Today, July 10, 2007, the Cook County Board unanimously passed three Chicago Police torture resolutions sponsored by Commissioner Earlean Collins while sending a fourth to committee. The three resolutions resolved as follows:

1. The Cook County Board of Commissioners fully support any action taken by the United States Attorney’s of the Northern District of Illinois in the investigation and prosecution of any and all federal crimes allegedly committed by Burge and his men.

2. The Cook County Board of Commissioners recommends that the Illinois Attorney General initiate new hearings for the twenty-six Chicago Police torture victims who were wrongfully convicted and remain incarcerated in the State of Illinois.

3. The Cook County Board of Commissioners recommends to the legislature of the State of Illinois and the Congress of the United States to pass legislation explicitly proscribing the crime of torture as defined by Article I of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment and provide that there be no statute of limitations for this crime.

The fourth resolution, which was sent to the Litigation subcommittee for a hearing at which Special Prosecutors Boyle and Egan will be required to appear, a courtesy which they refused the Board when it held its June 13th hearing into the alleged failures of their investigation, resolves that:

The Cook County Board of Commissioners discontinue any future payments to Special Prosecutors Edward Egan and Robert Boyle for any and all expenses incurred for the investigation of allegations of abuse by Commander Jon Burge and men under his command.

The three resolutions which passed were cosponsored by Commissioners Joan Patricia Murphy, Mike Quigley, Deborah Sims, Robert Steele, Larry Suffredin, Anthony Peraica, and Jerry Butler. The entire Board cosponsored the resolution calling for a new crime of torture without a statute of limitations. At a press conference held before the resolutions were passed, and at their subsequent introduction on the floor, Commissioners Collins, Steele, Claypool, Peraica, and Suffredin, and County Clerk Davis Orr spoke strongly in support of this "very important issue concerning public safety" and repeatedly called for the federal indictment of Burge and other alleged torturers.

These resolutions were 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 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 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. 212 human rights, civil rights, and criminal justice organizations and individuals endorsed this "shadow" torture report.

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 cited above go to www.peopleslawoffice.com or www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions or to view footage of the June 13th hearing go to Google for video.google.com/videoplay