How About Fight the Lawsuits?
Something we and our readers have been saying for two decades now:
At what point do the taxpayers of Chicago get to say “enough is enough?”
So far in 2025, the Chicago City Council has approved over $145 million in police-related legal settlements — more than double what was budgeted — and the year isn’t even halfway over. That figure doesn’t include another $120 million in court-ordered payouts the city is challenging, nor the mounting legal fees, nor the flood of additional lawsuits waiting in the wings. By any reasonable measure, this is an atrocity — not of criminal justice, but of fiscal malfeasance and political cowardice.
Atrocities come in many forms. Some are moral, some judicial, and some — like this one — are budgetary. Chicago has turned the act of paying out settlements into a grotesque civic ritual, in which aldermen rubber-stamp multimillion-dollar payouts for decades-old incidents while shrugging at the burden it places on taxpayers, who had nothing to do with the original misconduct.
Let’s be clear: Legitimate claims of wrongful conviction, abuse, and official misconduct deserve redress. But the scale, scope, and timing of this year’s deluge defy all proportionality. The system has become a gravy train for lawyers, a reputational black eye for law enforcement, and an existential threat to the city’s financial stability.
Back when J-Fledgar was "running" the Department, he decided to fight these lawsuits and guess what?
- Corp Counsel won a bunch of them. Even the threat of Corp Counsel taking these cases to trial had plaintiff lawyers backing off the cases - actually having to work for a verdict wasn't in the cards for these grifters and business dried up for a while.
But then, the lawyer associations went to Rahm and begged him to put the brakes on J-Fledgar, otherwise they'd stop contributing to democrats....and the rest was history. The spigot re-opened, J-Fledgar was leashed and contributions resumed to the politicians.
Go read it all at the Contrarian. Maybe taxpayers will wake up at some point.
Labels: money questions
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
45 Comments:
Follow the money..
Who was financing Rahm's campaigns.
Fuck you. Pay them. Lobby in Springfield for tort reform. Until then, no cops and their money as guinea pigs to be thrown to a cook county jury. Fuck you.
If law firms fund mayors then the fun just get coming!
It seems the individual settlements with the city are much larger than settlements for similar alleged wrongs in other cities. Why is that?
I thought this is why we all received body cameras. If the shootings are ruled justified then why is the city paying out these ridiculous settlements. I thought that was the entire point of these body cameras. Why is this being allowed to happen ? With evidence that the shootings were justified there shouldn’t even be a discussion of a payout being considered.
"At what point do the taxpayers of Chicago get to say “enough is enough?”
The taxpayers have no say in the game. The lawyers file suits against the City. The City doesn't fight them, the City then awards the lawyers and clients with large sums of money. The lawyers donate to the politicians, of course it has nothing to do with the court cases!!! This is called pay to play. The taxpayers can pay but are not allowed to play. The taxpayers don't complain because they are lackadaisical.
Slippery lawyers are the problem here in the USA
Kickbacks!!!
I was there when all this was happening....the City won 98% of the cases. They would evaluate each case and decide to fight it or make a deal. As soon as Rahm came in....that ended.
What facts do you have for this statement?
Hey friend, most of the lawsuits that are being settled are not from the body camera era. Tons of them are decades old. The Ron Watts lawsuits never stop even though most of them are completely bogus. You still have Burge lawsuits being settled. I'm going to trial this year on a complete farce from 2009. Yes the city is fighting the case. The lawyers go after old cases hoping the department members are retired. The Officers won't testify meaning an automatic payout. The body cameras will put a dent in the gravy train. That takes time.
You are absolutely correct. The city seems to settle every case for millions while other cities, if a case is settled, give out a few hundred thousand
It’s amazing how many scams these lawyers and politicians have run on the taxpayers. Chicago is by far the most corrupt and miserable city in the World.
The City never won 98% of cases. Go check the verdict reports for why the fund is depleted. 60 million. 120 million. Those are jury verdicts from the jurors who gave us the fine leaders of Cook County
wow,,,,, and we thought the big guy (bidumb) was bad getting his 10%
Wasn’t Daley the second in charge when The rule “you can’t sue city hall “disappeared?
The taxpayers in Chicago are not bright enough to say "Enough is Enough".
Now, kees me you fool!!!!
No. The lawyers in these cases are not slippery or even that good at being lawyers and the facts of the cases are not in their favor either. The problem is political corruption. This is a bribery scheme plain and simple as the post implies. It doesn't get a whole lot more transparent than this and is another reason why we should never again trust the legacy media. You think old Chuck Goudie could connect the dots here...
It will never end because you all can’t stop voting dummycrat.
100 percent agree
How about identifying and doxing these scum bag , ambulance chasing “ he dindu nuffin” lawyers?
Make them social pariahs, stopped from showing their faces in public.
I m game.
Since the days of the LA riots (circa March 1991) optics of our job has never been pretty. For the ONE person on our side explaining the use of force continuum, what defensive strike, block, kick, swing, tazer or other compliance action we undertook, the other side will import as MANY experts, as necessary, to pontificate on dispelling any action taken. Not to mention if you have to cap someone. It's making sausage. It's ugly and has become a legal game of liars' poker by jury.
Chicago corporation Council are all DEI hires ! Just like the majority of the blue gummed, camel tooth, ignoramus mayors staff ! FUBU !
Tort reform will not happen. Partial reform has been tried but the Illinois Supreme court said it is "unconstitutional."
It's all about Benjamins politicians are getting from these lawyers. Why do you think Democrats are pissed at Trump defunding NGOs? Because a lot of sweetheart, high pay, low responsibility jobs are going to disappear.
That’s because of who is on the jury in Chicago. No losers here
Because of who will be seated on the jury Simple as that
Taxpayers do say that but they are working and avoid jury duty
How about we get rid of alderman and the city council. We have the technology that all bills be directly voted on by the public. I know i know voter fraud and all that but if we could make a system that lets say every 3rd Wednesday is vote day. You log in on your preferred device and vote yes or no on whatever the mayor is proposing.....democracy in action. There was a sci fi episode on something years ago that had this and yes there were some kinks but guess what you vote for everything yourself no more somebody being manipulated by lobbyists.
My lawsuit had proof from a judge that the shitbirds perjured themselves, and they still fucking settled with these clowns.
Sheriff Dart on CNBC claiming he has created a nationwide retail theft task force in Chicago. That bozo is pandering to Trump, avoid probable indictment. Remember he was advocating no chareges for retail theft.
congressmen chuck schumer n jaime raskin big haters of the us armed forces n the police
hey chucky boy i bet you love those billions we give to isreal each month
The blitz, led by Illinois' Cook County regional organized crime task force, involved more than 100 jurisdictions and over 30 retailers including Home Depot, Macy's, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens, Kroger and Meijer.
"When you give specific focus to a crime, it reverberates," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart told CNBC. "When they see it is being prosecuted and taken seriously, it deters conduct. They don't want to get caught."
2016 Dart Rocket docket legislation
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart launched an effort this year to make more non-violent individuals in custody eligible for the program.
The first effort targeted people charged with minor retail theft or criminal trespass. The Accelerated Resolution Program places a 30-day deadline on the justice system to adjudicate the cases, so individuals in custody don’t spend months in jail just because they can’t make bail. “The jail is meant to house people who are a threat to the community, not down-on-their-luck folks for whom longer-than-necessary incarceration means the loss of a job and no way to provide for their families,” Sheriff Dart said.
Following Sheriff Dart’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the bill passed the House and Senate with bi-partisan majorities. State Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside, sponsored the bill in the House of Representatives and State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago led the effort in the state senate.
Paul Vallas claims Dart is not serving 75% orders protection..
Please backup this statement.
They're already the ones who defend the worst of the criminal scum anyway. They have no shame. All you'd be doing is giving them publicity.
I was lucky enough to be sued during the short period where the city was actually fighting the cases. Won pretty easily too. It's amazing how little money these fools get when they get called on their bullshit. They sue because they know they'll get a payout without ever having to prove anything they allege. Fight back and they won't be so quick to sue.
Me also. I was part of a large lawsuit, as a Det, that the City actually farmed out to real lawyers downtown. Before and after Jody the city would have settled. This one paid out nothing. It was cheaper to pay real lawyers than pay out. I'm no fan of Jody after what he did to Cozzi but I believe he got bad info about Bill by local politicians. If he didn't do that he would have been the best Supt this Dept had.(And I started under Leroy, the hat, Martin) He fought lawsuits and was able to get us armed better. Once the local Politicians realized the money train they got from kickbacks from lawyers and their lawsuits he was gone.
LOL no one but a retiree would ever even think of proposing this
If the city was on the legit, they would save hundreds of millions by hiring the best defense attorneys not the political hacks that are in the CC's office. However, this IS Chicago, and the "donations" would stop. Can't have that, so the circle of dollars will never end until the last one out shuts off the lights.
Stating the city council and the mayors don't care about the taxpayers, you've discovered the centuries old truth. Never did, never will!
Money Laundering Operation
Numerous times while traveling I have watched the local news and seen reports on suits against the police. The amount rewarded shocked me compared to what they reward people in Shitcago!!!
Did you ever envision who Chuckie could pass as a twin for if he wore a beard?
It's possible that the group in power has a vastly over-inflated view of their own worth and project that onto others of the same group.
Post a Comment
<< Home