Live Updates: Chicago Protests and Unrest

A federal court hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday to discuss calls by activists for an investigation into police actions during the recent unrest.

The hearing will be conducted by telephone and is part of the ongoing Chicago police consent decree, which is a lengthy police reform plan enforced by a federal judge. It was requested by independent monitor Maggie Hickey, who is charged with reviewing and reporting on the police department’s reform progress.

Hickey requested the hearing following a meeting with a coalition of civil rights groups, in which protesters described being victims of police “brutality.”

In a letter to Hickey, attorneys for the civil rights groups claim the consent decree has “entirely failed” to protect peaceful protesters from police violence.

The Illinois attorney general’s office, which is involved in the consent decree lawsuit, supports a review of police actions during Chicago unrest.

“As residents of Chicago and people throughout Illinois and the nation exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully protest and demand accountability for police misconduct, it is more important than ever that we have a full picture of how CPD’s officers have handled these protests,” attorney general spokeswoman Annie Thompson said in a statement.