CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The Chicago City Council Finance Committee has approved a $45 million settlement for a teenager who lost the ability to talk or walk as the result of an unauthorized police chase.
Nathan Jones was 15 years old when he was riding in a car that ran a stop sign on the South Side and was then chased by a police car. The offending car crashed, and doctors said the teen will need 24-hour nursing care to live.
Police policy prohibits car chases if the most serious offense is a traffic violation.
South Side Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) summed up the feelings of several colleagues.
“So, for a stop sign, we’ve got a young person who is never going to walk, never going to eat, never going to talk, never going to get to have a baby, never going to get to do any of those things — and we’re arguing about this little money,” Taylor said. “That can’t replace …we don’t know what that young person’s life would’ve been.”
North Side Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) acknowledged that a $45 million dollar settlement is a large one.
“I will be in support,” he said. “I understand how challenging it is and how much it’s going to cost the city, but when we think about what it cost the family, I don’t think there’s any amount that is able to replace what’s being lost there.”
The finance committee OK’d paying $5.5 million to a man who spent 22 years in jail after he was apparently framed by notorious detective Reynaldo Guevara. City officials said cases connected to Guevara have, so far, led to a total of $55 million in settlements with more cases pending.
Another $2.25 million were approved for the family of a 19-year-old who was shot and killed by police after a chase.
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