https://www.city-journal.org/article/chicago-exonerations-criminal-justice
Chicago law firms have found a new way to get paid at taxpayers’ expense: suing the city for alleged police misconduct. The suits are draining hundreds of millions from Chicago’s coffers at a time when the city can’t afford to lose a dime. Voters should hold their leaders accountable for enabling this racket.
For years, Chicago has led the nation in overturning supposedly wrongful convictions. This has resulted in a windfall for law firms—both those suing the city and those hired by the city to settle cases. Since 2000, Chicago has paid over $700 million in settlements to criminal defendants who claim to have been framed by police, at least $138 million of which has gone to the city’s outside counsel. Chicago alone was responsible for more than half of the nation’s exonerations in 2022.
The pattern continued this year. In March, a local jury awarded $120 million to two men who served 16 years in prison before their convictions were overturned. On the same day, the Chicago City Council approved $280,000 to settle a claim from an activist injured in a violent protest from 2020 that left 18 officers wounded.
These big-money settlements have prompted some Chicago law firms to specialize in city claims. In 2022, just one firm settled cases totaling $42 million of the $117 million that the city paid out that year. Based on a standard one-third contingency fee, the lawyers likely reaped a handsome $14 million.
City leaders are to blame for this swindle. During her eight-year tenure as Cook County state’s attorney, Kim Foxx prioritized the rights of criminals over the law-abiding and law enforcement. Her policies effectively encouraged local law firms to represent plaintiffs in civil rights suits against the Chicago Police Department, often resulting in mammoth, taxpayer-funded settlements.