Driving while political?

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago, who is black, was ticketed for a traffic violation last week by two white police officers. They said his car was swerving. He insists it wasn't, saying he was a victim of racial profiling. His three passengers were also black. "If this happens to Danny Davis, then what goes on with Jack Jones or John Smith?" he reportedly said at a Thanksgiving charity function.

We can all agree on two things: Racial profiling is bad. And acting to uphold the law or protect the public is good. If Davis was pulled over for driving while black, the offending officers should be sternly disciplined. But if his driving was, in fact, erratic, police were right to stop him. In the interest of public safety — and the congressman's own safety — the distinguished Rep. Davis should have been treated no more leniently than Jack Jones or John Smith.

Davis was the third local pol with a high profile to be pulled over in recent times. In uglier and more questionable circumstances two years ago, state Sen. James Meeks had his driver ordered to pull over by a white cop. Meeks claimed when he got out of the car —never a good move — the cop pulled a gun and uttered obscenities. More recently, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) was ticketed for violating the new ordinance against talking on a cell phone while driving. His subsequent bad moves were calling the district commander to indignantly protest the ticket and then accepting the special treatment of having his driver's license hand-delivered back to him in his ward office.

Everyone should be treated equally under the law; no one should be squeezed by "the law" —as police used to be called in crime dramas — because of the color of their skin.