Politics

Johnson Says He ‘Inherited Quite the Mess’ As Chicago Struggles With Cost of Police Misconduct Lawsuits

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday he inherited “quite the mess,” acknowledging that 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.

However, neither Johnson nor Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry committed to taking a new approach to the lawsuits that pose the biggest threat to the city’s financial stability — those filed by Chicagoans who spent decades in prison after being wrongfully convicted.

“Look, we have inherited quite the mess,” Johnson said, emphasizing that many of the lawsuits allege misconduct that occurred decades ago.

Through the first three months of 2025, officials have already agreed to pay more than $62 million to resolve nearly two dozen lawsuits alleging a wide range of misconduct.

Those expenses are expected to top $82 million, the city’s entire annual budget for police misconduct settlements, on Wednesday if the City Council, as expected, agrees to pay $32 million to the family of a St. Louis man who was struck by a driver being chased by Chicago police and lost both legs, the latest massive settlement prompted by a police pursuit that violated department policy.

City officials will have to decide in the coming months whether to settle more than 200 cases naming former Chicago police officers who have uncontested records of misconduct.

There are at least 39 cases pending against the city that name disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara, who is accused of framing people for crimes they did not commit.

At least another 193 cases are pending against the city that name convicted former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts, accused of demanding that Chicago Housing Authority residents and drug dealers pay him and the officers who reported to him for protection.

And dozens of cases remain pending against the city that name Jon Burge, a disgraced former Chicago police commander, and the detectives he trained, who city officials admit tortured and beat more than 100 Black men during his career.

Richardson Lowry tossed cold water on the prospect of negotiating a global settlement with all of the plaintiffs who have sued the city because of alleged conduct by the officers who have uncontested records of misconduct.

Such an agreement could allow the city to settle all claims from multiple plaintiffs in a single agreement, rather than instead settling each claim individually.

But since many of the plaintiffs are represented by different attorneys, that will be nearly impossible, Richardson Lowry said at a City Hall news conference alongside the mayor.

Richardson Lowry said she created a new division in the Law Department to examine cases that name the same officer in an attempt to resolve those cases through negotiation, with the goal of reaching a settlement, or deciding to take specific cases to trial.

Another division of the Law Department examines lawsuits that stem from wrongful convictions, Richardson Lowry said.

“We’re making a number of adjustments based on facts and circumstances,” said Richardson Lowry, particularly when it comes to cases that name Guevara. “They’re challenging cases, without a doubt.”

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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