As the mayor ramps up work on his second budget proposal, a newly formed Chicago City Council subcommittee is set to meet at noon Wednesday to start examining the dozens of proposals to increase the amount of money officials have on hand to spend starting in 2025.
Aldermen
Judge Kendall sided with prosecutors, who blasted the request for a postponement as a “last-ditch effort” by Burke to avoid being sentenced on Monday for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion.
“The public, as well as the victims in this case, have a strong interest in finality and bringing the case to a close,” prosecutors wrote. “Unfounded, eleventh-hour requests for delay like this one contribute to a general sense that the wheels of justice turn too slowly.”
The proposed settlement calls for taxpayers to pay $21 million and the city’s insurance company to pay $29 million.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly ruled there was enough evidence for a jury to conclude “that the city had a custom or policy of condoning racial harassment and discrimination at (the Water Department) as well as inaction in the face of a risk of potential constitutional violations.”
Ronald “Ronnieman” Johnson, 25, was shot and killed by Officer George Hernandez in the early morning hours of Oct. 12, 2014, near 53rd Street and King Drive.
After the three-hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall declined to issue a ruling immediately, instead promising a written order “shortly.”
In all, Chicago spent $202 million on a host of programs including affordable housing, mental health, violence prevention, youth job programs and help for unhoused Chicagoans through March 31, records show.
The Chicago City Council will weigh whether to pay $3.2 million to settle three lawsuits claiming Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct.
The former Chicago detective has banked more than $1.4 million in pension payments since he retired, according to records obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Chicago Should Pay $1.75M to Family of Woman Who Died in Police Holding Cell, City Lawyers Recommend
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability completed its investigation into the death of Iris Chavez on April 28, 2023, but the results of that probe have not been made public, and no officers have been disciplined in connection with her death.
Nearly 80% of voters in two precincts of the 7th Ward endorsed a referendum asking whether Ald. Greg Mitchell and Mayor Brandon Johnson should support “a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ordinance to prevent the displacement of renters, condo & home owners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.”
The cost to taxpayers of the settlements approved without debate by the City Council on Wednesday is equivalent to more than a third of the city’s annual $82 million budget to cover the cost of police misconduct lawsuits.
In all, the City Council will consider paying $52.7 million to resolve four lawsuits that allege a wide range of police misconduct. The city’s insurance company is set to pay $25 million of that total.
If approved, the settlement would bring the total amount paid by Chicago taxpayers to resolve lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara to $62.5 million, records show.
U.S. District Court Judge John Kness has yet to set a trial date for Austin, who pleaded not guilty after her June 2021 indictment. The hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes, was the first time Austin has appeared in a federal courtroom since her indictment.
