Vol. 75/No. 33      September 19, 2011

The judge’s ruling came in a suit brought by Michael Tillman, one of more than 100 men, most of them Black and Latino, who were convicted of crimes and served prison sentences based on confessions extorted from them by torture. Tillman, who served 23 years in prison for rape and murder, was freed in 2010. He has a certificate of innocence from the Cook County circuit court.

Tillman was subjected to water boarding and other torture. He names former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley as a defendant in his suit, along with former police lieutenant Jon Burge and 14 others. Burge was convicted last year of lying about the tortures and since March has been serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence in federal prison.

Before becoming mayor, Daley was Cook County state’s attorney for eight years. He has been named in prior lawsuits filed by those who say they were tortured, but judges have previously dismissed him as a defendant, citing the immunity given prosecutors. But Judge Pallmeyer ruled that Daley should remain as a defendant on counts of joining in a conspiracy to cover up torture while he was mayor.

Lawyers for the ex-mayor are pleading with the judge to reconsider her ruling.

“What Judge Pallmeyer ruled is that Daley was involved in the conspiracy to cover up the tortures committed by Jon Burge and his associates,” Flint Taylor, Tillman’s attorney, told the Militant. “That’s very significant in the history of the torture cases.”

The day after Pallmeyer’s ruling, current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the city would pick up the legal tab for Daley’s defense. The city has already spent more than $40 million defending Burge and other cops.

The Campaign to End the Death Penalty responded immediately with two days of protests here August 11 and 12 outside Emanuel’s office.

“Emanuel’s action is nothing but an attempt to prevent Daley from incriminating himself,” said Mark Clements of the CEDP. “It’s similar to the Burge case. After years of allegations of police torture, what finally got Burge was lying in a deposition. That’s what they’re trying to avoid with Daley. Because hundreds of eyes are going to be on his testimony.”

Meanwhile, on September 15 the Illinois Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the appeal of Stanley Wrice, one of the men who was tortured. Wrice is seeking a new hearing to overturn his conviction. More than 60 attorneys, led by former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, have filed a friend of the court brief demanding new hearings for all 15 men currently in prison on the basis of confessions extracted by torture.  
 
 
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