By John Gregory/Illinois Radio Network
CHICAGO – With Chicago’s top cop gone in the aftermath of footage showing a black teenager being shot 16 times by a police officer, opinions are mixed as to whether other top officials, including Chicago’s mayor, should resign.
SEIU Healthcare Illinois is calling on both Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step down over how their handling of the investigation into the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
SEIU Healthcare Illinois spokesman James Muhammad feels Emanuel tried to block the release of the video of McDonald’s death in order to protect his re-election bid.
“Had this video been exposed, or had been more been made about the Laquan shooting around that time, Mr. Emanuel, more than likely, would not be mayor at this time,” Muhammad said.
The union said Emanuel and Alvarez have “have enabled and supported a system that has robbed Chicago of true justice.”
State Rep. LaShawn Ford (D-Chicago) said Alvarez should “definitely consider” stepping down. As for Emanuel, he isn’t calling for his resignation, but feels this makes the case for allowing recall elections in Illinois municipalities.
“To say that if the voters are not happy with the mayor, if the voters are not happy with any elected official, that there is a recall in place so that they can be recalled,” Ford said.
The Illinois Constitution doesn’t address recall elections at the local level. Only the village of Buffalo Grove has a local recall ordinance, while recalls are possible at the state level only for governors.
Among other elected officials and candidates, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of McCarthy’s dismissal “Now is the time to move forward and build a relationship based on mutual trust and respect between the Police Department and the community it serves.”
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago) said in an interview on MSNBC that the firing of McCarthy is a step towards rebuilding the public’s trust in the Chicago Police Department. He also addressed the pressure building for Alvarez’s resignation, saying while he won’t call on her to step down, he has told her he’ll no longer be supporting her bid for re-election.
“I think she let Laquan McDonald down,” Gutierrez said. “That indictment shouldn’t have happened last week, it should have happened 13 months ago.”
