Chicago, IL – The courtroom was packed February 14. This was my fourth Gerald Reed court hearing. Usually, there is a crowd of folks who show up to support Gerald and his mother, Armanda Shackleford, who has been fighting for her son since he was arrested, tortured and framed in 1990. Shackleford sits in the front row, wearing her Free Gerald Reed t-shirt. Together we sit for an hour, two hours, three, and hear powerful men debate the innocence of a man whose sentence was vacated a year ago.
Fight Back! News Service is circulating the following statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, the Chicago Torture Justice Center, and Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity.
Chicago, IL – The latest episode in the Jussie Smollett saga continues to unfold as the campaign to rid Cook County of the first honest, progressive, Black woman state’s attorney in county history, Kim Foxx, reaches lower and lower into the barrel of dirty tricks, a la Roger Stone and Donald Trump. And make no mistake about it: this is not about rooting out favoritism to the wealthy in the state’s attorney’s office, as cynically declared by Bill Conway, the billionaire Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) candidate running against her. It’s about getting rid of the first state’s attorney in Cook County history who has actually done something about crooked cops and prosecutors and freed their victims and survivors from unlawful prosecution and incarceration.
Chicago, IL – William Elias Conway, III is running against Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx in the March 17 Democratic Party primary election. He has flooded TV airways and cable channels with commercials promoting his ‘progressive’ agenda, pledging to “defend Chicago’s marginal communities from attacks from Donald Trump.”
Chicago, IL – In a pair of upcoming cases, Associate Judge Thomas Hennelly will have the fate of three wrongfully convicted men in his hands. Given who put them behind bars, his rulings could send a signal that Chicago has firmly turned its back on the legacy of police torture and wrongful convictions that hangs over the city. But, given Hennelly’s direct involvement in prosecuting police torture victims and his attempt to hide racist constitutional violations, Chicagoans would be remiss to expect impartiality from the bench.
Chicago, IL – Juan Guaidó is not that smart of a politician. He never seems to care much about strategy, or coalition building, or putting forward a serious political platform. The only political talent Guaidó seems to have is in front of the cameras. He knows how to put on a good show for the audience he wants to please.
Chicago, IL – As part of the national day of protest to demand U.S. troops out of Iraq, 1000 people rallied in front of Trump Tower in Chicago. After listening to speeches by numerous local activists, people marched across the Loop, Chicago’s central district, for several hours. One person was arrested by the Chicago Police Department, who were furious because the march disrupted traffic on the Magnificent Mile, a section of Michigan Avenue that is one of the most expensive shopping districts in the country. Later the crowd marched on Lake Shore Drive. At least one other person was arrested, but then un-arrested by the crowd.
Chicago, IL – Thunderous applause greeted officers and strikers from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73 at an event sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The 28th People’s Thanksgiving, a fundraiser for Fight Back! brought over 100 people together to recognize the historic Chicago Public School strike by the two unions.
Photo essay from the refounding conference of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Chicago, November 22-24, 2019. Photos by Brad Sigal.
Chicago, IL – More than a 1200 joined together for an historic gathering on the weekend of November 22 – 24, at the hall of the Chicago Teachers Union, to refound the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. The newly refounded Alliance will concentrate its efforts on building the fight against police crimes and for community control of the police, and it will campaign for the release of political prisoners and the wrongfully convicted.
