Judge refuses to release names of accused officers

In July, the aldermen received a list of officers, but the names were blacked out.

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge refused Thursday to order the city to give aldermen the names of hundreds of police officers who have been repeatedly accused of misconduct.

U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow said she no longer has jurisdiction because the city has appealed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals her earlier order to release the names publicly.

Lefkow suggested that the 28 aldermen who filed their petition earlier this week sue the city for the documents.

Alderman Ed Smith sounded ready to accept Lefkow’s suggestion. “If the general public needs it and wants it, I think we have the responsibility to push as hard as we possibly can,” he said, adding that he would support a lawsuit.

At issue are the names of 662 officers accused of abusing civilians in more than 10 complaints from 2001 to 2006. In July, the aldermen were given the list of officers, but the names were blacked out.

The aldermen’s petition was filed this week in the case of Diane Bond, who claimed that police abused her in 2003 when she was a resident of a public housing project.

Bond has settled her dispute with the city for $150,000. But a journalist, Jamie Kalven, has been asking Lefkow to give him access to the list of frequently complained-about officers obtained by Bond’s attorneys.