
Chicago Set to Exhaust Annual Budget for Police Misconduct Settlements
Clip: 4/14/2025 | 2m 27sVideo has Closed Captions
Just four months into the year, Chicago is set to surpass the $82 million that's been set aside.
The city of Chicago is on track to exhaust the $82 million officials set aside to cover police misconduct settlements and judgments in 2025, just four months into the year, city records show.
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Chicago Set to Exhaust Annual Budget for Police Misconduct Settlements
Clip: 4/14/2025 | 2m 27sVideo has Closed Captions
The city of Chicago is on track to exhaust the $82 million officials set aside to cover police misconduct settlements and judgments in 2025, just four months into the year, city records show.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship>> Chicago's budget for police misconduct.
Settlements is almost tapped out just 4 months into the year.
That's according to city records.
Analyzed by our own Heather Sharon who joins us now with more.
Heather, how did the city end up spending so much money to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct?
Well, the costly U.S. lawsuits fallen to pretty much 2 buckets.
lawsuits filed by people who spent years in prison convicted of murders that they did not can.
They did not commit the other bucket, of course, is the police police pursuits that ended in grade injury or death when those, even though those policies violated CPD policy.
On Wednesday, the city council is set to approve a settlement of 32 million dollars for St. Louis man who was gravely injured as a result of a police pursuit sparked by a team to play since plate covered.
He lost both his legs and his wife was was there when the injury happened.
This tally know it only includes settlements.
City officials approved not jury verdicts well twice in the last 6 months.
Jury verdicts have set new records for those who spent time behind bars convicted of crimes they did not commit first and September 15 million dollars went to a man who spent 10 years behind bars.
But just last month, 60 million dollars went to 2 men each.
We spent a combined 32 years in prison.
Now the city is appealing all of those verdicts.
So they are not yet final and taxpayers haven't yet had to pay a dime.
I should mention a 3rd for, 80 million dollars to the family of a 10 year-old girl who was killed again during a police pursuit.
Okay.
>> And you spoke with covered the AG U.S. he plans to take action.
It Windy City Council meeting to demand answers from city officials.
>> What is his plan while he's going to invoke a rarely used tool to force representatives of Mayor Brandon Johnson to come to a finance committee meeting and asked answer questions about their strategy for handling these lawsuit.
He has a lot of particular questions about more than 200 lawsuits that named one of 3 disgraced Chicago police officers who have uncontested records of misconduct.
That's John Berge.
Detective Reynaldo Guevara and former Sergeant Ronald Watts.
None are active on the force now.
But their legacy still going to be very costly for taxpayers still costing the city for sure.
Heather Sharon, thank you so
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