As the Tribune editorialized in October about Corporation Counsel Myra Georges' broken pledge to release names of cops accused of multiple acts of brutality, "Every federal judge in Chicago is learning that it's folly to trust the Pinocchio-nosed lawyers from the City of Chicago."

So the City of Chicago covers up police torture for decades. How does a little lying stack up against that? Not very far, so whenever City representatives say anything, we'd be best served by expecting the opposite to be true.

The City. Lying. It's virtually a given, like bad weather in Chicago. Nothing new here. What's most shameful is that a coterie of liberals and other "progressive" City Hall hangers-on continue to carry water for Richie Daley, urging us to "unite" with him and his sick bastards, despite his administration's well-documented record of rampant corruption, tolerance of police brutality, and mobbed-up associates. Just how many more millions need to be stolen from City taxpayers in the form of sweetheart contracts and huge legal settlements before these liberal dunderheads stop being the last defenders of King Richard?

Well, some of them will go down with the ship. They have sweetheart contracts of their own, or they're tied to Alderpuppets who will jump from the sinking Mayoral ship only as the last lifeboats are launched. These treacherous connections only demonstrate how important it is for all progressive political movements –- anti-war, civil rights, etc. -- to maintain an independence from the local Democratic Machine, lest they unwittingly become "progressive" window dressing for the Machine's corruption and brutality.

The End of the Burge Story?

The next tack of the City will likely be to say "whew," glad THAT'S over with. Far from it. The news cycle will continue. City taxpayers will likely see the spectacle of $20 million being shoved out the door at Monday's Finance Committee meeting, and pass the City Council on Wednesday.

But it's not only $20 million that's out the door at the same time as crumbling public services make this whole spectacle a sick joke. You see, from last December, when the City agreed to a virtually identical deal and then renegged on it after the mayoral election, to today, it's spent between $1 and $2 million in outside attorneys' fees, not to mention the substantial cost of its own inside counsel. Add to that the millions the City spent over the years leading up to the settlement, and $20 million is just a portion of the financial damage.

So why did the City go to the wall, spending all that money on legal defense, only to settle for such a huge sum anyway? After years of discovery in these four cases, the only thing that was left was Herr Richard's deposition. Yup. Millions spent to preserve the image (and legal ass) of D'Mare. You thought you'd already seen the depths of the "city that works'" dysfunctionality.

The (Multi-) Million Dollar Question

The smoking gun question was why Daley, as State's Attorney, ignored a letter from then-Police Superintendent Brzeczek asking for guidance about dealing with evidence of serious police torture?

The only thing left in the cases was the deposition of Herr Richard, and/or the trial testimony of him. That's when the City cried "uncle" and threw in the towel. So millions in attorneys fees, millions in settlements were spent so that Richie Daley wouldn't have to sit for a deposition, wouldn't be forced to raise his hand and swear under oath, and then tell painful truths or lie between his teeth.

In a city where millions in Millennium Park cost over-runs are caused by fluffing the mayor's ego, why should we expect anything different when a far more serious issue comes down the pike?

4 Cases Settled – Dozens More Tortured, Needing Justice

After Tuesday's City Council meeting, the mayor's office and many aldermen will undoubtedly try to pretend that the Burge cases are now old history. Been there, done that, we took care of it. Hardly.

+++ There continues to be the minor issue of DOZENS of other African American men serving long sentences downstate thanks to torture-induced "confessions" extracted by Burge and his associates.

+++ There continues to be the issue of criminal prosecution of Burge and his associates, many of whom continue to be employed in senior positions in the Chicago Police Department. The recent Special Prosecutors Report falsely claimed that due to the statute of limitations, Burge et al are immune from prosecution. Sorry, boys, but there's no statute of limitations on conspiracy. In a just world, you would be dragged into criminal court right now.

+++ There continues to be the issue of the firing of these Burge associates. Many of them are still on the payroll, in senior positions.

+++ There continues to be the issue of restitution to dozens of other Burge, et al victims. Abu Ghraib in America continues to fester.

To say that the Augean Stables still need cleaning is an understatement.

So don't get ready to turn to the fun and games of the Olympics hoopla just yet. This City has still got a lot to answer for. For starters, ALL of the Burge et al victims deserve new trials. The sham criminal trial of Aaron Patterson needs to be exposed.

And lastly, Richie Daley should apologize to each and every one of the torture victims on his watches as Mayor and States Attorney, and tender his resignation from public office as an act of contrition. The egomaniac should be forced to watch the 2016 Olympics from some other vantage point than the official reviewing stand.

Dept of Full Disclosure: I work at Loevy and Loevy Attorneys at Law, which represents Madison Hobley and Stanley Howard. I had to "sit" on this story for the last two weeks until it was leaked today by someone, most likely from the City. The views expressed above are mine alone, and not necessarily those of Loevy and Loevy.