To: Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago

Demand Mayor Rahm Emanuel Resign!

For over a year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel knew about the gruesome murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald at the hands of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. In fact, it wasn’t until a journalist sued the city of Chicago to get video footage of the murder released and the Black community rose up in protest that Mayor Emanuel finally decided to act. This type of negligent leadership is harmful to the Chicago community.

We demand:

*The immediate resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Why is this important?

On October 20, 2014, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was brutally gunned down by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. Even though Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel knew about this gruesome murder, it wasn’t until communities rose up in protest and a journalist sued the city of Chicago to get video footage of the murder released, that Mayor Emanuel decided to act [1].

In a recent op-ed, Mayor Emanuel stated “At the end of the day, I am the mayor and I own it. I take responsibility for what happened and I will fix it.” Since the release of the police dashboard camera, Mayor Emanuel has fired Chicago Police Supt. Gary McCarthy and assembled a five-person task force on police accountability [2]. However, these actions fail to address the role Mayor Emanuel played in covering up Laquan McDonald’s murder.

Mayor Emanuel’s negligent and possibly criminal leadership kept the McDonald family in the dark about what really happened to their son. Instead of demanding that killer cop Jason Van Dyke be held accountable for his violent actions, Mayor Emanuel has been working hard to protect his own effort to get re-elected.

Before the video was released, Mayor Emanuel had praised the efforts of his former police chief, defended the city’s investigations of police shootings, and resisted a federal investigation into the police department. By turning a blind eye to the brutal murder of Laquan McDonald, Mayor Emanuel is clearly demonstrating his lack of concern for Black lives.

Chicago residents deserve better! Demand that Mayor Rahm Emanuel resigns.

DeAngelo Bester, Workers Center for Racial Justice
Charlene Carruthers, BYP100
Byron Hobbs, SOUL
Katelyn Johnson, Action Now

References
“Rahm Emanuel, Anita Alvarez – where’s your resignation?” The Grio, 12-02-2015, http://on.thegrio.com/1XN4QRG
“Rahm Emanuel Denies Laquan McDonald Cover-Up In Op-Ed” The Huffington Post, 12-04-2015, http://huff.to/1IvbzbQ