piece of legislation that would help fight wage inequality in this state, Rauner has yet again proven he has no interest in standing with Illinois women.”
The bill’s proponents say they have enough votes in the House to override Rauner’s veto, but still need to shore up votes in the Senate.
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