The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous decision allowing a lawsuit which holds Rumsfeld personally responsible for the torture of Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, two former defense contractors in Iraq. more ›

A jury has found former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge guilty on all charges of perjury (one charge) and obstruction of justice (two charges) connected to testimony he made during a 2003 civil trial. Earlier today, John Conroy, who's credited with breaking the torture story years ago while at the Reader, had a lengthy explanation of other evidence - specifically, more accusations of police torture - that the jury was not privy to during the trial. more ›

The defense in the Jon Burge perjury and obstruction of justice trial has rested their case and closing arguments will begin on Thursday. The primary defense witness yesterday was then-court stenographer Michael Hartnett who testified that, when taking Andrew Wilson's confession, he did see two injuries but didn't see any signs of torture: "Andrew had a scar over his right eye, and over the side of his right eye, it was swollen, puffy or whatever. I don't recall seeing (burns)." Hartnett admitted, though, “If it was one of my kids, I would have said, you know, they got popped by someone." The defense wrapped with former Assistant State’s Attorney Wilbur Crooks who said that Shadeed Mu’min, who accused Burge of playing Russian roulette with a gun pointed at his forehead, never complained about being mistreated. The prosecution only called one rebuttal witness and that was that; as John Conroy said, it's all over but the shouting. Closing arguments were scheduled for today but were postponed until tomorrow due to an unspecified emergency amongst the lawyers. more ›

Testimony in the Jon Burge trial continued on Monday with Burge himself wrapping up his own appearance on the witness stand. During Monday's cross-examination by prosecutor David Weisman, Weisman brought up a 1982 incident in which Burge is alleged to have pointed his gun at the back of an unpopular Area 2 detective, Frank Laverty, an incident about which another retired police officer gave sworn testimony in 2004. Weisman also grilled Burge over the name of his private boat, "Vigilante," suggesting it was because Burge took pride in his interrogation tactics, an accusation Burge flatly denied. Weisman also went after Burge on the 1982 interrogation of Andrew Wilson in which there was a 12-hour delay between when Wilson confessed and when a court-reporter was sent in to officially record it. From the Tribune: more ›

In dramatic and occasionally emotional testimony yesterday, former Chicago Police commander Jon Burge took the stand in his own trial and denied he ever witnessed or condoned the torture of any suspects. As he denied a claim by former suspect Shadeed Mu’min that Burge played Russina roulette with a gun pointed at Mu’min's head, Burge said, "I may not be a Mensa candidate, but I'm not that stupid, sir." Talking about the Andrew Wilson case, Burge even teared up. From John Conroy reporting for Vocalo: more ›

Late yesterday, former police commander Jon Burge announced he will take the stand in his own defense in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial. The announcement came at the end of the day after jurors had left the courtroom. Burge has previously invoked his fifth amendment rights in questioning about the case. As for the strategy, John Conroy says: more ›

The prosecution rested yesterday in the perjury and obstruction of justice trial of former Chicago Police commander Jon Burge after a day that included testimony from alleged robbery suspect Shadeed Mu’min. Mu'min testified of an interrogation session in October 1985 in which he said Burge pointed a revolved loaded with a single bullet at his head, playing a game of Russian Roulette, and suffocated him with a typewriter cover to get a confession in the alleged robbery and attempted murder of a Brown's Fried Chicken worker. The session was one that retired officer Michael McDermott testified about earlier this week in which he did some back-pedaling from previous testimony. Still, as John Conroy points out at Vocalo, there were consistencies between the two testimonies. more ›

In testimony yesterday at the trial of former Chicago police commander Jon Burge, former Chicago Police Sgt. Michael McDermott backed off claims he had previously made in grand jury testimony. Described by John Conroy - covering the trial for Vocalo - as "reluctant," McDermott backed off claims that he had seen Burge point a gun at the head of Shadeed Mu’min and put a clear typewriter cover in front of Mu'min's face to suffocate him. McDermott, who received immunity in exchanged for his testimony, insisted he was clarifying his earlier testimony. From Carol Marin and Don Moseley at NBC 5: more ›

After a few days off, the trials of former police commander Jon Burge and former governor Rod Blagojevich pick back up this morning. In the Burge case, former detective Michael McDermott may testify today for the prosecution when it's expected he'll detail seeing Burge torture a suspect into a confession by using a typewriter cover to suffocate him. While the jury has heard from three alleged victims and the transcript of a now-deceased fourth victim, McDermott is the first detective to testify that he witnessed Burge and his "Midnight Crew" physically torture suspects, in this case the October 1985 torture of robbery suspect Shadeed Mu'min; Mu'min is also expected to testify for the prosecution who expect to wrap up their case soon. more ›

The Blago trial isn't the only show in town. Still lingering in the former governor's shadow is the Jon Burge trial. Testimony in the trial of former police commander John Burge continued this week with a federal jury hearing statements from several of Burge’s victims, including the deceased Andrew Wilson, who spent 30 years in jail for the murder of two Chicago Police officers. The statements read were from Wilson’s 1989 lawsuit against Burge by FBI Agent Brian Butler. Wilson’s statement details his interrogation by Burge and the “Midnight Crew,” who beat and electrocuted into a confession for the murders of William Fahey and Richard O'Brien. He died in 2007. more ›

Former Chicago Police commander John Burge, arrested last year on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury, has successfully postponed his trial for the third time. The Chicago Sun Times reports Burge has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will be undergoing radiation treatment in Florida when his January trial is scheduled to begin. Burge’s lawyers requested the postponement, saying that it was “nonsense” to imply he is using his illness to further stave off the trial. In fact, Burge’s legal team appeared disappointed in not beginning the trial, with one of his lawyers saying he “would have loved a Christmas jury with a cancer patient. That’s a combination for an acquittal.” more ›

Last week, Erich "Mancow" Muller, shock jock at 890 AM WLS, allowed himself to be waterboarded. This led to a reaction from Keith Olbermann and even Mancow appearing on Olbermann's show this week. But today Gawker is reporting that it might have been staged. It's a rather complicated explanation, including several email exchanges between PR people, but what it comes down to is that a PR person said it was going to look real but actually be staged, then she told Gawker that it was real, and then Mancow himself told Gawker "simulated" was more of the wording he'd prefer. The folks at Gawker even take a look at his waterboarding versus that of writer Christopher Hitchens. We're no experts so we won't judge on which version is correct, if there is such a thing - either way looks awful. Also, if he were to stage it, we'd be inclined to think he'd stage it to favor his prior belief that it wasn't torture. [via Gapers Block] more ›

Alright, folks, I have to make this quick before my editors get back from their coffee run. Here's the deal: By now you probably know about our fifth anniversary party this Saturday night at The Whistler. I want to tell you about a great concert going on that night, but if my editors find out I plugged something other than our party, they'll make Gitmo look like a Mancow stunt. They are not fucking around on this one. more ›

The effects of former police commander Jon Burge's arrest last fall in connection with torture charges is now being felt. On Friday, a Cook County Judge ruled that Victor Safforld, a.k.a. Cortez Brown, will get a new trial after he determined a trio of officers under Burge's command - James O'Brien, Anthony Maslanka and John Paladino - tortured Brown into confessing. If a new trial is pursued against Brown, his alleged confession will most likely not be admitted. Brown was convicted of two murders in 1990 and sentenced to death though that sentence was later commuted to life. While Brown admitted he was a gang member, he said he had been beaten into confessing, claiming, according to the Trib, "the detectives punched him, beat his legs and hands with a metal flashlight and slapped him in the head for a half hour until his will was broken." more ›

• The most updated swine flu er, H1N1 influenza A tally for Illinois stands at 20, give or take.
• If Judge Clayton Crane has his way, former Chicago police commander Jon Burge will have to testify in the torture case against him.
• Governor Quinn's reform commission panel stands by their decision to advise against a recall amendment.

• Federal investigators on the Jon Burge torture case have widened their scope to include several of Burge's former colleagues.
• A new police unit on the West Side, led by commander James Roussell, has seen dramatic improvements in violent crime statistics. Roussell credits using a similar strategy he used against insurgents when fighting in Iraq as a Marine Reserve officer.
• State Representative Cynthia Soto is asking for a one-year moratorium on the closing and reorganizing of several Chicago-area schools.

Madison Hobley, who once sat on death row, is now allowed to collect $6.5 million stemming from a wrongful-conviction lawsuit he won against the city. Hobley was originally convicted of setting the 1987 fire that killed seven people, including his wife and son. He served 13 years in prison before Gov. George Ryan pardoned him in 2003. An extra layer of intrigue to the situation comes from the fact that Hobley's main defense was that former Police Commander Jon Burge tortured Hobley into confessing. more ›

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge pled not guilty this morning to charges of obstruction of justice and perjury in connection to alleged cases of police torture. May 11 was set as the trial date by U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow. Mayor Daley has yet to issue any statement on this latest development, sassy or otherwise, but we can save you the time and boil it down to this ahead of time: "It wasn't my fault!" more ›

As Mayor Daley continues to try to play the "Not My Fault" game in the Burge torture case, he's decided to kick things up a notch and get all sassy on us. Originally, the Mayor said earlier this week:

I was not the mayor. Wait. Wait. There's nothing in the indictment. You're mixing apples and oranges...you're doing a great disservice. I'm very proud of my role as prosecutor. I was not the mayor. I was not the police chief. I did not promote this man in the '80s. Let's put everything in perspective.

Former police commander Jon Burge, whose name has become synonymous in this city with police torture, was arrested this morning at his home in Tampa, Florida. He's been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, charges which carry decades of jail time if Burge is convicted. more ›

State Police so mean. more ›

A developmentally disabled pregnant woman with a one-year-old son was tortured and beaten to death by a social worker and the social worker's children, among others, in Alton, Illinois, about 300 miles south of here. Holy moly, is this story ever sad. more ›