Daley Avoids Deposition in Burge Case

Attorneys for former Mayor Richard M. Daley say he will not be deposed this week in a police torture case related to the infamous Jon Burge.

Daley was requested to appear for a deposition on Thursday, but stated late last week via letter that he would not attend.

Attorney Flint Taylor, of the People’s Law Office, had hoped to quiz Daley about what he knew and when he knew it when it came to allegations of torture by Chicago police officers on suspects accused of a crime.

"Yes, I’m disappointed," said Taylor. "But good things come to he or she that wait."

The wait for Michael Tillman stretched to more than 23 years. Convicted of a 1986 murder, Tillman was released from prison a year and a half ago. He is suing the city for conspiring to suppress evidence and information of a cover-up of police torture.

Following the murder of a woman in his South Shore apartment building, Tillman said he went to Area 2 headquarters at the request of Chicago police.

"I was hit with the fist, the phone book, I had a plastic bag placed over my head repeatedly. I had a gun put to me head while I was on my knees. I had a 7UP poured down my nose," he recalled. "I was hit in the leg with a flashlight. I felt like a slave, tied to a tree that couldn’t do nothing 'cause I was always bound."

Former Chicago police commander Jon Burge was convicted last year of perjury and obstruction of justice and today is in federal prison.

A federal investigation continues into the actions of men under his command.

The door to deposing Daley, who was also Cook County State’s Attorney during the 1980s when allegations of police torture first surface, was opened earlier this summer.

Federal Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer last month ruled Daley could be listed as a defendant in a civil suit brought by Tillman.

"Yes, I’m disappointed. What you got to hide," Tillman said about the postponement of the deposition.

"The right thing is give my lawyers the deposition. Get 'em the deposition. Or settle this out of court. It’s up to you," he said.

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