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WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

Civil Rights Attorneys Seek Wider Chicago Probe

Civil rights attorneys are pressing for a special prosecutor to investigate whether other Chicago officers on the scene where a policeman shot a black teenager in 2014 attempted to cover up the circumstances.

A Cook County judge announced Thursday he would appoint an outside prosecutor in the case of Officer Jason Van Dyke, who fired 16 shots at 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

But Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan put off a decision on the petition for the prosecutor to conduct a broader investigation that could lead to charges against other officers.

The judge said the petition was not "shovel-ready" and he needed more time to study the question.

He said no grand jury was even looking into the possibility of charges against other officers on the scene when McDonald was killed in October 2014.

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