Chicago City Council to weigh $260.8 million settlement for 17 wrongful conviction lawsuits tied to ex-CPD detective Reynaldo Guevara
Chicago taxpayers could soon be shelling out more than $260 million dollars to settle cases tied to allegations that disgraced former police detective Reynaldo Guevara tortured 17 men into false confessions to crimes.
The City Council Finance Committee on Monday will vote on the proposed mass settlement involving 17 men, all of whom spent between 18 and 30 years in prison before they were exonerated of murder or shooting charges.
"It is vitally important to continue building upon this innovative approach, where warranted and appropriate, to resolve a grouping of reversed-conviction cases involving the same defendant—in a process recognizing both the importance of humane justice while safeguarding taxpayer dollars," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. "While previous administrations turned a blind eye to these abuses and kicked the can down the road, we are confronting this challenge head on, meeting the obligation we have to bring some level of restitution to those who have been harmed and their families."
City attorneys have not publicly revealed how the $260.8 million global settlement would be divided between the 17 men. However, Johnson's office said, if approved by the Finance Committee and the full City Council, the settlement would be paid out over two years, starting in 2027.
Johnson's office said settling all of the cases together would save taxpayers between $300 million and $400 million compared to the risk of taking the cases to trial. When combined with a $90 million global settlement for nearly 200 police misconduct lawsuits tied to former CPD Sgt. Ronald Watts, who also has been accused of routinely framing suspects, the mayor's office said the city will have settled 72% of the open wrongful conviction cases against it this year.
The CBS News Chicago investigators for years dug into the accusations of Guevara coercing false confessions as far back as the 1980s.
Guevara is accused of coercing false confessions and withholding evidence against dozens of murder suspects.
He's been accused of falsifying police reports, framing suspects, and beating suspects into false confessions. Guevara has never been charged with a crime and still receives a city pension. He has repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself and refuse to answer questions on the torture allegations against him.
In one lawsuit involving Guevara, he asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to 200 questions.
If approved by the Finance Committee on Monday, the $260.8 million settlement involving 17 Guevara cases must be approved by the full City Council.
Even if the massive settlement is approved, it won't put an end to every lawsuit tied to Guevara. According to published reports, the city still faces at least two dozen more lawsuits involving torture allegations against the former detective.
