Everyone in Chicago was on edge yesterday awaiting the verdict in the trial of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in the shooting death of 17 year old Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke was found guilty of 2nd degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery and faces a minimum sentence of 6 years.
Activists applauded the historic verdict but cautioned that there’s still much more work to be done in bringing more fairness and change to Chicago policing.
So going forward, I think we all as the citizens of Chicago need to ask ourselves and answer a few questions... does this verdict signal a real change for the better in Chicago? And what else needs to happen to move forward in a positive direction? What choices will we make in our mayoral and other elections to ensure that change?