CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago City Council Finance Committee has approved a $4.98 million payout to settle a lawsuit over what were alleged to have been unconstitutional stops and pat-downs.
The lawsuit was filed over the stops in 2015, and it accused the Chicago Police Department of enforcing the City’s anti-gang and loitering ordinance “without reasonable suspicion” of wrongdoing.
The bulk of the settlement — all but $112,500 — is going to pay attorneys’ fees.
Through negotiations and mediation, the plaintiffs were narrowed from 35 down to five.
The Corporation Counsel’s Office said if the City went to trial and did not prevail, then the cost could have doubled. That’s because Chicago would have had to litigate separate trials for each plaintiff, instead of settling all five at once.
Aside from the money, the settlement includes oversight and monitoring of the investigatory stop policy.
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