Chicago taxpayers should pay more than $260.8 million to 17 men who spent decades in prison after they were coerced into confessing to crimes by a disgraced former Chicago police detective, city lawyers recommended.

Chicago taxpayers have already spent at least $52 million since the start of 2026 to settle nine lawsuits brought by people who were injured or on behalf of those killed during police pursuits, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

Applicants include current and former members of the Chicago Police Department, as well as candidates from outside of CPD, according to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability.

It is unclear why the probe into the April 2021 shooting took more than five years to complete.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that not only did Officer Alberto Rodriguez assault his 19-year-old girlfriend but he also held her against her will, conclusions endorsed by former Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling.

In all, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has determined members of that tactical team violated department policy during 22 separate traffic stops, according to a WTTW News analysis of COPA records.

On what would have been Laquan McDonald’s 29th birthday, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is reintroducing legislation that would incentivize the use of independent, impartial investigations into the use of deadly force by law enforcement officials.

The Illinois Supreme Court could decide the case that has frozen the system Chicago officials used for 60 years to hold accountable officers accused of the most egregious misconduct before the end of the year.

The Illinois Supreme Court will hold oral arguments Thursday amid a legal dispute between the city of Chicago and the city’s largest police union that has lasted for more than two years.

Since the start of 2026, Chicago taxpayers have paid $46 million to resolve eight lawsuits filed by the families of those killed or seriously injured during a police pursuit that violated Chicago Police Department policy, records show.

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.

Snelling received his first monthly pension payment of $15,744.73 on Aug. 31, and they will continue for the rest of his life, according to records obtained by WTTW News from the Policeman’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago.

Chicago taxpayers have paid $7 million to resolve three federal lawsuits alleging misconduct by Officer Michael Donnelly, including the 2019 improper raid of Anjanette Young’s home, records show.

Chicago taxpayers have spent at least $46 million since the start of 2026 to resolve eight lawsuits brought by people who were injured or on behalf of those killed during police pursuits, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

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.

A recent NORC at the University of Chicago poll said 44% of Chicagoans think crime is going up, despite CPD data saying otherwise.