This Crooked Cop Will Cost Chicago $260.8 Million in Settlements

The city of Chicago appears ready to pay out an eye-popping $260.8 million to 17 men framed for murder by notorious former Detective Reynaldo Guevara. https://t.co/oYeiNkBLsW

— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) October 5, 2026

The City Council Finance Committee approved the settlement unanimously on Monday and the full council vote is set to take place on October 14. If it is approved, it will be the largest single police-misconduct settlement in U.S. history.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson touted the vote, saying, “It is vitally important to continue building upon this innovative approach, where warranted and appropriate, to resolve a grouping of reversed-conviction cases involving the same defendant—in a process recognizing both the importance of humane justice while safeguarding taxpayer dollars.”

The settlement of these 16 cases, resolving allegations of misconduct from the 1980s and 1990s and totaling $260,814,000 will, following City Council approval, be paid over two years commencing in 2027.  It will offer a pathway to closure, reducing the potential for adverse verdicts, lessening long-term legal expenses and easing fiscal uncertainty.  

The plaintiffs—who’ve collectively spent 383.55 years in custody, both pre-and post-trial conviction—allege they were wrongfully convicted of murder based on misconduct by Reynaldo Guevara and other former and deceased CPD officers. All of these plaintiffs’ convictions have been vacated and the charges against them dismissed.  

“Bringing these cases to a responsible closure reflects the deliberative approach the Department of Law continues to take to inherited litigation, which includes carefully assessing the City’s financial exposure, resolving the highest-risk, highest-value cases, and eliminating prolonged uncertainty for the City and the parties involved,” said Acting Corporation Counsel Renee Hatcher. “Looking ahead, we will evaluate and build on what worked well in these matters to best serve the City and the taxpayer.”

Guevara allegedly engaged in multiple instances of abuse throughout his career. These include violence against suspects, torture, coerced confessions, false allegations, and many others. 

Last September, Chicago’s City Council agreed to pay $20.5 million to two of at least a dozen men whose murder convictions were dismissed after allegedly being framed by Guevara.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of Armando Serrano and Jose Montanez who spent 23 years in prison before they were released in 2016. A key witness in their case admitted that he had lied about hearing them confess because Guevara had threatened to beat him if he didn’t.

In 2009, a jury awarded $21 million to a man who spent 11 years in prison before he was retried and acquitted because witnesses testified that Guevara intimidated them into falsely identifying the man as the killer. The city later agreed to pay $16.4 million.

Another jury awarded $17 million in 2018 to a man who made similar allegations.

Foxx said Tuesday that she would not discount the impact each case had on the defendants and their families.

Guevara retired in 2005 after never being disciplined for his conduct and collects at least $91,000 a year in a taxpayer-funded pension. He has been paid about $1.5 million since he retired.