Heather Cherone
Chicago taxpayers have spent $12.8 million to defend and settle lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct during the 2020 protests and unrest that were triggered by the police murder of George Floyd, according to an analysis by WTTW News.
In the latest case to be settled, the Chicago City Council voted 28-16 Wednesday to pay $875,000 to 21 people who each say they were brutalized by Chicago police officers during the 2020 protests. The plaintiffs will get an average of $41,667, Assistant Corporation Counsel Caroline Fronczak told the City Council’s Finance Committee on Jan. 14.
It cost taxpayers nearly $680,000 to defend the lawsuit that claimed officers repeatedly used excessive force at protests that erupted across the city throughout the summer of 2020 — in the shadow of Trump Tower on May 30; in River North on May 31; in Uptown on June 1; in Grant Park on July 17; and on the Wacker Avenue bridge over the Chicago River on Aug. 15, records show.
None of the officers, some of whom were captured on video striking the plaintiffs, were ever identified, Franczek said. Nor is there any evidence that any of the plaintiffs contributed to the unrest that accompanied the protests, Franczek said.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) said he voted against the settlement even though he believed it would cost taxpayers more to take the lawsuit to trial.
“This is a reasonable sum, given what’s at stake here,” Hopkins said.
In all, Chicago taxpayers have already paid more than $7.6 million to resolve 60 lawsuits identified by WTTW News that were filed by individuals who said …
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