When the reading is over, one by one the men slowly troop to the stage to briefly share their stories with the 350 lawyers, students, and others in attendance. The man once known as Satan says he was dragged from his home by Jon Burge and his crew in 1973 and taken to the police station where he says he was tortured. “It’s hard to speak about,’’ he says. “No words can express how we feel.’’
The former gang chieftain speaks last. “Torture is hell beyond a shadow of a doubt,’’ he says. “But please note, justice is coming.’’ Then he looks down at Conroy seated in the front row. “John Conroy, you’re a bad man,’’ he says. “You’ve always told the truth. You never sugar-coated anything.
“Whatever you do, please stay the course as you have all these years,’’ he says. “You have made a difference.’’
Conroy has stayed the course. And in late May, he got his own small measure of justice when WBEZ, a local public radio station, hired him to blog the Burge trial. “Blogging is sort of old dog, new tricks,” Conroy says. “I’ve never worked for a daily before. Writing every day is going to be an interesting challenge.”
His first blog post, on May 21, posed the question, “Would there be a Burge trial without Andrew Wilson’s ears?” Conroy wrote that he has had “occasion to wonder if former police commissioner Jon Burge would still be a high-ranking officer today, indeed, if he might not have become superintendent, but for Andrew Wilson’s ears.” Photographs taken by a public defender of the scars on Wilson’s ears shortly after Wilson had been interrogated by Burge and some of his men helped to convince a civil jury—and later the civilian police department investigators—that Wilson was telling the truth about being tortured with electric shock.
A few days after his first post about the trial, Conroy was back in the courtroom, taking notes on a yellow legal pad when Jonathan Jackson, the national spokesman for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and the son of the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, introduced himself. For the last five years, Jonathan Jackson has been an outspoken advocate for “Burge’s victims,” and for the need to prosecute “their torturer.” Jackson shook Conroy’s hand and said, “It was your writing that got me into this. Thank you.”
I was/am (not sure really) an aspiring Chicago-area journalist who's interned at the Reader, among other places. When I was deciding whether to pursue the field before graduating last year, I talked to many journalists I admire, all of whom 1) responded to my emails, which was something of a surprise 2) said "no" with varying degrees of emphasis.
I emailed John Conroy, too.
His "no" was the most emphatic. "If you can do anything else, anything at all," he said. "Do it."
Well, I couldn't find a job in journalism--got beat out for an entry-level beat reporting job in rural IL by a laid-off Sun-Times reporter in one case--so I took my liberal arts degree and Did Something Else. It's going well and I really like my job, and I'm still writing for the public good. Conroy's "no" was one of the most disheartening, though. I had hoped that maybe his prospects had picked up since then, but it doesn't seem like it. Thanks for a great piece.
#1 Posted by KB, CJR on Fri 16 Jul 2010 at 02:28 PM
Thanks for sharing this account of John Conroy's predicament. About 10 years ago, I spent a summer in Chicago for the Academy for Alternative Journalism, a program I think was co-sponsored by the Chicago Reader and Medill. John came to speak to our class about public records and research techniques. Since I was introduced to his work, I regard it as the standard to which I always aspire. Besides all the individuals he has helped through his stories, the voiceless for whom he has brought justice, I hope that John also knows that there are journalists and writers out there who are inspired by his lifelong commitment to the fundamental purpose of journalism--to reveal the truth, to tell meaningful stories that make a difference. I know I appreciate the example he has set. I appreciate the life he has chosen and the sacrifices that have come with it. I appreciate his diligence and his persistence, and on some level I hope that he believes it was worth it. Because it was.
#2 Posted by C. Lo, CJR on Fri 16 Jul 2010 at 03:37 PM
Alllowing seasoned investigative reporters like John Conroy to languish is a mortal sin. A sin this society will pay for in years to come. I know of too many good reporters who have been 'laid off' for any number of reasons - mostly because the bosses can be replace them with younger and cheaper writers - with no history or understanding of the elements that can compound a story. His experience is a gift and one that ANY self-respecting news outlet should welcome - Especially in Chicago. Step up to the plate all you publishers and editors in chief -- HIRE THIS MAN !
#3 Posted by Maureen McFadden, CJR on Fri 16 Jul 2010 at 09:49 PM
Conroy was recently interviewed by Bob Garfield for NPR's On the Media. It's worth checking out if his story moves you. And it should.
#4 Posted by Justin, CJR on Sun 18 Jul 2010 at 07:40 AM
I was visiting Chicago about a week ago when I saw the Reader story about Burge’s case with John’s last name in the hed. John and I share a name, a profession, the same struggles, and almost the same ages. I have followed his career since I first saw John’s name printed in a Northern California newspaper listing for a speaking tour he was conducting back in the early ‘80s, I believe. Having spent time in the north of Ireland myself and written about the Troubles for publications such as the Los Angeles Reader and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I have long admired John’s work.
Andrea D. Lyon, the defense attorney quoted in the CJR story, is correct. John is an unsung hero, and it’s a cliché now to point out that corruption, torture, and malfeasance will go unchecked because journalists of John’s caliber are now longer on the case. Here in Southern California, two reporters for the Los Angeles Times, Jeff Gottleib and Ruben Vives, recently broke a big story on the outrageous salaries earned by the city manager and council members in the small working-class city of Bell in southeastern L.A. county. Without the hard work of two intrepid reporters backed by the resources of a major newspaper, this story would have remained buried.
To my namesake, hang in there, brother. (Or cousin….)
John Conroy
Los Angeles
#5 Posted by John Conroy, CJR on Wed 21 Jul 2010 at 01:58 PM
Along with John, we owe a great debt to many of the free weeklies around the country for being the last true Journalists left. I read many of them and they almost always feature stories that should be front page news but are rarely even mentioned.
I remember in the Miami New Times a story from about 2000 during the G-8 summit detailing Blackwater and Delta force type thugs dressed up as anarchists and disrupting the protests there in a well coordinated military campaign on American soil. Pictures, interviews, everything. I thought it would at last force the MSM to tell the truth, but nothing, not one word in the Miami Herald, TV or magazines.
Johns story was one of the few that made the mainstream and only because of his persistence. Eat your Lentil soup with pride my friend.
#6 Posted by NortonSmitty, CJR on Mon 16 Aug 2010 at 05:08 PM
I read John Conroy's Belfast Diary; it's one of the classic books from the 30-year war in North Ireland. Over the years, I've recommended it to many and often wondered where he ended up. Now I know, this is a wonderful piece. Good for him and good for CJR.
#7 Posted by Mairtin O Muilleoir, Belfast, CJR on Sat 11 Sep 2010 at 10:32 AM
I would not think it extravagant for Aaron Patterson to offer a man that helped saved their lives to offer Mr Conroy a 5-10% share of their damages as a thank you. Even actor's agents get 10%. I know they are not obligated, but if I were unjustly sentenced to death and his work saved my life, I would be thankful.
#8 Posted by max berry, CJR on Fri 1 Oct 2010 at 12:26 PM