The resolutions include:

1. The Cook County Board recommend the United States Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Illinois investigate and prosecute any and all federal crimes committed by former Commander Jon Burge and his men from Area 2 and 3 Police Headquarters,

2. The Cook County Board recommend Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan initiate new hearings for the 26 African American torture victims who remain convicted and incarcerated,

3. The Cook County Board recommend the legislatures of the State of Illinois and the United States pass laws that criminalize the act of torture and these laws have no statute of limitations, and

4. The Cook County Board discontinue any further monetary payments to Special Prosecutors Egan and Boyle for any investigation in the Chicago Po! lice Tor ture cases.

The full text of the resolutions are attached, and the contact information for the Commissioners is included below. For more information on how to contact the Commissioners go to www.co.cook.il.us/commissioners.htm

These resolutions are a response to a public hearing convened by Commissioner Collins on June 13, 2007 of the Criminal Justice Committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The hearing was held to address issues raised by the recent report released by Special Prosecutors’ Edward Egan and Boyle assigned to investigate possible criminal prosecutions in the Chicago Police Torture case.

After a four-year investigation that cost Cook County taxpayers $7 million, Special Prosecutors Egan and Boyle sought no indictments against Burge or other detectives, despite acknowledging that there was evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that certain individuals had been abused by Burge and other Area 2 and 3 detectives under his command. The Special Prosecutors claimed that the statute of limitations under Illinois law barred prosecution. However, as recently presented at the June 13th hearing and raised in the report entitled Report On The Failure Of Special Prosecutors Edward J. Egan And Robert D. Boyle To Fairly Investigate Systemic Police Torture In Chicago, Burge and other officers can and should be indicted for their alleged crimes of perjury and obstruction of justice committed within the past four years. Meanwhile, the victims of these crimes and international human rights violations continue to suffer, particularly the 26 African American men who remain behind bars due to wrongful convictions based in whole or in part on coerced confessions obtained by acts of torture. These men are entitled to have new hearings that raise issues of their torture.

For more information on the Chicago Police Torture cases, a copy of the report and for more on the hearing go to www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions.