Despite plenty of evidence that Chicago Police officers under the command of Jon Burge systematically coerced confessions through the use of torture -- including burnings, beatings, and electrocutions -- nearly two dozen victims are still waiting behind bars for the chance to tell their stories in court.

State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) says the game of political hot potato over who will hear them out has gone on long enough. He’s introduced a bill to fully air the Burge torture allegations by creating the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, an eight-member, independent body administered by the Illinois Human Rights Commission.

“There are a lot of people who would like to see the thing go away,” Raoul told us this morning. “Once these victims are heard, it opens Pandora’s box in terms of who might be complacent. There are a lot of reputations at stake.”

Just last Friday, the Reader’s Mick Dumke reported on how politicians -- including the state and county’s top prosecutors -- continue to pass the buck, following in a long tradition first established by Mayor Daley. Dumke offers an update on the scandal first exposed by his former colleague John Conroy:

The latest episode came Friday in a Cook County courtroom, where an array of attorneys argued about who should be responsible for the cases of more than 20 alleged torture victims now sitting in prison.

The matter before presiding criminal court Judge Paul Biebel was a request by Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan to hand off five Burge-related cases to Cook County state’s attorney Anita Alvarez. Attorneys and advocates for the defendants in the cases fiercely oppose the move. Alvarez’s office says it’s deferring to Biebel. It’s expected that Biebel’s decision will also establish who’s responsible for Burge-related cases that may emerge in the future. There could be dozens.

So what could we expect from Raoul’s gubernatorial-appointed commission? Should it find sufficient evidence of torture, the body would be able to pass a recommendation along to the Circuit Court of Cook County’s chief judge for consideration. (The full text of SB48, which explains the process in detail, is available here.)

While the proposal may seem cut and dry, Raoul says it’s already coming under fire. The Fraternal Order of Police, which is picking up the tab for Burge’s defense in his pending federal case, is attempting to kill the commission idea (which could obviously implicate some of their own). The Human Rights Commission is also putting up a fuss, arguing the issue shouldn’t be theirs to deal with.

Raoul’s not wavering. He expects the bill to emerge from committee soon and see "an interesting debate” on the Senate floor sometime next week (which we'll be following closely).

“These victims should have the opportunity to be vindicated,” Raoul says, pointing to the death penalty moratorium as evidence of the flawed criminal justice system. “If we got so many cases wrong that were capital cases, what about all the other cases?”