Politics

Key City Panel Unanimously Agrees to Pay $90M to Resolve 176 Lawsuits Tied to Disgraced Ex-Sgt. Ronald Watts

A key city panel unanimously agreed Monday to pay $90 million to resolve 176 federal lawsuits tied to convicted former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts and his team.

Many members of the Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee said they were relieved that it would not cost even more to resolve the lawsuits, which date back to 2017, filed by 180 people who spent nearly 200 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted based on what they allege was fabricated evidence gathered by Watts, who was convicted in 2013 of taking bribes, and other officers.

“This is a staggeringly good outcome for the taxpayers of Chicago,” said Ald. Bill Conway (34th Ward), who frequently objects to recommendations made by city lawyers to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct with large payments.

It was “nearly 100% assured” that Chicago would have lost every case at trial, Conway said.

The first global settlement of lawsuits tied to a single officer is now set for a final vote by the full City Council on Sept. 25.

“That will close the door on Ronald Watts and the bad things he did at Ida B. Wells,” Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) said.

Ahmed Kosoko, Watts’ attorney, said his client “must emphatically reject the false and misleading narrative that continues to link Mr. Watts to cases in which he had no direct involvement. In numerous instances, Mr. Watts was not present at the scene, was not on duty and played no role in the arrest, investigation or prosecution of the individuals now seeking civil recovery. In every single case, Mr. Watts neither accused, arrested, nor testified against the plaintiffs. His limited involvement was administrative and supervisory — often post hoc and entirely detached from the underlying events.”

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) said he had anticipated the city would have to pay much more to resolve all of the lawsuits tied to Watts and his team and was relieved the city was on the verge of closing such a “dark chapter.”

Lopez, Ald. Matt O’Shea (19th Ward), Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) nearly always vote against resolving lawsuits alleging police misconduct, but all four lauded Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry for crafting the agreement.

“Please don’t go anywhere,” O’Shea said, prompting the committee to break out into a round of applause.

The cost of resolving police misconduct lawsuits has become a frequent source of political heartburn for members of the Chicago City Council, who are divided along ideological lines about the cause of the escalating costs.

More conservative alderpeople say the city’s lawyers and their colleagues are too eager to settle cases before trial. According to the alderpeople, that encourages those guilty of criminal wrongdoing to sue the city in the hopes of an easy payday.

However, progressive members of the City Council see the expense as perhaps the most visible cost of the fact that city officials have yet to put an end to the decades of scandals, misconduct and brutality that have engulfed the Chicago Police Department.

Taxpayers have already paid $11.8 million to resolve nine cases alleging misconduct by Watts, Deputy Corporation Counsel Victoria Benson said. Between 2016 and September 2024, the city had paid private lawyers $25 million to defend the conduct of Watts and the officers who worked with him, Benson said.

That would bring the total cost to resolve 185 cases naming Watts to $126.8 million.

The settlement calls for the $90 million to be paid in two installments in 2026, giving city officials a few months to figure out how to foot the bill. Since 2020, the city has set aside $82 million annually to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct.

Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $231.2 million to resolve lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct — including wrongful convictions and improper pursuits — since the start of 2025, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

The city faces a projected budget shortfall of $1.15 billion in 2026, and a $146 million gap in the 2025 budget, records show.

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

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