CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago taxpayers will have to pay more than $15 million as a result of several police misconduct settlements approved by the City Council on Monday, drawing criticism from council members.
Nearly half a dozen settlements involving the Chicago Police Department were presented to the City Council’s Finance Committee on Monday, and all were approved, costing the city millions of dollars.
The actions raised major concerns about overspending, and the payouts considered at City Hall on Monday were enough to rile up the finance committee.
“I am concerned about the insurance companies that currently cover the city and the liability. I am sure they are looking at this as well,” said Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th).
Villegas was among those who raised the alarm about what could be a potential economic burden for the city. Despite the efforts of lawyers, he said, the lawsuits are largely settled.
“Right now, outside lawyers are not doing their job properly. They lose 85% of the cases, while we pay them $150 million in legal fees over the last 10 years,” Villegas said.
Many of the cases were tied to police misconduct. The most high-profile case cleared Monday was that of Anthony Jakes, who spent 20 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of a 1991 murder. At just 15 years old, he was convicted and sentenced after a coerced confession by Chicago police detectives.
His case was one of hundreds for which Chicago taxpayers had to foot the bill.
“That’s what makes this job so difficult, because we not only have to acknowledge the tragedy of the past, but we also have to do what we can from a fiduciary perspective,” said Ald. Bill Conway (34th).
Some City Council members are hoping they can come up with a plan or create a task force to address the high number of settlements in police misconduct cases.
“I think the public needs to ask themselves, what could we do with this money if we could prevent these liabilities from being part of the City Council payroll,” said Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th).
A final vote on all approved regulations is expected to take place on Wednesday.
