Spotlight Politics: Chicago Responds to Breonna Taylor Decision


A Kentucky grand jury indicted one of three officers in the case of Breonna Taylor, the Black woman who was killed by police in March during a botched drug raid in her apartment. 

The only charges brought by the grand jury were not related directly to her death. Fired Officer Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into Taylor’s neighbors’ homes.

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“Rulings like this one set us back, and come as yet another challenge to the hard work and progress we have already made,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a press conference on Wednesday, just hours after the grand jury decision was announced. “But that doesn’t mean we give up, it means we fight even harder against the systems of inequality and injustice to keep too many of us down.”

She called for residents to observe a moment of silence on Wednesday evening to honor Taylor.

City politics

City Council aldermen have begun discussing how to address the city’s projected $1.2 billion shortfall in 2021. ComEd announces it would not resume shut-offs amid the coronavirus — and pressure from Lightfoot — as it negotiates for an extension of its lucrative contract with the city. And Chicago’s top lawyer, Mark Flessner, warned alderman to be cautious when pushing for diversity in city contracts

State politics

Illinois House Democrats accuse suburban Republican state Rep. Amy Grant of making racist and homophobic statements during a phone call with a potential donor.

Supreme Court

The race to nominate and confirm a Supreme Court justice to replace the seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is underway. Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th District U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals may be a front-runner

Our politics team of Amanda Vinicky, Heather Cherone, Paris Schutz and Carol Marin discuss these stories and more in this week’s edition of “Spotlight Politics.”


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