Former attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and Winston & Strawn LLP law firm partner, Dan Webb is the "third party" lawyer that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel previously mentioned to review and conduct training in the city's law department.
As reported by Yahoo, the law department revealed that attorney Webb will review the civil rights of the law department as well as report to the city inspector general any evidence of past or present potential misconduct. He is also expected to present a public report of his recommendation.
He will be aided by Winston & Strawn LLP partner, Robert Michels, and will be paid $295 per hour which is reportedly a discounted amount from his usual $1,335 per hour rate. According to Reuters, the hiring of a third party lawyer came after Judge Edmond Chang ordered a new trial for the for the killing of Darius Pinex in 2011.
Chang singled out city lawyer Jordan Marsh who was found to have withheld an emergency radio dispatch which was pivotal for the case. The Judge ordered a new trial to reverse the previous decision which favored Officers Raoul Mosqueda and Gildardo Sierra.
Furthermore, according to Chicago Tribune, Marsh also attempted to mislead the court and claimed that his co-counsel Thomas Aumann did not search thoroughly enough to find the controversial recording. Marsh resigned from his post last Monday.
Marsh's resignation is one of many controversies Emanuel has faced during his current term. A video from a police dash-cam was also revealed in December showinga Chicago police officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald who appeared to have been carrying a pocket knife.
Emanuel has also been shifting his support in various cases. He previously expressed McDonald's death as the fault of one rogue cop, before eventually admitting that a reform is needed in the police department.
He also previously stated that the investigation of the police department need not to be expanded to the Chicago Law Department but later said that they would cooperate if the federal investigators wish to do so. Many believe that a reform is needed in the law and police department of the city and protesters are calling for Emanuel's attention demanding for him to leave.
