Paul Vallas: Chicago must reform how it handles expensive police misconduct lawsuits.

Chicago Tribune

20-06-2025

The city's finances and ability to fund essential public services are at a crisis point for many reasons. Dangerously overlooked is the bleeding of millions of taxpayer dollars every month on litigation, the continuation of which cannot be sustained.
From 2008 to 2024, Chicago paid out over $1.11 billion in police-related legal settlements and verdicts. In 2025 alone, the city has already approved over $145 million in police settlements, exceeding its budget by a significant margin. It has gotten so bad that the most obvious way for the city to manage risk — the purchase of liability insurance — is rapidly becoming unavailable as the city's insurers, once willing to protect the city from catastrophic losses, have run for the hills.
These hundreds of millions in payouts are emblematic of a system in which settlements for police-related incidents have become routine and increasingly expensive.
During Kim Foxx's tenure as Cook County state's attorney, more law firms began to specialize in representing individuals accused of violent crimes and in suing the Chicago Police Department for alleged civil rights violations. These firms frequently win enormous, taxpayer-funded settlements.
Consider the cases of Gabriel Solache and Arturo DeLeon-Reyes, who were wrongfully convicted of the brutal murder of a young couple and kidnapping of their child. Despite a third perpetrator's unwavering testimony against them, Foxx dropped the charges partially because their cases were handled by a former detective, Reynaldo Guevara, who faces allegations that he bullied and beat defendants. The third perpetrator is in prison serving a life sentence. Foxx's office later withdrew opposition to their certificates of innocence, enabling their lawyers to use these certificates as evidence in lawsuits against the police. This is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern in which convictions are vacated and substantial settlements follow — even when the facts strongly suggest guilt.
The election of Judge Eileen O'Neill Burke as state's attorney marked a new era for criminal justice in Chicago. However, the city still faces a backlog of cases initiated during Foxx's tenure, with over 200 wrongful conviction lawsuits pending. The potential liability from these cases is estimated in the billions of dollars.
Compounding the problem, the SAFE-T Act and the CPD consent decree have introduced new mandates and oversight requirements, which are likely to fuel even more litigation. In addition, police pursuits have now become the new gold vein for litigators to mine. These developments, combined with a plaintiff-friendly legal environment in Cook County, mean that the city's exposure to massive settlements is only increasing.
Police pursuit lawsuits are now a significant financial threat after wrongful conviction cases. These lawsuits often arise when fleeing suspects crash, causing injuries or deaths, and the city is held liable for the actions of police officers making split-second decisions. Since 2019, Chicago taxpayers have paid more than $120 million to resolve just 31 civil claims arising from police pursuits.
Here are five key reforms that can be implemented:
Runaway settlements and verdicts for alleged police misconduct are not only undermining public safety and police morale — they also are threatening the city's financial stability and its ability to provide essential services.
Chicago's leaders must act decisively to restore balance, protect taxpayer dollars and ensure that compensation for genuine victims does not come at the cost of the city's future.
Paul Vallas is an adviser for the Illinois Policy Institute. He ran against Brandon Johnson for Chicago mayor in 2023 and was previously budget director for the city and CEO of Chicago Public Schools.