Reynaldo Guevara
It has already cost Chicago taxpayers at least $206 million to defend and settle 16 lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Department Detective Reynaldo Guevara, records show.
Chicago taxpayers should pay more than $260.8 million to 17 men who spent more than 383 years in prison after they were coerced into confessing to crimes by a disgraced former Chicago police detective, city lawyers recommended.
The total cost to Chicago taxpayers to defend and settle 16 lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara is set to reach at least $206 million on Wednesday, records show.
The total cost of defending and settling lawsuits naming disgraced former Chicago Police Detective Reynado Guevara topped $191.8 million in May, according to a WTTW News analysis.
The agreement averts a trial that would have asked a federal jury to decide whether former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara coerced Arturo DeLeon-Reyes into confessing to a 1998 Bucktown double murder.
In the trial set to start May 11, a jury will be asked to decide whether former CPD Detective Reynaldo Guevara framed Arturo DeLeon-Reyes, whose conviction in a 1998 double murder was overturned after a judge determined Guevara told “bald-faced lies” while under oath.
Jaime Rios was 20 years old when he was convicted and sentenced to 36 years in prison after being investigated by Reynaldo Guevara, a former Chicago police detective accused of routinely framing suspects.
Thirteen lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Department Reynaldo Guevara have now been resolved, with 38 lawsuits pending.
Taxpayers paid an additional $5.2 million to private attorneys to defend former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara and the other officers named in the four lawsuits.
The proposed settlement is set to be considered Wednesday by the Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee. A final vote of the City Council could come on Feb. 18.
Chicago taxpayers paid an additional $2 million to defend the other Chicago police officers named in Johnson's lawsuit, which was filed in 2020, according to records obtained by WTTW News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
If approved, it would be the 11th lawsuit filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara’s misconduct to be resolved at a cost of approximately $120 million to Chicago taxpayers.
A key City Council panel will consider resolving four lawsuits naming former Chicago police Detective Reynaldo Guevara on Wednesday at a cost of $29.2 million.
It will likely cost Chicago taxpayers approximately $52 million in interest to borrow that money and pay off during the next five years, according to estimates provided to the Chicago City Council by Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski.
Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $285.3 million to resolve lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct — including wrongful convictions and improper pursuits — so far this year, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.
If approved, it would be the ninth lawsuit filed by Chicagoans who said they were the victims of former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara’s misconduct to be resolved, for a total cost of more than $112 million to Chicago taxpayers.