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Chicago Faces $62M in New Police Misconduct Settlements as Cook County Finalizes $48M Payout

Cook County approves major settlements for wrongful convictions and medical negligence, while Chicago grapples with budget shortfalls from mounting misconduct claims.

Anthony Mitchell, right, celebrates with attorneys Andrea Lyon, left, and Russell Ainsworth at a press conference outside of Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on March 10, 2025, after a federal jury awarded over $120 million in damages to him and John Fulton in their civil trial for wrongful conviction. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Joshua Tepfer, center, with the Exoneration Project, is hugged by Leonard Gipson as they speak at a press conference at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on Nov. 16, 2017. The Exoneration Project filed a Consolidated Petition requesting the exoneration of 15 men who insisted they were framed by disgraced Sgt. Ronald Watts. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

Overview

  • Cook County commissioners approved $48 million in settlements, including $7.45 million each to John Fulton and Anthony Mitchell, who were wrongfully imprisoned for 16 years.
  • A $24.5 million settlement was awarded to the family of Nasir Rashawn Summerville over alleged medical negligence at Stroger Hospital during childbirth in 2023.
  • Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee will vote Monday on $62 million in proposed settlements, including $48 million for three men exonerated in a 1986 arson case.
  • Other pending Chicago settlements include $8.25 million for John Velez, jailed for 16 years after alleged evidence fabrication, and $5 million for Briana Keys, who suffered frostbite and amputations after police inaction.
  • Chicago’s legal fund for misconduct payouts is already depleted, with over $100 million spent this year, intensifying calls for financial and systemic reform.