CHICAGO, September 22, 2026 – Chicago’s legal bill for police misconduct cases tied to former Detective Reynaldo Guevara is climbing again, with city lawyers agreeing to resolve three additional lawsuits as aldermen face pressure to control the cost of defending decades-old allegations.
The settlements will be considered alongside a proposed $13.75 million settlement involving two men who were incarcerated for a total of 38 years before being exonerated of charges in a 1998 double murder and kidnapping case. Voting on the issue is scheduled for Wednesday.
The cases are part of a much larger and costlier reckoning.
If the council signs off on these proposed settlements, the taxpayers of Chicago would have paid over $206 million in costs to defend and settle 16 cases against Guevara, according to court documents. The city has already paid around $6.2 million to defend the two cases linked to the men who received a settlement of $13.75 million.
The three recently settled cases involved men who were in prison for a total of 82 years before their cases were overturned. The city has already paid out a minimum of $3.2 million to defend these cases; however, the amount of the proposed settlements hasn’t been disclosed. Settlements above $100,000 must be approved by the city council.
That’s becoming a recurring theme here, as aldermen must vote on each settlement despite the ever-growing legal exposure.
There are at least 41 lawsuits filed against Guevara that are still pending. Four other cases are said to be undergoing settlements, but the court papers do not reveal anything to suggest that the remaining 34 cases will soon be settled.
The 80-year-old Guevara had admitted that he refused to answer questions in civil suits citing the Fifth Amendment protection. A judge once found him guilty of “telling bald-faced lies” in a previous case in 2017. Guevara is accused of lying in his reports, intimidating witnesses, and even framing people while serving in the Chicago police force.
Most of the people involved in the lawsuits have been issued a certificate of innocence by a judge. Most of them are Hispanic and had been living in Humboldt Park, a working class area in Chicago.
The city thus finds itself in an unfavorable situation since it will be difficult for its lawyers to defend the cases when the suspect fails to answer their questions, whereas charges of misconduct have been reported. A settlement may help lower the likelihood of larger awards, but it would mean that taxpayers will keep footing the bill for a matter that happened many years back.
Questions have arisen about whether it was possible for the city to settle in a lump sum like in the case of Chicago in 2025, where the city agreed to pay $90 million to 180 individuals wrongly convicted in cases involving former Sgt. Ronald Watts and other officers.
According to Deputy Corporation Counsel Jessica Felker, the Guevara cases were more complicated due to different criminal acts, witnesses, and officers involved. Nonetheless, it was possible to reach such a settlement although the facts were not consistent.
Financial strain goes far beyond Guevara. Between the beginning of 2026 and now, Chicago taxpayers have paid almost $246 million to settle hundreds of police misconduct lawsuits, while last year saw close to $259 million spent on lawsuits against the police. In its 2026 budget, Chicago allotted almost $82.5 million for lawsuit settlements but borrowed another $267.3 million to pay litigation costs.
Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget forecast includes $401 million for settlements, which is $226 million more than what was included in the 2026 budget—this despite the fact that Chicago is expected to have a budget shortfall of almost $882.5 million.
It’s a simple reality check: Misconduct lawsuits may date back decades, but payment invoices arrive now. Beyond individual settlement costs, Chicago has to pay for the delays in investigating such lawsuits, the withholding of the results—which includes a $1.9 million report requested in 2013 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and which has yet to surface—and the increasing pileup of cases.
