Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2014 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2014 Sun-Times Media, LLC Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY Website: http://www.suntimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81 Author: Michael Sneed Page: 4 MCCARTHY TOLD: EXPLAIN POT TICKETING Cop shop . . . Punishment by pot? Sneed has learned Mayor Rahm Emanuel is ordering top cop Garry McCarthy to explain why misdemeanor marijuana possession means one thing on the North Side - and a very different thing on the South and West sides. Translation: Rahm, who is running for re-election, wants to know why police are choosing to arrest rather than ticket misdemeanor marijuana violators in African-American communities. In a recent Sun-Times poll, only 8 percent of African-American voters surveyed said they would vote for Emanuel. Buckshot: Unhappy with the statistics, the mayor is giving McCarthy 30 days to ensure the law is applied evenly across the city. Backshot: Since the city ordinance was enacted almost two years ago allowing officers to ticket or make an arrest, recent reports show officers have chosen to make an arrest nine out of 10 times. All but one of the communities in the top 20 percent of marijuana arrests are primarily African-American. "Mayor Emanuel has called for a full review of the ordinance and how it is being implemented to see if there are ways to further bring down the arrest rate, particularly in areas that have seen a disproportionately high arrest rate," said Sarah Hamilton, Emanuel's director of communications. Police made 5,000 fewer marijuana arrests in 2013, after the ordinance passed, than in 2011, according to police statistics. "Every arrest results in cops off the street processing a low-level drug offense, rather than on the beat fighting serious crime." Hamilton said Emanuel has asked McCarthy to focus on three areas: Consider giving police officers more latitude to write tickets. Discuss how many marijuana tickets officers are writing in CompStat each week and hold District Commanders publicly accountable. Improve officer training on the law. A history note . . . It's a record: Jesse White will become the longest serving Illinois secretary of state in history on Friday. He has served since January 1999 and is running for re-election this fall. Back history: On Friday, White, 79, will have served one day past the previous record holder, James A. Rose, who was Illinois secretary of state from 1897 to 1912. Polar postcards . . . Weird weather report: Greetings from Sneed's old stomping grounds, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - where 80-degree temperatures gave birth to giant ice cubes nipping the Marquette, Michigan shore of Lake Superior. Unbelievable sight. Akin to a Georgia O'Keeffe cloud painting. Check out the photo snapped this weekend by Susan Pearce Manson. I spy . . . Yankee star Derek Jeter stopped by Chicago Cut Saturday after his team beat the White Sox . . . On Friday, he came by Rosebud on Rush for pasta and a little Joe Torre talk with restaurant owner Alex Dana . . . George "Star Wars" Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson stopped by Gibsons last week. AmBush 'em . . . Former President George W. Bush, 67, was in Chicago over the weekend for partial knee replacement surgery before heading back to Dallas to recover. Hill swill . . . Page proof ? It sure looks like women are turning the pages for Hillary Clinton. Explanation: The first printing of her upcoming memoir, "Hard Choices," has already sold out. Even though it doesn't come out until June, a million copies sold after Vogue, an upmarket women's magazine, printed an excerpt for Mother's Day. Sneedlings . . . Wednesday's birthdays: Gladys Knight, 70; John Fogerty, 69; Carey Mulligan, 29, and Halina Tyburska, 99. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom