By: Matt Rosenberg
Chicago-area universities have contributed greatly to our knowledge and advancement as a civilization. But they also have a growing problem with intolerance. This has been evident in the poor treatment on-campus of University of Illinois Chicago law professor Jason Kilborn and University of Chicago scientist Dorian Abbot.
Now this week comes a well-earned demerit for a hot-tempered university censor.
A professor in Northwestern University’s journalism department last year tried to quash public debate after a controversial police shooting of a fleeing suspect carrying a gun. But the very point he tried to stifle – that the cop may not have committed a criminal act – is now officially upheld. There was no criminal act.
The outcome should underscore the importance of not rushing to judgment. In increasingly uncivil times, fostering civil debate is especially vital.
Here’s what happened: Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx this week declined to criminally prosecute Chicago cop Eric Stillman. He had been under scrutiny for his shooting in self-defense of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Aiding a convicted felon who’d been shooting at cars in Little Village around 2 a.m., Toledo was seen in videos taking a handed-off gun and fleeing. Pursued on foot by Stillman, he finally whirled around to surrender. But tragically, he flicked the gun aside only at the very last second and was shot dead.
Stillman was immediately convicted in the court of public opinion. Those who counseled a “go-slow” approach to judgment were rashly condemned. Then-Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn felt the wrath of the Thought Police in April 2021. He cautioned against hasty conclusions in the Toledo case. This set afire a Northwestern University professor of, yes, journalism, named Stephen Thrasher. He pronounced Chicago cop Stillman guilty and Zorn racist for saying, in effect, “wait a minute, take some time on this one.”
Thrasher canceled his Trib subscription and wrote to the paper. He portrayed Zorn’s warning against a leap to judgment as wrong-headed in the extreme. He called it “journalism which calls for the debasement of marginalized people; which tries to justify the summary state execution of children; and which argues against my humanity.” Whew.
Sure sounds like he was calling the cop’s actions criminal. But now a notoriously Progressive prosecutor has found they were not. It’s a clear refutation of Thrasher’s nasty tantrum.
Tellingly, Thrasher was uninterested in actual dialogue. He declined Zorn’s invitation to discuss the matter further by email. He declared: “Your words make the murder of children more likely, and I have no interest in you, your unethical nature, your cynical worldview, or in communicating with you.”
Thrasher was called out by writer Jonathan Turley as one exemplar of bias-first “journalism” and Mark Glennon of Wirepoints has noted several other examples.
Judgment is strongest when it stands on solid footing and comes after careful and full consideration. Thrasher had no tolerance of upholding high standards for judgment. He tossed that aside in favor of anger and political expediency.
Academic institutions increasingly favor self-aggrandizement rationalized by their alleged “tolerance” and “diversity.” But these attributes often don’t extend to political or policy debate.
It is our great loss.
Authoritarianism is not a good look on our campuses or anywhere else in Illinois or Chicagoland.
Matt Rosenberg is senior editor of Wirepoints, and author of What Next, Chicago? Notes of a Pissed-Off Native Son.” He has worked in journalism, public policy, and communications for more than three decades.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Jussie Smollett’s legacy: Race-hustling must no longer hinder smart policy
- Spiraling Violence in Chicago: Causes and Solutions
- Five reasons why Gov. Pritzker’s gas tax “relief” isn’t relief at all
- Another pension sweetener? State lawmaker proposes a week of paid mental health leave for teachers
- Illinois used to have one competitive advantage over its neighbors: its flat tax. Now that’s largely gone
- Gov. Pritzker can’t take credit for Illinois’ improved budget projections when it’s the feds that bailed the state out
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Being a grad of Northwestern is becoming something like a foolish association one made during a reckless youth and now avoids mentioning in thoughtful company. That Northwestern brought this guy into one of our country’s most prestigious journalism schools tells us all we need to know about academic standards, and NU’s apparent contribution to the decline of a once semi-respectable occupation.
Northwestern is the Yale of the MiIdwest. I recently saw on twitter some Yale professor complaining that thousands of people DM’s him making fun of him for being associated with Yale. The school named after a prolific slave trader. Full of entitled students and really, really dumb professors.
The brand value is tarnished.
“As a teacher, he encourages students to draw upon history, theory, culture, and reporting to critically read and create media narratives.” This is but a line at Medill’s School of Journalism describing Thrasher. It seems to me Thrasher is more interested in teaching his students to create news rather than accurately report the news. With Thrasher’s outlook on teach I believe he has a great future as a propaganda writer for Vladimir Putin and his “special military operation” to denazify Ukraine.
Chicago means exposing a child to gangs, violent crime, and a horrible education. Raising a child in 2022 Chicago is neglect. Chicago parents prioritize other things above their kids. The formula is simple…. Raising Child in Chicago = Bad Parent. (I welcome the thumbs down vote from all the Chicago parents.)
The same could be said for the suburbs. Are the parents living in North Chicago, Chicago Heights, Aurora or Maywood neglectful because they don’t live in Hinsdale, Lake Forest, Winnetka or Barrington? One could argue the problems aren’t as bad in those communities, but that’s not an excuse to remain, right?
From a safety perspective, North Chicago, Chicago Heights, Aurora and Maywood are much safer than many Chicago neighborhoods.
To some, but not everyone. If your high school son is threatened by an Aurora gang or shots ring out in your Maywood neighborhood, it may feel a lot like Chicago. My point: parental neglect isn’t the blanket reason, the “simple formula,” that Honest Jerk suggests. Lots of other factors involved in why someone lives where.
“Lots of other factors involved in why someone lives where.”
The cost of housing these days, due to the US’s largest housing bubble ever, makes moving up or out much more difficult, so I’m a little more understanding of why someone lives where they do these days
As the prices of real estate continues to rise relative to Illinois, just think how much more affordable Illinois will become compared to the rest of the country. It’s truly becoming a paradise. Maybe we should increase property taxes to get us there faster.
It’s most definitely a progressive paradise!
But the rest of us call it Pritzker’s Prison…
Despite the anticipated Fed moves in 2022/2023, the real estate discrepancy between blue states (like Illinois) and red states will only worsen, perhaps just not as fast as the bubble bursts. New residential construction in my state is everywhere. The last time I was in Illinois I don’t recall seeing much.
you mean you cant buy a house if youve been on government aid your whole life!!?-no way!!
“Lots of other factors involved in why someone lives where.”
I agree, but wouldn’t a good parent make the well being of their children the absolute top priority over everything else?
Sure, but affordability can be a conflicting factor. A good parent also wouldn’t resort to living in the streets of Barrington to escape a bad neighborhood in Maywood or Chicago.
Jerk is a good name for you with that type of talk. So ignorant.
Fine. Raise your kids in Chicago Rob M. Good luck with that.
It takes one to know one, azzhole…
its laughabl the punks that are down voting true facts,go back to your mommys basement and eat your hot dogs and mac and cheese
silly little sissies
Steven Thrasher was hired by NU in 2019 with a lot of baggage. Not only is he an avowed anti-Semite, he proudly supports something called BDS – boycott, divestment, sanctions – which seeks to end international support for Israel, a country that must relentlessly protect itself from its neighbors. (What would we do if Mexico and/or Canada were trying to wipe us off the map?) Before his NYU graduation speech, he gave a sanitized version to the school, which it blessed. He then spoke vitriol and NYU denounced his remarks. No doubt Thrasher had malicious intent. He knew they’d nix… Read more »
I believe Fox, like Lightfoot, belongs to a gang.
Would explain EVERYTHING.
Cop trying to do the cop job and gets involved in a mess like this. Words of advice to street officers, do nothing and you cant get in trouble. Forget the tactical team, forget the specialized unit do the beat car dance. Answer radio, take report, avoid confrontation, write a couple of parkers on the obvious “hooptie”, go home and sleep soundly.
Unfortunately, Chicago cops tell me this is the M.O. now, for a lot of them. Not too hard to see why. Stillman still has to face a civil suit from Adam Toledo’s family. It’s their right to file, of course. But then we’ve got that “criminal justice reform” bill from state lawmakers coming Live in ’23, and it removes the qualified immunity for cops facing lawsuits.
Matt, what’s the true agenda for Lightfoot, Foxx, Preckwinkle, and Soros? What does Lightfoot gain from the city not being safe? How does she get re-elected if people are afraid to go into the city, and residents with means flee? Shaun Thompson has intimated that the gangs are tied into the Democratic Party via drug money, precinct workers, and intimidation. Are our leaders on the take from the drug kingpins? How else can we explain the way they forsake the safety of the honest citizenry and coddle the criminals as they do? They decry “institutional racism”, yet do nothing to… Read more »
Matt, what’s the true agenda for Lightfoot, Foxx, Preckwinkle, and Soros? What does Lightfoot gain from the city not being safe? How does she get re-elected if people are afraid to go into the city, and residents with means flee? Power. Same as it ever was. Progressive policies are wildly popular in big cities. Kim Foxx won decisively and had overwhelming margins most especially in the high crime neighborhoods she is destroying. Foxx’ Get Out of Jail Free policies are extremely popular in a city with high crime, where many residents themselves are criminals or are related to or associate… Read more »
Wildly popular? With whom? I don’t see it. Don’t you think the legions of payroll Patriots, many of whom are white vote Dem to keep their pension and benefits? I bet Catanzara votes Dem.
They use identity politics to get elected, but have to lose due to poor performance. Everyone in the hood is a criminal or related to one? Public employee unions are to blame more than poor black and latinos
Kim Foxx, for her second term in office, had 63.76% of Chicago votes, 687,995 votes, to Pat O’Brien’s 317,827, for 29.45%. For Example, Chicago ward 5, which is the Grand Crossing and Gresham police districts, had 85.50% of the voters vote for Kim Foxx. Grand Crossing had 29 murders in 2020 and Auburn Greham had 31 murders. Chicago Ward 6, which is roughly Chatman, had 30 murders in 2020. But on November 3, 2020, 90.98% of Chatham residents voted for Kim Foxx. Chicago Ward 9, which is roughly West Pullman and Roseland, voted for Kim Foxx at 90.64%. West Pullman… Read more »
Her 2 to 1 ratio of Chicago votes were more than enough to overcome her loss in suburban Cook County
Patrick W. ”Pat” O’Brien 48.33% 543,281
Kim Foxx 45.04% 506,304
sample of suburbs :
Barrington TownshipKim Foxx (Democratic)
29.8%
Patrick W. ”Pat” O’Brien (Republican)
66.26%
Thornton – Kim Foxx (Democratic) 79.1%
Patrick W. ”Pat” O’Brien (Republican)
15.97%
Cicero – Kim Foxx (Democratic) 59.35%
Patrick W. ”Pat” O’Brien
31.53%
Evanston – Kim Foxx (Democratic) 72.75%
Patrick W. ”Pat” O’Brien
21.98%
I think the big motivator for the figures to whom you refer is self-validation. Pardon the drive-by social psychology, but it seems clear they first want to be perceived as compassionate, progressive people. And so replacing actual criminal justice with half-baked, harmful and sometimes-fatal “social justice” schemas becomes an easy step. As that Milwaukee DA said in the aughts, long before the alleged Waukesha parade killer – who was out on bail – mowed down people with his van, it was generally well understood some people would die as a result of bail reform. But that was considered an acceptable… Read more »
Right. They truly believe their ridiculous policies will lead to equity and justice for all.. they just need time, a reason to undemocratically usurp all authority, and a compliant/ignorant populace…. something about this feels strangely familiar.
Someone above mentioned power. True. And delusions of grandeur. But, most importantly, a complete contempt for the general populace. These people we have put in charge, are the same nose-pickers that sat next to us in 3rd period French. They were idiots with an inferiority complex then and nothing’s changed since.
Cops going “fetal” now wait until the qualified immunity is removed and places an officer in a position to be held personally responsible for anything they do. Law suits can be filed for anything and once it reaches a courtroom all bets are off, its 50/50. Lose your home, pension, savings to go out and arrest someone? Nope. Crime bad now? Wait……..
Unless police unions step in with some form of lawsuit claims insurance so cops won’t be on the hook after qualified immunity is rescinded under state law in Illinois.
Former NU alum here — cringe every time I see NU in the news for their latest idiotic thing they did:
— hiring terrorist licking professors
— supporting the terrorist boycott of Israel
— claiming that violent student protesters have a right of privacy that bars news reporting
Every time they call me for money the get profanity laced screed as to why I will never give them a dime — and that for all I care, they should burn the whole campus to ashes, and shovel the debris into Lake Michigan
Looking hard between the cracks there’s still some good research being done on crime at NU (Andrew Papachristos); and around crime and education at University of Chicago (their Crime Lab, their Consortium on School Research, and certainly some of their economists). But to your broader point: correct. Open dialog and debate within the social sciences needs a lot more oxygen.
Lions Choice, ditto here
Knee jerk reactions to a leftist, are like oxygen is to life…
I feel for Eric Stillman…
He didn’t start his shift thinking *boy, I hope I get to shoot a kid tonight*…
He must live with what he did…
To Ofc. Stillman – “You did the right thing, what society demands of you even, and you did it within the law. I pray that peace & comfort be upon you in those dark hours when you are alone with your thoughts. Sadly it was Adam Toledo’s bad decisions that led to his shortened life. May God bless you.”
The appropriate charges that should be brought are those of child neglect considering a 13 year old boy was allowed to be running around gang bangers and a gun at 2am. Where is the parental accountability?
Agree bigly. The McDonalds CEO said as much after some texts between he and the Mayor were made public, referring to the Toledo case and one other – which actually occurred in a drive-thru lane – with a Dad who was apparently gang-involved being shot up in his car with his daughter dead as a result. The CEO was just about cancelled for his thoughts. Part of the problem here is that issue of parenting is off-limits. Except when you go into the ‘hood – and I have, at length – people speak very freely about it.
If the city settles with the Toledo family, they are fools. The kid was shooting at cars with a much older known criminal at 2 AM, and it’s racist to ask where are his parents?
Inclined to agree. But they settle at the drop of a hat.
They settle high profile cases with videos and media attention. The rest they drag out for years.
The fact that there is a sense of relief that a sound decision was made by Kim Foxx is a little unsettling. The fact that a young person is dead and there isn’t much discussion about the real reasons is equally so. How a 12 year old ended up with a warm gun, running from police at 2am is something that everyone should find disturbing. Instead, the television news coverage I’ve seen is of people loudly protesting the decision not to charge the officer. Any trained officer pursuing an armed suspect with a gun in their hand would have acted… Read more »
Ka-ching.