ACLU wants to rein in spying by Chicago Police Department

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel was urged Tuesday to rein in police spying after the city agreed to pay and publicly absolve an international peace and justice organization investigated in the run-up to a 2002 business conference in Chicago.

The Quaker-based American Friends Service Committee was one of several groups investigated by the Chicago Police Department prior to the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue.

The major business meeting had triggered violent protests across the country. The Daley administration was determined to avoid similar unrest in Chicago.

The police department’s notorious Red Squad had spied on, infiltrated and harassed political groups in violation of the First Amendment. A now-dissolved 1982 consent decree that reined in police spying required the city to audit compliance and publicly disclose investigative targets.

via ACLU wants to rein in spying by Chicago Police Department – Chicago Sun-Times.