CHICAGO (AP) — The Illinois attorney general is suing to stop a former Chicago police commander convicted of lying about the torture of suspects from getting his pension.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office said Monday
it has filed a lawsuit against Jon Burge and the Policemen's Annuity and
Benefit Fund of Chicago seeking to end Burge's pension benefits.
Burge was sentenced last month to 4 1/2 years in
prison on his June conviction of lying in a civil lawsuit when he said he'd
never participated in or witnessed the physical abuse of suspects. A pension
board vote on a motion to terminate Burge's pension failed Jan. 26 by a 4-4
vote.
Madigan's lawsuit claims that the pension board
unlawfully allowed Burge to keep the benefits. His pension is more than $3,000
a month.
“We hope and pray that justice will come out of the
lawsuit that has been filed by Illinois Attorney (General Lisa) Madigan. It is
beyond the time that all released torture victims be treated as crime victims
by the State of Illinois. All Burge torture victims should be compensated,
provided with adequate psychological, and that Burge pensions be terminated by
the courts immediately,” Mark Clements, of the Campaign to End the Death
Penalty, said in a statement.
Defender Staff Report contributed to this report.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
