Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and Chicago faith leaders plan to lead a march on the city's West Side Friday
The march comes as fallout continues after Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other officials revealed that several Chicago police officers were caught on video "lounging" in Rep. Bobby Rush's office earlier this month as looters struck nearby businesses.
Here are the latest headlines on the protests, demonstrations and more continuing across the Chicago area:
Demonstrators March to Dr. King's Former Home
Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and faith leaders took part in a march in Chicago Friday.
The march traveled along the Eisenhower Expressway, starting at Independence Boulevard at 12 p.m. and ending at the apartment where Dr. Martin Luther King once lived at 1550 S. Hamlin Ave.
"The vision for this historic march was birthed upon the tragic death of the late George Floyd who was murdered by the hands of an overzealous Minneapolis Police Officer," a statement on the march reads. "With one voice and one message the group will advocate for better schools, improved housing, affordable healthcare services and increased economic development in black and brown communities."
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin joined Jackson and other leaders for the "groundbreaking" march dubbed the "Spirit of the King March." The mass gathering aims to honor the memory of George Floyd and "shed light on the nation's challenges of racism, disparities and injustice."
Protest Planned for Wrigleyville, Lakeview
Ald. Tom Tunney on Chicago's North Side alerted residents to a protest planned for the Wrigleyville and Lakeview areas Friday.
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"A protest has been planned and will start at the 19th District Police Station at 5 p.m. this Friday, June 12th," Tunney said in a message to residents. "Protesters will then march south to the 44th Ward Office. Police will be visible throughout the neighborhood before, during and after this gathering."
Lightfoot Says She Wants to 'Raise the Threshold' for Search Warrants
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in an appearance on "TODAY" Friday morning that she wants to "raise the threshold and scrutiny" for issuing search warrants in the wake of the police killing of Breonna Taylor during the execution of a no-knock warrant in Louisville.
"Look, the reality is that search warrants can be one of the most dangerous moments that police and civilians are in," Lightfoot said. "And what we've seen unfortunately way too often here in Chicago and across the country, that judges are not doing the level of scrutiny that has to happen whenever we invade a residence or a building."
"That's a very serious action under our law, so here in Chicago, we are substantially raising the threshold and scrutiny for these kinds of actions and it's absolutely something that we will take on and look at through the working group at the U.S. Conference of Mayors," she continued.
Hate Groups Look to Extend Reach But Didn’t Organize Recent Protests: Experts
Hate groups in America are looking to the internet to try and increase membership, according to one group that monitors them.
The Anti-Defamation League says it has seen an uptick in online hate fueled by the killing of George Floyd and the coronavirus pandemic.
“We're seeing an increase in hate online that's playing out,” says David Goldenberg, Midwest Regional Director of the ADL. “Extremists prey on these moments. They look for these moments for recruitment purposes,” he says. “And that is absolutely what we are seeing.”
Still as demonstrators filled the streets of Chicago and other cities across the country following the killing of George Floyd, Goldenberg says there is absolutely no evidence that extremists are playing an organizing role in the protests. Still, he says, hate groups are attempting to use the two emotionally charged events to their advantage.
Lightfoot Calls for Licensing, Certification for Police Officers
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling for a change in state law that would require licensing and certification for police officers.
Lightfoot revealed her plan Thursday during a press conference condemning actions from more than a dozen Chicago officers who were caught on camera "lounging" in a congressman's campaign office amid looting and unrest in the city earlier this month.
She said she directed her legal team to research and draft legislation for the move.
"I am ready," she said. "I am ready to work with the governor and our other great partners in Springfield to forge a change in state law to require licensing and certification of police officers. And I'm grateful for the attendance of Brad Cole, the leader of the Illinois Municipal League, and we will work together to make sure that we get this legislation passed."
Lightfoot has mentioned such an idea in previous days when asked about calls from protesters to "defund the police," a move she has said she did not want to take.
"It's time really, actually it's way past time for this change in our state," Lightfoot said. "And licensing is just one of several new measures that we must Institute to make individual officers and departments far more accountable to the people."
Racial Slurs Spray-Painted on Avondale Home, Garages: Police
Police are investigating after someone spray-painted racial slurs on two Avondale garages Friday on the Northwest Side.
Officers responded to two reports of criminal damage in progress at 1:47 a.m. in the 3100 block of North Central Park Avenue, according to Chicago police.
Responding officers found racial slurs spray-painted on the garage doors of two homes in the block, along with the front door of one of the homes, police said.
No arrests have been reported as the investigation continues.
Investigation Opened into Chicago Police Officers ‘Lounging’ in Campaign Office Amid Looting
The Chicago Police Department on Thursday opened an internal investigation in response to video that showed more than a dozen officers "lounging" in U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's campaign office as protests and looting erupted in Chicago earlier this month.
Rush, who revealed the incident alongside Chicago police leadership and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, said he received a call nearly two weeks ago telling him his office at 5401 S. Wentworth Ave. had been burglarized- a scene he assumed was due to looters that had damaged businesses in the area following protests over the death of George Floyd.
The Chicago Police Department released a statement Thursday evening announcing an internal investigation into the officers' presence at the campaign office.
The video begins around 1 a.m. June 1 and shows multiple officers at the office at differing times, officials said. In total, as many as 13 officers, including supervisors, were involved, Lightfoot said. At the time, the mall and neighborhood where the office is located, had become targets of looting.
