The lawsuit filed by John Velez, who spent 17 years in prison before his conviction in the murder of 26-year-old Anthony Hueneca in Little Village was overturned, is set for trial for July 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang ruled Tuesday.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability has yet to provide the Office of the Inspector General with the evidence that prompted the commission to call for a probe into “the quality and integrity” of the investigations into police misconduct by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, according to a letter obtained by WTTW News.

In all, it has already cost Chicago taxpayers more than $98 million to defend disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara, investigate his conduct and resolve lawsuits that allege Guevara violated dozens of Chicagoans’ civil rights, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

The Chicago Board of Education unanimously approved a new whole school safety plan, which brings to an end the use of school resource officers (SROs) inside district buildings following a yearslong review of CPS safety protocols and procedures.

If the city loses at trial, it could cost taxpayers between $18 million and $34 million, according to public warnings that most of the Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee ignored.

“I would rather have had Milwaukee Police Department, who know the people of this community, to have at least had an opportunity to address this situation before people who have no ties to this community and don’t care nothing about our extended family members.”

“No one, absolutely no one, wanted this outcome and I anticipate a full as well as thorough investigation,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said early Wednesday morning. 

Chicago taxpayers have paid nearly $71.9 million since 2019 to resolve lawsuits involving police pursuits, with the city’s insurance coverage paying an additional $25 million, according to a WTTW News analysis.

John Velez was convicted of killing 26-year-old Anthony Hueneca in Little Village. The jury did not hear evidence that Velez was actually in Cicero at the time of the shooting.

In all, it has already cost Chicago taxpayers more than $98 million to defend former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara, investigate his conduct and resolve lawsuits that allege he violated dozens of Chicagoans’ civil rights, according to WTTW News’ analysis.

Investigators with CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs did not interview anyone other than the eight officers accused of belonging to the Oath Keepers, according to a 30-page report.

The lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois accuses the Chicago Police Department of making more than 1.5 million traffic stops between 2016 and 2023 based on dubious evidence of minor violations that took direct aim at Black and Latino Chicagoans but spared White Chicagoans. 

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability on Tuesday released videos showing the fatal May 27 shooting of Tracey Watson, who was killed in the middle of the 300 block of South Cicero Avenue during an altercation with a second man.

The revised policy represents a “substantial improvement” over the original policy, according to a coalition of police reform groups that challenged the policy in federal court.

The proposed settlement calls for taxpayers to pay $21 million and the city’s insurance company to pay $29 million.

The Chicago Police Department held an open training session at McCormick Place, where police demonstrated for media the different measures and strategies the department is planning to deploy during the August convention.