by Tokumbo Bodunde

CHICAGO (FinalCall.com)—Racist and redundant were among the words community leaders and legislators used to describe House Bill 1812 during an Oct. 24 press conference led by the Chicago Southside branch of the NAACP.

The bill, which has been vetoed by Illinois Governor George Ryan, furthers current death penalty legislation by including persons committing murder as a part of gang activity. Protesters want to thwart an effort by legislators to override the veto.

A synopsis of the bill reads: "A person who is convicted of first degree murder may be sentenced to death if he or she committed the murder in furtherance of the activities of an organized gang or by his or her membership in or allegiance to an organized gang."

Terms such as "organized gang" prompted leaders at the press conference to question the fairness of the bill.

"This is a dangerous bill because what has yet to be determined is how do you identify a gang member," Illinois State Representative Lovana Jones argued. Wearing a cap backwards, an earring, or hanging pants, she said, are all fashion statements that could be misconstrued as symbols of gang membership.

In addition, Black and Latino youth, leaders argued, will be targeted more often than white youth who may fit the look.

"There was no call for imposition of the death penalty for a gang of white youth in Columbine or elsewhere," said Furmin D. Sessoms, executive director of the Chicago Southside NAACP chapter.

"It is this same racism based on a notion of separate and unequal policy, that caused mainly white judges, prosecutors and juries to sentence to death row 13 Blacks we now know to be innocent in the Illinois criminal justice system," Mr. Sessoms said.

Illinois State Senator Donnie Trotter, State Representative Constance Howard, the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Amnesty International and the ACLU were in attendance, echoing Mr. Sessoms’ and other leaders’ words.

"[Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan] cannot play Russian Roulette with the lives of our children," said Rev. Dr. Al Sampson of the Fernwood United Methodist Church.

Rev. Sampson, along with other leaders, said that although Mr. Madigan didn’t endorse the bill, he still holds some power regarding its future. Also, some of the leaders cautioned, Mr. Madigan’s daughter, Lisa, who will be running for Illinois attorney general, may have power where HB 1812 is concerned.

"We cannot allow her to inherit the attorney general office with her daddy allowing bill 1812 to inflict urban terror against young, misdirected, urban Black youth," Rev. Sampson said.

Most of the speakers agreed that the bill is simply an "aggravating factor" to what Edwin Yohnka of the Illinois ACLU called "a system that is flawed beyond repair."

"This [bill] is, as a friend of mines from the south would say, ‘political eyewash,’ " Mr. Yohnka said.

The coalition urged people in the audience to contact their local representatives if they were discontented with the gang bill. State Rep. Jones said the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus will continue to fight those who want to veto the bill.

Gov. Ryan is the only governor that has issued the death penalty moratorium.

Dr. Wanda Henley of the Ill. state NAACP Youth Division made a connection between the number of the bill, 1812, and the war fought during the same year. "It is a war," she declared. "It’s a war on our young people and we need to fight back."