A United Nations panel examining racism in the U.S. got an earful from Chicagoans earlier this week. Eight local activists traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, where the UN Committee to Eliminate Racial Discrimination heard testimony like this from Brian Gladstein, “People of color in Chicago are disproportionately poor and disproportionately affected by a system that perpetuates historical patters of discrimination in housing, education, economic deprivation and police abuse.” Gladstein’s with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs here. He and other Chicagoans delivered what they termed “shadow reports” to the UN committee. He said the idea was to make sure the committee had real examples of ongoing problems. Those included unresolved cases of police torture under former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. The UN committee’s report is expected next month.