CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago City Council is preparing to vote on a $5.5 million fund to compensate victims of police torture.
The “reparations” package on Wednesday’s agenda would pay up to $100,000 each to dozens of men who claimed they were tortured by the detective crew of notorious former police commander Jon Burge. Some victims spent decades in prison after confessing to crimes they did not commit.
The city says about 55 people could be eligible; plaintiffs’ attorneys say there could be 80.
The package includes a formal apology from the city and a plan to teach school children about torture.
Burge was never criminally charged, but was convicted in a civil case of lying about torture. He was released from a halfway house in February after serving 4{ years in prison.
