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Good morning, Chicago. Although it may be officially fall, the summer weather is hopefully sticking around for a bit longer. Here's what we have at WTTW News this morning. |
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(WTTW News) |
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Chicago taxpayers paid $295 million between 2019 and 2024 to resolve lawsuits naming officers whose alleged misconduct led more than once to payouts, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.
Over that time, 272 officers were named in at least two lawsuits that were settled by Chicago officials or resulted in a jury verdict paid by taxpayers, according to the analysis.
More context:
In all, the city spent $491.7 million to resolve lawsuits alleging 1,643 Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct — including false arrest and excessive force — during the six-year period that the Chicago Police Department has been under a federal court order known as the consent decree that requires officers to stop violating the civil rights of Chicagoans, according to WTTW News’ analysis.
Through the end of August, the city spent at least $231.2 million in 2025 to resolve lawsuits alleging police misconduct. The City Council has not yet considered an agreement endorsed by the Finance Committee that would pay $90 million to 180 people in 2026 who say they were wrongfully convicted after being framed by convicted former Chicago Police Sgt. Ronald Watts.
Cases that involved at least one officer with repeated claims of misconduct accounted for nearly 60% of the cost borne by taxpayers to resolve police misconduct cases between 2019 and 2024, according to the analysis.
In 2024 alone, the city spent $75.8 million to resolve lawsuits that named officers whose alleged misconduct more than once cost Chicago taxpayers money, accounting for 85% of the total cost to taxpayers, according to WTTW News’ analysis. That set a record and is more than double what taxpayers paid to resolve lawsuits naming the same officer more than once in 2023.
Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry told WTTW News in July that she has directed the Law Department to take a more aggressive approach to resolving lawsuits than her predecessors to save taxpayers’ money. |
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Host Jimmy Kimmel speaks at the Oscars in Los Angeles on Feb. 26, 2017. (Photo by Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP, File) |
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ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show in the wake of criticism over his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials with the network said Monday.
The network suspended Kimmel indefinitely after comments he made about Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”
Backlash to Kimmel’s comments about Kirk was swift. Nexstar and Sinclair, two of ABC’s largest affiliate owners, said they would be pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from their stations. Others, including several fellow comedians, came to his defense.
“... Comedy seems to be a place where we talk about the truth and it is a place where we tackle hard issues," Chicago-based comedian Pat McGann said. "When they’re starting to silence comics, that’s a cause for concern.”
Some backstory:
Brendan Carr, the head of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a warning prior to Kimmel’s suspension that criticized Kimmel’s remarks about the Kirk assassination.
Ari Cohn, lead tech policy counsel for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said the FCC’s threats to ABC were an unprecedented act of censorship.
“It is a very difficult thing to say that the speech that I find detestable and odious is the speech we need protection for the most,” Cohn said. “It’s counterintuitive to human nature, but it’s incredibly important to keep us from developing into a state of unfreedom — it’s probably the least of the bad things. It’s what leads to authoritarianism, oppression and tyranny.” |
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The campus of University of Chicago is pictured in a file photo. (Jacob Boomsma / iStock) |
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Two Chicago-area universities have once again been ranked among the top colleges in the nation for 2026, according to U.S. News & World Report’s newest list. The University of Chicago ranked sixth in the nation, jumping up six spots from eleventh last year, while the Evanston-based Northwestern University fell one spot into a tie for seventh with Duke and Johns Hopkins universities.
Both universities have faced federal funding issues under the Trump administration this year that have forced difficult staffing and spending decisions. UChicago this month announced it would be cutting $100 million in expenses, while Northwestern has announced hundreds of layoffs amid an ongoing federal funding freeze.
The 41st annual rankings from the self-proclaimed “global authority in education rankings” also included the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign at No. 36, a drop of three spots from last year, while the University of Illinois Chicago was ranked No. 84. Coming in outside the top 100 were Illinois Institute of Technology (No. 117) and Loyola University (No. 132). |
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Back in the Day: September 23, 2020 - Chicago Protests, Reacts to Breonna Taylor Decision |
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On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a Kentucky-based Black woman who worked as an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times and killed by three plainclothes police officers conducting a no-knock raid on her home in Louisville. After Taylor’s boyfriend, believing intruders were breaking into their home, fired a warning shot, officers then fired 32 rounds into the apartment, killing Taylor. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment. Questions and outrage over the case exploded during the summer of 2020, and on this day five years ago — Sept. 23, 2020 — a Kentucky grand jury declined to indict three police officers for their role in her death. Several protests broke out in Chicago, including one where 300 activists gathered in Palmer Square. Then Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for a moment of silence. In 2022, an officer who was not present at the scene pleaded guilty to lying on the search warrant she drafted and writing a false report to cover it up. She’ll be sentenced next year. In 2025, a police officer who fired 10 shots into Taylor’s home and a neighbor’s was sentenced to 33 months in prison for violating Taylor's civil rights by using excessive force. |
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This Week’s Staff Recommendations
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Every Tuesday, WTTW News staffers highlight their favorite things about Chicago. Here’s Shelby Hawkins, associate producer for “Chicago Tonight,” on the best local spots for arts and crafts.
Shelby Hawkins: I’ve recently been finding new spaces to live out my younger self's dream of being a visual artist, and while I’m no Basquiat, it’s been a fun exercise in finding different creative outlets and hobbies. Chicago is rife with places to explore all sorts of artistic passions — including for amateurs like me. Here’s my list of favorite spaces for arts and crafts:
Sip and Paint Chicago - Jefferson Park, 4412 N. Milwaukee Ave.
This is my favorite place for a (platonic or romantic) date night! It’s an intimate BYOB art studio that offers both public and private painting classes guided by local artists who provide step-by-step instructions and advice. They also host an “Open Studio” each Tuesday that’s not instructor-guided where folks can go use the studio’s supplies to paint their heart’s desire.
Favorite Experience: Painting the cover art from Bad Bunny’s “Un Verano Sin Ti.”
Freestyle Ceramics & Tufting - Andersonville, 5127 N. Clark St.
This popular spot has two other locations in the Chicagoland area, but I’m partial to the one in Andersonville. They offer five creative mediums to try out:
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Tufting, or rug-making
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Ceramic Painting
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Ceramic Making
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Cream Glue Craft
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Glass Fusing
Favorite Experience: Stitching an image of my cat on a rug.
Lovergirl Creates - Various Locations
Two of my lovely friends had the great idea of bringing people together through their shared love of creating art. They host pop-up events at different bars and event spaces throughout the city. Since they started hosting Lovergirl gatherings, they’ve hosted workshops to create charm necklaces and bracelets, make mixed media collages, stitch Pride-themed patches and other cutesy activities.
Favorite Experience: Making charm necklaces at Tack Room. |
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What's your favorite neighborhood bar in the Chicago area?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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