Ministers Seek Special Prosecutor In Laquan McDonald Case
CHICAGO (CBS) -- About 100 clergy members and activists representing Chicago's black community have called on Gov. Bruce Rauner to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald, but the governor's office said he has no such authority.
Bishop James Dukes, of the Liberation Christian Center in West Englewood, and other ministers questioned whether Emanuel would have been re-elected had video of McDonald's death not been kept under wraps until last week, on the same day Officer James Van Dyke was charged with the teen's murder.
"Many of us have stood in support of him [Emanuel]. What was his involvement? And we feel disenfranchised, and we feel that we've been led astray," he said
The pastors said they feel betrayed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, after the he sought their support for re-election while at the same time he was fighting efforts to release the McDonald video.
Dukes also noted former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett resigned just weeks after Emanuel was elected, and was later indicted and pleaded guilty to taking $2.3 million in bribes and kickbacks to steer $23 million in contracts to her former employer.
"The mayor appears to have came to us with the Barbara Byrd indictment in one pocket, the Laquan McDonald tape in his back pocket, and extended his hand out to us and asked us for our support," he said.
Podcast
The ministers and their supporters said Rauner should appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the McDonald case. However, the governor's office said Rauner has no authority to appoint a special prosecutor.
"There is a process for the appointment of a special prosecutor by judges in the county where an incident occurs and a conflict exists. The Governor has no such authority under Illinois law, which is consistent with how most special prosecutor laws work," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in an email.
At an unrelated event Thursday morning in the West Loop, the governor was not asked specifically about the possibility of appointing a special prosecutor, but was asked if there is any role the state can play in the case.
"It's important to let the federal investigation play out. This is very important. It's also important that we at the [Illinois] State Police have discussions about what we can do at the state level to make sure that the interaction between police officers and the community is appropriate and well-handled," he said.
Rauner also said there should be further expansion of the use of police body cameras and vehicle cameras to record police interactions with the public.
Bishop Larry Trotter, who endorsed Emanuel for re-election this year, said the African American community feels insulted by the city's handling of the McDonald case.
"Too many people in office have ignored the fact that black people have an insult level as well," he said. "Our insult level can only go so far, and we are there now."
Bishop T. Lane Grant said the community feels a sense of "righteous indignation" over the McDonald case, and is demanding a full explanation from the mayor.
The ministers also want to hold Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez responsible for her handling of the case when she comes up for re-election next year. She faces two challengers in the Democratic primary.
Critics have blasted Alvarez for taking more than a year to charge Van Dyke, and only doing so after video of the shooting was released.
"It is absolutely asinine for any political person in the city to say four hundred days is a reasonable amount of time. We have a tape of a young man being shot sixteen times," Grant said.
The ministers also said every officer at the scene of the McDonald shooting should be immediately fired.
